DrugWise Daily |
8th October 2026 |
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UK news
Service to help young people stop vaping and smoking
A new service is being launched in secondary schools in Derbyshire to help young people stop vaping and smoking."Vibe" will provide confidential support, one-to-one coaching, quit planning, behaviour change support and nicotine replacement therapy to students aged 12-18 who agree to be referred to the service | BBC, UK
BSPD supports King’s College Hospital on new vaping and oral health leaflet for teenagers
The British Society of Paediatric Dentistry (BSPD) has partnered with King’s College Hospital to produce a new evidence-based leaflet “Beyond the clouds: The truth about vaping” designed to help teenagers understand the risks that vaping poses to their oral and general health | The Probe, UK
New bid to stub out smoking on hospital grounds
Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) has launched a survey to gather views on what more can be done to reduce smoking on the grounds of sites such as Queen's Medical Centre (QMC), Nottingham City Hospital and Ropewalk House | BBC, UK
Ryanair passenger removed by police as she 'repeatedly' ignores warnings to stop vaping
A Ryanair passenger was removed from a flight by police officers at a Midlands airport after she "repeatedly vaped" in the cabin | Birmingham Live, UK
Shops closed after selling illegal tobacco and vapes
The county council said £110,845 worth of tobacco products were seized by its trading standards team and Nottinghamshire Police during a series of raids | BBC, UK
Consultation launched on alcohol licensing fees [Jersey]
The island's government said people could share their views ahead of the Alcohol Licensing (Jersey) Law 2026 taking effect in 2027. States Members approved the new law in March | BBC, UK
International news
Bangladesh Sets Death Penalty for Online Drug Crimes
On 16 August 2026, an officer from Bangladesh’s Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) posed as a customer and ordered three bottles of “CBD oil” from Daraz, the country’s largest online shopping marketplace. A delivery rider carried the parcel to Topkhana Road in central Dhaka, where officers searched it and questioned him. The driver said he had no idea what he was carrying. With nothing tying him to the trade, officers let him go | Talking Drugs, UK
Drinking at least weekly, loneliness and social isolation over time: Bidirectional within-person associations in an Australian prospective cohort study
[Open access] Loneliness and social isolation appeared to reinforce each other over time within individuals in this Australian cohort. Drinking at least weekly was not consistently associated with within-person changes in social connection at annual intervals | Addiction, UK
Louisiana Finds New Synthetic Opioid Cychlorphine in at Least Two Deaths, Warns Extra Naloxone Doses May Be Needed
At least two people who died of opioid-related overdoses in Louisiana since December 2025 had cychlorphine in their systems, the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) said in an Oct. 5, 2026, alert. The state is warning residents that this newer synthetic opioid has been found in the illicit drug supply, including counterfeit pills and drug mixtures, and that its potency may require more than one dose of naloxone to reverse an overdose | Medical Daily, USA
Contrary to fears, psilocybin users with depression continue to seek treatment
In a nationally representative study on psilocybin use and mental health treatment, researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine have found that among people with depression, those who use psilocybin pursue mental health care at rates similar to those of nonusers | Medical Xpress, USA
One year after taking ibogaine, veterans find continued relief from PTSD
A few years ago, 30 special forces veterans suffering for years with the psychiatric consequences of multiple traumatic brain injuries—including post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety—traveled to Mexico to undergo a little-known psychedelic therapy called ibogaine | Medical Xpress, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
People who use opioids can reverse overdoses with take-home naloxone
There is a sound evidence base supporting the use of Naloxone; most of this evidence has relied on self-reported information about individual overdoses and whether Naloxone was used to reverse the overdose successfully or not. This blog explores research by Metrebian and colleagues published in 2026, which not only investigated the use of Naloxone, but also followed up participants over six months to gain greater detail about how and when the medication was used | Mental Elf blog, UK
Smokers have a lower risk of Parkinson’s – we may have found out why
Smoking is one of the biggest causes of ill health and early death. Yet smokers seem to have a lower risk of developing Parkinson’s disease than non-smokers – by around half according to some studies. This surprising link was first reported more than 50 years ago, when researchers in the UK and the US noticed that smokers were dying at much higher rates overall, but were less likely to die from Parkinson’s. Many studies since then have found the same pattern | Conversation, UK
Can a 'no safe level' message influence drinking behaviour?
In our newly published study, we set out to test a message that has grown in popularity over recent years – that there is ‘no safe level’ of alcohol use | Alcohol Change UK blog, UK