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Daily news - 9th September 2025 |
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UK news
Food industry lobbying is leading Labour to drop public health plans, experts say
Inaction on ill-health prevention after pressure from junk food and alcohol firms ‘could cause NHS collapse’ | Guardian, UK
UK Medical Cannabis Registry: A clinical outcomes analysis for insomnia
Insomnia affects approximately 10% of adults globally. Current treatments have their limitations, and there is growing evidence on the therapeutic potential of cannabis-based medicinal products for insomnia. This study aimed to assess changes in sleep-specific and general patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) in individuals prescribed cannabis-based medicinal products for insomnia and to assess the incidence of adverse events | PLOS Mental Health, UK
Nonmedical and medical ketamine use with Owen Bowden-Jones and Arun Sahai - podcast
In this episode, Dr Elle Wadsworth speaks to Professor Owen Bowden-Jones from Central North-West London NHS Foundation and Mr Arun Sahai from Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospitals NHS Trust, both in the UK. The interview covers an editorial they wrote with Professor Paul Dargan on responses to non-medical and medical ketamine use, including concerns about the increasing harms from illicit ketamine and excitement about the potential therapeutic value of ketamine | SSA, UK
Lichfield charity supporting people with addiction opens new location
Better Way Recovery has agreed a five-year lease on The White House on Church Street in Tamworth. The organisation’s founder Peter Griffith said the new location would be “a gamechanger” for people struggling with substance issues | Lichfield Live, UK
Middlesbrough sports bar leads way in fight to save lives from drug overdose
The Longlands Club will now have Naloxone on the premises to treat opioid overdose | Teesside Live, UK
The one change that worked: I sobered up – and started to listen to what my body was telling me
After years of partying, I realised the exhaustion and anxiety weren’t worth it, and turned my back on Friday night Fomo. I still enjoy the dancefloor, but I always know when to leave | Guardian, UK
Hampshire: Take Drugs Seriously
Fri, 3 Oct 2025 16:30 - 18:30 BST. Drugs can be dangerous: but does banning them cause more harm than good? | J Slater, UK
Vape ban isn't working, says waste firm boss
The ban on disposable vapes is failing to stop millions being thrown away incorrectly, and the devices are still causing chaos for the waste industry, a boss at a leading firm has said | BBC, UK
Shops warned about price of selling illegal vapes
Shopkeepers selling illegal vapes are risking people's health and could be jailed, North Yorkshire trading standards officers have warned. It came after a Ripon retailer admitted selling vapes containing more than 2ml of nicotine-containing liquid and selling vapes without the required labelling | BBC, UK
Pensioner who smuggled cocaine in his mobility scooter jailed
A pensioner who tried to smuggle cocaine worth more than £600,000 into the UK hidden in his mobility scooter has been jailed for six years | NCA, UK
Drug-driving arrests after police stop tractors
Hampshire Constabulary said it received concerned calls about how the tractors were being driven on Stag Lane in Newport on the Isle of Wight shortly before 10:00 BST on Sunday | BBC, UK
International news
Understanding Tobacco Harm Reduction
Free course. By the end of this course, you will be able to understand the global landscape of tobacco smoking, define tobacco harm reduction principles, identify safer nicotine products and their regulatory needs, evaluate critiques and challenges, and dispel common myths about tobacco harm reduction | THR Academy, UK
A mixed-method exploratory assessment of provider-based stigma of opioid use disorder (OUD) and support for medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) in carceral settings
In 2019, the state of Maryland passed legislation requiring local detention centers to offer medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) to all incarcerated individuals who met criteria for opioid use disorder (OUD). Four years later, many facilities remain out of compliance. Beyond issues of staffing, funding, and technical support, stigma may represent a barrier to MOUD implementation | Harm Reduction Journal, UK
Vaping is hooking a new generation of Irish people on nicotine, Lancet study suggests
A major study has provided fresh evidence that e-cigarettes are hooking a new generation of Irish people on nicotine, rather than helping people quit smoking. The research, published in The Lancet Regional Health Europe medical journal, found the number of people who vape or both vape and smoke has increased substantially | Journal, Ireland
German study finds legal cannabis harms far outweigh the benefits
The projected health damage from cannabis legalisation in Germany is estimated to be almost 20 times greater than any health benefits, according to new research. The study says policymakers need to strike “a careful balance” in regulation, which could include potency control, taxation to discourage overuse, and public health campaigns | Irish Examiner, Ireland
EU risks promoting alcohol via 'misleading' label, says Belgian Health Ministry
Belgium is opposing an EU proposal to label wine with up to 6% alcohol as “low-alcohol” over concerns it is misleading and harms public health, according to the Belgian Ministry of Health | Brussels Times, Belgium
Nicotine pouches may offer path to reduced tobacco harm
As lawmakers and public health experts debate the safety of nicotine pouches, researchers from Rutgers Health found that for now, most adults that use these products also have a history of tobacco use and may be choosing these products as a possible step toward reducing or quitting more dangerous forms of nicotine delivery | Medical Xpress, USA
Are patients undergoing surgery for early-stage cancer at risk of persistent opioid use?
New research from the US indicates that many patients who undergo surgery with the intent to cure early-stage cancer continue or start opioid prescriptions in the year following surgery. The findings are published by Wiley online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society | ecancer, USA
HHS Won’t Release Study On Alcohol And Its Harms, Signaling It Isn’t A MAHA Priority
Despite mounting evidence that connect drinking to multiple diseases and high levels of morbidity and mortality, the federal government won’t publicly release a final version of a major study on alcohol and its health harms, according to STAT News. The draft report, entitled Alcohol Intake and Health Study, found that even moderate drinking (one or two drinks a day) could increase the risk of injuries, liver disease and cancer | STAT News, USA
Exclusive: US FDA to fast-track nicotine pouch reviews amid White House pressure
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration plans to fast-track reviews of four tobacco firms' nicotine pouches in a pilot program launching on Monday, amid pressure from the Trump administration to speed up approvals, according to meeting transcripts seen by Reuters | Reuters, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
A prevention revolution – or another missed opportunity?
The evidence is stark and consistent: more people are living with long-term illness, working-age health is declining, improvements in life expectancy are stalling, and the health gap between the richest and poorest communities remains stubbornly wide. Just one example, 8.2 million working-age people report a long-term health condition that limits their ability to work, while poor workforce health is estimated to cost UK employers up to £150 billion a year through lost productivity, sickness absence and recruitment costs | Kings Fund blog, UK
Breaking the Silence: Phil’s Journey Through Stigma
It’s a nice sunny day and I have joined a call to speak with Phil, he is a peer mentor for Phoenix Futures in Essex. He joins the call with a beaming smile, and I ask him if he wants to tell me a bit about himself. Phil shares that he was born in Wales and raised in South Africa, Phil moved to the UK in 2020, just before the pandemic. He had been sober for five years, familiar with recovery fellowships and the challenges of living without alcohol. But during lockdown, after cycling with a friend, Phil found himself reaching for a beer on a hot summer’s day... | AntiStigma Network, UK