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Weekly news - 12th May 2023

 

In date order, Monday to Friday

Scores of local pharmacies closing across England

The number of pharmacies in England has fallen by 160 over the last two years, BBC analysis shows. There are now 11,026 community chemists, according to data from NHS Business Services Authority - the lowest number since 2015 | BBC, UK

Firms urged to cut down on alcohol at work parties

Businesses are being urged to limit the amount of alcohol served at work social events in order to prevent people from acting inappropriately towards others | BBC, UK

Launch of The Anti-Stigma Network

The Network has been created to improve understanding of the stigma and discrimination experienced by people harmed by drug and alcohol use. We recognise that many organisations and individuals are doing amazing, impactive and creative work to address stigma. We aim to build on this work by bringing individual people, families, communities, educational institutions, charities, businesses and policymakers together to share, learn and create. Lived experience and fundamental human rights drive us, we use evidenced based approaches and we aim to make real world change. We have no political allegiance, or prevailing agenda, other than an ambition for people affected by drug and alcohol use to be treated fairly, justly and with dignity | Phoenix Futures, UK

‘I’ve Lost Everything’: Inside the Hidden World of Britain’s Pakistani Heroin Users

British Pakistani heroin users tell VICE News they've been shunned by their families and are too afraid to get help | VICE, UK

Prisoners spending more than £7,000,000 a year on vapes and e-cigs with refills now jail ‘currency’  

Campaigners have sounded warnings over prison conditions after figures showed inmates are spending more than £7 million a year on vapes and e-cigarettes | Metro, UK

Watchdog bans TikTok vape ads for Elf Bar and HQD Tech

Two TikTok posts by influencers promoting vapes have been banned for breaking rules prohibiting e-cigarette advertising on social media | LBC, UK

Webinar Part Two: Continuity of Care – sharing learning from local areas

Tue, 13 Jun 2023 10:00 - 11:30 BST. Continuity of care in drug and alcohol treatment between prison and community continues to be a priority within the Government’s drug strategy. Many local areas’ treatment systems have worked in partnership with prisons to improve their performance in supporting people on release from prison to ensure a seamless transition. Following on from the first webinar, this webinar will cover:1) Working in partnership, processes and communication; 2) Engaging women in the CJS; 3) Data accuracy & reconciliation and 4) Building professional relationships & coordinating continuity of care partnerships | OHID, UK

Synthetic cathinones: letter asking for updated harms assessment

Synthetic cathinones are currently Class B drugs. The Crime, Policing and Fire Minister, Chris Philp, wrote to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs to commission an updated harms assessment. He asked for the assessment to consider whether certain synthetic cathinones are significantly more harmful than others and should be treated differently | Home Office and Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, UK

Monkey dust drug clampdown could be coming in UK

A relatively new and dangerous street drug called monkey dust, which is already banned in the US, could soon face tougher penalties in the UK | BBC, UK

Martha Fernback: Mum of girl who overdosed campaigns for drug legalisation

Anne-Marie Cockburn's daughter, Martha died in 2013 aged just 15, after taking a lethal dose of ecstasy. Anne-Marie believes her daughter would still be alive if drugs were legal and will join campaigners in Edinburgh to discuss regulation of the drug market | BBC, UK

SHAAP calls for UK Government to stand firm in face of pressure from whisky industry

SHAAP has written to the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, encouraging him to stand firm in the face of lobbying for a duty freeze by the whisky industry and Scotland’s First Minister, Humza Yousaf. The letter states “claims by the alcohol industry that they are being treated unfairly by the duty changes do not stand up to scrutiny” as even after the planned increase to duty in August, in real terms spirits – including whisky – will be subject to 23% lower duty than ten years ago | SHAAP, UK