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Weekly news - 17th January 2025 |
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In date order, Monday to Friday
Cross-border addiction services awarded £12.4m peace funding
Two projects delivering addiction services in Northern Ireland and the border counties are to receive more than £12m in funding. The money, allocated through the cross-border Peaceplus programme, is distributed between a project helping people with alcohol dependence and another piloting digital devices aimed at helping people who struggle with substance abuse | BBC, UK
The Thistle - Safer Drug Consumption Room - video
Tour of the newly opened drug consumption room in Glasgow | Glasgow City HSCP | Glasgow City HSCP, UK
Nicotine Pouch Use in Great Britain at 1% in Youths and Adults as government plans to regulate
New research from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London, in partnership with Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) has found that about 1% of adults (18 and over) and youths (11-18 year olds) report currently using a nicotine pouch | KCL, UK
'The dangers of ketamine are real'
The mother of a teenager who died after taking ketamine on her first day at Newcastle University has welcomed calls to upgrade the drug to class A | BBC, UK
Council leader says alcohol harm data 'alarming'
The rate of deaths linked to alcohol in Northumberland is far higher than the national average, figures presented to a health board have revealed | BBC, UK
Jameson teams up with Drinkaware and football legend Jay Bothroyd to encourage fans to check their drinking
Drinkaware, Jameson and former England international and football star Jay Bothroyd team up to launch campaign encouraging football fans to check their drinking | Morning Advertiser, UK
Ketamine’s move from club to ‘chill-out’ drug is sign of a troubling culture shift
Experts say mental health treatment is key to tackling rise in UK, rather than simply reclassifying drug as class A | Guardian, UK
News story: ACMD appoints 10 leading experts
Ten leading experts have joined the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) to strengthen its vital work advising the government on drug harms | ACMD, UK
Study finds cash rewards help smokers quit
Giving money, vouchers or returning cash deposits to people who smoke has helped them give up the habit, new research has found | BBC, UK
New smartwatch app 'could help smokers quit'
A new smartwatch app which intervenes when typical hand movements of smoking are detected could help people quit, researchers say | BBC, UK
Drug consumption facilities: they’ve been around since 1986 and now Scotland has one – but do they work?
It has taken more than ten years of wrangling, but the UK’s first legal drug-consumption facility has finally opened in Glasgow. These facilities offer a safe, clean place for people to use illicit drugs, usually by injection, in the presence of health professionals. It is hoped that the facility in Glasgow, called The Thistle, will reduce drug-related overdoses (Scotland has the highest rate of drug-related deaths in Europe) and reduce the transmission of blood-borne viruses, such as HIV | Conversation, UK
Circular 002/2025: The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 Order 2024
Changes to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 to control 22 substances, with 2-benzyl benzimidazole variants (nitazenes) falling under a new generic definition | Home Office, UK
The implementation of safer drug consumption facilities in Scotland: a mixed methods needs assessment and feasibility study for the city of Edinburgh
[Open access] Scotland currently has amongst the highest rates of drug-related deaths in Europe, leading to increased advocacy for safer drug consumption facilities (SDCFs) to be piloted in the country. In response to concerns about drug-related harms in Edinburgh, elected officials have considered introducing SDCFs in the city. This paper presents key findings from a feasibility study commissioned by City of Edinburgh Council to support these deliberations | Harm Reduction Journal, UK
File on 4 Investigates: Cannabis Kids: The parents breaking the law to help their children with epilepsy
For those with intractable epilepsy the options for treatment are limited and the risk of a catastrophic seizure is very real. But a growing body of evidence has pointed to cannabis having a positive effect on preventing seizures even in people who don't respond to other drugs. In 2018, medicinal cannabis was legalised following a high profile campaign led by parents of children with intractable epilepsy. They hoped the change in the law would lead to the drug becoming widely available on the NHS. But more than six years later File on 4 Investigates has discovered families going to extreme lengths to access a drug they say is keeping their children alive | BBC, UK
Is 'The Sesh' starting to catch up with Millennials?
Attitudes to drugs have changed significantly since the late '80s, becoming more widely used and socially acceptable. But while Gen Z are embracing sober curiosity, the toll of sustained drug use is becoming more pronounced in older generations | MixMag, UK
Britain working at pace to curb rising synthetic drugs threat
More than 20 dangerous substances have been banned by the government as efforts are stepped up to combat the increasing drug threat and make our streets safer | Home Office, UK
Can rewards help people quit smoking, and do they work in the long term?
We found that people receiving rewards were more likely to have stopped smoking than those in the control groups six months or more after the beginning of the study (39 studies, 18,303 people) | Cochrane, UK
Updated harms assessment of ketamine: commissioning letter
Letter from Rt Hon Dame Diana Johnson DBE MP, Minister of State for Policing, Fire and Crime Prevention to Professor Owen Bowden-Jones, Chair, Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) inviting the ACMD to provide an updated harms assessment of ketamine, and advice on reducing harms, in response to emerging evidence, and in particular whether it should be moved to Class A | Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs and The Rt Hon Dame Diana Johnson DBE MP, UK
Review of the introduction of minimum pricing for alcohol in Wales: contribution analysis
This evaluation aimed to assess the contribution (if any) that the introduction of minimum pricing for alcohol (MPA) in Wales has made to any alcohol related behavioural, consumption, and retail outcomes | Welsh Government, UK
Guidance: Residential drug and alcohol treatment: self-assessment toolkit
A toolkit to help local areas carry out a self-assessment to improve the residential drug and alcohol treatment that they commission | OHID, UK
Seizures of drugs in England and Wales, financial year ending 2024
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 2024 in England and Wales. The data relates to all drugs controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (MDA) and the Psychoactive Substance Act 2016 (PSA). Please see the user guide for further information on this release, including the imputation methods used for missing data | Home Office, UK
New figures show cost of smoking to society in England dwarfs tobacco tax revenue
Today, Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) has published new estimates showing that smoking costs society in England £43.7 billion a year – far more than the £6.8 billion raised through tobacco taxes | ASH, UK