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Signposting the way to elimination by 2025
[…] work with the Drugs, Alcohol and Justice Cross Party Parliamentary Group to push for research into the safety and effi cacy of needle ex- changes and other harm reduction measures to make a case for their role in reducing transmission. This could be done in conjunction with the National Institute for Health Research. Coalition members […]
Bang for your buck
[…] about Addaction’s approach to working in jails in Lincolnshire. On reception, every prisoner was offered a chemical assessment, then seen again the next morning and offered specific harm reduction advice relating to the drugs most commonly reported in the prison. Scherdel said that NPS users were less likely to engage than traditional drug users, but […]
Crack Cocaine – Cracks in the mirror
[…] the issue locally. As this nascent crack using population aren’t currently injecting or heroin-using, they won’t automatically have contact with drug services via, for example, needle exchange. Harm reduction interventions, including resources to address the needs of crack smokers, polydrug users (including crack and alcohol, use of opiates or benzos as comedown drugs) and crack […]
Media Savvy
[…] crime. It slashed heroin abuse after decriminalising drugs. British politicians are acting with criminal incompetence as other countries start to end this stupid war and focus on harm reduction. Ian Birrell, Times, 18 April ————— There are drug injection facilities in almost 70 cities around the world, but not one in the UK. That is […]
Government slashes maximum stake for Fixed Odds Betting Terminals
[…] Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs) is to be cut from £100 to £2, the government has announced. The move is intended to ‘reduce the risk of gambling-related harm’. MPs and campaigners have been calling for a reduction in the maximum permitted stake for years (DDN, September 2014, page 6), with the controversial terminals frequently […]
Record number of drug-related mental health admissions
[…] highest admission rates for a primary diagnosis of poisoning by illicit drugs were also found in the 25 to 34 age range, the report states. Karen Tyrell: Harm reduction must be taken seriously ‘People with both mental health and substance misuse issues can find it extremely difficult to access mental health services,’ said Addaction spokesperson […]
Alcohol strategy is ripe for refreshment
[…] communities needed to be able to get involved in licencing decisions more easily; and alcohol labelling should be revised to include ingredients, calories and information about health harm. Alison Douglas, chief executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland, took up the issue of MUP. Scotland intended to implement minimum unit pricing imminently she said, adding ‘it […]
The Heart of the Matter
[…] or how assiduously they abide by the clinical guidelines. ******* ALCOHOL ******* Only one person in six who needs alcohol treatment is able to access it. Alcohol harm is concentrated in our poorest communities, with 30 per cent of all alcohol consumed by 4 per cent of the population. The health damage, the societal […]
Media language enabling discrimination, says Global Commission
[…] consistent information, the report urges, while ‘opinion leaders’ in the media should promote the use of non-stigmatising language. Healthcare professionals also need to be vocal in promoting harm reduction and evidence-based interventions, while law enforcement should ‘stop acts of harassment based on negative perceptions of people who use drugs’. Michel Kazatchkine: ‘langage matters’ ‘“Addiction” remains […]
Commissioning is risking lives, say GPs
[…] to a cheaper bidder, with quality of care sacrificed in the race to slash budgets. Dr Stephen Willott: ‘The government’s drug strategy has long moved away from harm reduction, OST and choices.’ ‘There were over 3,700 drug-related deaths registered in 2016 in England and Wales – a 44 per cent increase on 2012 figures,’ said […]
There’s something in the heroin
[…] that clients believed the heroin was being cut with fentanyl or Xanax (a benzodiazepine) and witnessed people ‘going over’ (overdosing) as a result. In addition, pharmacists undertaking harm reduction training in East Riding reported users describing a change in how the heroin felt – that they were getting a quick strong hit. Benzodiazepines would be […]
