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DrugWise Daily

10th February 2025

 

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UK news

‘There has never been a more dangerous time to take drugs’: The rising threat of synthetic opioids

New synthetic opioids (NSOs) are one of the fastest-growing groups of new psychoactive substances around the world | Independent, UK

'Sniffing ketamine in hospital was my lowest point'

Every generation seems to have an association with an illegal drug. Baby boomers had LSD, Gen X had pills and millennials had cocaine. So could ketamine be Gen Z's drug of choice? | BBC, UK

Calls for UK government to tackle alcohol-related deaths in older people

Health experts say record number of over-55s are dying from heavy drinking while under-35s are consuming less | Guardian, UK

Almost 20,000 treated for drug and alcohol misuse

Almost 20,000 people were treated for drug and alcohol misuse in the West Midlands last year. The region's Police and Crime Commissioner, Simon Foster, presented the figures in his annual report and said half of serious crimes, such as murder and theft, were drug-related | BBC, UK

Dozens use UK's first drugs consumption room in opening weeks – but 'barriers' still remain

Invasive media could be putting drug users off using the space, posing risks for them and the community, a councillor has warned | Big Issue, UK

MSPs debate new approach to prison alcohol care

Scotland’s Justice Secretary has told MSPs they must come together in a “different debate that seeks different outcomes” to improve care for the two thirds of people in prison with alcohol use disorders | Healthandcare.scot, UK

Tobacco: preventing uptake, promoting quitting and treating dependence

Updated February 2025: We have reviewed the evidence for cytisinicline as a medicinally licensed product. We have made a new recommendation, and have updated other recommendations on stop-smoking interventions and pharmacological support during pregnancy, following this review | NICE, UK

Proper care for people who are struggling isn’t ‘soft’ – it saves cash

New research suggests that spending on those with the most complex needs can release so much financial benefit that it should be regarded as an investment | Guardian, UK

Church of England refuses call for gluten-free wafers and non-alcoholic wine

ynod was asked to bring in alternatives for Eucharist, but says believers can still take part without consuming both | Guardian, UK

£2m donation to help cities' homeless

A £2m donation has been made to two charities to help end youth homelessness in Coventry and Manchester | BBC, UK

Interventionitis in the Criminal Justice System: Three English Cases

[Open access] This article highlights the problem it names as ‘interventionitis’; the tendency of policymakers to treat enduring, systemically generated problems with limited interventions that are insufficient or inappropriate for the intended improvement. ...We present three cases of interventionitis in the contemporary criminal justice system of England and Wales: the placement of police officers in schools, drug testing on arrest, and the peer-led induction programme in prisons | Critical Criminology, UK

Send first-time, low-level offenders to rehab instead of court, Bar Council says

Exclusive: Barristers also say offenders could pay compensation to victims, in effort to tackle court backlog | Guardian, UK

Eight members of £7m cocaine gang jailed

Eight people have been jailed, the ringleader for 23 years, after a £7m conspiracy in Wiltshire to supply cocaine across the region | BBC, UK

Dog saved after eating nicotine-filled vape pod

A 13-year-old dog from Kent has been saved by vets after swallowing a nicotine-filled vape pod while on a walk | BBC, UK

 

International news

A decade long exploration of non-fatal opioid overdose 2011 to 2021 (PDF)

Non-fatal opioid overdoses remain a critical public health concern in Ireland. This report integrates data from national and Dublin-specific sources to identify key trends, high-risk populations, and service gaps. It offers evidence-based recommendations to enhance prevention, treatment, and recovery outcomes across diverse populations, from older patients facing polypharmacy related risks to younger individuals with hidden or shifting substance use patterns | Trinity College, Ireland

Fentanyl in the US: A visual guide

Fentanyl has become the most common drug involved in overdose deaths in the United States, fueling what the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified as the “third wave” of the opioid overdose epidemic. Fentanyl is relatively cheap to make, and its high potency means that supply can stretch far, making it an attractive option in the illicit market | CNN, USA

