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Daily news - 9th May 2025

UK news

Addiction Healthcare Goals

The Addiction Healthcare Goals programme, led by the Office for Life Sciences, worked with the James Lind Alliance to enable healthcare professionals, people with experience of addictions or who use alcohol or drugs problematically, carers and families, to work together to identify and prioritise the questions for future research that will make the most difference to people. The aim was to identify important questions for future research regarding harm reduction, treatment of, and recovery from addictions from the perspective of those who are expert by experience, and professionals. The Addiction Healthcare Goals PSP Top 10 has just been published | James Lind Alliance, UK

Official Statistics: Health trends in England

This report presents trends in data on the health of people in England, including risk factors, disease prevalence and outcomes. Includes data on smoking prevalence and hospital admissions for alcohol-related admissions | DHSC, UK

Unheard cries: Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week 2025

Ania Couchinho, Forward’s research and impact lead and expert in Black maternal health, highlights the importance of providing mental health and addiction support for all women this Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week 2025 (5-11 May) | DDN, UK

Delphi fundraising duo take on Great Manchester Run for The ARC

Delphi colleagues are taking on the Great Manchester Run this May to raise money for The ARC community hub | DDN, UK

Vape crackdown to be extended to second town

A Kent partnership which aims to tackle vapes being sold illegally and to people who are underage is being extended to a second town in the county. The Local Vape Action (LVA) pilot was launched in Tunbridge Wells in September and brought together Kent County Council, Kent Police and the Independent British Vape Trade Association | BBC, UK

Eve Thompson obituary

My grandmother Eve Thompson, who has died aged 95, was variously a theatre stage manager, a secretary and a nursery nurse – until later in life she became involved in voluntary work and advocacy, particularly in relation to mental health | Guardian, UK

Minimum Unit Pricing: Lessons for England

Thursday, May 29 · 12 - 1:30pm GMT+1. Join our webinar to learn everything you need to know about Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) of alcohol | IAS, UK

Ten Years of the Alcohol Toolkit Study: Past, Present and Future

Tue, 20 May 2025 14:00 - 16:00 BST. Institute of Alcohol Studies, 82 Tanner Street London SE1 3GN. Celebrate a decade of the ATS with us - reflecting on the past, discussing the present, and exploring opportunities for the future | IAS, UK

Psychedelics and Trauma Recovery In Elite Athletes

Wed, 2 Jul 2025 14:00 - 18:00 BST. Nancy Rothwell Building, Booth Street East Manchester M13. Join us for a deep dive into how psychedelics can support elite athletes in healing from trauma and reaching their full potential! | Drug Science, UK

New project will use machine learning to help improve engagement in gambling addiction treatment

A new project led by Professor Matt Field at the University of Sheffield aims to significantly improve how people engage with treatment for gambling addiction, thanks to funding from the Academic Forum for the Study of Gambling | University of Sheffield, UK

Spin doctors: gambling firms adopt hard tactics to flood towns with 24-hour slot machines

Companies deploy highly-paid lawyers and appear to mislead councillors – but local authorities are fighting back | Guardian, UK

International news

Rising transphobia and disparities in drug-related harm experienced by transgender and gender-diverse people

Transgender (trans) and gender-diverse (TGD) people are a small but increasingly visible population who experience worsening marginalisation characterised by toxic political and media discourse, violent hate crimes and discriminatory laws targeting healthcare and public access. Governments in both the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US) have pushed anti-trans policies which threaten to further exclude TGD people. Understanding the public health impacts of transphobia is vital, especially regarding disproportionate drug-related harms | Harm Reduction Journal, UK

129. Decolonising Plant Medicine with ICEERS - podcast

In this latest episode of the Drug Science Podcast, we talk with Natalia Rebollo and Jesús Alonso Olamendi of the International Center for Ethnobotanical Education, Research, and Service (ICEERS). They discuss the lasting legacy of colonialism in the psychedelic culture of indigenous communities, stressing the need for the sacredness of these substances to be uplifted and not commodified | Drug Science, UK

Minister with responsibility for the National Drugs Strategy launches DRIVE national awareness campaign to support people impacted by drug-related intimidation and violence

The Minister for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drugs Strategy Jennifer Murnane O’Connor, together with the Minister for Justice, Jim O’Callaghan, has today launched a new national campaign to raise awareness of supports for those impacted by drug-related intimidation and violence through the DRIVE (Drug-related intimidation and violence engagement) project | Department of Health, Ireland

DRIVE National Awareness Campaign 2025

The aim of our campaign is to increase public awareness of Drug Related Intimidation and spread the message to all those impacted that you are not alone and that there is help | NVDAS, HRB et al, Ireland

Lawsuits could choke off the candy‑flavored vape pipeline

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized 34 electronic cigarette products. Four menthol vapes are the only flavored products on the list. The fruity-flavored e-cigarettes are all illegal | Medical Xpress, USA

Trajectory of anxiety and depression symptoms during alcohol treatment may predict relapse

Researchers have identified anxiety and depression symptom trajectories that may help explain the high relapse rates for people who quit drinking | Medical Xpress, USA

Positive mindset linked to fewer problems related to drinking

A person's ability to hold on to positive emotions seems to reduce the risk of problems after drinking, independent of how much alcohol is consumed | Medical Xpress, USA

New York City’s Campaign Against Vapes Will Cost Lives

Arecent press release from the New York City Health Department, calling on New Yorkers to “imagine a city free from the harms of tobacco products,” reads like a triumphalist declaration in a misguided war against the very tools that could end smoking | Filter Magazine, USA

[Open access] In 2023 Canada legalised possession of limited amounts of opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine and MDMA, a way to reduce drug-related harm, including stigma. But up to a year later these objectives remained jeopardised by deeply entrenched “derogatory language and harmful stereotypes” | IJDP, USA

Blogs, comment and opinion

Could psychedelics help you to drink less alcohol? Our new study aims to find out

Psychedelics like LSD and psilocybin (the active ingredient in magic mushrooms) are gaining increasing attention in psychiatry. Studies suggest they may offer therapeutic benefits for conditions such as depression, anxiety, obsessive–compulsive disorder, eating disorders and addiction. Our research team is investigating whether N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a fast-acting psychedelic, can help people reduce alcohol consumption | Conversation, UK

Unheard Cries: Postnatal Depression, Addiction, and the Mental Health Crisis Facing Black Mothers (Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week 2025)

Ania Couchinho, Forward’s Research and Impact Lead and expert in Black maternal health, highlights the importance of providing mental health and addiction support for all women this Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week 2025 (5-11 May) | Forward Trust blog, UK

Good news for the ketamine dealers

My heart goes out to the family of James Lee Williams, perhaps better known as The Vivienne, winner of the first series of Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK. The Vivienne had long struggled with drug dependency and had been addicted to ketamine for some years; despite having undergone rehab they sadly experienced a relapse and died on January 5th from cardiac arrest, triggered by ketamine. The glorious funeral in north Wales will have been no compensation for the loss of this brilliant human being | Anyone's Child blog, UK

Association between childhood adversity and substance use in early adulthood

In 2022, the HRB in collaboration with Trinity College Dublin (TCD) began work analysing a longitudinal study of substance use among young people. HRB Research Officer Dr Deirdre Mongan provides an overview of the study and its progress to date | HRB blog, Ireland

We deserve better than delays to landmark health legislation

Alcohol labelling laws have repeatedly been delayed, with American tariffs cited most recently, write Sara Burke and Norah Campbell | Irish Examiner opinion, Ireland

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