Daily news - 21st January 2014


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Mental health: priorities for change

Sets out 25 priorities for change in how children and adults with mental health problems are supported and cared for | DoH, UK

Making mental health matter more - press release

Today the Government has set out that more needs to be done to help the one in four people who will suffer from a mental health problem at some point in their life | DoH & DPMO, UK

Developing a national framework for commissioning HIV, sexual and reproductive health services

The framework will provide local government, NHS England and clinical commissioning groups advice and examples of how to commission services | PHE, UK

Study reveals how ecstasy acts on the brain and hints at therapeutic uses

Brain imaging experiments have revealed for the first time how ecstasy produces feelings of euphoria in users | Imperial College, UK

Should schools ban energy drinks?

Sales of energy drinks in the UK have doubled over the past six years, but a government advisor on school meals is warning about their effect on children | BBC, UK

More naloxone needed to cut opiate overdose deaths

The UK’s official drugs law and policy advisory body recommends that alongside training, the opiate-blocker naloxone be made more widely and easily available to enable drug users and those who work and associate with them to prevent opiate overdose deaths | Drug and Alcohol Findings, UK

Jackie’s Story - Blenheim Recovery Stories

Nearly losing my kid was my wake-up call. I was arrested for child neglect. Leo was only 6 and he had somehow managed to get out of the flat on his own. The police found him and then they found me, asleep on the settee | Blenheim CDP, UK

Boy aged 12 critically ill after drinking full bottle of 'poppers' drug bought in shop

The schoolboy was sold the liquid at a shop after thinking it was an 'energy shot' drink | Mirror, UK

Free seminar - Drug education and prevention – a primary school perspective

This seminar will look at practical ways to deliver effective drug education and prevention in primary schools through the promotion of healthy lifestyles and positive behavioural choices | Mentor - ADEPIS, UK

UK Public Health Doctors and e-cigarettes – why this matters

We struggle to understand why so many public health colleagues are anti-pathetic to electronic cigarettes | NSP, UK

Simon Chapman: When will the tobacco industry apologise for its galactic harms?

Last week, four US tobacco companies finally reached agreement with the US Department of Justice to fund large scale corrective advertising about five areas of tobacco control | BMJ, UK

Police boss urges retailers to join alcohol concern talks

Retailers are being called on to join Devon and Cornwall police's fight against alcohol-related crime | BBC, UK

PC Sarah Greaves given suspended sentence over drug charge

A former South Yorkshire police officer who admitted offering to supply cocaine has walked free from court | BBC, UK

Justice secretary puts back probation service privatisation deadline

Chris Grayling delays deadline for ending government contracts with public sector probation trusts on advice of senior officials | Guardian, UK

Obama says cannabis is no more dangerous than alcohol. He's wrong: it's far safer

President Barack Obama has said something hugely controversial | Telegraph, UK

New South Wales drug and alcohol package: key points

The NSW premier, Barry O'Farrell, has announced new laws and regulations to tackle drug- and alcohol-related violence | Guardian, UK

Neknominate: Australia's extreme Facebook drinking game goes viral

The game involves daring others to find different ways to drink alcohol | Independent, UK

Vietnam sentences 30 to death over drug smuggling

A court in Vietnam has sentenced 30 people to death over heroin smuggling in what is said to be the largest such trial ever held in the country | BBC, UK

Mexico: Knights Templar 'leader' captured in Michoacan

Mexican security forces have arrested three members of the Knights Templar drug cartel in the violence-hit state of Michoacan, officials say | BBC, UK

Guide to Open Access Journals

This guide looks at some reputable open-access journal websites, as well as paid subscription databases that are still widely used by traditional college students [Includes Psychology and Health related journals] | Onlineschools.org, USA

Cocaine users enjoy social interactions less

Regular cocaine users have difficulties in feeling empathy for others and they exhibit less prosocial behavior. A study at the Psychiatric Hospital of the University of Zurich now suggests that cocaine users have social deficits because social contacts are less rewarding for them. Social skills should therefore be trained during the treatment of cocaine addiction | Medical Xpress, USA

Barry O'Farrell announces 'tough' laws to combat alcohol-fuelled violence

Pubs and clubs in Sydney’s CBD will be forced to lock out new customers from 1.30am and cease alcohol trading by 3am under a state government crackdown on alcohol- and drug-related violence | Sydney Morning Herald, Australia

Alcohol sales: Experts call for figures to be publicised

Hundreds of millions of litres of alcohol are swallowed in Australia each year but the NSW government has no idea how much is consumed in its own backyard | Sydney Morning Herald, Australia

Why Quitting Smoking Is About 15% More Difficult Since 1999

Nicotine levels in cigarettes went up 15% between 1999 and 2011 , according to  a study   published this week in the journal  Nicotine and Tobacco Research | Yahoo, Australia