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Weekly news - 11th October 2024

In date order, Monday to Friday

England urged to bring in minimum unit price on alcohol as deaths rise 10% a year

Health leaders tell government to follow Scotland and Wales on cost of cheap booze after Darzi report on death toll | Guardian, UK

Vaping ‘to be banned outside schools and hospitals’ in England

Measures to stop children from vaping could be included in forthcoming tobacco and vapes bill | Guardian, UK

Some vapes claiming to be cannabis contain ‘synthetic cannabinoid’ – study

University of Bath researchers found seven vaporizers sourced from the US contained dangerous SC compound | Guardian, UK

Drug consumption room: a lifesaver or a life sentence for addicts?

The UK's first drug consumption room allowing people to take illegal substances without the threat of arrest is due to open in Glasgow this month. The safer drugs consumption facility will be located on Hunter Street, in the city's east end, and is intended to help reduce the number of drug-related deaths in Scotland by giving people a place to inject without the risk of overdosing. Here 1919 Magazine answers the key questions surrounding the launch of the drug consumption room, before two politicians with very different opinions about the facility give their views | 1919 Magazine, UK

Smoking rates on the increase in seaside town

The proportion of smokers in the Lancashire resort was 21.3% in 2023 - one fifth of adults who live there - and the second highest area in the UK | BBC, UK

‘Unprecedented’ decline in US drug overdose deaths gives experts hope

A new report states fatalities had decreased by 10% as of April 2024 while 911 first-responder calls were 16.7% lower | Guardian, UK

DDN October 2024 - out now

Maff Potts walked into our conference with a sofa over his shoulder. He went back to his van for another, then comfy chairs, standard lamps, beanbags, occasional tables… When he said he would create a living room we didn’t realise the scale of his vision – the social movement behind Camerados, the brave, brilliant, yet simple idea of enabling social cohesion by providing space to talk and connect. Having somewhere to call home; looking after our mental health and wellbeing – it’s about joining up the dots. Our coverage from Cranstoun’s social justice conference reflects things we spend our lives trying to fix | DDN, UK

UK campaigners call for tobacco windfall tax and yearly levy on ‘lethal trade’

Rachel Reeves urged to levy ‘double whammy’ on firms’ £1bn annual profits to fund measures to end smoking | Guardian, UK

SPFL criticised after Carling unveiled as official beer of Scottish football

The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) has faced criticism after Carling was unveiled as Scottish football’s official beer. The lager giant signed a partnership with the SPFL set to run until at least the end of the 2026/27 season and will see Carling represented at league matches and every round of the Premier Sports Cup | STV News, UK

Analysis reveals families and communities impacted by drug-related deaths in Scotland

A review which analysed the circumstances of each person who experienced a drug related death in Scotland in 2019 and 2020 has been published by Public Health Scotland. Since 2018, Scotland has consecutively had the highest rate of drug related deaths in Europe | Public Health Scotland, UK

National drug related death database (Scotland)

Scotland has a cohort of people with problematic drug use who have multiple complex health and social care needs. Many people who had a DRD shared similar characteristics: they were male, aged over 35, socially deprived, lived alone and had a history of long term and / or injecting opioid use and near fatal overdose | Public Health Scotland, UK

Health experts join forces in plea to Government

In an open letter to the Prime Minister and Chancellor, over 45 health experts and organisations have urged the Government to increase funding for public health ahead of this month’s budget | Association of Directors of Public Health, UK

Young people face ‘troubling’ challenges to social mobility, Commission reveals

This Social Mobility Commission report examines young people’s mental health, truancy, use of alcohol and drugs and the support they receive in the home. Children aged 11-15, from more advantaged families, were found to be more likely to use alcohol, drugs and vape. 32% of young people from better off families self-reported consuming alcohol in the last month compared to 19% from poorer families. A similar trend is shown when looking at young people’s experiences of drug use with 23% of those from more wealthier families having taken drugs in the past month compared to 17% of those from less well off families | Social Mobility Commission, UK

Systematic review: The relationship between gabapentinoids, etizolam, and drug related deaths in Scotland

In recent years Scotland has been experiencing a disproportionally high number of drug related deaths compared to other European countries, causing significant individual, societal and economic burden. A possible cause of this is the increase in average number of substances involved in Scottish drug related deaths, as well as the changing pattern of substances involved. Opioids, cocaine, and alcohol have been consistently involved in the culture of drug use in Scotland, however recently National Records Scotland have identified that designer benzodiazepines such as etizolam, and prescription drugs such as gabapentinoids are increasingly being detected in Scottish toxicology reports | PLOS One, UK

Guidance on recovery support services and lived experience initiatives updated

OHID and the College of Lived Experience Recovery Organisations (CLERO) have updated their joint guidance on recovery support services and lived experience initiatives. Updates include adding content on new publications such as research, amending information on legislation that has come into force since the original publication, adding information about other legislation and updating data. This guidance supports alcohol and drug treatment and recovery partnerships to understand the evidence for, value of and ways to develop lived experience initiatives and recovery support services. These initiatives and services help individuals and their families sustain recovery long term. The guidance was written in collaboration with Dr Ed Day, National Recovery Champion and the CLERO | OHID, UK

Delay in opening of UK's first drugs consumption room

The Safer Drugs Consumption Facility on Hunter Street, Glasgow, was due to open on 21 October but has been pushed back while checks are carried out on the building | BBC, UK

[Open access] This study aimed to estimate time trends in alcohol expenditure among risky drinkers in England over the past decade, to understand whether these trends are driven by changes in prices paid or volumes purchased, and to explore differences between population subgroups | IJDP, UK

Treatments for stimulant use disorder – a rapid review for policy makers and practitioners (PDF)

Stimulant use, in particular cocaine, is an increasing concern in Scotland and there is a need for better understanding of the treatment options. This report gives an overview of evidence from systematic reviews of the safety and efficacy of psychosocial and pharmacological treatments for stimulant use disorder. We also note active areas of research with emerging evidence not included in systematic reviews | DRNS, UK

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