Daily news - 1st December 2015 |
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UK news
Christmas crackdown on drug and drink driving
Police forces across the North West have launched their drink and drug driving campaigns to reduce road deaths and accidents | ITV, UK
Merseyside Annual DIP Report: Drug Testing (April 2014 – March 2015)
The Annual Drug Interventions Programme (DIP) Report series aims to complement the existing monthly DIP reports that are produced at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) by providing an annual snapshot of the criminal justice data provided by Merseyside police and the treatment agencies for DIP across Merseyside. The reports link the identification of drug misusing offenders with the data from Public Health England’s (PHE) Criminal Justice data set for data entry tool (CJIT DET) in order to monitor the continuity of care process under the DIP process | CPH at LJMU, UK
Needle exchange services in Knowsley: An investigation into the needs and experiences of staff and service users
This report contains findings from a needs assessment carried out on before of Knowsley Council examining the provision of needle exchange surveys within the local authority. The research considered the views and experiences of injecting drug users in the area and staff from drug services and pharmacies who provide needle exchange services. Findings around perceptions about the extent to which needle exchanges are meeting the needs of the injecting drug user population in Knowsley are considered in the context of recently updated NICE guidelines | CPH at LJMU, UK
Middle-aged mothers are Britain's worst 'hidden drinkers', experts warn
Two-fifths admit drinking as much or more than their grown-up children | Telegraph, UK
Inquiry fails to decide whether the National Assembly should ban e-cigarettes
The health and social care committee of the Assembly was split broadly along party lines, saying the evidence was conflicted | Wales Online, UK
Newcastle University softens zero tolerance stance on drugs
The change makes the university one of only a handful of institutions in the country to favour welfare over pure deterrence | Independent, UK
Revisiting the 90s moral panic over heroin chic
Over the last thirty years, there is one trend unparalleled both for its influence and its controversy – the questionably-dubbed ‘heroin chic’. Made infamous in the 1990s by Calvin Klein campaigns and Corinne Day shoots, as well as ‘waif’ models like Kate Moss | Dazed Digital, UK
The secret bribes of big tobacco
A BBC investigation has uncovered evidence of bribery at one of the UK's biggest companies | BBC, UK
British American Tobacco accused of bribing government officials
BBC Panorama alleges BAT paid officials from three African countries in effort to undermine UN anti-smoking treaty | Guardian, UK
Cocaine left man in coma, fighting for his life -video
He was left in a coma fighting for his life. Now a man from Farnborough in Hampshire is having to learn how to talk and walk again - all because he took cocaine. Juliette Fletcher reports | ITV, UK
Adfam's Carol Concert
Adfam's 2015 Carol Concert will take place on Thursday 3rd Decemberat St. Bride's Church, Fleet Street, London, at 6.45pm. Please note there is no admittance before 6.15pm | Adfam, UK
International news
World Aids Day
World AIDS Day is held on the 1st December each year and is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show their support for people living with HIV and to commemorate people who have died. World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day, held for the first time in 1988 | World Aids Day, UK
Drug map reveals the substances YOUR country is addicted to: Scotland is hooked on cocaine, Iceland smokes the most cannabis and opiates are rife in the US
From the number of users, to how many people die from drug overdoses, a map has been created that shows the extent of addiction across the globe. The interactive map was made using data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and reveals the ways different countries address the problem | Mail Online, UK
Stereosonic festival: Chemist Sylvia Choi ‘dies of drug overdose’ as police charge 69 on drug offences
An unnamed woman has been placed in an induced coma after being taken to hospital in a critical condition | Independent, UK
Asia's Aids epidemic needs urgent action to prevent even more deaths
More than half of the world’s 1.2 billion adolescents live in the Asia-Pacific region and governments need to protect them | Guardian, UK
Federica Gagliardi: Berlusconi’s ‘White Lady’ jailed for 3 years for cocaine smuggling
A video has emerged showing how Gagliardi, 34, feigned surprise as Italian police officers extracted brick after brick of solid cocaine from her wheeled suitcase and backpack | Independent, UK
