A BBC investigation has found that dozens of illegal suppliers are advertising nitazenes openly on the internet and sending them in the post from China, where they are being manufactured. Forward Trust, a national addiction recovery charity, says that the findings from this investigation confirm what we have feared – that the illegal drugs market in the UK is shifting in a worrying direction with the arrival of these synthetic forms of opiate-type drugs, that can be 100 times more potent than heroin. Forward Trust has recently issued a national alert to staff warning of the increased risk of ..read more

Behind familiar reporting of the latest rise in alcohol-related deaths, lies the less well known story of the bereavements these deaths entail for those who have lost a loved one this way. This article has been written by bereavement counsellor and trainer Peter Cartwright, following publication of the ONS 2022 alcohol-specific deaths, showing another record high of 10,048 deaths due to alcohol in 2022. Recent research is revealing that, whilst alcohol- and drug-related bereavements vary a lot, they are often severe, complex and long-lasting (Valentine 2018, Cartwright 2019), and that they ..read more

Turning Point chief operating officer Clare Taylor responds to figures, released by ONS this week, which show that alcohol-specific deaths have risen to the highest on record. ONS has released annual figures on alcohol-specific deaths in England and Wales. It is saddening to see the figures released by ONS [on 22 April 2024] which show that alcohol deaths have risen in 2022 to 10,048, the highest on record. Behind every number is a person, and our thoughts go out to anyone who has lost someone from alcohol use. Increasing awareness of safe drinking levels and the long-term harms of alcohol use ..read more

The concept of inclusive recovery cities is providing a network of inspiration, say David Best, Steven Brown, Sue Northcott, Eleanor Youdell, Dot Smith, Mark Green, Tracey Ford, Mike Crowther and Jamie Sadler. In spite of continued lack of funding and support from central government, the recovery movement has continued to proliferate and blossom across the UK. This has become most evident in the transition from the hidden and the anonymous to the visibility and vibrancy of events such as the annual UK Recovery Walks and the fabulous Recovery Games hosted in sunny Donny each autumn. But for ..read more

There were just over 10,000 deaths from alcohol specific causes registered in the UK in 2022, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) – the highest number on record. The 10,048 figure was just over 4 per cent up on the previous year, but almost 33 per cent higher than in 2019 – the last pre-COVID year. Rates of alcohol-specific deaths had remained broadly stable between 2012 and 2019, ONS points out. Death rates for both men and women have increased. Alcohol-specific death rates only include deaths from causes ‘wholly attributable’ to alcohol, such as alcoho ..read more

Children’s online spaces ‘can feel saturated’ with gambling adverts and content, according to a report from GambleAware. The ‘blurred lines’ between gambling and gambling-like activity – such as ‘loot boxes’ in online games – also mean that children are unaware of the risks associated with online gambling, the document states. Children were frequently drawn in by the ‘bright, loud and eye-catching nature’ of gambling ads, the report says, with many reporting that gambling could look like gaming and vice versa. ‘The look and feel of the two worlds felt interchangeable,’ it states. The report is ..read more

At Change Grow Live’s south west prisons service, we see first-hand the impact that neurodivergent conditions can have on engagement with substance support. People in prison are disproportionately affected by neurodivergence, and many of them struggle to engage with or be reached by existing pathways. That’s why our team has been at the forefront of developing an innovative pathway for neurodivergent people to access support in prison settings. By making our services in prisons more accessible to neurodivergent people, they will feel more able to engage and to progress with their recovery. As ..read more

The Scottish Parliament has approved plans to continue with minimum unit pricing (MUP) for alcohol, and to increase the rate by 15p.   The rate will rise from 50p per unit to 65p from September When the MUP legislation was introduced in 2018 it was subject to a ‘sunset clause’, which meant that it would expire this month unless MSPs voted to retain it. The vote was passed by 88 votes to 18, with the rate now set to rise from 50p per unit to 65p from September to ‘counteract the effects of inflation’.  Despite the introduction of MUP, alcohol-related deaths in Scotland in 2021 re ..read more

The government’s plan to introduce legislation that would create a ‘smoke-free generation’ (https://www.drinkanddrugsnews.com/government-plans-smoke-free-generation/) moved a step closer to reality after MPs voted 383 to 67 in favour of the tobacco and vapes bill at its second reading in the House of Commons. The legislation is designed to prevent young people from taking up smoking The legislation would raise the age at which anyone can legally smoke by one year each year to ‘prevent future generations from ever taking up smoking’, while anyone born before 1 January 2009 will be able to conti ..read more

Last year, Phoenix Futures opened an important new residential service, Ophelia House. Six months into the journey, the charity shares its insights, learning, and some of the challenges it faced along the way. Photo by Benjamin Manley on Unsplash The core principle of Ophelia House is that it is designed by women, for women. For too long, many women have had to fit into treatment systems that don’t work for them. We knew that for Ophelia House to be an effective treatment option, it must meet their specific gender needs of women. Trauma is often a factor in substance use for both men and women ..read more