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Daily news - 2nd September 2025 |
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UK news
Scotland's drug deaths expected to remain worst in Europe
Figures to be published on Tuesday are expected to show that Scotland remains the drugs death capital of Europe for the seventh year in a row. In 2023, there were 1,172 drug misuse deaths in Scotland, bringing the total in a decade to 10,481, according to official figures. Although experts expect that number to have dropped slightly for 2024, they are warning that any fall will almost certainly be a blip | BBC, UK
Drug and Alcohol Treatment and Recovery Services Workforce Census
This is the third national census for drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services and commissioning. It is designed to provide insights into the workforce size, skill mix and diversity in terms of age, gender, and ethnicity. It covers local authority-commissioned adult and young people’s treatment and recovery providers in the voluntary, NHS, local authorities, and independent/private sectors, as well as the local authority commissioning workforce and lived experience recovery organisations (LEROs) in England | NHS England, UK
DDN September 2025
Imagine being homeless, dispossessed, and afraid to ask for help. Imagine coming out of prison without the first idea of how to find an income, let alone a career. Imagine having no clue that there would be help to get back on track from all-consuming addiction. We hope that the energy from our DDN Conference will come through the pages of this month’s issue | DDN, UK
International Overdose Awareness Day: WithYou’s street outreach takes life-saving help directly to North East Lincolnshire’s most vulnerable
On International Overdose Awareness Day (31 August), local charity WithYou is highlighting its innovative approach to reaching people in Grimsby struggling with drugs and alcohol: bringing support directly to food banks, homeless shelters, and the streets – anywhere vulnerable residents feel most comfortable | DDN, UK
Do drinking occasion characteristics differ across individuals using different moderation approaches? A social practice perspective
Limiting alcohol consumption is challenging as alcohol often serves as a ‘social lubricant’ in drinking practices. While individuals adopt different behavioral approaches to reduce drinking, it remains unclear how they align their drinking behaviors with moderation goals | Addiction Research & Theory, UK
Illegal sales of tobacco and vapes to under 18s in Scotland give cause for concern as Trading Standards find one in five retailers are willing to break the law
Ongoing work by Trading Standards Officers in Scotland testing sellers of tobacco and nicotine vaping products (vapes) has found that 1 in 7 premises visited sold cigarettes, and 1 in 5 sold vapes to an under 18 volunteer. These are significantly worse results than expected and may in large part be caused by the child appealing nature of vapes, and their wide availability in shops and service premises | CTSI, UK
Vape warning after fire leaves hospital patient with burns and ward room damaged
South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust (STSFT) is reminding all patients and visitors smoking is not allowed anywhere on site while vaping is not allowed in its buildings or outside its doorways. The Trust has shared images showing the aftermath of the fire as it issued its warning. It happened as a woman in her 50s was being treated in a side room at Sunderland Royal Hospital | NHS South Tyneside & Sunderland, UK
More than 40% of inmates on drugs at open prison
While leaders at HMP Kirkham near Preston were described by inspectors, external as having made a "concerted effort" to reduce the 25% rate recorded in September 2024 - the highest of any UK open prison - they said the problem had since "got worse" | BBC, UK
The Talk about Trust Charity welcomes its new CEO
The founder, staff and the trustees of The Talk About Trust Charity, that works nationally to equip children and young people age 8 – 25 with the knowledge, skills and resilience to make safer choices around drugs, alcohol and nicotine, are thrilled to announce the appointment of Steve Morton as CEO, who begins his role on the 1st September | Talk About Trust, UK
Pan-Bedfordshire Recovery Walk (PDF)
Saturday 20th September, Wardown Park, Luton. Join us in celebrating recovery, inclusion and hope at Bedfordshire's first Recovery Walk | Central Bedfordshire and Bedford Borough Local Authorities, UK
Shop fined £100k for selling vapes to children
A shop which sold vapes to schoolchildren has been ordered to pay more than £100,000 after a concerned parent contacted Trading Standards officers | BBC, UK
Nurse struck off after drugs suspension
Denish Devasia had admitted he "appropriated and self-administered" Oxycodone and Midazolam while working a nightshift at Addison Court, Gateshead, in 2022 | BBC, UK
International news
Vaping may be causing irreversible harm to children’s health, doctors say
Experts ‘extremely concerned’ about e-cigarette use and say millions of young people could face ill health in future | Guardian, UK
From Standards to Action: Ensuring Quality in Drug Treatment Services - webinar
Wednesday, 10th September 2025. 2:00 PM CET | 1:00 PM London. Quality Standards ensure that treatment for substance use disorders leads to measurable improvements, reducing symptoms, enhancing physical, mental, and social functioning, and minimising health and social harms. To develop a Quality Assurance toolkit, UNODC and WHO led global expert consultations (2016–2020) to review existing standards and tools. This resulted in three QA tools. This webinar will outline the development process and present an overview of the current standards | ISSUP, UK
Queensland showdown looms over pill-testing clinic’s plan to reopen with private funds
Deputy premier threatens to ban practice that was opened as publicly funded service by previous Labor government and then shut down by LNP | Guardian, UK
Cigarette prices to jump by almost 7% amid growing concern about Australia’s booming black market
Rise in tobacco excise kicks in Monday as experts warn ‘prohibition style’ approach is doomed to fail | Guardian, UK
International public health experts warn about high nicotine taxation
83 leading public health experts express significant concerns about the European Commission's review of the Tobacco Excise Directive (TED). They argue that taxing smoke-free alternatives in the same way as combustible cigarettes is a move that contradicts scientific evidence, undermines public health efforts, and protects the deadly cigarette trade | EU Reporter, Belgium
Drug Trends output: ADHD symptomology and associated drug use among a sample of people who regularly use illicit drugs in Australia
The Ecstasy and Related Drugs Reporting System (EDRS) and the Illicit Drugs Reporting System (IDRS) are national drug monitoring systems intended to identify emerging trends of local and national concern in illicit drug use and markets. These systems form part of the broader Drug Trends program. This bulletin aims to examine ADHD symptoms, self-medication with non-prescribed substances and associated factors among the two sentinel samples of people who regularly use illicit drugs in Australia | NDARC, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
LGBT+ health evidence review Institute of Alcohol Studies response – August 2025 (PDF)
We are submitting evidence to highlight the role of alcohol in driving health inequalities among LGBT+ communities, particularly within the theme of wellbeing and prevention | IAS, UK
Yaba’s grip: how cheap methamphetamine is fuelling Thailand’s addiction crisis
Yaba, a cheap and potent methamphetamine-caffeine pill often dubbed “crazy medicine”, has become one of Thailand’s most pressing public health crises. Easy to produce and widely available, yaba is used by everyone from factory workers seeking stamina to partygoers chasing a high | Conversation, UK
Are Girls the New Potheads?
For the first time, more girls than boys are smoking and vaping marijuana | Psychology Today, USA