DrugWise Daily |
15th July 2026 |
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UK news
The UK is drinking differently. Now we need to go further
In June, Drinkaware launched its new five year strategy. Our Director of Research, Strategy and Impact, Annabelle Bonus, outlines why accelerating the shift towards moderation is essential to reducing alcohol harm | Drinkaware, UK
Revealed: Alarming reasons behind Britain's alcohol death crisis - according to the scientists that spotted the surge in victims (and it's not just Covid)
Recent research published in the prestigious Lancet journal found nearly 4,000 extra Britons died from booze-related reasons between 2020 and 2022, compared to the average two-year figure | Mail Online, UK
New fellowship award: Mark Adley
Dr Mark Adley was recently awarded an SSA fellowship. He will work with South Asian and Muslim communities to co-develop practical resources that improve access to drug and alcohol treatment | SSA, UK
Reoffenders: Rehabilitation
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of rehabilitation programmes in reducing reoffending rates | They work for you, UK
£100 fines to tackle e-scooters, drugs and begging
Rules and £100 fines are to be introduced to crack down on the e-scooters, powered bikes and pedal cycles in part of Lancashire. Problems caused by alcohol, drugs, begging and "illegal encampments" are also among issues in Chorley that a new public space protection order (PSPO) aims to tackle | BBC, UK
170 years empowering young people—help us continue
Thousands of children and young people will stop receiving vital drug education and life skills support if we can’t continue delivering our work | Hope UK, UK
International news
Overdose reversal through peer intervention: Findings from the naloxone prospective outcome research study (NalPORS) on the effectiveness of overdose response by people who use opioids in the United Kingdom and Sweden
[Open access] Tracks the lifesaving interventions of the opioid-using clients of harm reduction and treatment services supplied the overdose-reversing medication, naloxone. Concludes that "People who use opioids are likely to witness and recognise an opioid overdose, be the only person carrying naloxone at the overdose and be both willing and able to safely and effectively administer naloxone in a timely response" | Addiction, UK
Collaborative care intervention for risky opioid use among primary care patients: The STOP randomized clinical trial
[Open access] What can GPs do when they identify risky opioid use not (or not yet) warranting treatment? In the USA they tried training doctors to give patients brief advice, and offering low-level continuing care from a nurse plus paraprofessional 'health coaching' over the phone or by video link. One result was fewer patients developing an opioid use disorder over the next year | Addiction, UK
Ethical tensions in legally mandated substance use treatment: A scoping review of participant perspectives
[Open access] US studies published since 2010 show that the need for legally coerced treatment would diminish if suitable voluntary options were easily available. In their absence, some welcome the coerced route, but mainly as a way to avoid a more severe sentence | Addiction, UK
RFK Jr’s advisory panel overhaul stalled update on helping kids quit tobacco
US preventive services taskforce’s members have not issued binding recommendations since March 2025 | Guardian, UK
From Sacred to Illegal: Inside India’s Cannabis Debate
In the cedar forest mountains outside Manali, a tourist town in the Kullu Valley of the Indian Himalayas, Ajay* plies his trade. “Me and my family do everything together,” he said, showing a photo on his phone of hundreds of cannabis plants in a forest clearing | Talking Drugs, UK
Comparing the digital alcohol marketing regulations in 6 European countries (CIPPAL-ADAM study)
The OFDT conducted an international study to describe how national regulations on alcohol marketing seek to prevent exposure among young people, particularly minors, in six European countries with varying frameworks, targeting digital marketing to varying degrees | OFDT, France
EUDA webinar: Preventing opioid-related deaths in Europe — continuity of care, peer naloxone and rapid overdose alerts
31 Aug 2026. Online. To mark International Overdose Awareness Day on 31 August, this webinar convenes policy, practice, research and community voices to discuss compassionate, evidence-informed and practical actions that can prevent opioid-related deaths across Europe | EUDA, Portugal
The Future of synthetic drugs 2050: Scenarios for Europe
This page presents four scenarios developed as part of the Synthetic Drugs 2050 foresight project, ‘Increasing EU resilience to possible developments in the availability and use of synthetic drugs in Europe by 2050’. The scenarios are intended to help readers think beyond current trends and consider a range of plausible, diverse and challenging futures | EUDA, Portugal
The DRAM, Vol. 22(7) – How exposure to the brain disease model of addiction shapes readiness to change drinking behavior
The brain disease model of addiction is the view that addiction is a chronic medical condition rooted in the brain, rather than a personal choice. This model is well supported by scientific research and has helped reduce addiction stigma. However, it might also encourage people to view addiction as biologically determined and therefore difficult, if not impossible, to change. This week, The DRAM reviews a study by Yi-Hao Liu and colleagues that explored whether thinking of addiction as a brain disease lowers drinkers’ readiness to change their drinking behavior | BASIS, USA
People with disabilities are diagnosed with alcohol use disorder at much higher rates than non-disabled people
A new study found that adults with disabilities had more than three times the rate of AUD diagnoses compared with adults without disabilities in the U.S., with particularly high rates among disabled men and people with serious mental illness and acquired brain injuries | Medical Xpress, USA
Doctors who smoke are less likely to support patients to quit, survey reveals
General practitioners (GPs) who smoke are less likely to advise their patients to quit, new research from Federation University has found, revealing how doctors' own smoking behaviors can influence patient care | Medical Xpress, USA
Buprenorphine-Naloxone vs Extended-Release Naltrexone Following Opioid Withdrawal Treatment
In this comparative effectiveness study using a target trial emulation framework of 106 052 discharge episodes from opioid withdrawal treatment followed up for 24 weeks, the cumulative incidence of nonfatal overdose was lower for buprenorphine-naloxone than for XR naltrexone, but risk of all-cause mortality was similar between the 2 treatment groups | JAMA Network Open, USA
Disposables Banned, Flavors Next: Irish Vape Crackdown Gathers Pace
Ireland is banning disposable vapes, which are a low-barrier entry point to vaping for many people who switch from cigarettes. It’s the latest in a series of political moves against tobacco harm reduction in the country in recent years—and looks unlikely to be the last | Filter Magazine, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
Stigma isn’t only out there. It can be written into the way we work
When we talk about stigma related to drug and alcohol use, we are drawn to looking outwards as if it’s a beast on the horizon | IAS blog, UK
Protect public health policies from lobbying firms
From tobacco and alcohol to unhealthy food, there is extensive evidence that companies whose profits depend on the sale of harmful products have repeatedly sought to influence the policies designed to protect public health | Guardian letters, UK