DrugWise Daily |
16th January 2025 |
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UK news
Britain working at pace to curb rising synthetic drugs threat
More than 20 dangerous substances have been banned by the government as efforts are stepped up to combat the increasing drug threat and make our streets safer | Home Office, UK
An evaluation of effects on minimum unit pricing of alcohol
A longitudinal study of the effects of minimum unit pricing on retailer behaviour and household purchasing patterns to help reduce harmful drinking | National Centre for Social Research, UK
Can rewards help people quit smoking, and do they work in the long term?
We found that people receiving rewards were more likely to have stopped smoking than those in the control groups six months or more after the beginning of the study (39 studies, 18,303 people) | Cochrane, UK
Government urged to extend incentive scheme for pregnant smokers
A coalition of baby charities has welcomed findings from a study which showed that financial incentives are highly effective in helping people quit smoking during pregnancy | Dental Nursing, UK
Death rates from liver cancer double in the last 20 years
Liver cancer is the fastest rising cause of cancer death in the UK, according to new data from our Cancer Intelligence team. The analysis shows that death rates from liver cancer are almost twice as high as they were 20 years ago | Cancer Research UK, UK
Alcoholic Drinks: Labelling
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the US Surgeon General’s recommendations to include health warnings on alcohol labels; and whether he has plans to re-visit his Department's closed consultation entitled Updating labelling guidance for no and low-alcohol alternatives, published on 28 September 2023 | They work for you, UK
Safer Drug Consumption Facility (Assessment)
To ask the Scottish Government what early assessment it has made following the opening of the safer drug consumption facility, the Thistle | They work for you, UK
Clause 1 - Sale of tobacco etc
Continuing the debate on the Tobacco and Vapes Bill | They work for you, UK
Clause 2 - Purchase of tobacco etc on behalf of others
Continuing the debate on the Tobacco and Vapes Bill | They work for you, UK
Clause 5 - Age of sale notice at point of sale: England
Continuing the debate on the Tobacco and Vapes Bill | They work for you, UK
Clause 10 - Sale of vaping or nicotine products to under 18s
Continuing the debate on the Tobacco and Vapes Bill | They work for you, UK
Stan IPA Tap Handle and Pump Clip - rulings and decision
The idea of Stan is a homage to one of the last ‘little Mesters’ in Sheffield. As much as I appreciate the respect to the history of the city of Sheffield I feel using a knife handle as a tap handle is perhaps a step too far and could encourage alcohol related violence | Portman Group, UK
International news
‘Nicotine Nazis’: the brickbats hurled at scientists researching tobacco’s harms
Scientists who study harms caused by tobacco, alcohol and ultra-processed foods can face cyberattacks, lawsuits, surveillance and physical violence, a study finds. Many are labelled extremists, fascists, zealots and prohibitionists, it adds | Nature, UK
The World Drug Report 2024: A failed attempt to reframe the right to health of people who use drugs
In 2024, the World Drug Report broke its historical silence on the human rights dimension of drug policy with a special chapter on “Drug Use and the Right to Health.” The present analysis compares this chapter with the April 2024 report on “Drug Use, Harm Reduction, and the Right to Health” by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, Dr. Tlaleng Mofokeng, to assess whether the 2024 edition of the World Drug Report constitutes a genuine move towards integrating a human rights perspective into the global drug control regime | IDPC, UK
Tobacco Smoking in Early Adulthood and Labor Market Performance: The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study
[Open access] Our findings suggest that smoking had a negative effect on earnings among the younger generation, particularly among the less well-educated. The finding of greater impacts on years of employment among the older age group, particularly among groups with low education levels, is consistent with the delayed onset of most health impacts, which may particularly affect productivity in physically demanding jobs that are more common among people with less education | Nicotine & Tobacco Research, UK
Victorian boy, 16, drank himself to death at family Christmas lunch, court hears
Death of teenager, who took more than 10 Vodka Cruisers and a handful of UDL cans to the lunch, could have been prevented, coroner finds | Guardian, UK
FDA Proposes Significant Step Toward Reducing Nicotine to Minimally or Nonaddictive Level in Cigarettes and Certain Other Combusted Tobacco Products
Agency Encourages Public Input on Proposal That Aims to Prevent Millions of Premature Deaths | FDA, USA
Identifying individual and social factors that help teens shun drug use
A team at the University of Cordoba has analyzed more than 8,000 scientific papers on substance use and adolescence to look for the factors that protect adolescents from using them when they are encouraged to do so by those in their social circles, issuing a call for prevention policies to be updated to include vaping and social media | Medical Xpress, USA
US soldiers' nicotine pouch use 10 times higher than civilians
American soldiers are 10 times more likely to use nicotine pouches that can cause serious health issues than average American adults, according to a survey of military personnel at Fort Liberty, the largest American military base | Medical Xpress, USA
Canada’s Supreme Court to Rule On Scope of Good Samaritan OD Law
In September 2020, a truck pulled over in rural Saskatchewan, Canada, to report an overdose. Cheryl Delorme had lost consciousness and stopped breathing, and those in the truck with her began performing CPR and called 911 | Filter Magazine, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
UK needs national strategy to tackle alcohol related harms
Sustained funding is needed for screening and care, but industry must also shoulder costs | BMJ editorial, UK
At last, Britain has a legal drug consumption room – thanks to one man’s civil disobedience
Former heroin addict Peter Krykant set up a safe consumption van during Covid, at great personal cost. But his sacrifice paved the way for real change | Guardian opinion, UK
Latest Welsh research shows minimum pricing remains a cornerstone of alcohol harm reduction
Almost five years after minimum unit pricing (MUP) for alcohol was introduced in Wales, the final evaluation report on the measure demonstrates why it is needed as much as ever | Alcohol Change UK blog, UK
The links between alcohol and cancer are clear, but most Australians are unaware of the risks
I won’t tell anyone they should never touch alcohol, but many would do well to replace mindless drinking with mindful drinking | Guardian, UK