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Daily news - 25th March 2026

UK news

The smoking ban has shown that meaningful change is possible

Smoking rates in Scotland have halved, and thousands of lives have been saved since smokefree legislation came into force twenty years ago. As the anniversary approaches, Public Health Scotland (PHS) is highlighting the profound impact of the ban — a public health success story that continues to shape the nation’s wellbeing. A new report, published by PHS, shows the positive impact this decisive measure has had on non-smokers too | Public Health Scotland, UK

Scotland losing up to £6bn a year to drug harm, think tank finds

Ahead of the Scottish elections, economic modelling shows the stark cost of drug addiction to Scotland, with the wider social and economic costs estimated as up to £5.7 billion annually | Social Market Foundation, UK

Alcohol minimum pricing 'no longer deliverable' before next election

Legislation to introduce minimum unit pricing for alcohol in Northern Ireland is "no longer deliverable" before the next assembly election, Stormont's health minister has said | BBC, UK

UK’s largest vape awareness campaign returns at pivotal moment for smokers and vapers

The UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) is preparing to launch the ninth annual VApril campaign next month – the world’s largest vape awareness initiative | Grocery Trader, UK

Children: Drugs

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking with schools to help reduce the number of minors being treated for drug use, including in Medway | They work for you, UK

Alcoholic Drinks: Labelling

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential public health impact of mandatory health warning labels on alcoholic beverages, including warnings on cancer risk | They work for you, UK

Alcoholic Drinks and Smoking: Children

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support he is giving to local authorities in Staffordshire to take enforcement action against the sale of a) tobacco b) fruit flavoured vapes and c) alcohol to under 18s | They work for you, UK

Competition Document: Countering Illegal Use of UAS Around Prisons and Sensitive Sites

This competition is seeking proposals that offer innovative, low-collateral solutions to counter or defeat hostile drones targeting secure sites and locations. Drones, or “uncrewed aerial systems” (UAS), pose a growing challenge when used for contraband delivery | HMIP et al, UK

Neurodiversity Week 2026: Creating space for different ways of thinking

At The Forward Trust, we recognise that no two people experience life in the same way. Creating environments where both our staff and the people we support feel understood, valued and able to thrive is central to what we do | Forward Trust, UK

First steps on cannabis legalisation to face vote [Guernsey]

Guernsey could take its first steps towards the legalisation of cannabis this week. A proposal led by Home Affairs Committee President Marc Leadbeater is due to be debated later, to create a working group to look at the legalisation of the class B drug | BBC, UK

Police object to rage room alcohol licence bid

Bosses at Rage It Out in Consett asked Durham County Council to grant a licence to sell alcohol to customers at the Queen Street venue, but said no alcohol would be permitted within the rage rooms or axe-throwing areas | BBC, UK

Cocaine haul worth £80m dubbed a 'fantastic seizure'

The National Crime Agency (NCA) said officers discovered about a tonne of the Class A drug in a container at London Gateway port near Thurrock, Essex, on Friday | BBC, UK

'Prolific' main runner for drug kingpin jailed

A "prolific" Manx drug runner involved in importing more than £100,000 of cocaine and dropping packages outside Isle of Man Prison has been jailed for more than 15 years | BBC, UK

International news

[Open access] In 2020, the U.S. state of Oregon passed Measure 110 (M110), which aimed to address substance use disorder as a public health issue and reduce disparities in the criminal legal system by decriminalizing personal drug possession and increasing services. The impact of partial drug decriminalization on individuals under community supervision—whose release conditions often prohibit drug use and who M110 excluded—is understudied | DADR, USA

Slow-Release Oral Morphine vs Methadone for Opioid Use Disorder in the Fentanyl Era

In this comparative effectiveness study that included 4059 person-trials in British Columbia, Canada, the rate of opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment discontinuation at 12 months was slightly higher for people prescribed slow-release oral morphine (SROM) vs methadone (99% vs 98%). The mortality risk was similar, and only 2 deaths occurred when people were receiving treatment | JAMA Network Open, USA

Blogs, comment and opinion

Medical students and recovery communities – learning from each other

Medical students in the UK are taught little about addictions, and even less about recovery. The idea of involving experts by experience of addiction and recovery in medical education at this scale is novel, and the sparse research that does exist is predominantly from the United States | IAS blog, UK

Red tape and black markets

Vaping has been in the news for all the wrong reasons recently. Glasgow’s Union Street train station went up in flames and had to be demolished after a nearby vape shop caught fire. A Channel 4 investigation found that children in Dudley are being groomed by the owners of vape shops and mini-marts who allegedly offer them free e-cigarettes for “sexual favours”. And, according to The Sun, young people in Kent are being hospitalised with meningitis after sharing vapes | The Critic, UK

Decision not to implement MUP is ‘disappointing failure to act on a public health crisis’, say health leaders

Northern Ireland’s Health Minister Mike Nesbitt has announced that it has not been possible to get executive agreement on the implementation of Minimum Unit Pricing in Northern Ireland, and therefore cannot bring forward the legislation during this mandate | AHA blog, UK

Medicinal cannabis has gone mainstream. But Australia’s struggling to cope

What began in 2016 as a tightly controlled pathway for patients with complex conditions that had not responded to other treatments has grown into a large, mainstream prescribing market. Today, medicinal cannabis is increasingly delivered through telehealth and online platforms | Conversation, Australia

The price of meth has been plunging in NZ. Are Mexican cartels driving the drop?

Methamphetamine has become dramatically cheaper over the past seven years, even as authorities report record seizures, according to the latest New Zealand Drug Trends Survey. The annual online survey of over 8,800 people who use drugs shows wholesale prices of the illegal and harmful substance (per gram sold to dealers) have fallen by 41%, while street-level “point” prices (0.1 gram retail deals) have dropped by 27% | Conversation, New Zealand

And finally...

Squirrel filmed ‘vaping’ in London park after 'mistaking fruity smells for food'

The RSPCA has warned that animals may ingest nicotine and plastics after being attracted to discarded sweet-smelling e-cigarettes | Standard, UK

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