Reports: April |
Official Statistics: Liver disease profile, April 2024 update
New mortality data for the calendar year 2022 and hospital admission data for the financial year ending 2023 has been added to the liver disease profile, trend data has also been made available. In the past 20 years, the number of premature deaths from alcoholic liver disease has increased by 61.3% in England | OHID, UK
Exploring experiences of accessing support for alcohol issues and suicidal ideation (PDF)
This report has been created as we know the need to improve access to services is currently a priority issue. Around 4 out of 5 people experiencing alcohol dependence are not in treatment, and around two thirds of people who die by suicide are not in touch with mental health services a year before they die. So we wanted to identify in more detail what the barriers are stopping people from accessing mental health and alcohol services, how they appear to those experiencing them, when they are experienced, and how they can be overcome | With You, UK
Notice: Addiction Mission
The health and wider societal costs to society in England of illegal drug use is approximately £20 billion per year, with the harms from alcohol use estimated to cost another £25 billion. Since 2012 the number of drug-related deaths has increased by 80%, and there are now approximately 4500 UK deaths annually due to drug misuse. In addition there are over 9600 annual UK deaths from alcohol. The Addiction Mission, announced as part of the UK’s Drug Strategy: From Harm to Hope, and delivered as one of the Office for Life Sciences Healthcare Missions, is aiming to help reduce this cost by enhancing the UK-wide research environment and incentivising the development of innovative and effective new treatments, technologies and approaches to support recovery, and reduce harm and deaths | DHSC, DSIT, Office for Life Sciences, UK
Research and analysis: ACMD advice on 2-benzyl benzimidazole and piperidine benzimidazolone opioids
Updated: A fourth addendum has been added, recommending the proposed generic definition be further updated to capture the suspected newly identified compound methylenedioxynitazene and any structurally related compounds to it that may appear in future | ACMD, UK
Official Statistics: Liver disease profile, April 2024 update
New mortality data for the calendar year 2022 and hospital admission data for the financial year ending 2023 has been added to the liver disease profile, trend data has also been made available. The England rate of premature deaths from alcoholic liver disease in 2022 was 11.6 per 100,000 population aged under 75 (5,776 deaths) | OHID, UK
The Alcohol (Minimum Pricing)(Scotland) Act 2012 (Continuation) Order 2024 (PDF)
The legislation that introduced minimum unit pricing for alcohol contained a 'sunset clause'. This means the policy will expire on 30 April 2024 unless the Scottish Parliament votes for it to continue. This briefing examines the background to the policy, key areas of debate, the findings of the evaluation and the response of stakeholders | Scottish Parliament, UK
Alcohol: availability, affordability, related harm, and policy in Ireland. HRB overview series 13
The latest alcohol overview from the Health Research Board (HRB) reveals that despite a decline in pubs, Ireland still ranks 3rd highest in the world for the number of pubs per head, and three-in-four people live within walking distance of a premises licenced to sell alcohol. It also highlights that the decline in the number of pubs is matched by an increase in off licenses | HRB, Ireland
Drug-related hospital statistics: Scotland 2022 to 2023
This release by Public Health Scotland (PHS) presents information on hospital activity relating to illicit drug use in Scotland during the period 1996/97 to 2022/23. The topics covered include: the number of hospital stays, the number and characteristics of patients, substances used and geographical variations. These data are published in a full report and dashboard | PHS, UK
Trends in cannabis availability, use, and treatment in Australia, 2013–14 to 2021–22
Cannabis is the most widely used illegal drug in Australia, with 2.5 million people in 2022–2023 having used it in the previous 12 months. Between 2013–14 and 2021–22, 221,000 clients received treatment for their cannabis use from publicly-funded drug treatment agencies. This report draws together data from multiple sources to describe trends in cannabis availability, use and treatment in Australia, including the characteristics of people who use or receive treatment for cannabis | AIHW, Australia
Alcohol, e-cigarettes, cannabis: concerning trends in adolescent substance use, shows new WHO/Europe report
Across Europe, central Asia and Canada, a concerning picture of adolescent substance use emerges from a new WHO/Europe report. With over half of 15-year-olds surveyed having experimented with alcohol and a shocking 1 in 5 having recently used e-cigarettes, the risks to young people are clear. The new data from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study also highlights a narrowing gender gap in substance use, emphasizing the need for targeted prevention strategies. The long-term consequences of these trends are significant, and policy-makers cannot afford to ignore these alarming findings | WHO, Denmark
Vaping amongst Children and Young People in Wales Incident Response Group (PDF)
In July 2023, Public Health Wales convened an Incident Response Group (IRG) to investigate the rise of vaping amongst children and young people. The IRG drew on health protection approaches to managing outbreaks of communicable disease to drive a rapid response to an issue perceived as urgent amongst key stakeholder groups in Wales | Public Health Wales, UK
Alcohol-specific deaths in the UK: registered in 2022
Deaths caused by diseases known to be a direct consequence of alcohol, by age, sex, and region. In 2022, there were 10,048 deaths (16.6 per 100,000 people) from alcohol-specific causes registered in the UK, the highest number on record | ONS, UK
National naloxone programme Scotland - Quarterly monitoring bulletin
This release by Public Health Scotland (PHS) presents information on the number of take-home naloxone kits issued by the National Naloxone Programme (NNP) in Scotland. Figures are presented separately for kits issued from community outlets, kits issued in prisons at the point of liberation, kits dispensed via community prescription, and kits issued by Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) | PHS, UK
New EMCDDA resource on drug consumption rooms: a local response to local problems and needs
The EMCDDA has released today a new miniguide on drug consumption rooms (DCR) as part of its Health and social responses to drug problems: a European guide. The resource is the first miniguide in a bundle of reports dedicated to drug-related interventions. It provides an overview of key issues related to these facilities, including service delivery, guidance and existing evidence and latest developments in Europe. It also considers implications for policy and practice | EMCDDA, Portugal
Rapid Action Drug Alerts and Response (RADAR) quarterly report
Drug-related harms remained high in Scotland. For harm indicators: suspected drug deaths: 11% increase / naloxone administration incidents: 14% decrease / emergency department attendances: 12% decrease / drug-related hospital admissions: 24% decrease. For service indicators: drug treatment referrals: 10% decrease / injecting equipment provision: transactions - stable, number of needles and syringes - 6% decrease. Patterns of polysubstance use remain the key driver of harms. The combinations most associated involve benzodiazepines (most commonly diazepam and bromazolam), cocaine and opioids. Cocaine played an increasing role in harms | Public Health Scotland, UK
England’s Widening Health Gap: Local Places Falling Behind
The new report provides information from 17 local authorities with statistically significant increases in inequalities in life expectancy and overviews widening regional inequalities in life expectancy. The report shows, since 2010, central government spending cuts to local authorities were highest in areas with lower life expectancy and more health inequalities, further harming health in these places | Institute of Health Equity, UK
Hepatitis C Impact Report 2023 (PDF)
Throughout the past year services have continued to go from strength to strength and supported more people than ever before in accessing testing and treatment for hepatitis C | Change Grow Live, UK