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Weekly news - 23rd August 2024 |
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In date order, Monday to Friday
‘Laughing gas left me in a wheelchair’
Nitrous Oxide, also known as laughing gas or NOS, is regularly used as a painkiller in medicine and dentistry. Harry Shapiro is the Director of Drug Wise, a free drug and alcohol news service. He feels the “legal boundaries” around use of the drug are ineffective and that publicity around the ban when it was first introduced was flawed | BBC Radio 5, UK
Rising concern over new 'zombie' drug in Scotland
A new drug which is increasingly being detected in overdoses and deaths is causing concern for support groups in Scotland | BBC, UK
Campaigners call on First Minister to fulfil commitment to protect Scotland’s children & young people from alcohol marketing
Alcohol Focus Scotland, BMA Scotland, Children in Scotland, Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs (SFAD), and Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP) are calling on the First Minister to reaffirm his government’s commitment to consult on alcohol marketing restrictions in the upcoming Programme for Government | Alcohol Focus Scotland, UK
Outdoor Alcohol Advertising by Area of Deprivation
Alcohol marketing is causally linked to young people drinking from an earlier age and more than they otherwise would. Individuals living in deprived areas experience greater health inequalities in comparison to those living in the least deprived areas. There is limited research on outdoor advertising of alcohol in the UK, but researchers have noted that there is a high prevalence of outdoor advertising of unhealthy commodities in deprived areas | IAS, UK
Bereaved mum says talk to your kids about drugs
The mother of a teenage girl who died after taking ecstasy has encouraged parents to talk to their children about how to reduce risks when taking drugs | BBC, UK
How do young people really feel about cocaine?
Brat summer is all about embracing old-school hedonism – but is anyone actually bumpin’ that anymore? | Dazed Digital, UK
Partnership launched with football clubs to target combined use of alcohol and cocaine
Nottinghamshire Police is working with the city and county’s professional football clubs to increase awareness of the consequences of consuming alcohol and cocaine together at matches. A new partnership has been launched with Nottingham Forest, Mansfield Town, and Notts County as part of Operation Cognition | Nottinghamshire Police, UK
Free council vapes scheme helps smokers quit
Almost a quarter of people who sought help from a city stop-smoking service used a vape to quit, organisers said | BBC, UK
Widening residential rehabilitation access
New initiatives to increase access to residential rehabilitation across Scotland which will be able to support more than 100 residential rehab placements have been introduced. Local Alcohol and Drug Partnerships (ADPs) that are experiencing high demand will be able to access extra funding from the new £2 million Scottish Government Residential Rehabilitation Additional Placement Fund (APF). In addition, a national online service directory will also provide an up-to-date nationwide list of residential rehabilitation providers for the first time | Scottish Government, UK
Evaluation shows need to improve treatment
On Tuesday this week National Records of Scotland will publish the latest figures on drug-related deaths in Scotland. In anticipation of that publication, Scottish Drugs Forum publishes new report Medication Assisted Treatment: Evaluation of Current Practice Across Eight Health Board Areas in Scotland. The report is the result of months of activity interviewing and then re-interviewing people as they progressed through their engagement with drug treatment services in Scotland | SDF, UK
Black children in England and Wales four times more likely to be strip-searched, figures show
Children’s commissioner finds wide disparity with white counterparts in year to June 2023, with 88% of searches aimed at finding drugs | Guardian, UK
Urgent warning over fake vodka that smells of ‘nail varnish remover’
More than 40 bottles of counterfeit vodka have been seized from a shop in Scotland after a customer reported it smelling of nail varnish remover | Metro, UK
Drug misuse deaths increase
1,172 people died due to drug misuse in 2023, according to latest statistics published by National Records of Scotland. This is an increase of 121 deaths compared with 2022 | National Records of Scotland, UK
Scotland’s drug deaths remain worst in Europe amid ‘concerning’ 12% increase
Government pledges to step up efforts to tackle problem as figures show number of deaths rose to 1,172 in 2023 | Guardian, UK
UK's first drugs consumption room to open in October
The UK's first official consumption room for illegal drugs including heroin and cocaine will open in Glasgow on 21 October. The Safer Drugs Consumption Facility on Hunter Street in the city's east end will accommodate up to 30 service users at a time | BBC, UK
Drug Testing on Arrest (DToA): programme data
A summary of the activity of the Drug Testing on Arrest (DToA) programme since its launch in March 2022. Updated summary and data tables up to March 2024 | Home Office, UK
Largest ever trial of ketamine to treat alcohol abuse to launch across eight NHS sites
The phase III clinical trial will explore the use of low-dose ketamine combined with psychological support as a therapy for people with alcohol use disorder | Pharmaceutical Journal, UK
Characteristics of consumers of alcohol-free and low-alcohol drinks in Great Britain: A cross-sectional study
[Open access] The impact of alcohol-free and low-alcohol (no/lo) drinks on public health and health inequalities depends on who consumes them and how they are consumed. This study aimed to estimate: (i) the proportions of adults in Great Britain who consume no/lo drinks at different frequencies and in different settings; and (ii) the associations between no/lo drink consumption and individual characteristics | DAR, UK
Drinkaware partners with Tesco and Heineken UK to get customers to check their drinking
Drinkaware has partnered with Tesco and Heineken® 0.0 as part of their nationwide campaign to get more people to check their drinking. Customers across 50 Tesco stores in the UK will have the opportunity to complete an in-person Drinking Check. Customers who complete the Drinking Check will get a free sample of Heineken® 0.0 | Drinkaware, UK
Taking a trip down memory lane could be the key to drinking less alcohol
A new study led by the University of Portsmouth suggests recollecting a previous drinking episode could put women off drinking too much | University of Portsmouth, UK
The impact of the introduction of tobacco product plain packaging on consumer responses in Ireland: a real-world policy evaluation stratified by socioeconomic groups
[Open access] Smoking prevalence remains high in Europe and widening socioeconomic group differences are driving health inequalities. While plain packaging policies disrupt tobacco industry tactics that sustain smoking, evidence of their equity impact is sparse. This study evaluated the implementation of plain packaging in Ireland in 2018 on consumer responses, overall and by the socioeconomic group | EJPH, UK