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Weekly news - 19th January 2024 |
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In date order, Monday to Friday
Drug and Alcohol Treatment and Recovery Services National Workforce Census (PDF)
NHS England, together with the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) have developed a 10-year workforce strategic plan, (2024-2034) which outlines the vision for the drug and alcohol treatment and recovery workforce. To support the continued development of workforce and training plans, the NHS Benchmarking Network were commissioned to develop and undertake a workforce census. This is the second year of the census and provides an update as at the 30th June 2023 compared to the baseline position established as at 30th June 2022 | NHS Benchmarking Network, UK
Synthetic opioids could fuel ‘second wave’ of UK drug deaths crisis, experts warn
Government urged to act as experts sound the alarm on nitazenes, with 54 deaths in past six months likely ‘tip of the iceberg’ | Independent, UK
Revealed: Huge rise in women drinking themselves to death
Exclusive: Expert warns ‘incessant marketing of drinks towards women’ has helped fuel a surge in alcohol-related deaths, particularly liver disease | Independent, UK
Booze tax: Scottish Labour calls for public health levy on alcohol
Scottish Labour has called for the introduction of a public health levy on alcohol sales, to fund "vital, life-saving treatment." | Herald, UK
Non-opiate and cannabis drug use in minority ethnic groups
This study explores non-opiate and cannabis drug use among minority ethnic groups in England and their support and treatment needs | NatCen, UK
New report reveals key features of no and low alcohol drinks market
‘No- and low-alcohol drinks in Great Britain: Monitoring report’ was produced as part of an NIHR-funded project which explores whether making non-alcoholic or low-alcohol drinks more available and popular in Great Britain can improve people’s health. The report draws on our analyses of commercial market research data along with our own survey data to provide a detailed description of the no/lo drinks market in Britain, who drinks these products and how that is changing over time. It also offers insights into key topics including pricing, market concentration and differences between the off-trade and on-trade sectors | SARG, UK
Disposable vapes: Sheffield City Council calls for government ban
The council's leader Tom Hunt has sent a letter to Health Secretary Victoria Atkins this week over concerns about youth vaping. In the letter, Mr Hunt said disposable vapes should no longer be available to protect children and the environment | BBC, UK
Nitazenes—heralding a second wave for the UK drug-related death crisis?
The UK is in the midst of a drug-related crisis. Likely contributory factors include: disinvestment in drug treatment, harm reduction, and public services; changing patterns of socioeconomic deprivation; increasing poly-drug use; and an ageing cohort of people who use heroin. The UK crisis has not reached the scale of that in the US where 106,699 overdose deaths were reported in 2021. The latest wave of the crisis in the US has been driven primarily by fentanyl and other synthetic opioids, which were implicated in 88% of these deaths | Lancet comment, UK
Tobacco and alcohol fuel surprise inflation rise
Tobacco and alcohol prices were up 12.9% in December compared to the month before, with the former rising due to recent tax hikes on the product | BBC, UK
People buying opioids and sedatives online face deadly fakes, expert warns
National Crime Agency reveals 65 people have died from taking nitazenes, which are up to 100 times stronger than heroin | Guardian, UK
E-cigarettes help pregnant smokers quit without risks to pregnancy
A new analysis of trial data on pregnant smokers, led by researchers at Queen Mary University of London, finds that the regular use of nicotine replacement products during pregnancy is not associated with adverse pregnancy events or poor pregnancy outcomes [See also Expert Reaction in Blogs section below] | QMUL, UK
Illegal Vapes - parliamentary debate
Peter Gibson: I am pleased to have secured this debate, in order to highlight my concerns about the use and sale of illegal vapes. As a country, we should be pleased with the progress that we have made in reducing smoking, with smoking rates falling to their lowest since records began; now, only 12.9% of the population smoke. In some part, this progress is down to the wide array of nicotine replacements ... | They work for you, UK
Clause 15 - Testing of persons in police detention for presence of controlled drugs
Chris Philp: This series of Government amendments and associated clauses expands the police powers to drug test on arrest to include locations outside of custody. That includes introducing a new police power into part 3 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 to drug test persons on arrest at a location outside of the custody suite when certain conditions have been met. It also amends part 3 of the Drugs Act 2005 to provide the police with a power to require people who test positive to attend an initial assessment—and, when appropriate, a follow-up assessment—in respect of their drug misuse | They work for you, UK
Portman Group launches first industry wide Alcohol Alternatives Guidance for packaging and marketing
[Yesterday], the Portman Group launched the first industry wide and freely available Alcohol Alternatives Guidance for packaging and marketing to help producers ensure alcohol alternative products are marketed and sold responsibly to consumers. The Portman Group’s Advisory Service will now also offer free, confidential advice to producers launching products in the category and low cost training to the industry will also be available. The full guidance can be read here and the quick read here | Portman Group, UK
Drug charity gets millions in funding to support addict recovery
A London charity has won a council contract worth £5.8m a year to deliver drug and alcohol addict recovery services in Gloucestershire. Via will be based in Cheltenham and Stroud from April, as well as bringing the UK's first women's detox service to the area with The Nelson Trust | BBC, UK
Prison officer wins payout over exposure to inmates' drugs
Prison bosses have paid compensation to a warden who was left hallucinating and became violent after inhaling drugs which were being taken by inmates | BBC, UK
Press Partnership: Drugs and Alcohol (PDF)
The Press Partnership is an innovative collaboration between DHSC and the news publishing industry, comprising over 350 national, regional, local and multicultural publications in England, reaching 17.7m adults (34%) daily. These insertions aim to raise awareness of drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services with family members and friends of individuals that are dependent on, or having problems with, drugs and alcohol, as well among people who may be experiencing problems themselves, particularly those using alcohol, cannabis, and cocaine | DHSC, UK
Seizures of drugs in England and Wales, financial year ending 2023
This publication provides an overview of drug seizures made by the police (including the British Transport Police) and Border Force in the year ending 31 March 2023 in England and Wales. Police forces and Border Force made a total of 191,623 drug seizures in England and Wales in the year ending March 2023, a 1% increase compared with the previous year (188,929) | Home Office, UK
Removing large wine measures cuts drinking by 7.6% in study
Removing the largest glass of wine from sale cuts the total amount people drink by 7.6%, a four-week trial in 21 pubs, bars and restaurants suggest | BBC, UK
Funding cuts to blame for ketamine use increase - council leader
A Labour council leader has blamed government funding cuts for a rise in drug use and crime in the area. St Helens Council leader David Baines was reacting to reports of an increase in the number of young people taking ketamine in the last two years | BBC, UK