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Daily news - 14th November 2025

UK news

Crackdown on legal highs backfired amid rising violence in prisons

Outlawing drugs once known as ‘legal highs’ led to waves of violence, self-harm and suicide in prisons, according to a study released by the University of Sussex | University of Sussex, UK

Aberdeen to trial alcohol sales at Scottish Premiership match

Home supporters will be able to buy alcoholic drinks in the lower concourse of the Richard Donald Stand before kick-off in the game against Kilmarnock on 14 December. Fans will not be able to drink within sight of the pitch and sales will be stopped before the match gets under way. It is part of a pilot scheme to see how alcohol sales could be safely incorporated into the matchday experience | BBC, UK

Teachers’ experiences of delivering youth vaping prevention materials in schools in England and Scotland: A cross-sectional online survey

INTENT is an evidence-based smoking prevention programme for secondary school pupils in Great Britain (GB) that was recently expanded to include vaping information. Little research has evaluated GB-specific youth vaping prevention materials. This study assesses teachers’ experiences of delivering INTENT’s vaping prevention materials in England and Scotland | PLOS One, UK

Exploring women’s views toward no-lo alcohol products during pregnancy: a photo elicitation guided qualitative study

The UK has one of the highest rates of alcohol exposed pregnancies globally. ‘Non-alcoholic and low alcohol’ (NoLo) drinks may provide a viable means to support abstinence or harm reduction. We explore women’s views towards NoLo products including consumption barriers and enablers | DEPP, UK

Making health a right, not a privilege: Our 2025 annual report

2024/25 was a year of significant change – not just for society, but for us as an organisation. We’ve seen more people than ever before accessing our services: more than 200,000 individuals across England and Scotland. As the political and economic landscapes continue to shift, we’ve focused on responding to the challenges faced by the people who use our services. During difficult times, those at the margins of society often suffer most. Frequently ignored, sometimes scapegoated, they need our support now more than ever | Change Grow Live, UK

Family Drug and Alcohol Court Working Group

Will the Counsel General provide an update on the family drug and alcohol court working group? | They work for you, UK

Drug Dealing on Social Media

What discussions have been had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the effectiveness of the Online Safety Act 2023 in tackling drug dealing on social media | They work for you, UK

Electronic Cigarettes

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of using technology within vapes to verify the age of vape users | They work for you, UK

Electronic Cigarettes: Fertility and Pregnancy

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with NHS England on the level of risk of vaping on (a) fertility and (b) pregnancy | They work for you, UK

Unearthed Community Insight - Survey. Exploring views on drugs, alcohol, and support in Nottinghamshire

We want to better understand how people in your community view support for drug and alcohol use. Please complete our survey. Your answers are anonymous. We don’t collect personal details. The information you share will only be used to help us identify unmet needs and improve support services in our community | Stronger Roots, UK

How to write a winning research grant proposal

Nov 20 from 12pm to 1pm GMT. Online. Dr Sophie Orton will facilitate a discussion about writing research grant proposals. Dr Nathan Critchlow will talk about his experience of applying for different types of research grants, starting with grants for smaller budgets and building up to larger project grants. Dr Katherine Severi will introduce the Institute of Alcohol Studies Small Grants Scheme and provide tips for applicants and Professor Matt Hickman will talk about his experience of shortlisting for the National Institute for Health and Care Research project grants | SSA, UK

Police and crime commissioners to be abolished

Home secretary says PCCs, in England and Wales, were ‘failed experiment’ – and scrapping them will save £100m over this parliament | Guardian, UK#

Seven arrested as large amounts of drugs seized

Seven men have been arrested and "large quantities" of suspected Class A drugs seized as part of an operation in Bradford, police have said | BBC, UK

International news

Latest opioid settlement plan with OxyContin maker Purdue and Sackler family getting few objections

Lawyers representing OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, branches of the Sackler family that own it, cities, states, counties, Native American tribes, people with addiction and others across the U.S. are expected to deliver a nearly unanimous message for a bankruptcy court judge Friday: Approve a plan to settle thousands of opioid-related lawsuits against the company | Mail Online, UK

Nicki Killeen - Ketamine - audio

Laura chats to Nicki Killeen, Emerging Drug Trends Project Manager at the HSE about how Ketamine use as a recreational drug is an issue in Ireland! | RTe, Ireland

No alcohol, no ‘gin’, EU court says

Ruling says only spirits meeting the legal definition can carry the gin label | Euractiv, Belgium

Joint NGO Statement: Saudi Arabia Must Halt All Executions and Uphold Commitments on Child Defendants and Drug Offenders

The undersigned organizations are deeply concerned by an alarming escalation in executions in Saudi Arabia, in which authorities implemented in the past weeks the execution of Abdullah al-Derazi, who was a child at the time of his alleged crimes, and two Egyptian nationals, Mohamed Saad and Omar Sherif, who were sentenced to death for non-lethal drug offenses | HRW, USA

Current cannabis blood concentrations used to identify impaired drivers could land innocent people in jail

A new study demonstrates that many regular marijuana users exceed legal blood cannabis limits for U.S. drivers despite showing no evidence of impairment | Medical Xpress, USA

The Avoidable Health Burden and Healthcare Costs Related to Alcohol Consumption in Australia: Multistate Life Table Modelling

In this study, The Alcohol Policy model (TAP) was developed and used to assess the avoidable alcohol-related disease, injury and economic burden in Australia, i.e. the potential health benefits and cost savings that could be achieved if alcohol consumption was reduced at the population level | IJMHA, USA

Blogs, comment and opinion

Proposed changes to alcohol licensing should make us question whose interests we’re serving in the name of growth

Increasing the consumption of harmful products is the opposite of healthy or productive growth, say Nason Maani and colleagues | BMJ opinion, UK

[Open access] Alcohol per capita consumption (APC; total pure alcohol consumed per person 15 years or older per year) is the primary indicator used to track global progress in reducing harms associated with alcohol. However, in many low-income and middle-income countries, where most of the population abstain from alcohol and risk of alcohol-associated harm is concentrated in a heavy-drinking minority, APC can misrepresent both exposure and risk. This Viewpoint argues for the routine inclusion of drinker-adjusted metrics, specifically litres of alcohol consumed per drinker (alcohol per drinker), alongside the standard APC indicator | Lancet Viewpoint, UK

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