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In date order, Monday to Friday
First patients seen at NHS clinic in Liverpool tackling teenage vaping
Alder Hey children’s hospital opens its vaping cessation service for nicotine-dependent 11- to 15-year-olds | Guardian, UK
Top supermarkets running 'prohibited' tobacco ads
Sainsbury's and Morrisons are displaying adverts for tobacco products in their stores which Trading Standards says are against the law | BBC, UK
Urgent action needed to tackle alcohol emergency, ministers warned
In a letter to the Health Secretary, Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP) and Alcohol Focus Scotland accused the Government of lacking ambition in its plans to cut the number of deaths caused by alcohol | STV News, UK
Wine-lovers left to drown sorrows as tax hike hits cost of a bottle - but it's not all bad news for drinkers
In some relief to drinkers, duty on draught products - or pints pulled in pubs - will be cut by 1.7%, meaning a penny off a pint in the pub | Sky News, UK
Data Insight: Enforced alcohol abstinence: does it reduce reoffending?
Faced with a crime related to the offender’s drinking, courts in England and Wales can impose treatment or require the wearing of a tag to enforce abstinence. Evidence for reduced reoffending emerged only for tags, not for treatment. Formal report here, researcher’s comments here and here | ADR UK, UK
Research and analysis - Synthetic cathinones: an updated harms assessment
ACMD has written an updated harms assessment describing the use and harms of synthetic cathinones following a government commission | ACMD, UK
DDN February 2025
It’s hardly surprising that the alcohol industry is reluctant to commit to clearer labelling – but calling into question the evidence of health risks is an unacceptable turn (p6). Pointing the finger at ‘a small group of people who don’t use the product responsibly’ is a cynical tactic, but denying the level of risk (including links with cancer) is a crime against public health | DDN, UK
Official Statistics - Smoking profile: February 2025 update
An overview of the extent of tobacco use, tobacco-related harm, vaping use and the measures being taken to reduce smoking-related harms at a local level in England | OHID, UK
Official Statistics - Alcohol profile: February 2025 update
Update of indicators in the alcohol profile interactive tool. In the financial year 2023 to 2024, there were 339,916 alcohol-specific hospital admissions, 280,747 alcohol-related hospital admissions under the narrow definition, and 1,018,986 alcohol-related hospital admissions under the broad definition in England | OHID, UK
MSP backs campaign to end stigma around drug and alcohol deaths
Ms Baker, Scottish Labour MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, will attend a See Beyond – See the Lives – Scotland roadshow event for the campaign on February 17 at Central Library Stirling. She is urging people to sign a campaign pledge committing to show compassion towards those affected by substance use | University of Stirling, UK
Self-rated health differences between exclusive e-cigarette users and exclusive cigarette smokers: evidence from the 2017–2019 Scottish Health Survey
[Open access] The comparative health implications of e-cigarette use versus traditional cigarette smoking remain a critical focus in public health research. This cross-sectional study examined differences in self-rated general health between exclusive e-cigarette users and exclusive cigarette smokers, using data from the 2017–2019 Scottish Health Survey | Internal and Emergency Medicine, UK
Approximately 80-85% of responses expressed strong support for the Right to Recovery Bill
The responses to the Committee’s call for evidence have revealed a broad consensus on the critical need for this Bill, with overwhelming support for its core aim: ensuring timely access to addiction treatment as a legal right. This right would offer immediate support to those affected by addiction, helping to address the public health crisis of rising drug-related deaths in Scotland | FAVOR, UK
Alcohol-specific deaths in the UK: registered in 2023
In 2023, 10,473 deaths from alcohol-specific causes were registered in the UK, the highest number on record, but the rate of alcohol-specific deaths (15.9 per 100,000 people) decreased slightly compared with 2022, (16.6 deaths per 100,000 people). The rate of alcohol-specific deaths for males remained around double the rate for females (21.9 and 10.3 deaths per 100,000 people, respectively); this is consistent with previous years. England and Wales had an increase in the rate of alcohol-specific deaths compared with 2022. Scotland and Northern Ireland continued to have the highest rate of alcohol-specific deaths | ONS, UK
Alcohol-related deaths in UK hit record high of 10,473, ONS data shows
Health experts urge ministers to do more to tackle drinking-related harm by bringing in minimum unit pricing | Guardian, UK
Guidance: Housing support grant-funded services: privacy notice
Information for people in grant-funded housing support services and drug and alcohol treatment about sharing their data to help improve the support available | OHID, UK
'Alarming' rise in strong illicit nicotine pouches
High strength nicotine pouches that are being sold illegally in the UK could cause inadvertent overdosing and harm to teenagers and young adults, experts have warned | BBC, UK
New research seeks to find new ways to target opioid addiction
Supported by a £5m award from the Wellcome Trust, the ground-breaking new project will use genetic and drug-discovery techniques to try to answer the longstanding question: can we have the pain-relief of opioids without the addiction risk? | University of Glasgow, UK
New substance misuse help centre to be built
Planning permission has been granted for a new £3.6m substance misuse centre. Proposals were submitted to Hartlepool Development Corporation last year to demolish the existing treatment centre in the town's Whitby Street, deemed not fit for purpose, and replace it with a single-storey hub on the same site | BBC, UK
Press release: Local public health services given £200 million boost
Local communities to receive funding for family and school nurses, sexual health clinics and other public health services. Funds will drive key health services, from smoking cessation to addiction recovery and children’s health | Department of Health and Social Care, Andrew Gwynne MP and The Rt Hon Wes Streeting MP, UK
Children starting secondary school as vape addicts
Children are starting secondary school already addicted to vaping, a Welsh government minister has said. Health Minister Sarah Murphy said it is "really important" that there is support for children and young people addicted to vaping when the ban on single-use vapes becomes law. Murphy was giving evidence to the Senedd's health committee about the legislation imposing the ban, which comes in on 1 June | BBC, UK
MSPs debate how to improve justice system for people with alcohol problems
Acknowledging the many missed opportunities there are to put in place treatment and support for people with alcohol problems caught up in the justice system, MSPs debated potential solutions outlined by Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP). The SHAAP report, entitled Alcohol (In)justice: Position on people with an alcohol use disorder in the justice system, highlights the deep inequalities within Scotland’s criminal justice system by showing that people with an alcohol use disorder are greatly overrepresented in criminal justice settings | SHAAP, UK