Daily news - 6th November 2019 |
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UK news
Alcohol dependence prevalence in England
Updated with alcohol dependence estimates for the period 2017 to 2018 | PHE, UK
Local tobacco control profiles for England: November 2019 update
An overview of the extent of tobacco use, tobacco related harm and the measures being taken to reduce this harm at a local level in England | PHE, UK
Smoking may increase risk of mental health problems – study
Researchers find link between tobacco cigarettes and depression and schizophrenia | Guardian, UK
Sharp rise in knife and gun attacks outside London as austerity bites
New violence reduction unit seeks to tackle spiralling crisis in the West Midlands. But is it too little, too late? | Guardian, UK
UK Medical Cannabis Study Will Be the Largest in Europe
In the first year of rescheduling, the UK’s medical Cannabis industry has left much to be desired. Campaigners and patients have been vocal about their disappointment in the current lack of access and research. However, a new medical Cannabis study may provide the evidence needed to improve patient access to the medication | Canex, UK
Nicola Sturgeon: Drugs policy 'key' to SNP post-election agreements
Nicola Sturgeon has highlighted powers over drugs legislation as a “key issue” for any post-election agreements. The First Minister said in the absence of Scottish independence, legal powers should be devolved to Holyrood | The National, UK
Scottish charity backs MPs' call to decriminalise drugs
A leading addiction charity has backed the decriminalisation of drugs in Scotland and claimed the UK Government's objections to ‘safer injecting’ policy are not convincing | Herald, UK
Drugs: Misuse
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if the Government will make an assessment of whether the level of (a) drug-related deaths and (b) drug-related violence constitutes a public health emergency | They work for you, UK
Addressing the stigma around addiction
Lucy Nichol shines a light on the impact of addiction stigma and meets two men on the road to recovery | Mens Health, UK
'Drug-smuggling Past' - audio
We hear from Michaella McCollum... on how she went from Ibiza parties to a prison in Peru | BBC, UK
Liverpool police raids: Drugs, fireworks and £40k in cash seized
A cannabis farm, industrial fireworks and more than £40,000 in cash were seized during a night of police raids in Liverpool | BBC, UK
University of Exeter IT worker sold drugs to students
Obaid Asif, 29, from Belmont Road, Exeter, was working in the IT department at the University of Exeter | BBC, UK
Mother and son jailed after police cannabis farm raid
A mother and son have been found guilty of running a cannabis farm in their spare bedroom | BBC, UK
International news
More than 4m high schoolers and 1m middle schoolers vape, study shows
Federal research highlights notable increase in e-cigarette use, with 27.5% of high schoolers vaping in 2019 | Guardian, UK
Exclusive: World Anti-Doping Agency hope to use AI to target drugs cheats within two years
The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) hope to roll out artificial intelligence (AI) technology to help catch drugs cheats within two years, Telegraph Sport can reveal | Telegraph, UK
Cowed and outgunned: why Mexico’s police 'don't stand a chance' against drug cartels
The 14 October massacre that left 13 state police dead was just one extreme episode of violence in a recent litany of horrors | Guardian, UK
Donald Trump offers to send the US army to Mexico in response to Mormon murders
Donald Trump has offered to send in the US army to take on Mexican drugs cartels after at least three women and six children from an American Mormon community based in northern Mexico were killed in an ambush | Telegraph, UK
Alcohol a factor in 75pc of road deaths during off-peak hours
When the first government road-safety strategy was introduced back in 1998 there were 458 people killed in road crashes. Last year, 142 people died as a result of road trauma. It's still an unacceptable toll, but it does show that efforts to improve road safety have worked | Independent, Ireland
FF calls for ad campaign to fight 'catastrophic' use of illegal drugs
Fianna Fáil has promised to introduce a road-safety-style ad campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of illegal drug use if in government | Independent, Ireland
The Community Alcohol Detox Project: Invitation to Tender
The Community Alcohol Detox project is a strategic regional response that will incorporate the four Local Drug Task Force areas. The project will target individuals who would like to address their alcohol use | Activelink, Ireland
Substance Use, Misuse, and Dependence: Prevention and Treatment
Substance use and misuse affect people worldwide, of all ages and from all walks of life, resulting in a substantial burden of ill health and mortality, and presenting big challenges in prevention and treatment. For this Special Issue, we're calling for research papers from the diverse communities that work to support people and populations affected by substance use and misuse | PLOS Medicine, USA
Brain imaging shows links between self control and alcohol dependence
Excessive and harmful drinking is a key feature of an alcohol use disorder. The causes of substance use disorders are complex, but deficiences in certain aspects of self-control have been implicated | News Medical, USA
First trial in US to use deep brain stimulation to fight opioid addiction
The West Virginia University Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute and WVU Medicine, today (Nov. 5) announced the launch of a first-in-the-U.S. clinical trial using deep brain stimulation for patients suffering from treatment-resistant opioid use disorder | Medical Xpress, USA
Cannabis may help individuals cope with the effects of PTSD
Cannabis may be helping Canadians cope with the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), new research suggests | News Medical, USA
The Opium Cycle
Recently, Purdue Pharma filed for bankruptcy as part of a tentative multi-billion dollar settlement with state and local governments over lawsuits alleging that the company misled doctors and the public about the addictive nature of their well-known painkiller, Oxycontin | npr, USA
Juul disregarded early evidence it was hooking teens
Juul executives knew young people were flocking to its breakthrough e-cigarette shortly after it went on sale in 2015, a former manager tells Reuters. Its nicotine blend was so potent, engineers devised a kill switch to limit the dosage – but the idea was shelved | Reuters, USA
Teen vapers prefer mint flavored e-cigarettes, study shows
A new USC study shows that mint was the most popular flavor of e-cigarettes used by U.S. teens in 2019, a finding that could impact proposed federal regulations intended to rein in soaring e-cig use among youth | Medical Xpress, USA
Is the ‘War on Drugs’ Over? Arrest Statistics Say No
Arrests for marijuana possession are most common, even as public opinion has shifted in favor of its legalization | NYTimes, USA
Trump Wants War With Mexico’s So-Called Drug Cartels
American citizens belonging to a Mormon community in Mexico were killed on November 4 by unknown gunmen | Filter Magazine, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
Hitting the poorest worst? How public health cuts have been experienced in England’s most deprived communities
An ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure. Or so the adage goes. Yet, the last five years have seen cuts to local government in England – and specifically, to the public health grant - that rank amongst the most severe of the austerity era | IPPR blog, UK
Graeme Callander: Dry January alone can’t tackle year-round problem drinking
Most people are familiar with the phrases “Dry January” and “Sober for October” ... but what do these drink-free months really mean to us at alcohol services like Drink Wise, Age Well? | Herald opinion, UK
The US vaping flavour ban: twenty things you should know
American vapers and vaping businesses will shortly enter a period of chaos and existentially threatening regulation. First will be a ban on almost all flavours – everything except tobacco flavour and possibly menthol and mint | The Counterfactual, UK
Canada's Ban On Vaping Flavors: Any Lessons For The U.S.?
Our Northern neighbor, Canada, has faced the same problem with the use of e-cigarettes among teenagers, banning their sale on a provincial basis between 2015 to 2017 and nationally in May 2018. Canada also has data of e-cigarette use from before these laws went into place, making for a natural cause and effect experiment, reported in JAMA Pediatrics | ACSH, Canada