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Weekly news - 24th November 2023

In date order, Monday to Friday

Open call for evidence: ACMD internet-facilitated drug markets review

The ACMD has established a working group focused on understanding internet-facilitated drug markets and has specified its scope into the following: 1. Providing a typology of internet-facilitated drug markets. 2. Investigating the resilience of internet-facilitated drug markets in the face of law enforcement actions. 3. Establishing the effectiveness of law enforcement strategies that aim to reduce the harms that internet-facilitated drug markets generate. The evidence collected will play an important role for any advice that will be published by the working group. We would be grateful for your written feedback by 12 January 2024 | Home Office, UK

Vaping: a guide for health and social care professionals (PDF)

These guidleines aim to educate health professionals about vaping and to encourage them to assist smokers to quit with vaping. The guidelines were prepared by a team of UK and international experts in the field | NCSCT, UK

‘It's a horrible situation for everyone’: The impact of over the counter and prescription medication misuse on friends and family

[Open access] Over the counter and prescription-only medication misuse is of concern. Little is known about the impact on friends/family who provide individuals with support. It is important to increase understanding to identify how substance misuse services (SMS) and others can better meet their needs | Drugs, Science Policy & Law, UK

A UK national study of prevalence and correlates of adopting or not adopting a recovery identity among individuals who have overcome a drug or alcohol problem

[Open access] The concept of recovery has increasingly become an organizing paradigm in the addiction field in the past 20 years, but definitions of the term vary amongst interested groups (e.g. researchers, clinicians, policy makers or people with lived experience). Although professional groups have started to form a consensus, people with lived experience of alcohol or drug (AOD) problems use the term in a different way, leading to confusion in policy making in the UK | Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy, UK

[Open access] We call for multiple stakeholders to support efforts to prioritize a public health first approach to advancing ‘Alcohol use disorder’ (AUD) research, policy and treatment in order to make significant advances in AUD prevention and treatment. We offer several recommendations to assist in shifting public understanding and scientific limitations in AUD concepts and responses | DAD, UK

Evaluating police drug diversion in England: protocol for a realist evaluation

[Open access] There is increasing international interest in the use of police drug diversion schemes that offer people suspected of minor drug-related offences an educative or therapeutic intervention as an alternative to criminalisation. While there have been randomised trials of some such schemes for their effects on reducing offending, with generally positive results, less is known about the health outcomes, and what works, for whom, in what circumstances and why. This protocol reports on a realist evaluation of police drug diversion in England that has been coproduced by a team of academic, policing, health, and service user partners | Health & Justice Journal, UK

New guidance for drug checking services in health risk communication

Health risk communication strategies for drug checking services in Europe is the focus of a new EMCDDA manual out today. The resource provides staff working in these services with practical guidance on communicating drug-related risks at both an individual and community level | EMCDDA, Portugal

Holding us back: tobacco, alcohol and unhealthy food and drink (PDF)

Although, there is such clear alignment between action to reduce the consumption of tobacco, alcohol and unhealthy food and drink and the UK Government’s view of its role in protecting the public’s health, there is little alignment in how government has acted to address the harms from these products. This report calls for a coherent and strategic approach to rebalancing the profit-making powers of industries with the rights of people to live free, healthy and productive lives | OHA, AHA and ASH, UK

More needs to be done to prevent dependence on pain medication

In the first study of its kind in the UK, Louise Norton and Dr Bridget Dibb from the University of Surrey investigated the experiences of patients dependent on medication for chronic pain. Pharmacological treatment for chronic pain usually involves potentially addictive substances such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, gabapentinoids, and opioids. Increased prescription levels of such pain relief medications have been associated with heightened levels of overdose and misuse | University of Surrey, UK

Mental Health of Children and Young People in England, 2023 - wave 4 follow up to the 2017 survey

In 2023, most children aged 11 to 16 years reported that they had not had alcohol (95.1%), cigarettes (98.8%), cannabis and other drugs (99.1%), or used an e-cigarette or vaping device (96.3%) in the previous 7 days. In 2023, the majority of young people aged 17 to 22 years reported that they had not smoked cigarettes (87.3%) or used cannabis and other drugs (91.0%) in the previous 7 days. Young people with a probable mental disorder were more likely to have used a vaping or e-cigarette device in the previous 7 days (32.9%) than those unlikely to have a mental disorder (18.4%). They were also more likely to have used cannabis or other drugs in the previous 7 days than young people unlikely to have a mental disorder (19.5% compared with 3.6%) | NHS Digital, UK

Findings from the 2021-2022 HBSC study for England: Health behaviour in school-aged children: World Health Organisation collaborative cross-national study (PDF)

The HBSC questionnaire asks about many features of daily life for children and young people in England such as their diet, physical activity, sleep, smoking and alcohol use, as well as their experiences with their families, friends, and schools. This report is based on the data from 5377 young people in England. [See page 5 for information on drug use] | University of Kent, UK

Emergency department bloodborne virus opt-out testing: 12-month interim report 2023

An estimated 70,649 people were living with chronic HCV in England in 2022. This number has reduced by 45% since 2015 largely due to the roll out of direct-acting antiviral (DAA) treatment through the NHS England Hepatitis C Elimination Programme. People who inject drugs (PWID) are the largest risk group for HCV and this population has been successfully targeted for testing and treatment, with routine testing in place in drug services | UKHSA, UK

This paper reports on the first qualitative study to interview people prescribed cannabis in the UK. Cannabis is a class B controlled substance under the 1971 Misuse of Drugs (MoD) Act, but a 2018 change to UK regulations provided for the prescription of cannabis for medical purposes. Relatively few people have been able to access a prescription, despite this policy change. This paper examines their experiences | IJDP, UK

Counting and accounting for drug-related deaths at UK music festivals 2017–2023: A commentary

The exact number of drug-related deaths at UK music festivals in recent years is unknown, and there are no standard processes for reporting or accessing data on medical incidents at these events. For the purposes of this commentary, a table of all known drug-related deaths at music festivals from 2017 to 2023 was collated... The search identified 32 potential drug-related deaths, 18 of which have been confirmed. These deaths, and the circumstances surrounding them, are pieced together here in consideration of the value of developing a greater understanding of the context to festival-related drug-related deaths. This commentary concludes by arguing for the introduction of a comprehensive, standardised and publicly accessible national database of drug-related medical incidents at UK music festivals in real time... | Drug Science, Policy and Law, UK

Alcohol duty frozen until next August

Delivering his Autumn Statement in the Commons, Jeremy Hunt said that meant there would be no increase in duty on beer, cider, wine or spirits | BBC, UK

Tobacco and vaping framework: roadmap to 2034

This framework sets out actions to be taken to create a tobacco-free generation by 2034. It includes the first implementation plan, which will run until November 2025 | Scottish Government, UK

E-cigarette use or vaping: reminder to remain vigilant for suspected adverse reactions and safety concerns and report them to the Yellow Card scheme

Healthcare professionals should be vigilant for suspected adverse reactions and safety concerns associated with e-cigarettes and e-liquids, commonly known as vapes. Please report adverse reactions to the Yellow Card scheme and promote vigilance among patients | MHRA, UK

Drug decriminalisation: grounding policy in evidence

The Global Commission on Drug Policy's latest report, published ahead of World AIDS Day on Dec 1, describes decriminalisation of drug use as an essential precursor to ending HIV and viral hepatitis as public health threats. Since its formation in 2011 by political, economic, and cultural leaders, the Commission has advocated for decriminalisation as part of a rights-based approach to drug policy, rooted in scientific evidence and principles of public health, to minimise the harms arising from drug use | Lancet editorial, UK

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