More questions than answers
[…] evidence appears to be irrelevant and celebrities determined to persuade others that what has helped them is right for everyone – has promoted an anti-treatment, abstinence-only narrative. Harm reduction has been side-lined in some areas and this has had consequences. While it would be simplistic to blame the rise in drug deaths on recovery (the […]
Power of ten
[…] the gaps.’ More cuts would inevitably be on the way, she stressed, with funding for treatment likely to reduce by 30 per cent by 2021. ‘We’ve lost harm reduction services. I’m very supportive of the recovery agenda, but we need harm reduction as well.’ The ACMD had told the government that it needed to do […]
Safe Corner
[…] accord’ between police and other stakeholders, the proposal failed the test of feasibility. Resistance was attributed partly to a ‘shift in focus for substance misuse services from harm reduction to recovery [which placed…] a greater emphasis on abstinence’. It was unclear whether stakeholders were themselves aligned with the values of abstinence-based recovery, or whether the […]
Making choice real
[…] to help reduce or end illicit ‘problem’ drug use. But there’s an unhelpful polarity that exists between interventions targeting immediate abstinence, and substitution treatments promoting stabilisation and harm reduction. The use of OST has for a long time been challenged politically and through mainstream media. This cultural opposition, despite a strong evidence base for harm […]
Review of the year
[…] world needs drug policies that ‘put people first’. The event’s outcome document, however, receives a decidedly lukewarm response – despite some welcome language on human rights and harm reduction, the need for consensus renders it ‘watered down’ and ‘generally a huge disappointment’, Transform’s Steve Rolles tells DDN. The seemingly unstoppable flow of new psychoactive substances […]
Glasgow considers case for UK’s first consumption room
[…] established by the local alcohol and drug partnership (ADP) (DDN, July/August, page 4). This would help maximise engagement with the target population and increase ‘the potential for harm reduction’, the group said. The working group reviewed how existing consumption room services operated in places like Europe, Canada and Australia, as well as considering feedback from […]
Media Savvy: the news, and the skews, in the national media
[…] broad daylight’ just yards from a PRIMARY SCHOOL Mail headline, 25 October The lessons of a failing national policy need to be learnt. The approach of harm reduction was born – under a Conservative government – in response to the threat of HIV. It saved countless lives. When focus shifted away from harm reduction, […]
Choose life – Recovery Month and Overdose Awareness
[…] recalled the successful deployment of naloxone across the West Midlands during his time as Public Health England regional manager, and challenged the North West, ‘the home of harm reduction’, to step up and take action in relation to drug-related deaths. Finally, a public awareness event was held in the centre of Manchester. Undeterred by lashing […]
Reasons to be cheerful
[…] the cumulative consequences of austerity. This presents twin challenges to the sector. Firstly we have to find a new narrative, as persuasive to local authorities as previous harm reduction and crime led narratives have been to central government. This needs to be a shared endeavour across the sector, service users and our allies in Whitehall. […]
January issue 2012
[…] revolve around the criminal justice system until he finally got the right treatment in prison for his mental health problems. He tells his story. A DUTCH MASTER Harm Reduction International chair John-Peter Kools has been at the forefront of harm reduction work for almost 30 years, operating across Europe and beyond. He talks to David […]
Dark days review of the year 2015
[…] work’ and ASH tells DDN that the Welsh government’s plans to ban the use of e-cigarettes in public places amounts to a misguided attack on an effective harm reduction tool, although the claim in a PHE report that the devices are 95 per cent less harmful than smoking tobacco proves divisive. SEPTEMBER More grim news […]
Public health focus for drugs and alcohol?
