Home | Archive | Weekly | Reports
Weekly news - 26th January 2024 |
 |
In date order, Monday to Friday
People who inject drugs: HIV and viral hepatitis monitoring
Data tables and commentary for the unlinked anonymous monitoring surveys of infections and risk among people who inject drugs (PWID) | UKHSA, UK
Planning and implementing community-based drug checking services in Scotland: a qualitative exploration using the consolidated framework for implementation research
Drug checking services (DCS) provide harm reduction support and advice to individuals based on chemical analysis of submitted substances of concern. Whilst there are currently no DCS in Scotland, community-based services are being planned in three cities. In this paper, we report qualitative findings based on interviews with 43 participants, focused on perceptions of DCS and their implementation | Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy, UK
Adverts ban to make kids kick the vaping habit
Last [week] the Scottish Government confirmed it had activated legal powers to enforce an advertising ban. Increasing the legal age for purchasing the products from 18 to 21 will also be considered | Mail Online, UK
Impact on wine sales of removing the largest serving size by the glass: An A-B-A reversal trial in 21 pubs, bars, and restaurants in England
Interventions that alter aspects of the physical environments in which unhealthy behaviours occur have the potential to change behaviour at scale, i.e., across populations, and thereby decrease the risk of several diseases. One set of such interventions involves reducing serving sizes, which could reduce alcohol consumption | PLOS One, UK
Women using drugs and alcohol can feel stigmatised and shamed when seeking support from professional services, a new study has found
The research is based on the experiences of women using community drug and alcohol treatment services across the West Midlands, as well as professionals in the field | Staffordshire University, UK
Street Drugs that Pose the Greatest Threat in 2024
The impotent ‘War on Drugs’ policy pursued by the Government won’t work without an attitudinal shift, argues Ian Hamilton | Byline Times, UK
Podcast: Can electronic cigarettes help people stop smoking, and do they have any unwanted effects when used for this purpose?
Among the nearly 100 reviews produced by the Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group, their review of the use of electronic cigarettes in smoking cessation is now being managed as a living systematic review, with monthly searches to keep an eye on the evidence base, so that the published review can be refreshed as necessary. The review was re-badged as a living review in 2021 and its fourth update in this format was published in January 2024. Here's one of the authors, Ailsa Butler from the University of Oxford in the UK to summarise the latest findings | Cochrane, UK
Disposable vapes ban ‘could lead to relapse in people trying to quit smoking’
Study suggests proposal to prevent uptake by children in UK may discourage use of e-cigarettes instead of tobacco among adults | Guardian, UK
Lancaster teens ill after using contaminated vapes
Five teenagers required hospital treatment after using vapes believed to be contaminated with dangerous Class B drugs, police have said | BBC, UK
Guidance: Community pharmacy: delivering substance misuse services
This guidance is for community pharmacies in England that deliver services to people who use drugs and alcohol. It aims to: 1) assist the commissioning and delivery of high quality, safe and effective care that can engage more people in drug and alcohol treatment, and 2) reduce harms associated with the use of drugs and alcohol, including deaths from accidental overdose | OHID, UK
Research and analysis: Helping people in alcohol and drug treatment services into work
This is a summary of the effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and qualitative findings from the Individual Placement and Support - Alcohol and Drug (IPS-AD) study. [IPS is an intervention that helps people with health conditions to get paid employment] | OHID, UK
Open consultation: Proposals to expand access to take-home naloxone supplies
This consultation closes at 11:59pm on 6 March 2024. This consultation is the government’s official response to the 2021 consultation Expanding access to naloxone. That initial consultation sought to expand the list of named services and individuals that can distribute naloxone without a prescription or other written instruction. Following significant engagement across the devolved administrations, we are now seeking views on legislative proposals that go further than those consulted on in 2021... | Department of Health and Social Care, Department of Health (Northern Ireland), The Scottish Government, and Welsh Government, UK
Oregon Democrats move to undo key part of drug decriminalization law
New bill would recriminalize the possession of small amounts of drugs as a low-level misdemeanor in the state | Guardian, UK
New report — Heroin and other opioids pose substantial threat to health and security in Europe
What are the latest changes in the EU opioids market? How are global geopolitical developments impacting supply? Are heroin trafficking routes changing? To what extent do synthetic opioids pose a threat to Europe? These are among the issues explored in a new analysis — EU Drug Market: Heroin and other opioids | EMCDDA, Portugal
Press Release: The UK’s first regular drug checking service launches in Bristol this month (PDF)
The UK’s first regular drug checking service is set to launch in Bristol this month, delivered by leading harm reduction charity The Loop. In partnership with Bristol City Council and Bristol Drugs Project, The Loop will be bringing its pioneering service, which combines personalised health advice with drug testing, to central Bristol | BDP, The Loop, UK
National statistics: Substance misuse treatment for young people: 2022 to 2023
Alcohol and drug treatment data for young people under 18, from the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS) | OHID, UK
Official Statistics: Substance misuse treatment in secure settings: 2022 to 2023
Statistics for alcohol and drug misuse treatment in prisons and other secure settings from the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS) | OHID, UK
Calls for Chancellor to ‘curb the mounting death toll from alcohol’ ahead of Spring Budget
A group of 35 leading health experts from the Alcohol Health Alliance (AHA) are urging the Chancellor of the Exchequer to increase alcohol duty by 2% above inflation in the upcoming Spring Budget. If implemented, the group say it will help to curb the mounting death toll from alcohol, reduce pressure on the NHS and generate revenue for the economy | AHA, UK
Report of the Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use
This report published in two volumes, details the proceedings, deliberations and recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly on Drugs Use. The Assembly concluded its work by making 36 recommendations, which are published in Volume 1 of this report. Taken together, these recommendations provide a strong and uneuivocal signal to the Government and the Oireachtas that the State needs to take a far more innovative, ambitious, comprehensive and coherent approach to drugs use in Ireland | Citizen's Assemby, Ireland