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Daily news - 9th February 2026

UK news

UK's growing synthetic opioid problem: Nitazene deaths could be underestimated by a third

King’s College London research, published today in Clinical Toxicology, sheds light on the UK’s growing synthetic opioid problem. The presence of nitazenes on the unregulated drug market has risen steeply in the last seven years – prompting UK and international bodies to issue public health warnings about their use | KCL, UK

Synthetic opioids may have caused hundreds more UK deaths than thought

Study find nitazenes, which are up to 500 times stronger than heroin, can degrade significantly in portmortem blood samples | Guardian, UK

Gambling impacts people’s quality of life as severely as chronic medical conditions, alcohol and illegal drugs

The research found that experiencing gambling harm can result in a 16% reduction in a person’s ability to carry out everyday tasks (referred to in the study as their capability wellbeing), and a 14% reduction in their quality of life (referred to as their health utility). The percentages are comparable to those experiencing the highest levels of harm driven by cocaine and alcohol use, as well as those with health conditions including depression and opiate dependence | University of Plymouth, UK

Seven ways pharmacy can improve outcomes for those impacted by substance use

Practical examples of and advice on how pharmacists can improve the care of individuals impacted by substance use | Pharmaceutical Journal UK

ACMD review of the evidence on the use and harms of etomidate

Update. Report updated with corrected chemical structures (methoxycarbonyl-etomidate and 2,6-diCl-3F-etomidate) | ACMD, UK

Drugs: Addictions and Misuse

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of support available for families of individuals with substance misuse and addiction | They work for you, UK

Lung cancer screening tests nearly 80,000 people

Almost 80,000 people have been tested for lung cancer as part of a public health scheme. The South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw Lung Cancer Screening (LCS) scheme targets 55 to 74 year olds who either smoke or used to smoke | BBC, UK

How can illegal cig sales be stubbed out? Trends in tobacco & vaping 2026

[Free registration may be required] Counterfeit cigarettes undercut legitimate products and smoking alternatives. So, how are government and industry responding? | The Grocer, UK

Annual Review, Accounts and Impact Report Year Ending 31st March 2025 (PDF)

Last year, we supported over 35,000 people—our highest reach yet—spanning over 70 projects nationwide, delivering Substance Misuse & Mental Health, Criminal Justice, Employment and Recovery & Belonging services | Forward Trust, UK

Councillor shares recovery story as more Portsmouth children enter drug treatment

A Portsmouth councillor has shared his recovery story after new figures showed a rise in under-18s seeking help for drug and alcohol use | Portsmouth News, UK

Medical cannabis helping 'miracle' girl, mum says

The mother of a six-year-old girl who takes medical cannabis to control her epileptic seizures has met a government minister to push for it to be available on the NHS | BBC, UK

'I use ketamine at my London clinic to help my patients with depression and PTSD - it’s completely legal’

A therapist is offering £3,000 ketamine-based treatments to support patients suffering from conditions including depression and trauma - completely legally | My London, UK

How London's men got caught in a blizzard of cocaine

Work, the pub, alone at home — Londoners from all walks of life are using the class-A drug more than ever. Jordan Page investigates the capital’s cocaine epidemic and why men are at the centre of it | Standard, UK

Parents warned as sales of £8.50 caffeine pouches, in vape-style flavours, soar in the UK - and children can buy them

Sales of caffeine pouches have doubled in the UK in the last year, one brand has reported, as Brits are replacing coffees with the more instant pick-me-ups | Mail Online, UK

Alcohol – the biology of addiction and its effect on the liver

Friday, 20 February 2026, 13.00 - 14.00 GMT. Alcohol addiction affects millions globally, including around 600,000 people in the UK, but there are currently few effective treatments and many people who stop drinking will restart. This has a huge cost to the individuals, the NHS and wider society. In this seminar, two experts will talk about their research into the neurobiology of addiction and alcohol’s effect on the liver | Imperial College London, UK

How Lotto winner hid £280m drug lab in his cottage

Pensioner John Spiby drove around in a battered white van and seemed to enjoy his retirement with the odd bit of gardening | BBC, UK

Drug dealers jailed for 'underworld' operation

Three drug dealers operating in the criminal "underworld" have been jailed for their role in supplying heroin and crack cocaine | BBC, UK

Drug dealer jailed for £2.1m cocaine plot

A man has been jailed for eight years and two months after admitting dealing cocaine and cannabis worth more than £2m across North East Lincolnshire | BBC, UK

International news

Integration Without Erasure: Brief to the Global Fund

The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has declared that in the impending Grant Cycle 8 it will accelerate the integration of HIV, TB and malaria (HTM) efforts into primary health care and broader health systems. This document sets out recommendations to the Global Fund Board and Secretariat that are aimed at minimising the risks of integration being done badly and maximising the potential for benefit | INPUD, UK

Can Belgium really give up alcohol for a month?

Nearly 1.5 million Belgians are attempting to give up alcohol in February, according to the organisers of Tournée Minérale, Belgium's "Dry February" campaign | Brussels Times, Belgium

Benefits and barriers: a rapid-ethnographic study on the perspectives of potential and actual clients of Athens’ drug consumption room

[Open access] What’s the attraction of a safer injecting centre to its regular users and why do others keep injecting ‘on the street’? Immersion in the work of a centre and discussions with both groups yield important answers probably applicable to such centres in general, including in the UK | Harm Reduction Journal, USA

Study finds daily opioid use fell 9 to 11 points after recreational cannabis legalization

Legalizing cannabis for both medical and recreational use may lead to a decline in daily opioid use among people who inject drugs in the United States, according to a new study led by a Boston University School of Public Health researcher | Medical Xpress, USA

[Open access] The US continues to experience a large amount of drug-related harm, including overdose mortality and harms associated with lack of access to drug use equipment. These harms include the spread of bloodborne disease as well as endocarditis, osteomyelitis, and other skin and soft tissue infections. Laws that prohibit or restrict access to drug use equipment may increase these harms. This manuscript provides a legal review of laws that criminalize or otherwise restrict the distribution and possession of equipment for both injecting and inhaling drugs | IJDP, USA

FDA Faces Cannabinoid-Lists Deadline Ahead of Hemp Clampdown

In about nine months, federal hemp laws are scheduled to significantly change in a way that industry stakeholders say would effectively upend the market by re-criminalizing most consumable cannabinoid products. But in the interim, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is facing a deadline to help inform future hemp policy | Filter Magazine, USA

Blogs, comment and opinion

Drug Science Responds to the ACMD’s Review of Ketamine Use and Harms

In January 2025, the then Minister for Policing, Fire and Crime Prevention commissioned the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) to provide an updated assessment of ketamine-related harms, consider its appropriate legal classification, and advise on how best to reduce harms associated with ketamine use. In their newly-published guidance, ACMD advised that ketamine should remain a class B controlled substance. At Drug Science, we welcome this conclusion | Drug Science, UK

We need new drugs for mental ill-health

The government must prioritise research into new drugs, rather than relying on interventions first made available 60 years ago, writes Marjorie Wallace of Sane | Guardian letters, UK

The WHO Is Attempting to Sabotage Life-Saving Products

The World Health Organization (WHO) claims to be the ultimate guardian of global health. They view themselves as evidence-driven, impartial, and singularly focused on saving lives. Yet amongst recommendations in the WHO’s recently published European Code Against Cancer, 5th edition (ECAC5), is a line that exposes an ideological refusal to consider scientific consensus. The organization is actively promoting policies that are likely to increase disease and death rather than reduce them | Daily Pouch, USA

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