[…] health approach to substance issues, or is the switch to Public Health England nothing more than a change of name? ‘I am optimistic,’ says Gerry Stimson, former Harm Reduction International (HRI) executive director and now programme director for City health 2012, a conference organised by the London Drug and Alcohol Policy Forum (LDAPF) to be […]
Recovery and drug treatment
[…] In the aftermath of the general election we noticed something peculiar. There seemed to be a political, ontological divide between two tribes – those affiliated with the harm reduction model, and those affiliated with the recovery model. It didn’t seem to matter whether the person expressing the view worked in the field, or was in […]
Competent compassion in services
[…] years, but unfortunately, as the pendulum swings from one side of treatment fashion to the other, it has become all about ‘recovery’ (often requiring abstinence) rather then harm reduction. This hotly contested debate misses the point. When someone is in need of help, there must be a full range of interventions available to them. It […]
Vital connections
[…] along the same lines.’ One of the battles to which Alexander referred was the ongoing tension between those who wholeheartedly believed in abstinence and those dedicated to harm reduction. He warned that it was important not to become embroiled in such tensions and urged both sides to work together as part of the same movement. […]
Nitazenes detected in 25 Scottish drug deaths
[…] needed to address the escalating drug crisis in the UK (Partner Updates, September 2023): Release, alongside EuroNPUD and other drug treatment service colleagues in the UK, have produced harm reduction advice on nitazenes. (News, January 2023): Fentanyl behind 80% increase in New York’s overdose deaths Search the DDN archive for more on nitazenes, fentanyl and synthetic opioids. […]
Afghan opium cultivation drops by 95 per cent
[…] needed to address the escalating drug crisis in the UK (Partner Updates, September 2023): Release, alongside EuroNPUD and other drug treatment service colleagues in the UK, have produced harm reduction advice on nitazenes. (News, January 2023): Fentanyl behind 80% increase in New York’s overdose deaths Search the DDN archive for more on opium production, nitazenes, fentanyl and […]
Rising levels of violence associated with county lines activity
[…] and their severity’. One respondent described an increase in the number of males under 21 attending A&E after being raped, while others also noted increases in self- harm and suicide attempts among children and young people admitted to hospital. The report, which looks at the impact of COVID-19 on county lines activities, says more […]
Alcohol focus for new NHS plan
[…] Alcohol-related hospital admissions have increased by 17 per cent over the course of a decade, to 337,000 in 2016-17. NHS England estimates the annual cost of alcohol-related harm at £3.5bn. The initiative is part of a major focus on prevention in the new NHS plan, alongside support for patients who smoke and action on […]
Heavy drinking set to cost NHS £17bn over next five years
[…] hepatitis testing and diagnosis in the community with a focus on ‘groups at greatest risk and/or not in regular contact with health services’, as well as protection for harm reduction services. The impact of liver disease on the poorest in society is ‘disproportionally severe’, the document states, and contributes to the ‘widening of socioeconomic health inequalities […]
Vital care
[…] outcome; improve patient experience and demonstrate cost effectiveness. The main reason for presentation at A&E was withdrawal (eg seizure), with mental health issues, including suicidal ideation, self- harm or depression, also prominent. Many patients had three or more admissions to A&E within the preceding six months and a minority were in contact with a […]
‘New pledges’ announced as part of alcohol deal
[…] health white paper (DDN, 6 December 2010, page 4). Controversial from the start, it was branded ‘the worst possible deal for everyone who wants to see alcohol harm reduced’ by Alcohol Concern (DDN, April 2011, page 4), with the charity refusing to sign up – along with the Royal College of Physicians, the British […]
News in brief
[…] programme for Wales. ‘The “Have a Word” training has enabled over 6,000 people in Wales to identify hazardous and harmful drinkers and provide advice to reduce alcohol-related harm,’ said the Kaleidoscope Project’s alcohol service team leader and training coordinator, Tom Damsell. ‘By working in collaboration with Public Health Wales to deliver the training and […]
Cold Sober
[…] mental health challenges – isolation, low mood, anxiety, and a lack of connection that is not always recognised. So if we’re not careful, in trying to reduce harm in one setting, we risk displacing it into another – one that’s far less visible and far less understood. I also recognise that my position in […]
Scottish Government announces final national drugs mission funding
