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Daily news - 27th June 2025

UK news

Ministers considering alcohol advertising restrictions in line with junk food

Wes Streeting is set to announce radical reforms for the NHS in England after the recent spending review allocated £29 billion to the health service | Independent, UK

Naloxone: EDM (Early Day Motion)1561: tabled on 25 June 2025

This motion has been signed by 3 Members. Motion text: That this House recognises the importance of naloxone as a lifesaving medication that temporarily reverses the effects of an opioid overdose; expresses alarm at the broad rise of deaths involving opioids in recent years... and therefore calls on the Government to ensure that naloxone is made available at key public locations, a national naloxone programme is introduced, and a national public awareness campaign is commissioned... | UK Parliament, UK

Almost half of adults opting out of buying drinks rounds

Some 48% of adults in Great Britain prefer buying drinks for just themselves, new research has found | Morning Advertiser, UK

Child Q unsure she will 'feel normal again'

A woman who was strip-searched when she was 15 by two Met Police officers has said she does not know if she is "going to feel normal again" after the officers were sacked | BBC, UK

The Manifesto Sessions: Family and Concerned Others

Thu, 17 Jul, 10:00 - 11:00 BST. Online. Thu, 17 Jul, 10:00 - 11:00 BST. Online. This webinar will focus on family and concerned others of people who use substances. As part of our ‘Setting the blueprint for a more equal and prosperous Wales for people who use substances’, we are asking for ‘Concerned others to be a recognised group of people within their own right and adequately supported to help improve the health and wellbeing of themselves and their loved ones’. Our speakers will be focusing on the work and support that is taking place and available for family and concerned others, here in Wales | Barod, UK

Young People and Substance Use

Tuesday, August 19 · 10am - 1:30pm GMT+1. Join us at the University of Stirling to discuss "Young People and Substance Use" | DRNS, UK

International news

Does drug criminalisation increase harmful drug use? A scoping review of underlying mechanisms

This article discusses how unintended side effects from the international regime of drug criminalization may serve to increase harmful drug use among some population segments and performs systematic scoping reviews of two putative underlying dynamics relating to violence victimization and the forbidden fruit or psychological reactance effect | Drug Science, UK

[Open access] In Ireland, the Public Health (Alcohol) Act represents the first Irish policy attempt to address alcohol harms through an explicitly public health approach. Lauded internationally, the Act aligns with ‘best buy’ policy recommendations, encompassing a suite of measures targeting the pricing, visibility, advertising and health labelling of alcohol products. Recognising the importance of implementation in the policy process, this study sought to examine the implementation of this multi-component alcohol policy | IJDP, UK

Ecuador's most wanted drug lord captured in 'underground bunker'

Macías, also known by the alias "Fito", is the leader of Los Choneros, a powerful criminal gang which is blamed for Ecuador's transformation from a tourist haven to a country with one of the highest murder rates in the region | BBC, UK

NSW politicians say cannabis decriminalisation inevitable after report points to unequal system

Recommendation to decriminalise backed by six of seven committee members, including Labor, Liberal and crossbench MLCs | Guardian, UK

Despite the fall of Assad, the illicit drug trade in Syria is far from over

When Bashar Al-Assad ruled Syria, his regime was widely accused of profiting from the production and trafficking of Captagon, an illicit synthetic drug that is most commonly abused by users in the Middle East | United Nations, Austria

World Drug Report 2025

A global reference on drug markets, trends and policy developments, the World Drug Report offers a wealth of data and analysis and in 2025 comprises several elements tailored to different audiences. The web-based Drug market patterns and trends contains the latest analysis of global, regional and subregional estimates of and trends in drug demand and supply in a user-friendly, interactive format supported by graphs, infographics and maps. Key findings provides an overview of selected findings from the analysis presented in Drug market patterns and trends and the thematic chapters of Contemporary issues on drugs, while Special points of interest offers a framework for the main takeaways and policy implications that can be drawn from those findings | UNODC, Austria

Irish premier brands vaping ‘revenge of Big Tobacco’ amid EU push for tighter regulation

Irish PM launched a scathing attack on the tobacco industry’s role in promoting e-cigarettes, describing vaping as a deliberate strategy ‘to get nicotine back on the agenda.’ | Euractiv, Belgium

Pink Cocaine. Tusi. Tusibi. The Party Drug That’s Popping Up Everywhere Is Still a Big Mystery

“It’s kind of a sexy term” for a drug that rarely includes actual coke, says one researcher, but that hasn’t hurt the popularity of pink cocaine | Vanity Fair, USA

Study explores genetic link between cannabis use and psychiatric disorders

In a paper published in Nature Mental Health, researchers at Yale University School of Medicine, the Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System and Washington University School of Medicine shed new light on the genetic associations between cannabis use, cannabis use disorder (CanUD) and various psychiatric disorders | Medical Xpress, USA

Female veterans, veterans from racial and ethnic minority groups at higher risk of dying from opioid overdose

Prior studies have shown veterans are particularly at risk of dying by opioid overdose and the possibility of that occurring has been rising steadily over the past two decades. From 2010–2019, there was a 61.2% increase in risk of overdose death among male veterans | Medical Xpress, USA

Nicotine Consumer Advocates Share Strategies, Support Amid Hostility

Advocates work with the government while activists fight with the government,” Maria Papaionnoy-Duic, the founder of Canadian consumer group Rights 4 Vapers, told the audience. For consumer organizations seeking or protecting people’s right to access the safer nicotine products that can save lives, she concluded, “it’s best to be both.” | Filter Magazine, USA

Blogs, comment and opinion

Evidence that cannot be contained: The World Drug Report 2025 reveals the ongoing failure of the drug control regime

[Yesterday] the UNODC released its flagship publication - the 2025 World Drug Report. Despite the agency’s best efforts to convey progress, the report is an indictment of the global drug control regime. Data point after data point reveal a systemic failure to contain drug markets and protect the health of people who use drugs | IDPC blog, UK

Trump Just Won a Major Drug War Victory. Why Isn't He Bragging?

The last time I wrote about Trump, I predicted he would take credit for falling overdose death rates. He promptly did, and his press secretary got pissed when the Washington Post didn’t do the same. That was three months and ten thousand news cycles ago. Elon. Public land sell-offs. Transgender softball pitcher. Iran. But almost completely absent from the news has been the most significant foreign policy success of his new term. This achievement has been lost on nearly everyone — perhaps even on Trump himself, who somehow has not been bragging about it on Truth Social | Ben Westhoff, USA

Lung cancer screening is about to start. What you need to know if you smoke or have quit

From July, eligible Australians will be screened for lung cancer as part of the nation’s first new cancer screening program for almost 20 years. The program aims to detect lung cancer early, before symptoms emerge and cancer spreads. This early detection and treatment is predicted to save lives | Conversation, Australia

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