DS Daily - 27th October 2010 |
 |
Risk of death during and after opiate substitution treatment in primary care
Prospective observational study in UK General Practice Research Database [BMJ, UK]
New study on risk of death during and after opiate substitution therapy
Heroin users prescribed methadone to help them control their addiction are more at risk of death at the beginning and end of treatment than at any other time during treatment, according to new research published today in the BMJ. However, the overall risk of death for prescribed-methadone users is still lower than the risk of death out of treatment [University of Bristol, UK]
Heroin users encouraged to smoke drugs
Heroin users in Carmarthenshire are being encouraged to smoke the drug by a community partnership. The users may soon be given special foil in an initiative by the Carmarthenshire Community Safety Partnership [South Wales Evening Post]
Tackling drug crime in Birmingham – the Big Society approach
Staffordshire and West Midlands Probation Trust and the SIFA Fireside charity have successfully piloted changes to a national programme to make treatment for drug-addicted offenders much more effective [Staffordshire and West Midlands Probation Trust, UK]
Dumfries and Galloway drug crop value approaches £1m
Drug crops worth more than £850,000 have been seized in Dumfries and Galloway in the past six months [BBC, UK]
Shopping vouchers help addicts stay off crack
Giving drug addicts rewards for staying clean has a 'dramatic' affect on the success of treatment programmes, according to a leading figure in the world of addiction [BBC, UK]
Long-term Monitoring of Health Inequalities - Headline Indicators
Includes alcohol related hospital admissions [Scottish Government, UK]
Health toll of ladette culture is laid bare
The term “ladette” sounds dated – perhaps because heavier levels of smoking and drinking among women are no longer considered unusual [The Herald, Scotland, UK]
‘Lifestyle’ cancers on the rise among Scots women
Lifestyle choices including so-called ladette behaviour are driving up the risk of women developing the disease, while levels among men are falling [The Herald, Scotland, UK]
It's called tough love
In the US interventionists claim their hardline tactics are helping people to get over their addictions. But will it work in the UK [Guardian, UK]
How one US state deals with alcohol-related crime
The "24/7 Sobriety Program" forces problem drinkers to take - and pay for - twice-daily breath tests to prove they are sober. The Greater London Authority is working on a pilot of the project meaning compulsory sobriety would be used as a sentencing tool for magistrates and judges as an alternative to custody [BBC, UK]
More nightclub paramedics needed say A&E doctors
Club owners sometimes take on private paramedics for certain nights, but Newsbeat's found they are cutting back to save money [BBC, UK]
Compelling new report shows why mental health ‘must be at the heart of public health’
Psychiatrists are calling on the government to put mental health at the heart of their new public health strategy, which is due to be unveiled later this year [Royal College of Psychiatristst, UK]
Position Statement No Health without Public Mental Health: The Case for Action
[Royal College of Psychiatristst, UK]
Heroin deepens its grip outside capital
Heroin is deepening its grip across the country with record numbers of new addicts outside Dublin looking for help [Irish Examiner]
Government ‘determined to deal with spread of heroin'
Responding to a special report on heroin in yesterday’s Irish Examiner, he said the National Drugs Strategy aimed to address the problem [Irish Examiner]
Head shop drugs evading customs
Illegal head shop drugs are being sold in bulk online direct from labs in Malaysia, Cameroon and Hungary, with vendors claiming they are using "discreet packaging" to get through customs check [Irish Examiner]
George Soros gives $1m to California's pro-cannabis campaign
Billionaire financier George Soros has donated $1m to the campaign to legalise marijuana in California [Guardian, UK]
America's war on drugs 'biggest mistake since slavery', says judge
James Gray, a former Superior Court Judge and self-confessed drug warrior, tells Alastair Good why he thinks that the United States' policy of drug prohibition has failed [Telegraph, UK]
Anandamide Hits the “Hedonic Hot Spot.”
Marijuana and the munchies [Addiction Inbox, USA]
Alcohol Tax Debated in States Across the Nation
Small Businesses and Health Advocates Weigh In; Citizens Vote [abc News, USA]
Study to look at drink price link to drug use
A new two-year study will investigate the link between alcohol prices and consumption of illicit drugs such as ecstasy [The Age, Australia]
Ecstasy users' health no worse off: study
Young ecstasy users are unlikely to suffer worse health or behavioural problems than non-users of the party drug, a new study has found [The Age, Australia]
Cops top drug test fail rate
Police are failing drug tests more often than motorists or AFL footballers [Herald Sun, Australia]
Positive drug tests of drivers increasing
The Queensland Government says the proportion of positive drug-driving tests is rising [ABC News, Australia]
National Binge Drinking Strategy - Community Sponsorship Fund
The Department of Health and Ageing is distributing a consultation paper on the Community Sponsorship Fund to community and peak body stakeholders for comment by 19 November 2010 [Australian Government]
UN expert calls for a fundamental shift in global drug control policy
At a press conference in New York on Tuesday 26 October, at the 65th session of the United Nations General Assembly, one of the UN’s key human rights experts will call for a fundamental rethink of international drug policy [Transnational Institute, Netherlands]
Talking about a revolution
HIV Prevention focus for UNAIDS social media initiative [UNAIDS]