High levels of BTMPS detected in fentanyl, raising health concerns

A UCLA research team has found that drugs being sold as fentanyl contain high amounts of the industrial chemical bis(2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-piperidyl) sebacate, or BTMPS. This new substance of concern emerged in the illicit drug supply nearly simultaneously in multiple U.S. locations from coast-to-coast | Medical Xpress, USA

Brain waves used to measure effect of anti-alcohol campaigns

Health campaigns, such as those against drug abuse or those promoting infection prevention measures during the coronavirus pandemic, are key public health tools and help protect the population. A recent campaign of the World Health Organization (WHO), for example, was launched in October 2024 under the motto "Redefine Alcohol." | Medical Xpress, USA

Tobacco age restrictions may not be working, new research shows

Based on survey data, young adults covered by Tobacco 21 (T21) laws say they are smoking less. Biomarkers paint a smokier picture. Despite recent reports of tobacco bans’ success, new research shows 18 to 20-year-olds are finding ways to get cigarettes and vapes. Traces of nicotine and tobacco in their bodies prove it | Wake Forest News, USA

Women Empowered to Connect With Addiction Resources and Engage in Evidence-Based Treatment (WE-CARE)—an mHealth Application for the Universal Screening of Alcohol, Substance Use, Depression, and Anxiety: Usability and Feasibility Study

Anonymous screening for substance use and mental health problems using the convenient vehicle of a phone app appealed to the women of childbearing age recruited to this study in the USA. But despite most scoring as ‘at-risk’, none took up the offer of a free consultation at a clinic | JMIR Publications, USA

People Who Use Drugs Among Victims of Trump’s Assault on USAID

On January 30, employees at SANPUD (South African Network of People Who Use Drugs) received a letter informing them that they’d soon get their last paychecks. The organization, which worked with fellow nonprofit TB HIV Care, had been forced to halt operations—part of a global freeze imposed on groups receiving United States humanitarian aid | Filter Magazine, USA

FDA’s Authorization of Zyn Nicotine Pouches a Step in the Right Direction

In a groundbreaking move, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the marketing of 20 Zyn nicotine pouch products in a range of flavors on January 16. It’s the first time nicotine pouches have been greenlit under the agency’s Premarket Tobacco Product Applications (PMTA) process | Filter Magazine, USA

The social organization of structural vulnerability among people who are homeless and use drugs: an institutional ethnography

[Open access] In this article, we describe an institutional ethnographic investigation of the housing and homelessness response in one municipality in Ontario, Canada | DEPP, USA

Effect of emergency department opioid prescribing on health outcomes

The relation between emergency department opioid prescribing and subsequent harm is complex and poorly studied. We sought to quantify adverse outcomes, incremental risk, and rates of prolonged opioid use among emergency department patients receiving an opioid prescription and propensity-matched controls | CMAJ, Canada

 

Blogs, comment and opinion

Another language guide???

We hope this one will be a useful guide for organisations that are less familiar with the drug and alcohol treatment sector’s terminology. We’re very keen to engage a wide range of organisations in addressing stigma, especially organisations from sectors that don’t have daily contact through their work with people who use or have used substances. Whether you work in retail, hospitality, manufacturing or farming and financial services there will be something relevant in this report | AntiStigma Network, UK

Emma’s story: Compassionate care can help break the cycle of stigma

“I was a very sociable person and that involved drinking. I struggled a lot through my late teenage years with anxiety and in the beginning, alcohol helped with that anxiety. I just felt more relaxed. I did my own counselling and I went to CBT to keep on top of my anxiety which helped on and off through the years | NHS APA, UK

As a good liberal, I used to oppose arresting people for using drugs. They need health care, not handcuffs, I thought. But then to my surprise and dismay, I found myself praying that my old pal Drew Goff would be arrested | NYTmes opinion, USA

With ‘damp drinking’ and ‘zebra striping’, Gen Z are embracing moderation – not abstinence – from alcohol

Fewer young Australians are drinking. And when they do drink, they are drinking less and less often than previous generations at the same age | Conversation, Australia