Saudi Arabia advertises for eight new executioners as beheading rate soars
Most were executed for murder, but 38 had committed drugs offences, HRW said. About half were Saudi and the others were from Pakistan, Yemen, Syria, Jordan, India, Indonesia, Burma, Chad, Eritrea the Philippines and Sudan | Guardian, UK
Last Christmas to stock up on cheap alcohol offers
This could be the last Christmas shoppers can stock up on cheap drink for the festive season as the Government is to begin the process of enacting minimum alcohol pricing laws in the coming weeks | Independent, Ireland
Norway Wants To Battle Heroin Overdose Epidemic By Offering Free Drugs And A Safe Environment To Take Them
Norway may take an interesting approach to battle the nation's increasing heroin overdose rate by giving addicts good quality drugs and offering them a safe environment to take them in. According to those supporting the decision, such a move would help to establish trust between addicts and health professionals, and may even help save lives | Medical Daily, USA
Research: Supervised injection facilities would be cost-effective in Toronto and Ottawa
Researchers say it is highly likely that establishing up to three supervised injection facilities in Toronto and up to two facilities in Ottawa would be cost-effective | EurekAlert, Canada
Vital statistics data can help fill gap about prescription opioid-related deaths
A new study indicates that Statistics Canada data can be used to determine prescription opioid-related deaths and aid public health. The research is published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) | EurekAlert, Canada
Soma, Spice and Substance D: A History of Drugs in Science Fiction
As long as we’ve been telling stories, we’ve been telling stories about drugs. At 4,000 years old, the Epic of Gilgamesh is generally considered the oldest known work of literature. And ultimately, it’s about drugs: the end of the tale fixates on a desperate, insecure king’s quest for a substance that can make him feel young again | Motherboard, USA
Health-e: South Africa’s 'other' virus
No one knows how many South Africans are living with Hepatitis C, but the virus affects everyone from injecting drug users to suburban housewives. For decades, treatment has been priced out of reach and largely unsuited for those living with HIV. Now, South Africa has received its first shipment of a new wave of cheaper, faster and better Hepatitis C medicine and has HIV activists to thank for it | Daily Maverick, South Africa
Blogs, comment and opinion
Why wine raises tricky problems for tackling excess drinking
Is it time to cut down? East Dunbartonshire, a local authority just north of Glasgow in Scotland, is launching a simple initiative to encourage people to drink less. One hundred licensed premises have agreed to ensure that they offer wine in small 125ml glasses alongside their medium (175ml) and large (250ml) measures, taking us back to the dayswhen this quantity was the standard measure that was on sale | Conversation, UK
Cut the drink-driving limit in time for Christmas
Ahead of the Christmas season, we urge the government to reduce the legal drink-drive limit from 80mg to 50mg. Aside from Malta, the UK has had the highest drink-drive limit in the EU, although the four nations are diverging in their approach, with Scotland last year lowering its limit to 50mg, and Wales and Northern Ireland intending to follow suit | Guardian letters, UK
We Need Gay Sex Education in Schools Now More Than Ever
There's been a lot in the media lately about chemsex. Vice's documentary on the subject follows the publication of the British Medical Journal's report on the subject. After years spent hiding away in endless sex parties and chillouts, chemsex is now out in the public consciousness for everyone to observe in all its graphic detail. And it makes a lot of people - gay and straight - very uncomfortable | VICE, UK
If we want to stop drug-related deaths at festivals, we need a new strategy
he death of Sylvia Choi at the Stereosonic music festival is a tragic reminder of our failed drug policy. We know we can do better, we only wait for action | Guardian CIF, UK
What is ‘drug checking’ and why do we need it in Australia?
This weekend saw the tragic death of a young woman after she took an unidentified tablet at the Stereosonic music festival. Drug-related deaths of this type are not uncommon in Australia, and this raises the question of whether our approach to harm minimisation needs reform | Conversation, Australia
Call for drug testing stations at festivals to reduce deaths
The approach to drugs at music festivals and clubs doesn’t work and will lead to more deaths unless pill testing is made available at festivals, an expert has told news.com.au | News.com.au, Australia