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Weekly news - 27th June 2025 |
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In date order, Monday to Friday
Alcohol should have labels warning drinkers of cancer risks, charities say
Health organisations have written to Keir Starmer urging him to force drinks producers to include warnings | Guardian, UK
Bacardi Breezers to BuzzBallz: why gen Z aren’t the booze buzzkills we’ve been led to believe
Research suggests younger drinkers socialise for longer and embrace bolder, boozier options as drinks companies pivot to catch up | Guardian, UK
Vaping Exposes Pregnant Women to Fewer Toxins than Smoking
Pregnant women are exposed to lower levels of toxic chemicals if they vape during pregnancy compared with if they smoke cigarettes, according to new research led by scientists at City St George’s, University of London and published today in Nicotine and Tobacco Research | City St George's University of London, UK
Could Ketamine on the NHS help treat severe depression?
Ketamine is increasingly known as a party drug which is linked to serious health problems, even fatalities. But there is growing interest in Scotland in its potential to treat severe depression. One NHS Lothian psychiatrist hopes to set up a clinic by the end of the year offering the Category B drug as an alternative to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), a treatment that involves sending an electric current through the brain | BBC, UK
Launch of ‘Safe futures’: a project tackling the recruitment of young people into drug markets
This week, the EUDA and the University of Limerick’s REPPP team (1) officially launched ‘Safe futures’, a project focused on identifying effective ways to prevent youth involvement in European drug markets. The initiative responds to growing public and policy concern about the increasing recruitment and exploitation of young people by criminal drug networks across Europe. These networks often target the most vulnerable young people, leading to significant security, social and public health consequences | EUDA, Portugal
Scotland’s alcohol consumption continues to exceed safe levels
New data published by Public Health Scotland (PHS) reveals people in Scotland are drinking 50% above safe limits, with more deprived communities hit hardest. Despite recent improvements, Scotland continues to face a significant alcohol problem, with adults who drink alcohol consuming an average of 21.6 units per week. This is more than 50% above the Chief Medical Officers' safe drinking guidelines of 14 for both men and women | Public Health Scotland, UK
National drug and alcohol treatment waiting times
10,233 referrals were made to community-based specialist drug and alcohol treatment services: 5,012 (49.0%) were for problematic use of alcohol, 3,845 (37.6%) for problematic use of drugs, and 1,376 (13.4%) for co-dependency (problematic use of both alcohol and drugs) | Public Health Scotland, UK
Estimated numbers of people prescribed opioid substitution therapy in Scotland
In the 12-month period ending 31 December 2024 (the end of 2024/25 Q3), Opioid Substitution Therapy (OST) was prescribed to an estimated minimum of 28,644 people in Scotland. In the 12 months to the end of the previous financial year quarter (2024/25 Q2) an estimated minimum of 29,126 people were prescribed OST | Public Health Scotland, UK
Ketamine crisis ‘overwhelming’ authorities as children as young as 12 becoming 'addicted' to drug
Local leaders in Cheshire are battling to keep ketamine at bay across the county, with health officials warning of the "life-changing" consequences of prolonged use of the drug that 13-year-olds are understood to be dealing | ITV, UK
WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic, 2025: warning about the dangers of tobacco
The tenth WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic tracks the progress made by countries in tobacco control since 2008. The MPOWER technical package was designed to help countries adopt the demand-reduction measures of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The 2025 report focuses on the W measure: warn about the dangers of tobacco and shows that with 6.1 billion people protected by at least one MPOWER measure at best-practice level many countries continue to make progress in the fight against tobacco | WHO, Denmark
Supporting the Drug & Alcohol Workforce: Guiding Principles
The Scottish Government has published the Guiding Principles for supporting employees with lived and living experience of problematic substance use. These six principles will support staff and help foster a supportive and inclusive workplace. The Scottish Government wants organisations to utilise and endorse the principles. This will show they support ensuring that people are given the appropriate support and the same opportunities. Organisations can contact: drugsandalcoholworkforce@gov.scot to endorse the ‘Guiding Principles’ or to ask any questions | Scottish Government, UK
New study calls for rethink on alcohol policy
A new study by a team psychologists, linguists and policy experts from University of Staffordshire, University of Liverpool, Oxford Brookes University and London South Bank University reveals stark differences in the way that policymakers and the public talk about alcohol consumption – and argues for a new approach to alcohol interventions and health campaigns | University of Staffordshire, UK
Addiction psychiatrist discusses the 'therapeutic potential' vs 'rising harms' of ketamine - video
Professor Owen Bowden-Jones CBE is an addiction psychiatrist who established the UK’s first club drug clinic offering treatment for emerging drug problems, including novel psychoactive substances and club drugs. In this interview, he speaks to the SSA about two parallel storylines around ketamine: growing excitement about its therapeutic potential, and rising concerns about the harms of illicit use | SSA, UK
Jury told to consider murder accused's drugs use
Jurors in a baby murder trial have been told to find the defendant not guilty of murder if they believe his cannabis consumption meant that he did not intend to kill her | BBC, UK
EU seaports must join forces to tackle maritime drug trafficking and strengthen data reporting, new report finds
EU seaports remain a prime focus for drug trafficking networks, serving as key entry points for illicit drugs into the region. As a result, there is a vital need for closer cooperation and better data sharing among ports to effectively tackle the problem. This is according to a new report released ahead of International day against drug abuse and illicit trafficking (26 June). The report, entitled Seaports: monitoring the EU’s floodgates for illicit drugs, is a joint analysis by the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) and the World Customs Organization (WCO) Regional Intelligence Liaison Office for Western Europe | EUDA, Portugal
World Drug Report 2025
A global reference on drug markets, trends and policy developments, the World Drug Report offers a wealth of data and analysis and in 2025 comprises several elements tailored to different audiences. The web-based Drug market patterns and trends contains the latest analysis of global, regional and subregional estimates of and trends in drug demand and supply in a user-friendly, interactive format supported by graphs, infographics and maps. Key findings provides an overview of selected findings from the analysis presented in Drug market patterns and trends and the thematic chapters of Contemporary issues on drugs, while Special points of interest offers a framework for the main takeaways and policy implications that can be drawn from those findings | UNODC, Austria
Ministers considering alcohol advertising restrictions in line with junk food
Wes Streeting is set to announce radical reforms for the NHS in England after the recent spending review allocated £29 billion to the health service | Independent, UK
Naloxone: EDM (Early Day Motion)1561: tabled on 25 June 2025
This motion has been signed by 3 Members. Motion text: That this House recognises the importance of naloxone as a lifesaving medication that temporarily reverses the effects of an opioid overdose; expresses alarm at the broad rise of deaths involving opioids in recent years... and therefore calls on the Government to ensure that naloxone is made available at key public locations, a national naloxone programme is introduced, and a national public awareness campaign is commissioned... | UK Parliament, UK