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Daily news - 19th February 2026 |
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UK news
‘Game-changer’ jab for opioid dependency treatment linked to lower NHS demand, report suggests
A ‘game-changer’ jab to treat opioid dependence could ease pressure on healthcare services, outperforming other standard treatments, a new report involving University of Hertfordshire academics suggests. But the injection, known as Buvidal, should be offered as part of a wider, person-centred treatment system, integrated with psychological support and meaningful social activities rather than positioned as a standalone solution, authors of the report recommend | University of Hertfordshire, UK
Ketamine addiction making teenagers wet the bed, says UK’s first specialist clinic
Medics in Liverpool say intervention is needed to save children from ‘a miserable life’ of bladder problems | Guardian, UK
Policing and drug market-related violence: competitive, internal and enforcement-related violence in UK County Lines
[Open access] Major study interviewing officers across the UK and observing policing, documents the violence and threats which can be part of organised drug dealing, and sometimes also entailed in its policing | IJDP, UK
Time running out to introduce alcohol minimum pricing, says minister
The health minister has said time is "quite rapidly" running out for the executive to introduce alcohol minimum pricing in Northern Ireland | BBC, UK
Why are people still smoking outside hospitals?
Go to any hospital and you are likely to witness a challenge that health bosses are struggling to tackle - people smoking in the grounds | BBC, UK
'I started smoking at 12 and quit 66 years later'
Graham Smith-Thompson is proof that you can beat an addiction to tobacco. Now aged 79, he smoked for 66 years until the end of 2025 | BBC, UK
Calls for Alcohol Limits after Mid-Air Brawl - video
Calls for a limit on alcohol for air passengers is reignited after shocking footage of a mid-air brawl appears online | BBC, UK
How to ensure your product doesn’t appeal to kids
An audit by regulatory body The Portman Group found that 94% of products complied with “responsible” alcohol marketing guidelines in 2025. However, most breaches related to designs having “particular appeal to under-18s”. Here’s how to make sure your alcoholic drink does not look tempting to children | The Drinks Business, UK
Alcoholic Drinks: Public Health
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to manage conflicts of interest associated with alcohol industry involvement in public health policy | They work for you, UK
Over a million cigarettes seized in police raids
Nearly 1.5 million cigarettes have been seized in in raids by Medway Council's Trading Standards and Public Protection Officers | BBC, UK
'Officers acted appropriately over man's drug death'
Police officers acted appropriately when dealing with events that led to the death of a man who had been detained, it has been ruled | BBC, UK
Seven sentenced for large-scale cannabis production
Seven men have been sentenced for their involvement in large-scale cannabis production after officers found more than 1,000 plants and £1.5m of cocaine | BBC, UK
International news
CND 69: Key issues and opportunities
Wednesday, 25 February 2026 / 14:00 - 15:00 (London) Online. The tenth edition of the IDPC webinar on the regular session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) focuses on its 69th Session, which will take place in Vienna from 9-13 March 2026. The webinar will shed light the key issues that are likely to structure the debates, discuss tabled resolutions and opportunities for engagement, and showcase the experience of IDPC network members in navigating and leveraging this forum for political advocacy | IDPC, UK
Time for a Tobacco Free Future Call for government action to end tobacco harm in Ireland (PDF)
Close to 100 deaths each week in Ireland are linked to smoking, according to a new report from the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, which identifies tobacco as the country’s leading preventable cause of death. The findings indicate that more than 4,500 people die annually in Ireland due to tobacco-related illness, representing almost one in six deaths, alongside almost 1,000 hospitalisations per week. The report also highlights that around 10 individuals each day receive a cancer diagnosis associated with smoking | Royal College of Physicians, Ireland
Most pregnant women in Ireland avoid alcohol, UCD research shows
Alcohol consumption during early pregnancy in Ireland is significantly lower than previously reported, according to new research | University College Dublin, Ireland
Prisoners surrendered hundreds of opioid tablets after fatal overdose
The Irish Prison Service issued an urgent drug alert to all prisons on July 18th, 2024, over nitazene tablets after the overdose of a 21-year-old at Mountjoy | Breaking News, Ireland
Trinity College Dublin to become vape-free campus
Trinity is a tobacco-free campus and this policy now extends to vaping, with Trinity becoming a tobacco and e-cigarettes free campus from 18th March 2026 onwards | Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Who Am I to Tell You Not to Use Drugs? | Huset Bergen – A Peer-Led Harm Reduction House in Norway
In Bergen, on Norway’s rainy western coast, Huset Bergen — a three-storey harm reduction centre — is run entirely by people with lived and living experience of drug use. Drugreporter joined Arild Knutsen from the Association for Humane Drug Policy to explore this bold model and found something striking: not resistance, but broad community support — from neighbours to bankers and politicians | Drug Reporter, Hungary
Screening and Counseling for Unhealthy Alcohol Use in Primary Care Practices
The GP’s surgery is the main candidate location for asking patients about their drinking and offering advice as needed, but rates of screening and intervention are often disappointing. In North Carolina a study substantially turned that around through a wide-ranging programme of support and training for practice staff | JAMA Network Open, USA
Spiritual practices strongly associated with reduced risk for hazardous alcohol and drug use
Individuals who engaged in spirituality were significantly less likely to exhibit hazardous use of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and illicit drugs, according to a new meta-analysis led by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health | Harvard, USA
Families, peers biggest predictors of early substance use in children with pain, mental health symptoms
Children with co-occurring persistent pain and mental health symptoms face higher risk for early substance use, but the strongest predictors of whether a child starts using alcohol, tobacco or cannabis by age 14 are family environment and peer influence, finds a University of Michigan study | Medical Xpress, USA
Understanding substance use across the full spectrum of sexual identity
A study led by researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine reveals higher rates of substance use among all non-heterosexual groups in the U.S., including people who are uncertain of or who use different terms to describe their sexual identity | Medical Xpress, USA
Blogs comment and opinion
Alcohol use disorder and IQ: Does social context matter?
Why do some people develop alcohol use disorder (AUD) while others do not? The answer is rarely a simple one. Alcohol problems are shaped by factors including family history, trauma, culture, social norms, and access to care, with AUD affecting an estimated 400 million people worldwide (World Health Organization, 2025). It is a chronic, relapsing disorder and carries more stigma than most other mental health conditions (Kilian C. et al, 2021) | Mental Elf blog, UK