DrugWise Daily |
10th December 2024 |
Thank you to our Premium sponsors:
|
|
Could you sponsor DrugWise Daily? Please Email Harry Shapiro to discuss |
|
UK news
Press Release: The Department of Health and Social Care has launched its first survey of the frontline drug and alcohol treatment and recovery workforce (PDF)
Closes 24th January 2025. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has announced the launch of a new national survey to gather crucial insights from individuals working in drug and alcohol services, support and commissioning. The survey aims to understand the experiences and support needs of the workforce, following Dame Carol Black's independent review of drugs.
The DHSC is inviting all employees in local authority-funded drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services, commissioning teams, and those working in lived experience recovery organisations to participate. The survey seeks to answer critical questions such as:
* What are the biggest challenges faced by these workers?
* What motivates them in their roles?
* What support do they need to thrive professionally?
Click here to take the survey | DHSC, UK
Press release: Online giants to pay their fair share for electrical waste
Online marketplaces and vape producers to pay for recycling and cleaning up household of electrical waste | Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and Mary Creagh CBE MP, UK
Remote and Rural Healthcare Inquiry - briefing
Remote and rural communities across Scotland face unique challenges when it comes to prevention and support of people with alcohol problems. Approaches to reducing these harms tailored to fit their needs are required by service and healthcare providers, as well as policymakers | SHAAP, UK
Exclusive:'Extremely disappointing': SNP under fire for ditching public health levy plans in Scottish Budget
SNP ministers have been urged to re-think their decision not to reinstate a public health levy on alcohol and tobacco in next year’s Budget - amid accusations they are not taking Scotland’s alcohol emergency seriously enough | Scotsman, UK
'Charity helped us amid chaos of Joe's addiction'
Before Joe became addicted to drugs at the age of 14, his family said he was "relaxed and jovial". He died aged 18 and his mother and sister said his addiction caused a "switch" in his personality. They sought help from DAFS (Drug & Alcohol Family Support) - a support group in Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire for people experiencing alcohol and drug addiction | BBC, UK
Lottery funding supports addiction recovery group
A charity that works with adults suffering with addiction has received nearly £20,000 in National Lottery funding. Support Through Addiction Recovery (STAR Housing), based in Bristol, provides residential and day care | BBC, UK
Talbot Campus is a smoke and vape free campus
Following the smoke-free campus pilot, Talbot Campus is now permanently a smoke and vape free campus. This means that smoking, including vaping, will no longer be allowed within the boundaries of Talbot Campus | Bournemouth University, UK
What is FASD? for Parents & Caregivers
Wednesday, January 22, 2025 · 10am - 1pm GMT. What is FASD? This training session is for parents and carers of children with FASD or a history of prenatal alcohol exposure | FASD Hub Scotland & FASD Hub UK, UK
International news
High spirits: Brisbane city council votes to allow climbers to drink alcohol atop the Story Bridge
Despite fears of ‘barfing’ on traffic and the city’s reputation taking a hit, experts don’t think the proposal is actually unsafe | Guardian, UK
Psychedelics: The Catalysts for Change
We proudly present our videos filmed at the Interdisciplinary Conference on Psychedelic Research (ICPR) in June 2024, featuring many fascinating new research findings and incredible insights from world-renowned scientists and authors | Drug Reporter, Hungary
Little Things Mean a Lot: 6h European Harm Reduction Conference
At its bi-annual gathering the European harm reduction movement addressed the multiple challenges of our time: rising populism, shrinking space for civil society, changing drug markets and changing needs of people who use drugs. Watch our film we produced at the conference | Drug Reporter, Hungary
EU countries want vaping included in bloc's tobacco tax law
Sixteen EU countries asked the European Commission on Monday to propose a new law in the coming months on taxing tobacco in the bloc to include new products such as electronic cigarettes - vapes - which are not covered under existing legislation | Reuters, USA
Core elements of recovery among those with direct lived experience
There are many pathways to recovery from substance use disorder, but do all recovery pathways lead to the same destination? Examining over 9,000 individuals, this study sought to understand the shared markers of success in the recovery process | Recovery Research Institute, USA
Can a brief phone call intervention promote treatment seeking in adults with severe alcohol use disorder?
Screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment reduces alcohol use among individuals with milder alcohol use disorder, but the referral to treatment component for those with more severe alcohol use disorder has been less effective. The present study tested whether cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) delivered by phone would help more people with severe alcohol use disorder seek treatment | Recovery Research Institute, USA
Offering Narcan to Just the Prisoners Being Released Doesn’t Work
One of the most commonly cited statistics in overdose prevention comes from a study of people leaving Washington State Department of Corrections (WDOC) prisons: that in the first two weeks following release from incarceration, people are 129 times more likely to die of overdose compared to the general public | Filter Magazine, USA
Ontario’s Unconscionable Supervised Consumption Sites Shutdown
On December 2, the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Canada, passed a law that will shut down 10 supervised drug consumption sites. It’s an assault on harm reduction in the province that will cost untold lives | Filter Magazine, USA
Drop in opioid use in Australia offset by spike in private scripts
Australia’s use of prescription opioid analgesics, such as oxycodone and tramadol, dropped by 21% between 2015 and 2022, despite a substantial increase in private scripts in the same period, shows new research from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre and the Medicines Intelligence Centre of Research Excellence, UNSW Sydney. The trend was driven by a reduction in Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme dispensing claims for opioids, but a quarter of this decline was offset by a jump in private scripts | Scimex, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
Harry’s blog 125: Deal with what’s in front of you
The introduction to the government’s 294-page risk assessment of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill which has yet to become law as it passes through the various stages of parliamentary procedure states:... | NSP Blog, UK
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me… or will they?
Communication, whether public or private, plays a significant role in contributing to stigma (Escandon, 2024). In particular, the media and social media strongly influence community beliefs, knowledge, and attitudes towards mental health issues, suicide, and alcohol and other drug (AOD) use (Ross et al., 2019). In fact, language is a life-or-death matter; media and social media depictions of suicide can increase the risk of further suicidal behaviours and deaths | Mental Elf, UK
“Outta sight, outta mind?”. What do the public and professional stakeholders think about alcohol policy?
Dr Elena D. Dimova from the Substance Use Research Group at Glasgow Caledonian University writes about her latest research exploring public and professional stakeholders’ opinions on several policy suggestions to reduce alcohol use and harms | SHAAP blog, UK