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Daily news - 9th April 2026

UK news

The Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership (EHSCP) is exploring a proposal to open a safer drug consumption facility (SDCF) in Edinburgh’s Old Town. The consultation will help us to understand whether people think we should develop a plan for an SDCF. We would particularly like to hear from people who would be most affected by the facility. This includes people who take drugs and their families, and people who live and work around the possible locations | City of Edinburgh Council, UK

[Open access] This paper explores the long-term use of prescribed sleeping medications from the perspective of older adults in the UK. While sociological studies often highlight older adults’ ambivalence or reluctance toward pharmaceutical sleep aids, citing concerns about unnaturalness, dependence, and moral unease prescribing data suggests a more complex reality | IJDP, UK

Smoking: Health Services

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether Lords Amendment 22 to the Tobacco and Vapes Bill permits an enforcement body to invest in smoking cessation services in connection with their purposes | They work for you, UK

Illegal single-use vape traders face £200 fines

Traders caught selling illegal single-use vapes in York could be fined up to £200 under new plans. The proposals by City of York Council could also see businesses found to be selling more than 20 illegal vapes formally cautioned or prosecuted | BBC, UK

Teen arrested after vape leaves boy 'unwell'

Councillor James Clayton, for Weston-super-Mare south, commended the "prompt intervention" of a community response officer who helped the child while they waited for the ambulance to arrive. "The young boy had been given a vape device believed to be laced with harmful substances and rapidly became unwell," he said | BBC, UK

Cannabis farm discovered in stately home which once hosted the King

North Wales Police said it executed a Misuse of Drugs Act warrant at the Grade I listed manor house, near Caernarfon, Gwynedd, on Tuesday | BBC, UK

International news

IWSR: Younger drinkers offer pockets of resilience amid global alcohol volume decline for 2025

Preliminary figures from the IWSR show that global alcohol consumption declined in 2025 as economic and geopolitical pressures continued to bite. At the same time however, emerging markets, RTDs and younger wine drinkers provided glimmers of hope for the future of alcohol worldwide | Drinks Retailing, UK

‘Ketamine Queen’ sentenced to 15-year prison term for role in Matthew Perry’s death

Jasveen Sangha had pleaded guilty last year to selling the Friends actor a fatal dose of the drug | Guardian, UK

New drug ‘10 times more potent than fentanyl’ and linked to dozens of deaths in Tennessee is spreading across US

The drug belongs to an emergent subclass of synthetic opioids known as ‘orphines’ which first appeared on the recreational drug market in 2020 | Independent, UK

Co-founder of Jalisco New Generation drug cartel pleads guilty

The co-founder of the Mexico-based Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), Érick Valencia Salazar, has pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced | BBC, UK

“Don’t Let Anyone Know”: OST Stigma in Armenia’s Post-Soviet Healthcare System

As an addiction medicine specialist in Armenia, I often meet patients that, lowering their voices, tell me: “Doctor, please don’t let anyone know I am on methadone.”| Talking Drugs, UK

Blogs, comment and opinion

New Eyes on an Old Problem: Alcohol Marketing, Industry Influence and Scotland’s Strategic Plan

SHAAP Policy & Communications Officer, Lisa Davie, reflects on her first two months in the role, what she’s learned about alcohol marketing and industry influence, and what Scotland’s new Alcohol & Drugs Strategic Plan means for the road ahead | SHAAP blog, UK

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