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Weekly news - 2nd August 2024 |
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In date order, Monday to Friday
Glasgow bid to join drug-checking pilot scheme
Glasgow has applied to join a drug-checking pilot scheme, which would allow drug users to test the content of illegal substances. A specialist facility would be based at the site of the UK’s first drug consumption room, which is scheduled to open in the city later this year. The application to the UK Home Office follows similar bids for drug check facilities in Aberdeen and Dundee | BBC, UK
Why scientific support for alcohol’s health benefits is fading
Research exposes flaws of older, often industry-funded studies and finds lowest mortality risk in lifelong abstainers | Guardian, UK
Get a free home test for hepatitis C
You can do a simple test at home to find out if you have hepatitis C | NHS, UK
World Hepatitis Day 2024: practical resources to help European countries beat viral hepatitis
Eliminating viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030 is a target set under the UN Sustainable Development Goal on Health. Ahead of World Hepatitis Day, the EUDA has released an update of its interactive elimination barometer designed to support countries in monitoring their progress towards the elimination of viral hepatitis among people who inject drugs | EUDA, Portugal
King's receives UKRI funding to assess harm reduction in homelessness services among people who use drugs
A project led by researchers at the Policy Institute and the National Addiction Centre at King's College London has been awarded over £176,000 by UK Research and Innovation's (UKRI) Evaluation Development Fund | KCL, UK
Rapid Action Drug Alerts and Response (RADAR) quarterly report
Drug-related harms remain high in Scotland. Patterns of polysubstance use remain the key driver of harms. The most common combinations associated with risk of harm involve benzodiazepines (most commonly diazepam and bromazolam), cocaine and opioids. New synthetic drugs (particularly nitazene-type opioids and xylazine) played an increasing role in harms | Public Health Scotland, UK
Drug-related deaths: a shared approach to a public health crisis
As part of our Policy Thinking series, we hear from Toby Seddon, Professor of Social Science at University College London and head of the UCL Social Research Institute, on the rising tide of drug-related deaths in the UK, and why a new joined-up approach that focuses on mobilising community public health could help tackle the crisis for individuals and communities | UCL, UK
Developing drug driving statistics
An initial feasibility study exploring drugs present in motor vehicle drivers and riders killed in reported road collisions, updated with data to 2022 | DoT, UK
Expanding our understanding of long-term trends in alcohol abstention and consumption in England (2001–19) using two age–period–cohort approaches
[Open access] Alcohol consumption has decreased in England in recent decades, while alcohol-specific death rates have remained relatively stable. Age–period–cohort (APC) models offer the potential for understanding these paradoxical trends. This study aimed to use an APC model approach to measure long-term trends in alcohol abstention and consumption in England from 2001 to 2019 | Addiction, UK
Gateshead supports campaign to fight stigma around addiction in our region
Gateshead Council is working alongside the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (NENC ICB) to share a message about stigma and addiction across the region. Stigma Kills is a campaign created by the NHS Addictions Provider Alliance, a collaborative of addiction services working to ensure quality, knowledge, and care in addiction services across the UK. The digital campaign asks the public, as well as health and social care workers, to 'see the person, hear their story.' | Gateshead Council, UK
Drugs: Rehabilitation
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing harm reduction centres for drug users | They work for you, UK
Nitazenes: Misuse
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to (a) tackle the use of nitazenes and (b) help ensure that drug users are safe in the context of trends in the use of those drugs | They work for you, UK
Bristol opens first regular drug checking service – but we can’t stop there
The UK’s first drug checking service will prove invaluable in protecting people from drug-related harms...“The illicit drug market is cowboy country,” says Harry Shapiro, director of information service DrugWise. “All sorts of things are mixed in.” | The Lead, UK
Potent synthetic opioids: preparing for a future threat
Updated - Added a new section ‘Drug testing to reduce harm’ and updated the section ‘Drug testing and screening for surveillance’. | OHID, UK
New data reveals continued concerns regarding youth vaping: ASH calls for urgent government action
Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) has released new findings from a comprehensive survey examining the vaping behaviour of 11-17 year olds in Britain. The data reveals that while the rate of youth vaping has stabilised, it remains a serious cause for concern, with close to a million children having tried vaping. The survey highlights key trends which emphasise the need for immediate government intervention | ASH, UK