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Weekly news - 23rd June 2023 |
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In date order, Monday to Friday
Nitrous oxide: updated harms assessment
Updated. The latest letters from the government to the ACMD have been added. Covering the scheduling and lawful access to nitrous oxide under the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001, and a response to recommendations 2 to 7 of the updated harms assessment | ACMD, UK
Policing Minister backs calls to give drug addicts free daily heroin injections
The Policing Minister has backed controversial calls to give drug addicts free daily heroin injections, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. Chris Philp claimed setting up taxpayer-funded, medic-supervised 'shooting galleries' would be 'cost-effective' and help cut drug-related crime | Mail Online, UK
Has Brexit changed detection and prevention of illicit trade in drugs, alcohol, and tobacco in Wales? ( PDF)
This briefing by Public Health Wales summarises the international systems the UK and Wales participated in to tackle illicit alcohol, tobacco, and drugs before Brexit. It will then explore how these have changed post-Brexit and what potential impact that may have on health and well-being in Wales | Public Health Wales, UK
Antidepressants: Two million taking them for five years or more
More than a quarter of patients on antidepressants in England - about two million people - have been taking them for five years, the BBC has found. This is despite there being limited evidence of the benefits of taking the drugs for that length of time | BBC, UK
Lobbyists with links to Big Tobacco fund pro-vaping Facebook campaigns
Secretive lobby groups are spreading pro-e-cigarette messages purporting to be grassroots campaigns | Guardian, UK
NI drug deaths: Families march to demand better services
Families of people who have died after drug overdoses in Northern Ireland have taken part in a demonstration to demand better services for those struggling with addiction | BBC, UK
In Brief: Psilocybin and magic mushrooms
In an occasional series, staff from Parliament’s libraries give The House choice nuggets of research. This week, Professor Grant Hill-Cawthorne, librarian of the House of Commons and managing director of research and information, looks at Psilocybin and magic mushrooms | Politics Home, UK
After shrinkflation, now it's drinkflation! Brewers pocket millions by sneakily cutting alcohol in beers – without reducing prices
Brewers have been cutting the alcohol levels in popular beers and lagers – pocketing millions of pounds saved on tax – without reducing the cost to customers | Mail Online, UK
European Drug Report 2023: Trends and Developments
The European Drug Report 2023: Trends and Developments presents the EMCDDA’s latest analysis of the drug situation in Europe. Focusing on illicit drug use, related harms and drug supply, the report contains a comprehensive set of national data across these themes and key harm-reduction interventions | EMCDDA, Portugal
Greater diversity in drug supply and use creates new challenges for Europe
Drug availability remains high across all substance types and the scale and complexity of illicit drug production within Europe continue to grow. People who use drugs are now exposed to a wider range of psychoactive substances, often of high potency and purity. As these may be sold in similar-looking powders or pills, consumers may be unaware of what they are taking. The report underlines the need for effective risk communication strategies to alert consumers to the health harms associated with new substances, drug interactions and high-potency products | EMCDDA, Portugal
Advice on Xylazine and 2-Methyl-AP-237
The government commissions the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) to review the harms of Xylazine and 2-Methyl-AP-237 | Home Office, UK
Open consultation - Major conditions strategy: call for evidence
This consultation closes at 11:59pm on 27 June. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is seeking your views and ideas on how to prevent, diagnose, treat and manage the groups of major conditions that contribute to ill health in England, including tackling risk factors such as alcohol and tobacco. Help ensure the alcohol and other drug sector gets its voice heard by completeing the survey | DHSC, UK
Guidance for government engagement with the tobacco industry
How government and public bodies should act to protect public health policies when engaging stakeholders with links to the tobacco industry. Full update to the document including adding new guidance for other UK government departments and bodies with common situations and example scenarios | DHSC, UK
'It's given me my life back': the Merseyside charity helping those with addiction problems
Drug-related deaths in Merseyside are falling for the first time in more than a decade thanks to a nationally funded drug, mental health and alcohol programme. In just two years more than 2,000 people have been helped by charity 'With You', which has been able to give access to a range of drug and alcohol treatment programmes thanks to the Government’s ADDER (Addiction, Diversion, Disruption, Enforcement and Recovery) funding programme | ITV, UK
Smoking survivors share life changing stories in new quitting campaign
Shocking, raw and life-changing experiences from former smokers in the North East take the spotlight in a major new quitting campaign. Fresh launched the Smoking Survivors campaign on Monday, June 19 with a powerful call to the region’s 314,000 smokers to “make a fresh quit” attempt | Fresh / Smoke Free North East, UK
National drug treatment reporting system, 2022 drug treatment demand (PDF)
In 2022, 12,009 cases were treated for problem drug use. This is the highest annual number recorded by the NDTRS to date | HRB, Ireland
National benchmarking report on implementation of the medication assisted treatment (MAT) standards
This release by Public Health Scotland (PHS) is a benchmarking report on the progress that Alcohol and Drug Partnerships (ADPs) in Scotland are making to meet the medication assisted treatment (MAT) standards. The report includes recommended actions to address gaps | Public Health Scotland, UK
Disposable vapes cause fires and cost taxpayer, English and Welsh councils say
Single-use E-cigarettes difficult to recycle and cause fires in bin lorries, Local Government Association says | Guardian, UK
2023 Global Day of Action: Reclaiming people power for sustainable alternatives to the ‘war on drugs’
26 June 2023. For over a decade, the Support. Don’t Punish campaign has resourced a global, decentralised network of change-makers in drug policy reform and harm reduction. If you haven’t yet told us your plans, please use this form to do so. The window to apply for financial support has closed but the form remains open to hear about your activities! | IDPC, UK
Social Media Influencer Chunkz Teams Up with Instagram and With You to Raise Awareness of Drug Issues for Young People
Social media influencer Chunkz is collaborating with With You, the drug, alcohol and mental health charity, and with Instagram, to support young people who may be struggling with drugs. Young people can feel pressure to take drugs from many different places, from films, to parties, to social media, and they often don’t know how to say no, or how to ask for help if they’re already struggling with the effects of drugs. Through partnering with Chunkz on a range of video materials, With You and Instagram are hoping to reach young audiences to raise awareness of safety measures available to protect them when using social media, such as Instagram’s anonymous reporting and blocking tools | With You, UK
Response from the devolved administrations to the ACMD nitrous oxide review
Responses from the Northern Ireland Department of Health, the Welsh Government and the Scottish government | ACMD, UK
Glastonbury, Leeds and Reading will have drug safety testing
There were fears the service wouldn't be at UK festivals in 2023 after it was missing from Manchester's Parklife. But Glastonbury and Festival Republic, which runs events including Leeds and Reading, say they'll have "back-of-house" testing as usual | BBC, UK
Government set to miss smoking in pregnancy target by nearly a decade, charities warn
In 2017, the Government set a target to reduce rates of maternal smoking to 6% by 2022. However, new data for 2022/23 show that this target has been missed, with 8.8% of pregnant women smoking during this period | ASH, UK
Patients’ goals when initiating long-acting injectable buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorder: findings from a longitudinal qualitative study
[Open access] Long-acting injectable buprenorphine (LAIB) is a new treatment for opioid use disorder that has been introduced against an international policy backdrop of recovery and person-centred care. This paper explores the goals that people want to achieve from LAIB to identify potential implications for policy and practice | Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy, UK
Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP): The Story So Far - June 2023
Minimum unit pricing for alcohol (MUP) was implemented in May 2018 at a rate of 50p per unit. The policy is subject to a sunset clause, which means it will lapse unless renewed by the Scottish Parliament by end of April 2024 | SHAAP, UK