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Weekly news - 4th September 2026 |
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In date order, Monday to Friday
How much do we drink? Analysing our data on alcohol
We’ve analysed data from almost 1.7 million participants – the largest survey of alcohol intake ever carried out in the UK. It reveals the age groups that are most likely to be teetotal, and the income levels where risk-associated drinking is at its highest | Our Future Health, UK
Pink cocaine, apple-flavoured ketamine and triple-strength ecstasy: How festival drugs went supersonic
As festivals get underway across the country this bank holiday weekend, Lydia Spencer-Elliott speaks to toxicology experts about the rise of polydrug use, what’s really in these illicit substances and how they are being made ‘Instagram-ready’ | Independent, UK
Leading health organisations demand urgent action on alcohol deaths
More than 20 organisations from across Scotland’s health and social care sectors have joined together to urge the Scottish Government to secure the future minimum unit pricing (MUP) by introducing automatic uprating of the measure. In a letter to Maree Todd MSP, the coalition warns that alcohol harm remains a public health emergency, with nearly 1,200 alcohol-specific deaths recorded in Scotland in 2024 | Alcohol Focus Scotland, UK
NHS Grampian hospital clinic opens to help those with ketamine-related bladder damage
The health board is also behind the "Use Ketamine? Stop And Think" campaign that aims to raise awareness about the risks of taking the so-called party drug | Sky News, UK
Waythrough steps up action to save lives after 25 years of Overdose Awareness Day
“No one should die from a preventable overdose,” said Waythrough CEO Paul Townsley. As International Overdose Awareness Day marks its 25th anniversary, the national charity is increasing its own work to prevent overdose deaths while calling on people across the country to take action, carry naloxone, and help save lives | Waythrough, UK
Recovery Month 2026: Meeting People Where They Are
This Recovery Month, Turning Point is celebrating the different pathways people take towards a healthier, more fulfilling life. Our 2026 theme,"Meeting People Where They Are," recognises a simple truth: recovery looks different for everyone | Turning Point, UK
Dutch health institute issues 'red alert' over Trump-shaped ecstasy pills
A Dutch drug addiction and mental health institute has issued a "red alert" to users about potentially lethal ecstasy pills which resemble US President Donald Trump. The Utrecht-based Trimbos Institute said several of the pills had been handed in at testing centres in August and were found to contain a "very high" amount of the chemical PMMA | BBC, UK
Alcohol consumption and harms dashboard
This release by Public Health Scotland (PHS) updates the Alcohol Consumption and Harms Dashboard (ACHD) with new estimates of partially attributable alcohol hospital admissions and partially attributable alcohol mortality statistics for persons aged 16 and over covering the calendar year 2024 | Public Health Scotland, UK [See also blog in blogs section below]
Retailers Urged to Prepare for Next Phase of Tobacco and Vapes Act
Joint statement from CTSI, ASH, ASH Northern Ireland and ASH Wales: Leading public health and trading standards organisations have joined forces to help retailers prepare for the next phase of the Tobacco and Vapes Act, as the Government publishes new guidance on changes coming into force from October 2026 and January 2027... | ASH, UK
Hundreds die of drug misuse in region - report
Local leaders are preparing to set out how they intend to tackle rising drug misuse deaths across the West Midlands. Figures show more than 600 people in the region died over a two year period, according to the West Midlands State of the Region 2026 report. It said there were 9,697 deaths from drug misuse nationally between 2022 and 2024, and 613 of these were from Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton | BBC, UK
Programme for Government 2026 to 2031: First Minister's speech - 1 September 2026
Speech to Parliament by First Minister John Swinney on 1 September 2026.... "Presiding Officer, we will treat drug use as a public health emergency. An additional investment of £250 million through our national mission on drugs will mean more residential rehabilitation beds. And, recognising the complex interplay of issues that can lead to drug abuse and addiction, we will provide additional mental health support, including new walk-in mental health hubs and expanded 24/7 support with the roll out of mental health triage cars to every region in Scotland..." | Scottish Government, UK
The higher cost of a healthier option: SARG study lifts the lid on why no/lo alcohol beer drinkers feel out of pocket
People buying alcohol-free and low-alcohol (no/lo) beers pay more for choosing a healthier option, according to new research by the Sheffield Addictions Research Group (SARG) | SARG, UK
'Ketamine left me bedbound – now I help addicts'
A man who got to the point where he could "barely move" due to his ketamine addiction is helping others to get clean from the drug | BBC, UK
'Recovery TikTok’: How Can Drug Treatment Services Support Young People?
For many young people today, support for people who use drugs often begins not with intervention from a doctor or treatment service, but with a podcast, a TikTok creator, or an online recovery community. In England, 14,352 children and young people (aged 17 and younger) accessed substance use treatment in 2023/24, a 16% increase on the previous year, although still significantly below levels seen in the late 2000s, according to the latest young people’s treatment statistics | Talking Drugs, UK