Recent posts
Opioid-related deaths more than 50 per cent higher than official figures,...
Opioid-related deaths in England and Wales from 2011 to 2022 were 54.7 per cent higher than recorded, according to research by King’s College London....
Culture shock
I’m Carly Wright, Phoenix’s health and justice strategic lead. Today I’m at HMP Wayland to find out more about its anti-stigma committee. Most importantly,...
Government announces addiction research funding
More than £10m in funding will be made available for addiction research, the government has announced, to tackle the UK’s ‘critical shortage’ of world-class...
‘I had a massive problem with alcohol. It nearly killed me’
A 46-year-old man from Ludlow whose struggle with alcohol nearly killed him has shared his life-saving story for Recovery Month, observed throughout September to...
Authorities missing opportunities to safeguard child criminal exploitation victims
Crucial opportunities to safeguard the victims of child criminal exploitation are being missed, warns a new report from the Alliance for Youth Justice (AYJ)...
New research project on substance dependency in care homes launched
A new research project looking at how people with drug and alcohol problems are supported in care homes has been launched by the University...
Reece Storr – I am a…
Reece Storr is a service manager at ROADS (Rotherham Alcohol and Drug Service), provided by WithYou. We asked him about his career path and...
Introduce mandatory alcohol labelling to protect against FASD, Balance urges
The government should introduce mandatory alcohol health labelling that includes warnings about drinking during pregnancy, says the North East alcohol programme Balance. The call...
Scottish Government announces funding for women’s and young people’s services
The Scottish Government has allocated £1.1m to the Aberlour Children’s Charity for perinatal support and recovery services, Public Health Scotland has announced. It is...
Female focused
More than 20 years ago, I worked in a community prescribing service in Tottenham. We had a woman in our service who would frequently...
Up to a quarter of vapes confiscated in schools contain spice
Up to one in four vapes confiscated in English secondary schools contain the synthetic cannabinoid ‘spice’, according to researchers from the University of Bath....
Children exposed to gambling content at ‘unprecedented levels’
Children and young people in the UK are being exposed to gambling content at ‘unprecedented levels’, according to a new report from GambleAware. In...
Thirteen per cent fall in Scottish drug deaths
There were 1,107 drug misuse deaths in Scotland last year, according to the latest official statistics from National Records of Scotland (NRS) – a...
More than 85 per cent of treatment provider workforce now in...
Eighty-six per cent of the drug and alcohol treatment provider workforce last year were working in the voluntary sector, according to the latest workforce...
‘I nearly died. I wish I’d known that there is a...
A 26-year-old man from Scunthorpe whose struggle with ketamine left him hospitalised with liver and kidney failure has shared his life-saving story for Recovery...
Sites identified for potential Edinburgh consumption room
A new report from the Edinburgh Integration Joint Board (EIJB) has identified two sites for a proposed drug consumption room in the city. The...
Rob Burns – I am a…
WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO WORK IN THIS FIELD?
I’ve always been passionate about supporting people, especially those going through difficult times. I’ve seen first-hand...
Throwaway terms
What do we really mean by ‘community’ and ‘peer’? The terms might sound simple, but they can just as easily exclude as include. That’s...
Time for a chat
The drug market in the UK is evolving rapidly, and not in a good way. Substances are more widely available, more unpredictable and more...
Funding uncertainty sees NHS tobacco services cut
Hospitals are starting to decommission their stop smoking services as a result of budget uncertainty, according to new data published by ASH. Services have...
News
Opioid-related deaths more than 50 per cent higher than official figures,...
Opioid-related deaths in England and Wales from 2011 to 2022 were 54.7 per cent higher than recorded, according to research by King’s College London....
Government announces addiction research funding
More than £10m in funding will be made available for addiction research, the government has announced, to tackle the UK’s ‘critical shortage’ of world-class...
Authorities missing opportunities to safeguard child criminal exploitation victims
Crucial opportunities to safeguard the victims of child criminal exploitation are being missed, warns a new report from the Alliance for Youth Justice (AYJ)...
New research project on substance dependency in care homes launched
A new research project looking at how people with drug and alcohol problems are supported in care homes has been launched by the University...
Introduce mandatory alcohol labelling to protect against FASD, Balance urges
The government should introduce mandatory alcohol health labelling that includes warnings about drinking during pregnancy, says the North East alcohol programme Balance. The call...
Scottish Government announces funding for women’s and young people’s services
The Scottish Government has allocated £1.1m to the Aberlour Children’s Charity for perinatal support and recovery services, Public Health Scotland has announced. It is...
Up to a quarter of vapes confiscated in schools contain spice
Up to one in four vapes confiscated in English secondary schools contain the synthetic cannabinoid ‘spice’, according to researchers from the University of Bath....
Children exposed to gambling content at ‘unprecedented levels’
Children and young people in the UK are being exposed to gambling content at ‘unprecedented levels’, according to a new report from GambleAware. In...
Thirteen per cent fall in Scottish drug deaths
There were 1,107 drug misuse deaths in Scotland last year, according to the latest official statistics from National Records of Scotland (NRS) – a...
More than 85 per cent of treatment provider workforce now in...
Eighty-six per cent of the drug and alcohol treatment provider workforce last year were working in the voluntary sector, according to the latest workforce...
Sites identified for potential Edinburgh consumption room
A new report from the Edinburgh Integration Joint Board (EIJB) has identified two sites for a proposed drug consumption room in the city. The...
Funding uncertainty sees NHS tobacco services cut
Hospitals are starting to decommission their stop smoking services as a result of budget uncertainty, according to new data published by ASH. Services have...
PHS issues new nitazenes alert
A new nitazenes alert has been issued by Public Health Scotland’s Rapid Action Drug Alerts and Response (RADAR) early warning system. Aimed at people...
Adfam and Collective Voice launch new families group
The launch of a new group to improve support for families and affected others has been announced by Adfam and Collective Voice. The Collective...
‘Urgent’ strategy needed to address alcohol harm, campaigners warn
An open letter to health secretary Wes Streeting is calling for an ‘urgent and ambitious’ strategy to address rising levels of alcohol harm. The...
Prison system came ‘close to collapse’ on three occasions
Overcrowding saw the prison system come close to collapse on three separate occasions, according to a new review by former chief inspector of prisons...
NHS Ayrshire & Arran issues nitazene warning
NHS Ayrshire & Arran is the latest Scottish health board to issue a warning about potent synthetic opioids in the drug supply. The board’s...
Drug-related harms on the increase across Scotland, warns PHS
Drug-related harms are increasing across Scotland, says the latest Rapid Action Drug Alerts and Response (RADAR) report from Public Health Scotland (PHS) – underlining...
White House targets harm reduction funding
The US health secretary will take ‘appropriate action’ to ensure that the discretionary grants issued by the country’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services...
Homeless people disproportionately at risk of hep C, charity warns
People experiencing homelessness are one of the most at-risk groups for hepatitis C infection, the St Mungo’s charity has warned in advance of next...