[…] support in Edinburgh and West Dunbartonshire, recovery hubs in Kilmarnock and Forth Valley, homelessness outreach services in Aberdeen, family liaison in the Highlands, a Forth Valley peer harm reduction project, and recovery workshops in Glasgow and Dundee. Maree Todd: the Scottish Government will shortly announce its new alcohol and drugs strategic plan ‘As the national […]
Thistle clocks up more than 11,000 visits
[…] The Thistle opened Scotland’s first minister John Swinney said that while it was not ‘silver bullet’ it was designed to ‘complement other efforts’ to reduce deaths and harm. ‘The Thistle, which complements other harm-reduction and treatment and recovery services, has had a profound impact in its first year,’ said drugs minister Maree Todd. ‘Through […]
Time to change direction on drugs
[…] document includes a call from five Nobel Prize economists for resources to be redirected towards ‘effective, evidence-based policies underpinned by rigorous economic analysis.’ Proven public health and harm reduction policies should be prioritised, it says, with states allowed to pursue new initiatives to determine what works and ‘rigorously monitored’ policy and regulatory experiments encouraged. The […]
Government launches HIV action plan to ‘tackle stigma and end transmissions by 2030’
[…] and UKHSA – has also published the first ever set of UK clinical guidelines for alcohol treatment. The guidelines cover areas such as principles of care, psychosocial interventions, harm reduction and employment support, as well as priorities for treatment and recovery identified by an experts through experience group. The publication follows a consultation process on the […]
Time to change direction on drugs policy, say economists
[…] document includes a call from five Nobel Prize economists for resources to be redirected towards ‘effective, evidence-based policies underpinned by rigorous economic analysis’. Proven public health and harm reduction policies should be prioritised, it says, with states allowed to pursue new initiatives to determine what works and ‘rigorously monitored’ policy and regulatory experiments encouraged. The […]
What is fuelling rising rates of violence in prisons? Probably not drones
[…] risen by nearly a third to 401 in the 12 months to the end of June 2025, including 86 prisoners in ‘self-inflicted’ circumstances. The rate of self- harm has risen by 5% in men’s prisons and by 6% in women’s prisons in the 12 months from March 2024. In addressing increasing rates of violence […]
PHS issues new nitazenes alert
[…] at people working and volunteering in drug services, emergency services, healthcare settings and ‘high-risk’ environments like hostels and prisons, the alert urges people to follow the correct harm reduction advice for opioids and polydrug use, and to ‘promote and provide’ naloxone. Nitazenes are increasingly found in post-mortem toxicology samples Nitazenes are now being widely detected […]
Soul food
[…] clear from the Feeding Recovery Project that hosting sessions where people experiencing serious alcohol harm can make and share food offers real opportunities for positive engagement and harm reduction. In the Feeding Recovery Handbook, we’ve set out how such sessions can be successfully run. Our hope now is that agencies across the UK will pick […]
Change Grow Live: our call for sustainable funding for community drug and alcohol treatment
[…] services. Drug and alcohol treatment services have been demonstrated to reduce offending by 33% We know that: 1. Drug and alcohol services deliver value for money The harm related to illicit drug use in England costs an estimated £19.3 billion. Adult drug treatment reflects a return-on-investment of £4 for every £1 invested in the […]
Sowing the seeds
[…] substance. Research into the ground poppy seed supply is needed to understand exactly what is being put into this commonly available substance, so we can offer informed harm-reduction advice to the public. Poppy seeds can be just as addictive as any other opiate Poppy seeds can be just as addictive as any other opiate, […]
Lady health workers smoking cessation initiative in rural Pakistan
[…] less harmful alternatives to smoking was low. Most households had someone who wanted to stop smoking and 51 women and 146 men agreed to try a tobacco harm reduction (THR) product. Primary health units’ staff appreciated the project, especially the training provided. They believed the program could be sustainable, and LHWs expressed interest in continuing […]
Tobacco and vapes bill introduced to Parliament
[…] is utterly unacceptable. This is a major piece of legislation which if passed will have a positive and lasting impact on the health of the nation.’ See tobacco harm reduction feature in the new issue of DDN here Tobacco and vapes bill introduced to Parliament The government is also considering ‘tougher action’ to address youth vaping
A welcome diversion
[…] down offending rates’. Diversion schemes were about making sure people did not enter the criminal justice system but got the treatment and support they needed, ‘with excellent harm reduction and support’ along the way. They also saved many hours of police time. ‘We need to make it as easy as possible for officers to use […]
More than 60 per cent of people dying a drug-related death in Scotland lived...
