Weekly news - 27th November 2020 |
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Reminder: All COVID-19 PPE now available free of charge via portal
Drug and alcohol services are reminded that they can now use the Government's PPE portal to obtain all the COVID-19 personal protective equipment (PPE) they need, free of charge. The contact details of services registered with NDTMS or CQC have been provided to the PPE portal, and service managers informed by their regional NDTMS team. However, not all services have registered on the portal – PHE encourages services to register on the portal to start benefiting from the offer of free PPE. Note: only email addresses provided to the portal by NDTMS/CQC are valid for registration. Contact your regional NDTMS team if you have not yet received an invitation email or if you need to register. Access the portal.
In date order, Monday to Friday
An assessment of the harms of gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), gamma-butyrolactone (GBL), and closely related compounds
This report provides an updated harms assessment of gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) and related substances | ACMD, UK
Majority of Australian voters in favour of pill testing, election data shows
Long-running study finds 63% of voters support drug minimisation strategy shunned by governments | Guardian, UK
University of Bristol hands free drug testing kits to students
The initiative by the University of Bristol students' union and Bristol Drugs Project will enable students to discover exactly what they are taking | BBC, UK
Minimum alcohol price demanded to save thousands
More than 5,000 lives could be saved over the next decade if ministers impose both minimum unit pricing for alcohol and steeper taxes on drink, experts have claimed | The Times [Free one month trial available]
Investigation: Student drug culture in the age of COVID-19
Freshers has been anything but a normal for those starting university this year. When Libby*, a first-year student rolled up to her halls, she didn’t expect to be locked in with people she hardly knew. What a sizeable proportion of the new cohort did expect, however, was to experiment with drugs | Volteface, UK
Our 2020 Lament - A new blog by Phoenix Chief Exec Karen Biggs
Ahead of the Government's 2020 Spending Review Phoenix Chief Exec Karen Biggs calls for action on funding | Phoenix Futures blog, UK
Alcohol deaths
There were 1,020 alcohol-specific deaths registered in Scotland in 2019, 10% fewer
than in 2018 and the lowest annual total since 2013 (1,002).
2019 represents the first substantial decrease in recent years, after a period of general
increase since 2012. It also represents 28% fewer deaths than the peak of 1,417
registered in 2006 | National Records of Scotland, UK
Veterans’ substance use has devastating impact on family members
The families of veterans with substance use problems struggle with high levels of isolation and loneliness and experience extreme distress and despair, a new report has revealed | University of York, UK
Glasgow outreach service shows the feasibility of PrEP for people who inject drugs
A proactive, outreach-based service for people who inject drugs has successfully delivered the HIV prevention medication PrEP in the midst of Glasgow’s HIV outbreak, Dr Ceilidh Grimshaw of Sandyford told the virtual British HIV Association conference this week | Nam aidsmap, UK
Homeless Outreach & COVID-19: National Stakeholder Webinar
Tuesday 15 December 2020, 10-11.30 am. PHE are hosting a webinar to share insights into new homeless outreach service delivery models, including the impact on health inequalities, and to signpost participants to resources to undertake local rapid evaluations of initiatives during the ongoing pandemic. This webinar will be useful for anyone who works with people experiencing homelessness or rough sleeping, including drug service workers, nurses and managers; commissioners of services for people experiencing homelessness and rough sleeping, including for people who use drugs; homeless health and liaison teams; and public health professionals | PHE, UK
Vancouver Just Voted to Decriminalize All Drugs
Vancouver is the first Canadian city to vote to decriminalize drugs, but still needs federal approval. Here's what happens next | VICE, Canada
A missed opportunity to truly level up our treatment and recovery services
Drug misuse impacts on almost all domains of human life – and cost England £18.7bn in 2017/18. Our drug related deaths figures reveal an appalling picture of human loss and suffering – and cost over £6bn per year. Alcohol harm costs England a staggering £21.5bn per year | Collective Voice, UK
Adult substance misuse treatment statistics 2019 to 2020: report
There were 270,705 adults in contact with drug and alcohol services between April 2019 and March 2020. This is similar to the previous year (268,251). The number of adults entering treatment in 2019 to 2020 was 132,124, which is also very similar to the previous year’s figure (132,210 in 2018 to 2019). The numbers of people entering treatment for the first time now seem to have stabilised after falling steadily since 2013 to 2014 | PHE, UK
Statistics on Women's Smoking Status at Time of Delivery: England Quarter 2, 2020-21
9.9% of mothers were smokers at the time of delivery. A 0.1% increase from quarter 1, 2020-21 (9.8%), above the national ambition of 6% or less | NHS Digital, UK
Poor evidence around ‘toxic trio’ poses questions for child protection
The toxic trio - parental mental illness, drug or alcohol misuse, and domestic violence – are known to be significant, individual indicators of children being in danger of harm or abuse. However, a prevalent belief, in social work and beyond, is that when these factors occur in combination the risks to children multiply significantly | National Children's Bureau, UK
Warning that NI children are vaping cannabis through e-cigarettes - PHA says the practice is lethal
The Public Health Agency (PHA) has received information regarding incidents involving young people suspected of vaping a liquid form of cannabis through e-cigarettes | Newsletter, UK
Global Synthetic Drugs Assessment 2020
This report provides an analysis of the global synthetic drugs market. The first part of this report provides options for responses to counter the synthetic drug problem. The second part presents a global thematic analysis of the key trends and emerging developments of the synthetic drugs market as well as the recent trends in the manufacture of synthetic drugs, including the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic | UNODC, Austria