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Daily news - 28th March 2025 |
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UK news
ASH welcomes progress of historic smoking bill
MPs voted to pass the historic Tobacco and Vapes Bill which will phase out the sale of tobacco to the next generation. 366 MPs from across the house voted in support of the legislation with just 41 voting against | ASH, UK
National Mission on Drugs: Annual Monitoring Report 2023-2024
1,172 people died of a drug death in 2023. Increase of 12% since 2022. Drug deaths are lower than at the start of the National Mission but remain at a high level. Measuring progress towards the improving lives aspect of the National Mission is more challenging | Scottish Government, UK
The impact of drug-related law enforcement activity on serious violence and homicide: A systematic review
This report presents the findings from a systematic literature review on the impact of drug-related law enforcement activity on serious violence and homicide. The report was prepared for the UK Home Office to inform work undertook to implement the Drugs Strategy ‘From Harm to Hope: a 10-year drugs plan to cut crime and save lives’, published under the 2019 to 2022 Johnson Conservative government (HM Government 2021) | RAND Europe, UK
Peer Research in Practice: A Three-Part Video Series
The Drugs Research Network Scotland is proud to present the first in a series of three videos featuring our trained peer researchers. In this video, we explore a range of personal experiences from individuals in a town with limited support services. The video captures multiple narratives of problem substance use, recovery, and community engagement through research | DRNS, UK
Scot Squad star shares struggles with alcoholism in bid to help others
The 36-year-old, best known for his role as Bobby Muir in the TV series Scot Squad, opened up about his struggles on the first episode of Listen Up, a new podcast by Abbeycare, a Scottish rehab centre | Glasgow Times, UK
Scottish Government minister Christina McKelvie dies aged 57
Scottish Government minister for alcohol and drug policy,Christina McKelvie, has died at the age of 57 | Herald, UK
Council to spend £2m to help people quit smoking
Nearly £2m will be spent over five years to help people in Stoke-on-Trent quit smoking, the city council has confirmed. Smoking rates in the area have fallen from just over 20% in 2016 to 13% in 2023, but this was still higher than the England average, which is under 12% of the population | BBC, UK
Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of trends in the number of deaths directly attributable to alcohol in the last five years | They work for you, UK
PC charged over possessing nitrous oxide
Greater Manchester Police PC Omair Shah is also alleged to have conspired with a relative over a false alibi statement during an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) watchdog | BBC, UK
Fake £4m Xanax drug gang boss jailed
Up to 11 million tablets were made in various locations in Tipton, Wednesbury and Wolverhampton and then sold on the dark web via cryptocurrency payments | BBC, UK
Mayor accused of backtracking on gambling ad ban
A ban on betting adverts on the Tube network will be delayed until a formal definition of harmful gambling is agreed upon, the mayor of London has said | BBC, UK
International news
126. The body keeps the score with Dr Bessel van der Kolk - podcast
In this episode, we meet with Bessel van Der kolk, a trauma based psychiatrist, author, researcher and educator. Since the 1970s his research has been in the area of post-traumatic stress and he is the author of four books including best seller “the body keeps score”. Within this episode, he dives into what trauma is and different research into the impact trauma can have on the body and brain. He further discusses various traditional and alternative treatments for trauma and where these may be appropriate for different people with specific emphasis on EMDR and MDMA | Drug Science, UK
Latest study on Europe's ecstasy market reveals new trends in production and trafficking
Criminal groups in Europe are adapting and expanding MDMA production, refining trafficking methods and extending their reach to new countries and regions. These are among the issues explored in a new analysis — EU Drug Market: MDMA — released by the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) and Europol | EUDA, Portugal
When Harm Reduction Is Easy and Enjoyable, It’s More Effective
When I was young, I was living on the streets of Los Angeles at the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic of the 1980s and early ‘90s. I injected meth a lot. Needles were expensive and hard to come by, so people often reused and shared them. The recommendation to avoid AIDS, as we called it then, was to bleach your rig before using with other people | Filter Magazine, USA
Teens find zero difference between zero-alcohol and alcohol drink adverts
Teenagers consider zero-alcohol beverages to be a type of alcoholic drink, leading Flinders University researchers to voice grave concerns about the impact of their exposure to zero-alcohol branding and advertising [Study here] | Flinders University, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
The Public Shaming of a Primary School Teacher
This week has seen the public shaming of Primary School teacher Ashley Atkin in national, local press and across social media. I hesitate to write about this because we don’t have any contact with Ms Atkin and don’t claim to speak for her in any way. However, the story was picked up by the BBC, Liverpool Echo, Birmingham Live, The Mirror, Daily Mail, The Independent, Metro, Yahoo News, The Telegraph, The Daily Star, Daily Record, Manchester Evening News, MSN amongst many others and pushed out through their social media. With such a wealth and breadth of existing coverage I feel it is appropriate to highlight some concerns in the reporting from the perspective of the Anti-Stigma Network | AntiStigma Network, UK
Drinking and pleasure: Interdisciplinarity points the way forward
There is an appetite for further research on alcohol and pleasure, focusing on both theoretical and practical considerations. The complexity of the issues involved means such research will, by necessity, involve interdisciplinary collaborations. The responses to our article highlight several promising directions this work could take | Addiction commentary, UK
An alcohol policy community of practice: A model for knowledge-sharing and collaboration
It started with an idea: what if people from across Canada, and across sectors, had a place they could come together to strengthen alcohol policy? It was a concept we heard clearly during the second round of the Canadian Alcohol Policy Evaluation (CAPE) project six years ago and has since blossomed into a large and dynamic community of practice (CoP). As outlined in our recent paper in the Canadian Journal of Public Health, we’re hoping this CoP can serve as a model for how to meaningfully engage a wide range of people interested in public-health initiatives | IAS blog, UK
Ellen McGrane speaks on gambling marketing at public health event
SARG Research Associate Ellen McGrane presented research on the links between gambling marketing and behaviour at a recent event on the role local authorities play in creating healthier local environments | SARG blog, UK