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Daily news - 11th November 2025

UK news

A Healthier Future: A long-term vision to tackle alcohol harm in the UK

With the last UK alcohol strategy published in 2012, and alcohol deaths at an all-time high, the time for meaningful, evidence-based policy action is now. The limited commitments to prevent alcohol harm in the 10 Year Health Plan are driving calls for a standalone strategy to get to grips with the alcohol emergency. This document, developed by a broad range of experts in alcohol policy, research, and treatment, offers a blueprint for achieving long-term progress | IAS, UK

When I met Craig he was 13 and homeless. I still thought his life might turn around. I was tragically wrong

I knew he was running away from something. It wasn’t until many years later that I discovered the truth | Guardian, UK

'Pubs lost their way, but we're bringing traditional boozers back'

In a cosy room overlooking a market square, four pub landlords have come together to celebrate winning national awards over a pint. Against a backdrop of nearly 300 pubs closing down in England and Wales in 2024, according to the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) the two couples seem to have bucked the trend | BBC, UK

Victorian suburb 'blighted by drugs and begging'

One of Hull's most attractive suburbs is not what it used to be due to anti-social behaviour, residents and a business owner have said | BBC, UK

Objections to 24-hour alcohol delivery plan

A Kent corner shop's request to conduct 24-hour alcohol deliveries is facing opposition over antisocial behaviour concerns | BBC, UK

Leicester: Take Drugs Seriously

Nov 19 from 6:30pm to 8:30pm GMT. 50-54 Belvoir Street. Come along to our free event to learn about the impact of drugs in Leicester and how we can better protect our community. Hear from experts in the field, local families and stakeholders and engage in discussions on how we can address drug-related issues | J Slater, UK

Gangster Presents... Sex, Drugs & Cell Block Parties - podcast

The story of the biggest prison smuggling plot ever busted in the UK - and the love story at the heart of it | BBC Sounds, UK

Thousands of high street barbers and vape shops raided in money laundering crackdown

Police have carried out a massive raid on high street businesses, including barbers, minimarts and vape shops, in the biggest-ever crackdown of its kind on money laundering | ITV, UK

Crime gangs in UK start making own branded weight-loss drugs

Medicines watchdog says criminals are designing packaging and branding to look like legitimate product | Guardian, UK

Man jailed for giving drugs to teenager who died

A 21-year-old man has been jailed for four years after supplying cocaine to a teenager boy who died after taking the drug | BBC, UK

International news

Effectiveness of Psychosocial Interventions for Adults With Substance Use Disorder That Have a Co-Occurring Common Mental Health Disorder: An Umbrella Review

[Open access] Focusing on studies in countries with similar services to the UK, “Results suggested integrated (co-ordinated) treatment … was better than treating one condition alone, and usually better than parallel uncoordinated services”. | DAR, UK

Socio-economic differences in the effectiveness of pharmacotherapy use in alcohol use disorder: A cohort study of 148626 individuals in Sweden

[Open access] Explores reasons for the intriguing finding that in Sweden medication-based treatments for problem drinking seem effective only among people of high socioeconomic position (indicated by their education levels) | Addiction, UK

NSW shop landlords could be jailed for allowing tenants to sell illicit tobacco and vapes under new laws

Laws being introduced to state parliament will allow fines up to $165,000, a year in prison, or both for owners of commercial premises | Guardian, UK

Warning issued on dangers of ordering drugs on dark web in wake of man’s death

The 33-year-old, who was a father of a 13-year-old boy, died at this home on Tandragee Road. It was later determined his death was due to a drug called Nitazene | Irish News, Ireland

EUDA Executive Director to address European Parliament on current drug situation

This week, EUDA Executive Director, Alexis Goosdeel, will present the latest insights on the European drug situation to members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) | EUDA, Portugal

Estonia’s total prison smoking ban violates inmates’ rights, ECHR rules

The Estonian state introduced a total smoking ban in prisons in 2017, forbidding prisoners from smoking either indoors or outdoors. Lawmakers said the ban was necessary to protect people’s health, prevent fires, and protect non-smokers from the dangers of passive smoking. Four prisoners challenged the block in Europe’s top court, arguing the sudden ban caused them withdrawal symptoms and stress in an already restrictive environment, the newspaper Postimees reported last week | TVP World, Poland

A new, potent street drug is causing severe withdrawal, and doctors are scrambling to respond

Dominic Cipriano couldn't stop shaking. A drug dealer on the streets of Kensington had sold him a bag of what he thought was fentanyl. And when he entered withdrawal, he started rocking from side to side, wracked by uncontrollable tremors. Cipriano was experiencing the effects of a powerful veterinary tranquilizer, called medetomidine, never approved for human use. It causes sedation so intense that users commonly black out, followed by a constellation of withdrawal symptoms that can be life-threatening | Medical Xpress, USA

Cannabis dispensaries lead to reduced opioid prescriptions: Studies among first to support plausible causation

Cannabis may be a pain-management substitute for people experiencing chronic or acute pain from conditions like cancer, according to new research from the University of Georgia | Medical Xpress, USA

Caffeine blocks adenosine, the same pathway used by fast-acting depression treatments

Perhaps the most intriguing implication of recent breakthrough research lies in an unexpected connection: the most rigorous mechanistic dissection of rapid antidepressant action identifies adenosine as the critical mediator, yet adenosine receptors are the primary target of caffeine, the world's most widely consumed psychoactive substance | Medical Xpress, USA

“In Waves and War” Highlights Veterans’ Suffering, Psychedelic Hope

Many United States veterans endure unrelieved suffering, long after they return home, from conditions related to their traumatic experiences. This manifests in tragic ways. But the psychedelic renaissance brings new hope to this situation—and of sparking wider reform, when veteran-focused legislation may help open the door to broader access. The film In Waves and War, released on Netflix on November 3, will increase public exposure to harrowing issues and potential solutions | Filter Magazine, USA

Predicting drug overdose and death after “before medically advised” hospital discharge

[Open access] “Before medically advised” (BMA) hospital discharge is associated with higher risks for subsequent death and drug overdose. We sought to develop prediction models to estimate the absolute risk of death from any cause and illicit drug overdose after BMA discharge for a given patient | CMAJ, Canada

NDARC Director wins Senior Scientist Award at APSAD 2025

Professor Michael Farrell, Director of the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC) at UNSW Sydney, has been awarded the Senior Scientist Award at the APSAD 2025 Conference for his outstanding long-term contribution to the field of substance use | UNSW, Australia

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