Daily news - 17th November 2015

UK news

Alcohol awareness week

This year’s Alcohol Awareness Week runs from 16th to 22nd November. It’s estimated that the cost of alcohol on society costs £21billion. The aim of Alcohol Awareness Week is to get people thinking about alcohol – how it affects us as individuals, families, communities and society as a whole | Alcohol Concern, UK

Substance misuse services for men who have sex with men involved in chemsex (PDF)

PHE have published a briefing for commissioners and providers of substance misuse services about men who have sex with men (MSM) involved in chemsex. It contains background information, recent data and prompts for local areas and services including: understanding local need; supporting services to meet need; and recognising and responding appropriately to individual need | PHE, UK

Drink checker

This website has been developed by Alcohol Health Network, a UK social enterprise which aims to promote safer drinking | AHA, UK

Drinks tracker for iPhone and Android

If you have an Android phone, iPhone or iPod touch you can download the free Change4Life Drinks Tracker from the app store straight to your phone. It allows you to keep a drink diary and get feedback on your drinking | NHS Choices, UK

How many calories are in your drinks?

Many people don’t realise the amount of calories that are in their drinks and can unwittingly consume far more than they thought or is healthy for their size and weight. Check out this handy tool that tells you how many calories are in your average drink. It also shows you a comparison to some of your favourite snacks to give you a realistic idea of the calorie count | Alcohol Concern, UK

Alcohol brief intervention: where next for IBA? (PDF)

Lessons, ideas and actions for advancing alcohol brief interventions | Alcohol Academy, UK

SSA Annual Symposium 2015

Presentations from the recent event in York | SSA, UK

Welcome to The E-Cigarette Summit 2015

The third annual E-Cigarette Summit took place at the Royal Society in London on the 12th November 2015 and provided an evidence based perspective on the public health issues raised by the growing popularity of e-cigarettes | E cigarette summit, UK

Drug bans for Welsh rugby players Owen Morgan and Greg Roberts

Two Welsh rugby union players have been suspended from all sport after failing drugs tests | BBC, UK

Mental health (consultation)

A full index of the content of mental health authorised professional practice (APP) is available. This module, when published, will wholly replace and decommission the existing ACPO (now NPCC) and Department of Health (2010) guidance on responding to people with mental ill health or learning disabilities | College of Policing, UK

The use and abuse of Hydrangea - survey

We invite anyone who has or is taking Hydrangea to take part in an online survey to help us understand more about the reasons why individuals take it and their experiences of it. It will take less than 5 minutes to complete | University of Hertfordshire, UK

'Unexplained' white powder drug death on Jersey

A man has died and two women have been taken ill after taking a "white powder drug" at a party, Jersey police said | BBC, UK

Manchester and Salford in top five of national 'smoking

New figures, published by Public Health England, show smoking rates in Manchester are more than twice as high as they are in many parts on England | Manchester Evening News, UK

Swansea legal highs shop owner jailed

A Swansea shop owner has been jailed for three and a half years for selling dangerous legal highs | BBC, UK

International news

Irish police back decriminalising personal possession of heroin

Minister in charge of drug policy calls for move as part of ‘radical cultural shift’ in tackling Ireland’s narcotics crisis | Guardian, UK

The US university making students the masters of marijuana

Cannabis is fast becoming a legitimate business, worth $3bn a year. And Oaksterdam University aims to capitalise on that | Independent, UK

Cocaine, hash and benzos seized as gardaí target Limerick drug gangs

A total of 12 locations were searched | Journal, Ireland

HIV and young people who inject drugs: Technical brief

Key populations at higher risk of HIV include people who sell sex, men who have sex with men, transgender people and people who inject drugs. Young people who belong to one or more of these key populations – or who engage in activities associated with these populations – are made especially vulnerable to HIV by widespread criminalisation, discrimination, stigma and violence, combined with the particular vulnerabilities of youth, power imbalances in relationships and, sometimes, alienation from family and friends | WHO, Switzerland

Offering Pregnant Women Financial Incentives To Quit Smoking Is 'Highly Cost-Effective'

Offering smoking mothers-to-be a financial incentive to put down their cigarettes may not only be a successful approach but a cost-effective one as well. At least, that's the verdict handed down by a study published this November in the journal Addiction | Medical Daily, USA

Blogs, comment and opinion

Comment: Agonies and ecstasies: the continuing story

Today (16th) sees the 25th anniversary of the tragic death of Leah Betts. The family decision to make public a photo of Leah in intensive care, which then became the centrepiece of a subsequent anti-drug campaign, made her one of the most iconic drug deaths of recent times | Harry Shapiro Blog, UK

Leah Betts died 20 years ago and we still can't be honest about drugs

When Leah died in 1995, I was 10 - just old enough to read the headlines, and to listen to the adults in my life who were keen to tell me that drugs and drug users were evil | Telegraph, UK

Alcohol Awareness Week - Gary's Story

For Alcohol Awareness Week, we'll be bringing you new information every day about alcohol misuse, and stories from people who've recovered from it. Gary, 57, served in the army for nine years, and he now volunteers as a Peer Mentor with Right Turn, our specialised Armed Forces support service. This is his story | Addaction, UK

Inside the Lives of the British Heroin Addicts Who Steal from Supermarkets to Fund Their Use

Two weeks ago, early on Sunday morning, Scott walked out of a supermarket on the outskirts of Leicester with two joints of beef, 14 packs of chicken breasts and four beef steaks stuffed into his coat and trousers. Making it to the street, he walked round the corner to a local garage and sold the lot for £30 | VICE, UK

Substance misuse in older people

In this blog, Professor Ilana Crome offers an introduction to the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ new information guide on substance misuse in older people; an editorial about the guide by Prof. Crome appears in the July issue of Age and Ageing | British Geriatrics Society, UK

Does alcohol really make you better in bed?

Stories that suggest alcohol can make you a better lover are very popular, but what’s the evidence behind them? | Guardian, UK

How to Respond to MPs’ Standard Approach on Cannabis

There are standardised paragraphs used on the subject of cannabis, the same even from different parties | Clear Blog, UK

The UNODC just called for decriminalisation again (and nine other UN agencies did too)

Last month saw a media storm around the UNODC document calling for decriminalisation of people who use drugs. It was due to be released at the HRI conference in Malaysia, but was withdrawn at the last moment, apparently due to pressure from member states - only for the media, who had embargoed copies, to release it anyway - the story was propelled onto the front pages by Richard Branson's involvement | Transform Blog, UK

Jamaica's Pioneering Journey Towards Cannabis Regulation

It is wonderful that Jamaica has now not only decriminalised cannabis, eliminating previous convictions for possession, but has also fully acknowledged the religious rights of the Rastafarians, thus becoming the first state to properly recognise the religious use of cannabis | Huffington Post, UK

Civil Society Groups Highlight Risks of Global Fund Withdrawal, Fear Resurgence of Disease

Ahead of the 34th meeting of the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, civil society groups have called on the organization to develop a sustainability and transition strategy for countries likely to be most impacted by its funding withdrawal | Talking Drugs Blog, UK