[…] states, while a third had been discharged from a general acute hospital in the six months before death. Two thirds had been in contact with treatment or harm reduction services in the six months before death, rising to more than 70 per cent of people whose death was opioid-related. More than a third were on […]
Proportion of current smokers falls to lowest ever level
[…] help the 6m people currently smoking to quit.’ Vaping will overtake smoking for the first time Meanwhile, a new briefing paper from the Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction (GSTHR) focuses on the UK’s ‘remarkable shift’ from tobacco to vaping. At current rates, the number of adults who smoke will have fallen to just over […]
Author of UK drug review visits Darlington drug and alcohol service
[…] WithYou CEO, Simon Phillips and Dot Smith, CEO at Recovery Connections. At the Tubwell site she visited the on-site dispensary, heard about the work in relation to harm reduction and met with several teams including the access team and assertive outreach. Then she walked to the Coniscliffe Road site for lunch with clients, staff and […]
Health and Care Futures Webinar Series
[…] Link to register: https://t-p.news/socialcarefuture Synthetic opioids – how does the drug and alcohol treatment sector need to work differently to respond to the changing drug supply? With harm reduction and local intelligence systems expert Michael Linnell. Friday 18th October 2024, 4-5pm Link to register: https://t-p.news/syntheticopioids How can we shift the dial on health inequalities? With […]
Cranstoun response to Scottish drug deaths: evidence must prevail to prevent tragedy
[…] treatment are being missed. Solutions should include smarter use of the criminal justice system, more outreach programmes to reach those who would benefit from treatment and more harm reduction measures. Additionally, the third sector in Scotland is unable to prescribe opioid replacement therapy. This leaves prescribing in the hands of the NHS alone, which given […]
Shake up at Drinkaware over industry links
[…] in a suspicion that Drinkaware is not truly independent of the alcohol industry’. It also described ‘weak stakeholder engagement’, leaving the organisation isolated within the wider alcohol harm reduction community, and lack of clarity over its mission and purpose. ‘Drinkaware is seen by non-industry stakeholders as lacking independence from its funders, and some are sceptical […]
Drug executions up more than 40 per cent
There were at least 467 drug-related executions in 2023, according to the latest report from Harm Reduction International (HRI). Drug offences accounted for more than 40 per cent of all confirmed global executions last year The figure is 44 per cent higher than the previous year and does not account for the ‘dozens, if not […]
Smoking-related hospital admissions up 5 per cent in a year
[…] our world-first “swap to stop” programme.’ Delegates at this year’s Global Forum on Nicotine, however, heard how the last decade had been a challenging one for tobacco harm reduction, with ‘regulators, parliamentarians and legislators changing the pace of progress’ according to Prof Gerry Stimson, and the WHO remaining largely opposed to products like e-cigarettes (https://www.drinkanddrugsnews.com/igniting-the-debate/). […]
Over-supervised, Under-dosed
[…] of OST, which is to prescribe in place of street opioids at an adequate dose to alleviate all withdrawal symptoms, as well as the basic premise of harm reduction, which is to meet people where they are at. More concretely, the barrier is also contrary to the guidance of the ‘orange book’, which advises in […]
The Shine Awards
Liverpool – 10 November Harm Reduction Event – sharing innovation and best practice from across the globe. 2023.hit.org.uk
DDN September 2023
[…] As we go to press on this issue it’s International Overdose Awareness Day and we’re never far from thinking about everyone we’ve lost. Our collective efforts on harm reduction will make the world a safer place – from collaborative commissioning (p18) to distributing naloxone (p14 and 24). This issue’s articles remind us of the struggles, […]