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Daily news - 22nd October 2025 |
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UK news
Drug-checking pilot
The University of Dundee has agreed to host Scotland’s first national testing and research laboratory for drug-checking, boosting efforts to cut drug-related harm and save lives | Scottish Government, UK
Alcohol-free and low-alcohol drinks in the UK: Trends, barriers, and opportunities
Alcohol-free and low-alcohol drinks are becoming an increasingly visible part of the UK’s drinking landscape. With their growth now recognised in the NHS 10-Year Plan as a component of harm reduction, understanding who uses these products, and why, is vital. This report examines how alcohol-free (0.0–0.05%) and low-alcohol (up to 1.2%) drinks are used for moderation across different groups of drinkers, exploring trends in uptake, motivations and barriers, and what this reveals about shifting drinking cultures in the UK | Drinkaware, UK
ACMD review of the evidence on the use and harms of etomidate
The report presents a review of etomidate and structurally related compounds and subsequent recommendations regarding their classification and scheduling | ACMD, UK
Amendment to ACMD report – Use and harms of xylazine, medetomidine and detomidine: 21 October 2025
A summary of a further review by the ACMD's xylazine, medetomidine and detomidine working group on the potential for increased use and harms of medetomidine and detomidine, together with the ACMD’s recommendations in light of these findings | ACMD, UK
Sixth addendum to ACMD report on the use and harms of 2-benzyl benzimidazole (‘nitazene’) and piperidine benzimidazolone (‘brorphine-like’) opioids, 21 October 2025
The ACMD has continued to monitor and assess detections of newly identified nitazenes that fall outside the scope of current generic control. On 8 November 2024, the ACMD published its fifth addendum to the advice on 2-benzyl benzimidazole (nitazene) and piperidine benzimidazolone (‘brorphine-like’) opioids. Since then, the ACMD has been alerted to the detection of new 2-benzyl benzimidazole compounds: Ethylene etonitazene and Ethylene isotonitazepyne (N-pyrrolidino ethylene isotonitazene) | ACMD, UK
NHS Stop Smoking Services Scotland
In 2024/25 the number of attempts to stop smoking made with the help of NHS smoking cessation services increased to 31,095, a 2.6% increase from 2023/24 (30,317). While there was an increase in 2024/25, the overall trend for Scotland shows a reduction in the number of quit attempts since 2015/16 of 52% from 64,721 | Public Health Scotland, UK
Alcoholism: Parents
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has assessed the potential merits of reintroducing the Children of Alcohol Dependent Parents Programme | They work for you, UK
Smoking: Health Services
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2025 to Question 64433 on Smoking: Health Services, if he will take steps to use (a) A&E, (b) lung screening and (c) other new NHS services to automatically enrol smokers into cessation services | They work for you, UK
Offenders: Rehabilitation
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the funding required for community drug and alcohol treatment providers to support the additional cohort of offenders serving sentences in the community under the provisions of the Sentencing Bill | They work for you, UK
The Manifesto Sessions - Young People at the heart of service design and delivery
Thu, 06 Nov. Our 6th webinar within our Manifesto Sessions webinar series will focus on young people. As part of our ‘Setting the blueprint for a more equal and prosperous Wales for people who use substances’, we want young people with lived and living experience of substance use to be at the heart of the design and delivery of young person’s services | Barod, UK
Forward’s East Kent service launches new workshop series for women in recovery
The Forward Trust is proud to announce a new workshop series designed exclusively for women engaged in community drug and alcohol services | Forward Trust, UK
Nacro responds to HMIP report of critical safety concerns at HMP Leeds
Helen Dyson, Interim Chief Executive of Nacro, said: “The findings from HMP Leeds are deeply troubling: cramped and overcrowded conditions, inadequate care for those at risk of self-harm, high levels of drug use, including people developing substance misuse problems after entering prison, and a lack of learning opportunities..." | NACRO, UK
Cannabis factory worth £1.7m found in Surrey
More than a thousand plants, as well as living accommodation, were found inside the building in Randalls Way, Leatherhead, on Monday after people reported "a strong smell" | BBC, UK
Drug courier transported cocaine in gas bottles
A courier who transported cocaine hidden in gas bottles and hundreds of thousand of pounds of cash has been jailed for nine years and seven months | BBC, UK
International news
British grandmother on death row to return to UK
A British grandmother who has spent more than a decade on death row in Indonesia after being convicted of drug smuggling can return to the UK, the Indonesian government has said | BBC, UK
The hidden victims of the opioid crisis: the ones who lived
After overdoses left them with brain injuries and lasting complications, Americans are struggling to get proper care. Experts call it another epidemic | Guardian, UK [See also A day in the life of caring for an overdose survivor | Guardian, UK]
