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Weekly news - 3rd February 2023 |
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In date order, Monday to Friday
Toxic slimming pill drug DNP to be declared poison
A highly toxic chemical compound sold illegally in diet pills is to be reclassified as a poison, a government minister has said | BBC, UK
Fabric urges clubgoers to stay safe as “fake ketamine” circulates UK
Fabric has urged clubgoers to stay safe and be wary of a new unknown drug currently circulating UK clubs after several people were hospitalised on Tuesday during an event at the Hammersmith venue | MixMag, UK
Lincolnshire Police: 'Tainted drugs' alert after five people fall ill
Five people who became unwell over the weekend could have taken "tainted drugs", Lincolnshire Police have said. They collapsed or suffered other "adverse effects" after taking what they believed was ketamine or cocaine | BBC, UK
'It saved my life': Rollout of overdose drug urged by campaigners
Naloxone can be administered via nasal spray or syringe to someone who has overdosed on opioids, including heroin, and restores normal breathing. It is routinely carried by police in Scotland but is only being trialled by forces in England | Sky News, UK
Experts warn over vaping packaging
Experts and school leaders are warning bright packaging on vaping products may be targeting young people and those who have never previously vaped | BBC, UK
University: 'Dealing drugs was the only way I could afford degree'
Working multiple jobs alongside his course at Swansea University, Tyler realised he couldn't get the degree he wanted unless something changed. With no family support, the 24-year-old says he thinks more support should be given to those from poorer backgrounds wanting to go to university | BBC, UK
Doctors in England and Wales urged to monitor people’s drinking habits
More than 10m people consume alcohol at levels that pose a risk to their health, experts say | Guardian, UK
Urgent action needed to curb rise in prison deaths linked to spice, say UK researchers
Synthetic cannabinoids involved in nearly half of male prisoner deaths analysed in England and Wales | Guardian, UK
Minimum Unit Pricing: Impacts on the alcoholic drinks industry in Scotland
This is the second and last report of a study being undertaken by researchers at Frontier Economics to look at the impact of MUP on the alcoholic drinks industry in Scotland. The first report from this study was published in 2019 | Public Health Scotland, UK
Addendum (YouGov) to ‘Evaluating the impact of Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) of alcohol in Scotland on cross-border purchasing’
This is an addendum to our 2022 report on the impact of Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) of alcohol in Scotland on cross-border purchasing. This paper describes updated data collected in March 2022 by putting survey questions about self-reported cross-border and online purchasing to a panel. Data were first collected in March 2021 and those were described in the main report | Public Health Scotland, UK
Minimum alcohol pricing impact on drinks sector 'minimal'
Minimum unit pricing (MUP) has had little economic impact on Scotland's drinks industry, a report has found | BBC, UK
Why more than 1,700 drug-driving prosecutions could be overturned
The National Police Chiefs’ Council has announced that all drug-driving tests produced by Synlab between April 2019 and December 2020 have to be withdrawn | Independent, UK
Legal Environment Scan
INPUD are very excited to be releasing the first, community-friendly legal assessment tool specifically focused on people who use drugs | INPUD, UK
Canada province experiments with decriminalising hard drugs
Canada's province of British Columbia is starting a first-in-the-nation trial decriminalising small amounts of hard drugs such as cocaine and heroin | BBC, UK
Alcohol treatment services : inquiry
The Committee will question senior officials at the Department for Health and Social Care on treatment services in the community for alcohol dependency, including: - trends in alcohol consumption and harm from drinking; how the commissioning and provision of alcohol treatment services have changed since the transfer of responsibility for public health; and - spending on, access to, and outcomes from treatment. The committee wants to hear your views. If you have evidence on these issues please submit it here by 6pm on Monday 20 February | UK Parliament Committee, UK
NHS smoking cessation local delivery plan standard quarterly
This release by Public Health Scotland (PHS) 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 2022/23 is to achieve at least 7,026 self-reported successful twelve-week quits through smoking cessation services in the 40% most deprived areas (60% in NHS Island Boards) | Public Health Scotland, UK
Met commander who wrote force's drug strategy took magic mushrooms - hearing
A Met Police commander who wrote the force's current drug strategy is facing a misconduct hearing accused of taking magic mushrooms, LSD and cannabis | BBC, UK
Launch Announcement £5m Reducing drug Deaths Innovation Challenge
On Tuesday, Addiction Healthcare Mission, led by the UK Office for Life Sciences (OLS) launched a £5m Reducing Drug Deaths Innovation Challenge, in partnership with the Scottish Health Industry Partnership (SHIP), part of the Scottish Government Chief Scientist Office (CSO), through which applicants can bid for funding to develop innovative MedTech and Digital Health solutions that focus on detection of, response to, and intervention in potentially fatal drug overdose episodes. The challenge is open for applications until 21/04/2023.
A launch event, to provide further background and an opportunity for applicants to ask questions, is scheduled to be held on 10 February at 11am |
OLS, UK
Chancellor urged to make Big tobacco pay for the massive burden it puts on public finances
Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) is today publishing new evidence on the extent of the burden smoking puts on the public finances, demonstrating that in 2022 the costs are nearly twice as much as the revenues from tobacco excise tax and VAT (£21 billion compared to £11 billion in taxes) | ASH, UK
UWE Bristol recognised for harm reduction approach to drugs
A university has been recognised for its strategy to reduce harm caused by drug and alcohol abuse on campus | BBC, UK
Press release: £53 million cash boost to improve housing support for drug and alcohol recovery
28 local authorities across England will receive funds to help people in drug and alcohol treatment | Department of Health and Social Care, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities , Neil O'Brien MP, and The Rt Hon Steve Barclay MP, UK
Drug strategy housing support funding: allocations 2022 to 2025
Information about a new funding grant to local councils to help them improve housing support for people in drug and alcohol treatment and recovery | OHID, UK
National statistics: Substance misuse treatment for young people: statistics 2021 to 2022
There were 11,326 young people (people under the age of 18) in contact with alcohol and drug services between April 2021 and March 2022. This is a 3% increase from the previous year (11,013) but a 54% reduction in the number in treatment since 2008 to 2009 (24,494). Cannabis remains the most common substance (87%) that young people come to treatment for | OHID, UK
Hepatitis C in the UK 2023 Working to eliminate hepatitis C as a public health threat (PDF)
This report comes at a pivotal point in the elimination of hepatitis C. In May 2022 the UK government adopted the World Health Assembly’s updated global strategies that support the World Health Organization’s (WHO) ambition to eliminate viral hepatitis by 2030. UKHSA has prioritised work to reduce the harmful impact to health of hepatitis C, hepatitis B and HIV. In this report we review the progress that has been made in the UK towards the WHO elimination targets for hepatitis C with data to the end of 2021 | UKHSA, UK
Change to classification of psilocybin and MDMA to enable prescribing by authorised psychiatrists
From 1 July this year, medicines containing the psychedelic substances psilocybin and MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine) can be prescribed by specifically authorised psychiatrists for the treatment of certain mental health conditions | Australian Government TGA, Australia