Home | Archive | Weekly | Reports
Daily news - 5th February 2026 |
 |
UK news
The costs of tackling drug harms in prisons
In April 2025, approximately 40,000 people in prisons in England and Wales (50%) had an identified drug problem. Misuse of illicit drugs by people in prison creates or exacerbates risks to their health, well-being and personal safety. This report focuses on how the prison and health services are using public funds to tackle drug harms in prisons | NAO, UK
Government response: review of the evidence on the use and harms of carisoprodol
Letter from Sarah Jones MP, Minister of State for Policing and Crime, to the ACMD outlining their response to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs review of the evidence on the use and harms of carisoprodol | ACMD, UK
Press release: Three in four cancer patients to survive long term under new plan
Patients will receive faster diagnosis, quicker treatment, and the support to live well with cancer under the government’s landmark new National Cancer Plan | DHSC, NHS England, UK
Prisons: Drugs
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the prevalence of (a) drug use and (b) synthetic drug use among the prison population in England and Wales | They work for you, UK
New research shows that spending less on tobacco, gambling and sweets is good for the UK economy
A new study from the Sheffield Addictions Research Group (SARG) has found that public health policies which reduce spending on harmful products can actually provide a significant boost to UK jobs and the wider economy | SARG, UK
Near universal adherence to high standards of alcohol marketing in proactive audit
Following the launch last year of its first proactive, independent audit of alcohol marketing, the Portman Group – the UK industry marketing regulator and responsibility body – is pleased to announce near universal compliance with its Code of Practice on Naming and Packaging | Portman Group, UK
Tobacco company levy could fund pharmacy stop smoking services
The Government should help people stop smoking through a ‘polluter pays’ levy on tobacco companies, says a policy paper funded by AstraZeneca. The levy could raise an estimated £700 million in its first year, it is claimed, “enough to fund tobacco control and smoking cessation programmes with money to spare”. It could support a national walk-in ‘stop smoking’ service in pharmacies, the paper suggests | Pharmacy Magazine, UK
Drug-smuggling prison officer jailed
A Lancashire prison officer smuggled spice, cannabis resin, buprenorphine and ketamine into a jail by hiding the drugs in tins of food, a court has heard | BBC, UK
Over a million illegal cigarettes seized in raids
A total of nine properties were raided across the county, including four residential properties in Fartown, Huddersfield, on 2 February, with about 1.3 million illegal cigarettes and thousands of pounds in cash found, according to a force spokesperson | BBC, UK
International news
143. Psychedelics for Palliative care with Prof Robert Schoevers - podcast
Join us in this episode as we talk to Robert Schoevers, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Groningen and one of the pioneers of psychedelic-assisted therapy. He explains why human complexity led him to psychiatry, by discussing how his early psychedelic research into esketamine aimed to meet the unmet needs of treatment-resistant patients | Drug Science, UK
'Notorious Tanzanian drug trafficker' arrested during raid in Zambia
A "notorious" Tanzanian drug-trafficking kingpin has been arrested in Zambia during a raid, the Zambian Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) has announced | BBC, UK
Four in ten cancer cases could be prevented globally
Up to four in ten cancer cases worldwide could be prevented, according to a new global analysis from the World Health Organization (WHO) and its International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). The study examines 30 preventable causes, including tobacco, alcohol, high body mass index, physical inactivity, air pollution, ultraviolet radiation – and for the first time – nine cancer-causing infections | WHO, Switzerland
Secretary Kennedy Announces $100 Million Investment in Great American Recovery
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. announced a comprehensive plan to strengthen prevention, expand treatment, and carry out the executive order President Trump signed last week to ignite the Great American Recovery The centerpiece of this plan is a $100 million investment to solve long-standing homelessness issues, fight opioid addiction, and improve public safety by expanding treatment that emphasizes recovery and self-sufficiency | HHS, USA
Family dinners may reduce substance-use risk for many adolescents
A new study by researchers at Tufts University School of Medicine finds that regular family dinners may help prevent substance use for a majority of U.S. adolescents, but suggests that the strategy is not effective for youth who have experienced significant childhood adversity | Medical Xpress, USA
Methadone treatment for opioid use is rising, but better access is needed to reach more in need
Methadone treatment for opioid use among individuals insured by Medicaid-insure increased substantially after 2010, according to a new Penn Medicine analysis. But researchers say that as few as a quarter of people with opioid use disorder receive medication treatment, the study highlights a need for expanded access | Medical Xpress, USA
Lancet flags long-scrutinized report of infant poisoned by opioids in breast milk
The Lancet has put an expression of concern on a 2006 case report of a baby’s death purportedly from morphine poisoning through breast milk. The decision comes just days after the New Yorker published a year-long investigation into the death and the controversies that have surrounded it | Retraction Watch, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
WithYou responds to NAO report on costs of tackling drug harms in prisons
Karen Ratcliff, national criminal justice lead for WithYou, said: “This report lays bare the scale of drug harm in our prisons and the devastating cost of failing to address it properly. 50% of prisoners are experiencing drug problems, drug-related deaths continue at an alarming rate, and real-terms cuts to drug treatment continue to undermine every effort to prevent this tragedy. We cannot address prison drug harm through security alone. Restricting supply must go hand-in-hand with high-quality, trauma-informed drug treatment and recovery support..." | WithYou, UK
Collective Voice welcomes the National Audit Office report on tackling drug harms in prisons
Our Chief Executive, Will Haydock, released the following response: Collective Voice supports the latest in a series of repeated calls to improve approaches to address harm from drugs in prisons | Collective Voice blog, UK
Minimum pricing for alcohol to remain in place in Wales
On 3 February, Members of Senedd Cymru – the Welsh Parliament – voted to keep the minimum price for alcohol that was introduced in 2020, and to increase it from 50p to 65p per unit | Alcohol Change UK, UK
APCC Joint Lead on Addictions and Substance Misuse expresses disappointment at failure to reclassify ketamine as Class A
Commissioner Sidwick said: “This decision fails to reflect the clear and escalating harm ketamine is causing in our communities, particularly among young people, and it risks perpetuating the dangerous misconception that this is a low-risk substance... | APCC, UK