CIA playing ‘most important part’ in US strikes in the Caribbean, sources say
Exclusive: Sources say the agency is providing real-time intelligence collected by satellites and signal intercepts | Guardian, UK
Cocaine abuse drives record numbers to seek addiction support in Dublin
‘Growing complexity of need in housing and family support,’ Coolmine treatment service says | Irish Independent, Ireland
ESPAD Report 2024
This report presents the results of the eighth data-collection wave, which took place in 2024, and marks an impressive 30 years of data collection by this long-standing collaboration. More than 113 000 15- to 16-year-old students from 37 countries, including 25 EU Member States, took part. Since 1995, over 800 000 students have contributed, making ESPAD the most extensive harmonised data collection on substance use and risk behaviours in Europe, and the largest cross- national research project on adolescent substance use worldwide | ESPAD, Italy
European school survey project on alcohol and other drugs (ESPAD): 30 years
Teenage drinking, smoking and cannabis use continue to decline but new behavioural and health risks are on the rise. The report flags growing concerns over increasing e-cigarette use, the non-medical use of pharmaceutical drugs and a sharp rise in social media use, online gaming and gambling among teenagers. These trends are most striking among girls, where long-standing gender gaps in substance use appear to be narrowing, or even reversing | EUDA, Portugal
Behavioural Effects and Naloxone Effectiveness With New Synthetic Opioids
The global drug market has seen an emergence of potent synthetic opioids, including benzimidazole-derived substances known as nitazenes. These compounds have been implicated in fatal and non-fatal overdoses. This review aims to synthesise current evidence on the pharmacological effects, potency and naloxone responsiveness of new synthetic opioids, with a focus on synthetic opioids evaluated for international control since 2020. It highlights key findings that can inform our understanding of these substances and inform harm reduction strategies | DAR, USA
A science-based product regulation: the time has come to reduce toxic emissions to reduce harm
Tobacco control has focused on reducing use, with little emphasis on regulating product toxicity. Articles 9 and 10 of the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) offer a mechanism to reduce harm by limiting toxic emissions, but implementation has stalled. A science-based regulatory framework is needed to set emission thresholds for toxicants | Frontiers in Public Health, USA
Smoking both cannabis and tobacco may alter brain's 'bliss molecule,' study finds
People who use both cannabis and tobacco show distinct brain changes compared to those who use cannabis alone, according to a new study led by McGill University researchers at the Douglas Research Center | Medical Xpress, USA
Nicotine pouches popular among college students, especially in fraternities
Many college students are experimenting with nicotine pouches, which could lead to an increase in young people dependent on the highly addictive chemical, new research suggests | Medical Xpress, USA
Stopping long-term opioid treatment unlikely to increase suicide risk: study
People on long-term opioid treatment can be reassured that stopping these medicines is not likely to increase their risk of suicide or fatal overdose, thanks to a major new study from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC) at UNSW Sydney | NDARC, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
Drug Science response to ACMD call for evidence on cannabis-based products for medicinal use
Drug Science has responded to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drug’s (ACMD’s) call for evidence related to cannabis-based products for medicinal use (CBPMs). We hope that our evidence will inform future policy decisions, develop rational debate, and support further research into these compounds | Drug Science, UK
Drug deaths rise again in 2024
In 2023, 10,473 people died across the UK from alcohol-specific causes. The highest on record. The biggest drug–related issue many drug treatment services face, is alcohol. On the 17th October 2025, it was announced that an additional 5,565 people lost their lives across the two nations as a result of drug poisoning in 2024, excluding alcohol. The highest on record for a staggering 12th year running. Too many people are losing their lives to substance use. Too many families and loved ones are once again experiencing preventable and untold grief | Barod, UK
Beth's story: “Alcohol had become my emotional crutch”
For Beth, navigating social anxiety and ADHD through drinking quickly became a habit that stuck for many years. Read her story on how finding a supportive community and sober spaces has helped her reclaim her life | Alcohol Change UK, UK
From Molly to Ketamine: The Evolution of Coachella
Katie Bain's new book Desert Dreams chronicles the festival's history | Ben Westhoff, USA
The urgent need for more residential rehab programmes
The Sentencing Act gives the court the ability to delay sentencing for any offence to allow completion of a rehabilitation programme. From my own experience as a criminal defence lawyer, the court will normally grant this (pending a few other considerations) if provided with written confirmation of a place (bed) in a rehab and a clear connection between substance abuse and the offending | The Spinoff, New Zealand