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Weekly news - 16th January 2026

In date order, Monday to Friday

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'More people will need stomas from ketamine abuse'

An expert at Aintree University Hospital in Liverpool is warning ketamine addicts they could end up with their bladders having to be removed. There has been a huge rise in people taking the drug, which is normally used as an anaesthetic in both human and veterinary medicine. A specialist clinic has been set up at the hospital to help long-term users who have developed significant bladder damage - and medics have said a rise in use of the drug could lead to more people having issues | BBC, UK

Health team says fewer youngsters drinking alcohol

In 2023, Sunderland City Council launched its Time to Rethink Drink strategy which aims to tackle the harms caused by alcohol across the city. Updating officials about the scheme, Sarah Norman from the authority's public health and wellbeing team, said her department had "definitely seen a reduction in alcohol consumption amongst young people" | BBC, UK

Public health impacts of increasing the minimum unit price for alcohol in Scotland: A model-based appraisal

[Open access] Governments in several countries have introduced a minimum unit price (MUP) for alcohol. Evaluation studies suggest this has reduced alcohol-related harm, but MUPs must increase with inflation to remain effective. This paper estimates the impact of the impact of the Scottish Government’s decision to increase its MUP from £0.50 to £0.65 in September 2024 and, alternative options where the MUP changes to between £0.40 and £0.80 | PLOS Medicine, UK

Is Dry January a modern temperance movement?

Millions of people trying to cut out alcohol for Dry January may not realise they are following in the footsteps of a 19th Century social movement that began in the mills of West Yorkshire | BBC, UK

Safe spaces needed for drug-addicted children, say grieving mums

Three women whose teenage sons died after becoming addicted to drugs have told the BBC the system failed their children. Anita Morris, Nicola Howarth and Kate Roux spoke to the BBC as part of a wide-ranging investigation into the failings of drug treatment for young people. It found significant disparities in community care and a lack of state-funded residential facilities for under-18s. National Drug Treatment Monitoring System data shows a 13% rise in under-18s seeking support in 2024-25, yet experts and families say many are not receiving the help needed | BBC, UK

Drugs awareness warning after sons' deaths

Two mothers who each lost a son from taking drugs are calling for greater awareness of the danger of illegal substances to children. Nicci Parish, from Worthing, West Sussex, and Michelle Fraser, from Deal, Kent, have spoken out to prevent other families losing loved ones | BBC, UK

Estimating thresholds for risk of cannabis use disorder using standard delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) units

[Open access] Lower risk guidelines for safer levels of cannabis use could help to reduce the health burden posed by cannabis use disorder (CUD). We aimed to estimate risk thresholds for CUD based on delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) consumption using standard THC units (1 unit=5 mg THC) | Addiction [See expert reaction in blogs section below]

Influencer Squibb shames Co-op into vape ad takedown

Squibb took to LinkedIn after seeing a two for £10 promotion on Lost Mary vape devices displayed alongside a PoS card reader in a Co-op store | Grocer, UK

Painkillers prescribed to 4.5 million Britons slapped with addiction warning by health chiefs after drugs safety review

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) ordered the move after a safety review flagged risks linked to gabapentinoid painkillers, benzodiazepine tranquillisers and Z-drugs used for sleep | Mail Online, UK

Impact statement: 10 Year Health Plan for England

The 10 Year Health Plan for England is part of the government’s health mission to build a health service fit for the future. The plan describes 3 shifts to reinvent the NHS: from hospital to community, from analogue to digital and from sickness to prevention, supported by a wider set of system changes to improve population health and make the NHS fit for the future. This impact statement explains the rationale for, and potential effects of, a number of strategies outlined in the plan. Information is included on measures to address alcohol, tobacco and other drug use | DHSC, UK

UK's first legal drug consumption room registers almost 600 users

Since opening on 13 January 2025, The Thistle has been accessed 11,348 times and used for 7,827 injections of illegal drugs. Staff on site also managed 93 medical emergencies | BBC, UK

[Open access] Alcohol companies frequently use sports sponsorship to maintain high visibility, even in jurisdictions with advertising restrictions. Strategies such as alibi marketing - using brand-associated slogans, colours, or fonts in place of explicit brand names, and NoLo marketing - promoting zero-alcohol variants of core brands, enable continued brand exposure. This study investigates young people's awareness of alcohol sponsorship and their perceptions of alibi and NoLo marketing in sports contexts | IJDP, UK

Alcohol treatment twice as likely to fail in adolescents who are NEET

Alcohol treatment for adolescents in England who are not in employment, education or training (NEET) is more than twice as likely to fail than compared to those who are, University of Manchester researchers have found. The study is published in the journal Alcohol and Alcoholism (15/01/26) and is the first of its kind to compare alcohol treatment outcomes for all adolescents aged 11 – 17 seeking specialist treatment for alcohol problems in England | University of Manchester, UK

Most Young Smokers Wish They Had Never Started – One Year Ahead of Landmark Smokefree Generation Policy

New data shows that 69% of 11–17-year-olds in Great Britain who currently smoke say that, if they could go back in time, they would not have started smoking. Nearly two-thirds (64%) say they want to quit. With just one year to go until the government’s planned smokefree generation policy comes into force, the data highlights the importance of phasing out the sale of tobacco, ending the harm from tobacco for the next generation | ASH, UK

Drug ‘200 times stronger than heroin’ on London’s streets has already killed three

Every morning Elodie Berland and Jon Glackin walk around Keir Starmer’s constituency offering hot drinks and a meal to rough sleepers. As volunteers for the charity Streets Kitchen, they are hardened to the sights they encounter but the volunteers and those they help have been living on edge for the past few months. This is due to the growing presence of a new fatal drug called cychlorphine; a substance 200 times stronger than heroin that’s mixed into other hard drugs and counterfeit pharmaceuticals | Metro, UK

White House reverses $2 billion cut to mental health, addiction grants

Many of the programs have bipartisan support, and Trump has supported them in the past | RollCall, USA

US overdose deaths fell through most of 2025, federal data reveals

Federal data released Wednesday showed that overdose deaths have been falling for more than two years—the longest drop in decades—but also that the decline was slowing | Medical Xpress, USA

Reddit and TikTok - with the help of AI - are reshaping how researchers understand substance use

When you think of tools for studying substance use and addiction, a social media site like Reddit, TikTok or YouTube probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. Yet the stories shared on social media platforms are offering unprecedented insights into the world of substance use | Conversation, USA

British soldiers face dismissal over positive drugs tests

According to the Sun, which first reported the story, 23 personnel from 32 Engineer Regiment based in Catterick, North Yorkshire, were reportedly caught in a sting just before Christmas. The newspaper described it as the "biggest drugs bust" to hit the Army | BBC, UK

Progress Presents -COMHAD Delivery Framework-From Policy to People

Jan 29 from 10am to 2:30pm GMT. Online. Join us for a webinar exploring the publication of the new COMHAD Delivery Framework—an integrated approach to improving patient outcomes and service delivery. Learn about the framework; Discover implementation strategies; and Understand the impact on services and people's experience of care. Featuring Esteemed Speakers: Dame Carol Black - GBE, Independent Advisor to the UK government on Drugs and Dr Adrian James -NHSE Medical Director for Mental Health and Neurodiversity. This is a must-attend event for commissioners, head of services and professionals who hold a shared vision of advancing care standards | Progress (a consortium of national COMHAD clinicians) in partnership with NHSE and DHSE, UK

British Columbia ends drug decriminalisation pilot programme

The Canadian province of British Columbia (BC) said it will not be extending its controversial drug decriminalisation project, allowing it to expire at the end of January | BBC, UK

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