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Weekly news - 7th July 2023 |
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In date order, Monday to Friday
ACMD advice on NHS England electronic prescribing proposal
The ACMD has considered a proposal from NHS England regarding a proposed change to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 to permit the electronic prescribing of Schedule 2 and 3 controlled drugs in secondary care and health and justice settings | ACMD, UK
Schools encouraged to participate in NHS survey on smoking, drinking and drug use
Secondary schools across England are being invited to take part in the latest edition of a statistical survey measuring the use of alcohol, nicotine and drugs by young people | NHS Digital, UK
Youth Vaping Inquiry - audio
Commons Health and Social Care Committee session on the increasing use of e-cigarettes by children, Wednesday 28 June | BBC, UK
Scottish Conservative leader “inspired” by Salvation Army
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross visited a Salvation Army support service in Edinburgh as part of his campaign to tackle drug addiction | Salvation Army, UK
Festival drug testing: Legal action threatened over safety tests
A festival boss has formally threatened legal action against the government over drug checking at festivals. Parklife founder Sacha Lord has written to Home Secretary Suella Braverman urging her to allow on-site testing in "pop-up labs" to go ahead | BBC, UK
How have governments communicated uk alcohol duty policy changes?
This research assesses what arguments have been made and what messaging has been used in support of policy announcements and proposals on alcohol duty | IAS, UK
Press release: The average drinker spends an estimated £62,899 on alcohol over the course of a lifetime
A new survey, commissioned by charity Alcohol Change UK, shows the average drinker in the UK spends around £62,899 on alcohol over the course of a lifetime | Alcohol Concern, UK
Drink and Drugs News: July issue out now
British South Asian women with addiction problems are often a community within a community within a community, hidden from view, says Shinasa Shahid (p6). Her article teaches us much about the ‘shame and blame’ that fuels stigma. When our families and communities give us a role we can’t fit into, we become the problem – which is why support services must be ready with the knowledge and sensitivity to respond | DDN, UK
MSP complains over ‘misleading’ claims on minimum unit price for alcohol
Dr Sandesh Gulhane has written to the head of the UK Statistics Authority over Scottish Government | Independent, UK
British Medical Association to campaign for drink-drive limit to be lowered
At the organisation’s annual representative meeting in Liverpool, a motion was brought by the BMA’s North West Regional Council with a call to campaign to bring down the limit to the average of European nations | Yahoo News, UK
Challenge and Change: Lived Experience Voices on Alcohol Marketing
Listening to and highlighting the voices of lived and living experience is an important part of our work at Alcohol Focus Scotland. Over the past 2 years, our Involvement team has been working with people and organisations to help guide the development of alcohol policy | Alcohol Focus Scotland, UK
Prescribing of cannabis medicines by general medical practitioners - Early day motion
Motion text: That this House notes that the Government allowed specialist medical practitioners to be able to prescribe cannabis medicines in 2018, but excluded general medical practitioners, despite their core role in supporting patients in their communities; further notes that, annually, around 20,000 patients obtain private prescriptions for medical cannabis, but just 1,000 have NHS prescriptions and that there are many more who access the illicit market to obtain cannabis for medical reasons; and calls on the Government to take the necessary steps to allow general medical practitioners to have the same medical cannabis prescribing rights as specialist medical practitioners | UK Parliament, UK
Public health alert: New benzodiazepines – Bromazolam
Bromazolam is now the most common drug detected in ‘street benzos’.
Bromazolam has been seized in both community and custodial settings and implicated in hospitalisations and deaths in different areas of the country.
Reports to RADAR indicate that bromazolam produces strong sedative and sleep-inducing effects. As a result, there is a substantial risk of overdose | Public Health Scotland, UK
Only one in five know alcohol guidelines
Just 18 per cent of adults know the government’s low-risk drinking guidelines, according to research by industry-funded charity Drinkaware. While 87 per cent had heard of the guidelines, only 18 per cent knew that they were 14 units a week for men and women. The results are based on a survey of more than 6,300 people for this year’s Alcohol Awareness Week, which runs from 3 to 9 July | DDN, UK
Homeless charity declares emergency in Glasgow after 132 deaths in hostels since 2020
According to the statistics, which have been branded 'a scandal', there were 132 deaths between March 2020 and the same month this year | Scottish Daily Express, UK
Youth service cuts create void for drugs gangs - Southend council
A community safety officer has told MPs that "county lines" drug dealers have been recruiting vulnerable children by stepping into the void left by cuts to local agencies | BBC, UK
Heroin warning after six people die in Bristol
A warning has been issued about a suspected dangerous batch of heroin following six deaths in one city. Bristol City Council said the alert was being shared because there was a "serious threat to life", with more people requiring emergency care | BBC, UK
Contaminated Drug Alert
There have been confirmed reports in various locations around Britain of unusually strong opioids contained in a number of drugs; heroin, OxyContin (oxycodone) and ‘street benzos’. In this alert we are asking people to be extra cautious as these strong opioids may be in widespread circulation, rather than confined to particular areas | Cranstoun, UK
Stronger action needed to tackle ‘growing public health epidemic’
Doctors call for bold action to reduce e-cigarette use amid rise among adults and young people | BMA, UK
Teens target Leeds city centre for underage vape sales
Underage teens are traveling into Leeds city centre specifically to buy vapes as they are "easily available", public health officials have said | BBC, UK