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Daily news - 19th October 2026 |
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UK news
Councillor who lost mum to alcoholism calls for more sober nightlife
A councillor who lost her mother to alcoholism has said Liverpool needs to embrace more sober nightlife - and championed a plan by the city to do more to tackle binge drinking culture | BBC, UK
Why people who have never smoked are getting hooked on vapes
When vaping first took off at Gracey Mungulu's school, she was vocal about the fact she found it as repulsive as smoking."I literally used to tell people like, 'Er, why are you doing that?'" she says. But Gracey says the habit became so common among her classmates that by the age of 16 she too had taken it up, even though the first time left her coughing rather than inhaling | BBC, UK
Woman 'saving £13k a year' after stopping smoking
New data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) shows the number of smokers in south-west England has dropped to the lowest ever recorded level | BBC, UK
Dangerous habit: The criminal networks flooding the UK with fake cigarettes - audio
File on 4 Investigates reveals the global criminal networks flooding the UK with fake cigarettes. We trace the supply chain smuggling the counterfeits across borders and lay bare the human cost as vulnerable people are moved across continents and made to work and live in clandestine factories here in the UK | BBC Sounds, UK
Smoke-free UK - debated on Thursday 15 October 2026
Yesterday MPs debated progress towards a smokefree UK in a Westminster Hall debate. The debate was put forward by APPG on Smoking and Health Co-Chairs Bob Blackman MP and Mary Kelly Foy MP. Many MPs spoke powerfully about their own lived experience on the harms of smoking | UK Parliament, UK
The Forward Trust to continue delivering drug and alcohol support across Medway
Forward has been successful in retaining our all-age drug and alcohol service in Medway, Essex for the next three years – and potentially up to seven | Forward Trust, UK
'TV and cheap booze' blamed for landlord quitting
Former pub landlord Patrick Hughes is blunt when explaining why he has called time on his tenure behind the bar. "I thought there was a gap in the market but there was no market for the gap", he said | BBC, UK
Grass Couirts: The Gentlemen-style drug manors taking over UK’s countryside as monsters turn castles & mansions into cannabis factories
With its glamourous stately homes, acres of rolling fields and ancient woodland the backdrop of the fictional world of The Gentlemen is the quintessential countryside ideal. And while Guy Ritchie’s world of drug lords, murder and betrayal may be just another Netflix drama, experts have revealed how real-life UK criminal enterprises are actually using rural mansions and castles to house professional cannabis factories | The Sun, UK
Huge rise in Brits caught drug smuggling as people recruited with free holidays and spending money
The National Crime Agency warned that organised crime groups are using social media to recruit people with offers of free holidays and spending money | Independent, UK
Man caught with £2.6m of cocaine among Santa gift bags
A man was caught with £2.6m of cocaine stashed among Santa gift bags after police raided a flat in Glasgow just days before Christmas | BBC, UK
Heroin dealing 75-year-old has £80,000 worth of assets confiscated
Arthur Hughes, of Maes Bleddyn, Rachub, Gwynedd, was given a 38-month prison sentence in June for possession of heroin with intent to supply and possession of criminal property | BBC, UK
International news
Germany approves cigarettes and alcohol tax hike in bid to raise millions
German lawmakers have approved a significant tobacco tax increase that will see the cost of a pack of cigarettes rise to over €11 by the end of the decade, generating more than €12 billion for the state between 2027 and 2030 | Independent, UK
A wave of homemade, synthetic drugs sweeps US and deepens crisis
The few grains of fentanyl sit in the silver foil as a straw, held between Mike's lips, hovers above, with a cigarette lighter below. The 48-year-old army veteran is crouched low in an alleyway in Columbus, Ohio's Linden neighbourhood. "This drug will damn near make you do anything, unfortunately," he says | BBC, UK
Deadly new opioid stronger than fentanyl kills in Los Angeles — and standard drug tests can’t detect it
The drug, known as cychlorphine, can stop a person from breathing even in extremely small quantities and may be lurking undetected in illegal drugs, authorities warned Thursday | Independent, UK
Should I drink water or wine? Impacts of online nutritional counseling on the alcohol consumption of elderly individuals with mild cognitive impairment
[Open access] In Germany, online nutritional counselling incorporating advice on alcohol was followed (causality could not be proven) by reductions in drinking 12 months after the study started. Informing the elderly participants about the alcohol and calorie content of specific drinks did not significantly augment the reductions | BMC Public Health, UK
The next ayahuasca? Gabon fights to protect sacred plant from US drug companies
Iboga root, central to several Gabonese ritual traditions, is believed to have huge potential for use in treating addiction and some mental illnesses | Guardian, UK
Gardaí seize €3m worth of illegal vapes and cannabis products in five counties
Gardaí have seized illegal vapes and cannabis-based products with an estimated street value of more than €3m in a targeted operation across five counties | Irish Examiner, Ireland
Beyond Detoxification: The Critical Role of Occupational Therapy in Addiction Clinics
[Open access] At an inpatient detoxification centre in Turkey, occupational therapy services (offering activities such as music, painting, and sport) became unavailable for five months. During that time, retention fell from 16 to 13 days and after other variables had been taken into account, failure to complete treatment was nearly twice as common | DAR, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
Is it true that a million people who have never smoked now vape?
Recent headlines have highlighted new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggesting that more than a million people who have never smoked are now vaping. It's an alarming statistic, but does it really mean what it appears to? | ASH blog, UK
A Smokefree UK Is Within Our Reach – But We All Must Get There
As Co-Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Smoking and Health, I have spent years campaigning for a smokefree UK. From the campaign for standardised cigarette packaging to the passage of the Tobacco and Vapes Act earlier this year, we have made enormous progress, but we still face a challenge to end smoking in the UK | Parliament News, UK
Two Acts, One Outcome: Did cannabis legalization shift safety on our roads?
Did legalising cannabis in Canada lead to the feared increase in cannabis-induced traffic crashes and deaths? The Canadian Traffic Injury Research Foundation could not definitively find such an effect. In particular, the anticipated upsurge of harm caused by cannabis-using young drivers failed to materialise | TIRF blog, Canada
Request
Did you know or work with the pioneering criminologist and researcher Miss Joy Winifred Mott (Joy Mott)?
I am currently researching a biography exploring her life and extensive impact on British criminology and drug policy. Whether you knew her in South Africa, during her decades at the UK Home Office, or socially as a friend, I would value your insights.
Having worked alongside Joy at the Home Office and collaborated with her after her retirement, I want to capture her full story. I am looking to connect with anyone who crossed paths with her across these eras:
• South Africa (Jan 1933 – June 1957): Her early life in Mowbray (Cape Town), childhood in Winkelspruit, time at Warner Beach Government School, or her Psychology Masters degree at the University of Natal in Pietermaritzburg.
• Early UK Clinical Research (1957–1961): Her London research assistant roles studying sleep patterns, or her work as a clinical psychologist at a neurological hospital.
• The Home Office Career (1962–1994): Civil servants, criminologists, or medical professionals who worked with her in the Research Unit on juvenile offending or drug misuse epidemiology.
• Retirement & Later Collaborations (1994 onwards): Colleagues and friends who interacted with her during her active retirement, including those who knew her while she was editing the landmark book on the history of British opiate policy written by H.B. ("Bing") Spear.
• Social & Personal Circle: Friends, neighbours, or relatives of late colleagues who can share stories of her vibrant personality outside of work.
If you have anecdotes, personal memories, professional insights, or photographs to share, please send me a direct message here on LinkedIn. I have a tailored list of brief questions ready to share depending on how you knew her.
Even if you didn't know Joy personally, please share this post to help it reach her old network!