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Weekly news - 31st October 2025

In date order, Monday to Friday

Tobacco and Vapes Bill begins Lords committee stage

Members of the House of Lords begin their detailed examination of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill in committee stage on Monday 27 October. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill aims to create the first “smoke-free generation” by ensuring children turning 15 this year or younger can never be legally sold tobacco. It also seeks to enable product and information requirements to be imposed in connection with tobacco, vapes and other products | UK Parliament, UK

Over 1,200 health leaders call for swift passage of UK tobacco and vapes bill

Experts publish letter as peers prepare to scrutinise draft legislation six months after its second Commons reading | Guardian, UK

Scottish Health Survey

This report presents results for the Scottish Health Survey 2024, providing information on the health and factors relating to health of people living in Scotland. Included are chapters on both alcohol and smoking | Scottish Government, UK

Union backs industry campaign on alcohol licensing notices

The journalists’ union has added its weight to a growing industry campaign to halt government plans to relax regulations around alcohol licensing | Hold the Front Page, UK

Co-op staff told to boost promotion of vapes after costly cyber-attack, document shows

Exclusive: Approach complies with law but some workers question whether it contradicts standing as ‘ethical’ retailer | Guardian, UK

'Secret ketamine addiction killed my daughter'

Beth Ashton, 25, weighed less than her four-year-old sister, had a perforated lung and her bladder had "completely collapsed" by the time she died last November | BBC, UK

New funding schemes from the SSA and Office for Life Sciences

The SSA will run new funding schemes as part of the UK Government’s Addiction Healthcare Goals flagship research leadership programme | SSA, UK

Rapid Action Drug Alerts and Response (RADAR) quarterly report

Drug-related harms were higher between June and August 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, but lower than in 2023. Most harms involved multiple drugs, reflecting continued polysubstance use. Significant market shifts were observed: detections of nitazene-type opioids in deaths reached their highest level to date; cocaine was the most frequently reported drug across treatment and toxicology data; and a new street benzodiazepine, ethylbromazolam, emerged | Public Health Scotland, UK

WEDINOS: Philtre April 2024 – March 2025 (PDF)

A total of 8,032 samples have been analysed, revealing 211 distinct psychoactive substances either individually or in combination. For the sixth consecutive year, benzodiazepines remain the most frequently identified group, with 22 different benzodiazepines detected—an increase from 20 in 2021/22. Cocaine was the most commonly detected psychoactive substance overall, strongly influenced by high submissions from the Night Time Economy | WEDINOS, UK

Evaluation of the Scottish Government Residential Rehabilitation programme

A total of 15 Scottish residential rehab providers, covering 19 different Scottish rehab centres, submitted data for the detailed client-level data collection exercise. Detailed client-level data were submitted for 870 individuals for calendar year 2023 | Public Health Scotland, UK

Gen Z drinking less, or just drinking differently? New data challenges assumptions

The long-running story that Gen Z are turning their backs on alcohol is losing strength. New research from Lumina Intelligence and CGA by NIQ shows younger adults are still drinking, socialising and spending in pubs and bars, just in different ways | Morning Advertiser, UK

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill – why we need to be careful with international comparisons

As the Tobacco and Vapes Bill continues to make its way through Parliament, the UK is on course to end all legal sale of tobacco products to those born after 2009. Britta K Matthes, Janet Hoek, Coral Gartner, Cheneal Puljevic, and Lisa Lennartsdotter Ermann critically examine how international comparisons have been used in UK parliamentary debates on the Bill and argue that accuracy is critical for effective public health policymaking | LSE, UK

Thousands with undiagnosed hepatitis and HIV found in A&E testing

The UK Health Security Agency has published its evaluation report of the groundbreaking NHS emergency department (ED) opt-out testing programme – an integrated bloodborne virus (BBV) testing programme for HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C.  The evaluation findings show the programme has identified thousands of people living unknowingly with bloodborne viruses, with many now being offered life-saving treatment for the first time | UK HSA and NHS England, UK

Ketamine use is increasing, and so are its harms - Information and advice for educational settings (PDF)

Ketamine use has increased in recent years and so have the related health harms. People now use ketamine in many different contexts, from party settings to self-medication. There are eight times more people going into drug treatment for ketamine use than there were a decade ago. People aged 18-24 have the highest rates of use. Sustained ketamine use can cause painful bladder problems and damage to the urinary tract, leading to incontinence and other complications, some of which can be irreversible. This is an increasing cause for concern among urologists | OHID, UK

Ketamine use is increasing, and so are its harms - Information and advice for local Public Health Teams (PDF)

Ketamine use has increased in recent years and so have the related health harms. People now use ketamine in many different contexts, from party settings to self-medication. There are eight times more people going into drug treatment for ketamine use than there were a decade ago. People aged 18-24 have the highest rates of use. Ketamine can cause painful bladder problems and damage to the urinary tract, leading to incontinence and other complications, some of which can be irreversible. This is an increasing cause for concern among urologists | OHID, UK

'THC vapes' laced with other substances - Information and advice for educational settings (PDF)

So-called 'THC vapes' are becoming popular among young people and are illegally available through online platforms, including social media. THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) is the main psychoactive ingredient in the cannabis plant. Possession is always illegal, unless precribed in a medicine by a doctor. Using THC has its own risks, but vapes claiming to contain it often contain more harmful substances, such as synthetic and semi-synthetic cannabinoids, often known as 'Spice.' The effects of synthetic cannabinoids can be very different to those of THC and have contributed to a number of overdoses, and even deaths, in recent years in the UK | OHID, UK

'THC vapes' likely to contain other drugs - Information and advice for local Public Health Teams (PDF)

High risk of overdose from fake medicines - Information and advice for educational settings (PDF)

Highly potent synthetic opioids have caused a high number of overdose deaths in the UK in recent years. A class of synthetic opioids called nitazines, which are usually more potent than fentanyl, are the most common currently. These substances are appearing in fake pain-relief and other medicines. People are buying these medicines from illicit sources, often online retailers, unaware that they can be adulterated with dangerous substances | OHID, UK

High risk of overdose from fake medicines - Information and advice for local Public Health Teams (PDF)

Highly potent synthetic opioids have caused a high number of overdose deaths in the UK in recent years. A class of synthetic opioids called nitazines, which are usually more potent than fentanyl, are the most common currently. These substances are appearing in fake pain-relief and other medicines. People are buying these medicines from illicit sources, often online, unaware that they can be adulterated with dangerous substances | OHID, UK

Peer Mentoring Evaluation: A report on final research findings

The Peer Mentoring Programme offers one-to-one support from a mentor with lived experience of substance dependency to individuals with a dependency (‘mentees’) to help them to overcome barriers and make progress. Progress can mean different things for different mentees, for example around recovery from dependency, health, wellbeing or the labour market. This report presents findings from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) test of Peer Mentoring for individuals with a substance dependency | DWP, UK

Ambulance staff subjected to violence and harassment on alcohol-related callouts, study finds

The first-of-its-kind study by the University of Stirling reveals anxiety and frustration among ambulance staff and warns that alcohol-related ambulance callouts have knock-on effects on responses to other patients | University of Stirling, UK

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