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Weekly news - 8th September 2023 |
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In date order, Monday to Friday
State of the Family Support Sector 2023
Adfam is pleased to launch its latest research report, State of the Family Support Sector 2023 (pdf), which examines current circumstances and practice in supporting families affected by substance use. This includes current trends, developments, strengths and challenges facing those working to support family members | Adfam, UK
North Yorkshire and York: Appliance of science to help identify harmful substances and reduce drug-related deaths
A 12-month police and public health collaboration project has been launched in North Yorkshire and York that uses science to identify harmful substances and reduce drug-related deaths. The North Yorkshire Drug Analysis Project aims to better understand the market profile of substances in use across the area. This will be achieved by sending 60 drug samples that have been found or seized by North Yorkshire Police - five per month - to the pioneering MANDRAKE Laboratory in Manchester | North Yorkshire Police, UK
Addressing winter pressures through treating tobacco dependency
This briefing lays out how tackling smoking can help Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) make effective winter plans in line with the guidance from NHSE and simultaneously make strong progress on health inequalities and the prevention agenda, which form ICBs’ core purpose and objectives | ASH, UK
Could a UK laughing gas ban cause more harm than good? - BBC Newsnight - video
Newsnight has been told by leading clinicians across health trusts in the UK that they are seeing a sharp increase in nitrous oxide users under 25 with serious health issues | BBC, UK
France planning to ban disposable vapes in effort to combat smoking
Ban follows similar measures in Germany, Australia and New Zealand amid concern over health effects | Guardian, UK
DDN Magazine - September 2023
Our collective efforts on harm reduction will make the world a safer place – from collaborative commissioning (p18) to distributing naloxone (p14 and 24). This issue’s articles remind us of the struggles, but demonstrate how much impact we can have. The conference coverage – and pics! – are not just a souvenir of a grand day out in Birmingham, although it was wonderful to see everyone. The level of engagement and participation was extraordinary, even with such exceptional speakers. The Big Conversation (p20) not only gave us a snapshot of experiences across the country but also many thoughtful and constructive ideas | DDN, UK
Reappointments to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs
The Home Secretary has today announced the reappointment of Professor Owen Bowden-Jones as the chair of the ACMD | ACMD, UK
Media statement regarding the departure of tobacco companies from the UKVIA
The UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) has today (1st September) announced that the membership of British American Tobacco, Imperial Brands, Japan Tobacco International and Philip Morris International has come to an end | UKVIA, UK
Consultation outcome: Nitrous oxide: legitimate uses and appropriate controls
Ministerial foreword. The government is grateful to all those who contributed responses to this consultation to assess the extent and nature of legitimate uses of nitrous oxide and to understand public views on the appropriate controls under which nitrous oxide should be placed in the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 | ACMD, UK
Government response: ACMD advice on scheduling and lawful access to nitrous oxide
Letter from Rt Hon Chris Philp MP, Minister of State for Crime, Policing and Fire. I am grateful to the ACMD for their considered advice and the speed at which this was provided. Controlling nitrous oxide remains a government priority and this advice is invaluable in ensuring this can be delivered swiftly and effectively. It was a pleasure to meet you on 31 August to discuss your recommendations. I have set out each recommendation and the government’s response | Rt Hon Chris Philp MP, Minister of State for Crime, Policing and Fire, UK
Nitrous oxide: Laughing gas to be illegal by end of year
Laughing gas will be categorised as a class C drug and made illegal by the end of the year, the UK government has announced | BBC, UK
Adult smoking habits in the UK: 2022
Cigarette smoking habits among adults in the UK, including the proportion of people who smoke, demographic breakdowns, changes over time and use of e-cigarettes | ONS, UK
Number of young women vaping daily in the UK more than triples
ONS figures for past year show women aged 16-24 have overtaken male counterparts for e-cigarette usage | Guardian, UK
Teenage Vaping: What’s the Harm? - video
Vaping among Britain’s teenagers is on the rise, and there’s growing concern that some companies are targeting underage vapers. So, should we be worried about young people getting addicted? | BBC, UK
PHS welcomes announcement to consult on plans to ban the sale of single use e-cigarettes
Public Health Scotland (PHS) welcomes the Scottish Government’s commitment to consult on plans to ban the sale of single use e-cigarettes (also known as vapes), following today’s Programme for Government announcement | PHS, UK
Ban marketing vapes to children - senior Labour MP
Banning the marketing of vapes with brightly coloured packaging and branding would protect children from addiction, a senior Labour MP says | BBC, UK
Local tobacco control profiles: September 2023 update
An overview of the extent of tobacco use, tobacco related harm and the measures being taken to reduce this harm at a local level in England | OHID, UK
Local Alcohol Profiles for England (LAPE): September 2023 update
Update of indicators in the Local Alcohol Profiles for England (LAPE) interactive tool | OHID, UK
Alcohol and rising obesity led to ‘alarming’ surge in cancers in young people
‘These results are interesting but colleagues will need to give considerable time and thought as to their interpretation,’ says professor Stephen Duffy | Independent, UK
Increase in fake prescription pills fuels record drug overdose deaths in the US
CDC study reveals deaths have more than doubled from the counterfeits, which are mostly laced with fentanyl | Guardian, UK
Programme for Government 2023 - 2024: First Minister's speech
First Minister's statement to the Scottish Parliament on the Programme for Government, 5 September 2023. "We will continue with our mission to reduce drug deaths, and we will invest in Alcohol and Drug Partnerships. Recent drugs death figures show we are heading in the right direction, but no more than that. The scale of the challenge in front of us requires us to take radical approaches. These approaches must be grounded in the evidence of what works. That is why we will support a proposal to establish a Safer Drug Consumption Facility, and argue for drug law reform." ... | Scottish Government, UK
‘Lifeline’ female residential unit faces £850,000 in cuts
A service which helps support female offenders to rebuild their lives after drug and alcohol use is facing £850,000 in cuts. The Turning Point 218 Service, which has been running for almost two decades and has been hailed as “groundbreaking”, is now facing compulsory job losses and closure after a reduction in funding from both the Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council | STV, UK
Call for UK ban on single-use vapes as more than 5m discarded each week
Five million single-use vapes are being thrown away in the UK every week, a fourfold increase on 2022, research has found. This amounts to eight vapes a second being discarded, with the lithium in the products enough to create 5,000 electric car batteries a year | Guardian, UK
Vapes: Claim pupils are leaving lessons to use e-cigarettes in toilets
Vape-addicted children are so hooked on using e-cigarettes some can't get through school lessons without them, Public Health Wales (PHW) has said | BBC, UK