Reports: March |
Deaths from Excessive Alcohol Use — United States, 2016–2021
The average annual number of deaths from excessive alcohol use, including partially and fully alcohol-attributable conditions, increased approximately 29% from 137,927 during 2016–2017 to 178,307 during 2020–2021, and age-standardized death rates increased from approximately 38 to 48 per 100,000 population. During this time, deaths from excessive drinking among males increased approximately 27%, from 94,362 per year to 119,606, and among females increased approximately 35%, from 43,565 per year to 58,701 | CDC, USA
Trapped in treatment. Applying a public sector equality and human rights duty approach to the human rights and equality issues identified by service users of drug treatment services in the North-East Inner City (NEIC)
In 2022 ICON successfully secured funding from the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) to carry out a project entitled ‘Applying a Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty Approach to the Human Rights and Equality Issues identified by Service Users of Drug Treatment Services in the North East Inner City (NEIC). The project aimed to apply a public sector equality and human rights approach to issues identified by service users of drug treatment projects in the NEIC... | CAN, SURIA, ICON, Ireland
Smoking profile: March 2024 update
An overview of the extent of smoking, smoking-related harm and the measures being taken to reduce this harm at a local level in England | OHID, UK
Scottish Public Health Observatory update: Estimated quarterly numbers of people prescribed opioid substitution therapy in Scotland (12-month period)
In the 12-month period ending 30 September 2023 (the end of 2023/24 Q2), Opioid Substitution Therapy (OST) was prescribed to an estimated minimum of 30,190 people in Scotland. In the 12-month period to the end of the previous financial year quarter (2023/24 Q1) an estimated minimum of 30,133 people were prescribed OST | Public Health Scotland, UK
E-cigarette use and access among two samples in Australia who regularly use illicit drugs, 2023
The Ecstasy and Related Drugs Reporting System (EDRS) and the Illicit Drug Reporting System (IDRS) are national drug monitoring systems intended to identify emerging trends of local and national concern in illicit drug markets, and form part of Drug Trends. The aim of this bulletin is to examine recent use of, and access to, prescribed and non-prescribed e-cigarettes among the 2023 EDRS and IDRS samples | NDARC, Australia
New report shows significant increase in cocaine use
A new report that pulls together New Zealand’s latest drug use data shows a significant increase in cocaine use over the past year, while MDMA and methamphetamine use has decreased slightly | NZDF, New Zealand
MEAM support: "A massive how-to guide with emotional support attached"
We recently commissioned Cordis Bright to evaluate the support we provided to the MEAM Approach network during 2022-2024. The Cordis Bright team, including a team of peer researchers, interviewed ten MEAM Approach areas and held a focus group with MEAM staff. Today, we are pleased to share the findings from this research, which we will be using to shape our support offer for future years | MEAM, UK
Australia’s drug use goes under the microscope in new wastewater report
The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) has released the latest findings from its National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program, revealing that during the year ended August 2023, methylamphetamine, cocaine and 3,4-methylenedioxymethylamphetamine (MDMA) consumption increased tangibly | ACIC, Australia
Drug Checking Symposium 2023 Report: October 5–7, 2023
Provides a comprehensive review of the Drug Checking Symposium 2023, emphasizing the importance of drug checking in promoting safety and awareness in the unregulated drug supply. Offers a comprehensive overview of collaborative strategies, advocacy and technical advancements. Serves as a crucial resource for professionals seeking to enhance their understanding and support mechanisms in drug checking, thereby playing a pivotal role in guiding and improving access to safer substance use practices | CCSA, Canada
Suspected drug deaths in Scotland: October to December 2023
This quarterly report presents Police Scotland management information to provide an indication of current trends in suspected drug deaths in Scotland. There were 1,197 suspected drug deaths, 10% (105) more than during 2022 | Scottish Government, UK
Evaluation of NHS early implementer sites: Tobacco dependency community-based services for people with severe mental illness
People with severe mental illness are more likely to smoke tobacco than people who do not have a mental health problem, which contributes to a shorter lifespan. To address this, the NHS Long Term Plan specified tobacco dependency services for people with mental health problems, including both inpatient and community services for each integrated care system. Inpatient services are being rolled out nationwide, while as a first step towards availability of community services across England, seven early implementer sites have been set up in each region | RCPsych, UK
The death penalty for drug offences:global overview 2023
Harm Reduction International has monitored the use of the death penalty for drug offences worldwide since our first ground-breaking publication on this issue in 2007. This report, our 13th on the subject, continues our work of providing regular updates on legislative, policy and practical developments related to the use of capital punishment for drug offences, a practice which is a clear violation of international human rights and drug control standards | HRI, UK
