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Weekly news - 5th July 2024

In date order, Monday to Friday

About Alcohol Awareness Week

1st -7th July 2024. Alcohol Awareness Week is a chance for the UK to get thinking about drinking. It’s a week of awareness-raising, campaigning for change, and more... | Alcohol Change UK, UK

Seven people treated in UK hospital after taking sleep medication zopiclone

Police warn of ‘potentially contaminated batch’ after adults taken to hospital in County Durham | Guardian, UK

Revealed: how Sunak dropped smoking ban amid lobbying from tobacco firms

Investigation details industry campaign including legal threats and charm offensive aimed at Tory MPs | Guardian, UK

Bereaved families call for drug law change

Thousands of homemade flowers have been left on a city centre green space this week by bereaved families calling for drug regulation. Each of the 4,305 paper flowers laid on College Green in Bristol on Tuesday represented a life lost to drugs in the UK. Organised by charities Transform Drug Policy Foundation and Anyone's Child, the event saw families share their stories publicly | BBC, UK

Almost 10,000 British troops treated for alcohol abuse in past five years, shock figures reveal

A top military insider warns: 'Abuse of alcohol has long been a chronic problem in the Army – more so than misuse of drugs' | Sun, UK

DDN July/August 2024 - out now

‘The staff that work with you don’t always see the end… I wanted to show them what recovery looks like," Hendrik’s message is an important one (p18) when things feel tough at work – and adds to the celebratory feel of Turning Point’s 60 years of changing lives. On this note, it’s 40 years since Adfam set out to give families a voice in their own right (p6) and it hasn’t been easy to survive patchy funding, the pandemic, and the logistics of managing greater and more varied demands. But they have, and are stronger and more ambitious than ever. Plus, with festival season upon us we’re taking a look at practice from across Europe to find the best initiatives to go beyond simply drug checking (p10) | DDN, UK

Coroner's 'grave concerns' over online drug sales

A coroner has expressed “grave concerns” over the ability to buy “powerful” drugs online following the death of a man in Leicestershire. Nigel Dixon, 64, died from an overdose of two medications in February 2023. The former army veteran bought one of the medications online in larger doses than would usually be prescribed by a GP | BBC, UK

UK universities urged to end drugs zero tolerance and focus on harm reduction

UK universities are being urged to ditch a zero-tolerance approach to drug use and focus instead on public health and harm reduction, with drug testing and non-judgmental support for students seeking help. The warning came as new research found students are less likely to use drugs than those of the same age group in the general population. Of the minority that do, more than two out of five would like to reduce their use | Guardian, UK

University first to train all nurses to use anti-drug overdose kits

All nurses at the University of Bradford will now receive training on how to use naloxone; a life saving medication which can reverse overdoses caused by opiates | University of Bradford, UK

Schoolgirl died 'after taking cocaine and ecstasy'

A Londonderry schoolgirl died after taking drugs, including ecstasy, cocaine and synthetic amphetamine, a coroner has found. Caitlin McLaughlin, 16, collapsed at the end of last year’s Belsonic music festival in Belfast's Ormeau Park | BBC, UK

New European Union Drugs Agency starts work with broader mandate

[Yesterday], the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) officially started work in Lisbon replacing the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA). The development is the result of legislation entering into application, which revises the EMCDDA mandate and name and formally establishes the EUDA. With new tools and competencies, the EUDA will play a key role in strengthening the EU's response to emerging health and security challenges posed by illicit drugs | EUDA, Portugal

Enabling student health and success

We have published a report covering the work of our taskforce into tackling supply and demand for drugs in the context of student health and wellbeing. Our taskforce was convened in 2022 to build a stronger evidence base to help universities understand and address student drug use. Previous research has shown a rise in drug use in the population as a whole but has not focused on students in particular | Universities UK, UK

Rates of smoking in pregnancy see biggest single-year drop since data started being recorded

New data from NHS digital shows that smoking rates among pregnant women have fallen to an all-time low, with the biggest drop in smoking rates since records began in 2006. The fall from 8.8% in 2022/23 to 7.3% in 2023/24 follows sustained investment to provide better quit support to women who smoke within their maternity care | ASH, UK

Drinkaware launches campaign to check your drinking

Drinkaware’s research showed that two-thirds (66%) of adult drinkers in the UK, an estimated 30 million people, have never been asked to check their drinking. Taking the Drinking Check on Drinkaware’s website is a quick and easy way to understand how alcohol may be impacting your health. It also provides advice on how to have a healthier relationship with alcohol | Drinkaware, UK