Estimated Prevalence of Opioid Dependence in Scotland 2014/15 to 2019/20 (PDF)
This report describes the findings from a public health surveillance collaboration between Public Health Scotland, the University of Bristol, and Glasgow Caledonian University. The report describes estimates of the number of people with opioid dependence who are at risk of drug-related harm (such as overdose poisoning and other causes of premature mortality, hepatitis C (HCV) and HIV), with the potential to benefit from opioid agonist therapy (OAT ), whether they are/were in receipt of OAT or not. Estimates of prevalence are also provided | Public Health Scotland, UK
Alcohol related hospital statistics: Scotland financial year 2022 to 2023
This release by Public Health Scotland (PHS) provides information on alcohol-related inpatient and day case activity within general acute and psychiatric hospitals in Scotland. This release covers general acute hospital activity for the financial years 1981/82 to 2022/23 and psychiatric hospital admissions from 1997/98 to 2022/23. Please note that for this March 2024 release the 2022/23 rates analysis figures are based on 2021 mid-year population estimates | Public Health Scotland, UK
Drugs in municipal wastewater in Europe: source data
Analysing communal wastewaters for drugs and their metabolic products in order to estimate their consumption in the community is a developing field, involving scientists working in different research areas, including analytical chemistry, physiology and biochemistry, sewage engineering, spatial epidemiology and statistics, and conventional drug epidemiology. This data is collected by scientitistand experts in a Europe-wide network (Sewage analysis CORe group — Europe (SCORE)). Data from a range of cities is available and has been collected since 2011 | EMCDDA, Portugal
Drug Overdose Deaths in the United States, 2002–2022
The age-adjusted rate of drug overdose deaths increased from 8.2 deaths per 100,000 standard population in 2002 to 32.6 in 2022; however, the rate did not significantly change between 2021 and 2022 | CDC, USA
New drug checking data from the Trans-European Drug Information (TEDI) network
Data from drug checking services across Europe provide us with valuable insights into drug market dynamics and can help warn users of dangerous substances in circulation. Analysing such data is part of the EMCDDA's multi-indicator approach to drug monitoring and provides crucial information for local interventions. [Yesterday], the EMCDDA released the latest drug-checking data from the Trans-European Drug Information network | EMCDDA, Portugal
National drug and alcohol treatment waiting times - 1 October 2023 to 31 December 2023
This release by Public Health Scotland reports on waiting times for people accessing specialist drug and alcohol treatment services between 1 October and 31 December 2023. 10,534 referrals were made to community-based specialist drug and alcohol treatment services: 5,239 (49.7%) were for problematic use of alcohol, 3,885 (36.9%) for problematic use of drugs, and 1,410 (13.4%) for co-dependency | Public Health Scotland, UK
Alcohol Consumption and Harms Dashboard
This dashboard release combines alcohol consumption and harms information from a variety of sources including NHS hospital admissions data, National Records of Scotland mortality data and Scottish Government survey data. General hospital admissions resulting from conditions wholly attributable to alcohol peaked in 2007/08 (855 per 100,000 population) but have fallen most years since and reduced by 37.5% between 2007/08 and 2022/23 (532 per 100,000) | Public Health Scotland, UK
NHS stop smoking services quarterly
This release presents information on NHS Stop Smoking Services in Scotland and their progress towards their annual Local Delivery Plan (LDP) Standard. The LDP Standard for NHS Scotland in 2023/24 is to achieve at least 7,026 self-reported successful twelve-week quits through smoking cessation services in the 40% most deprived areas | Public Health Scotland, UK
Research and analysis: Uncontrolled novel benzodiazepines: 2024 update
This self-commissioned review follows an ACMD report published in 2020, which recommended 3 benzodiazepines for control under Class C of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and Schedule 1 of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001. Since then, the ACMD monitoring group has become aware of the detection and non-medical use of a further group of novel benzodiazepines in the UK and Europe. Evidence was therefore sought from stakeholders concerning 18 different compounds detected in international markets to establish their prevalence in the UK. Prompted by concerns of the abuse potential of these substances, the ACMD have conducted a review to assess the available evidence on prevalence and harms of these compounds, to identify those that warrant further legislative control | ACMD, UK
Official Statistics: Drug and alcohol treatment for victims and suspects of homicide
A Better Outcomes through Linked Data (BOLD) report looking at the use of substance misuse treatment services by victims and suspects of homicide in England. The findings will contribute to the evidence base for homicide prevention policy and will help us to better understand the relationship between homicide and substance misuse treatment | OHID and Home Office, UK