harm reduction - search results

[…] evidence when it comes to things like pricing. Why does the precautionary principle not apply to alcohol – why is the onus on health advocates to prove harm? Because industry advocacy is more effective.’ The drinks industry ‘pushed the paradigm’ that harm was a problem of small specific groups like young binge drinkers, he […]

[…] than 130 people were executed for drug offences last year, an increase of 336 per cent on the figure for 2020, according to the latest report from Harm Reduction International (HRI). The death penalty for drugs remains on the statute books of 35 countries worldwide.  However, censorship and severe lack of transparency mean it is […]

[…] a reduction in the number of people accessing hospital treatment and greater rates of death caused by alcohol,’ she continued. ‘Tackling alcohol consumption and harms, particularly among high-risk groups, should be a critical objective of any COVID-19 recovery plans.’ Alcohol sales and harm in Scotland during the COVID-19 pandemic at www.publichealthscotland.scot – read it here

  The theme of HRIC 2013 was The Value/s of Harm Reduction, which reflected the urgent need to provide sufficient political and financial support to address the HIV epidemic driven by injecting drug use in many parts of the world, as well as the ethical basis of the harm reduction philosophy. On this page you’ll be […]

[…] the  streets’.  But clearly some people misunderstood what Blair meant. They were saying that the  Afghan  heroin  trade  wasn’t  fulfilling  its  potential,  and  with  the  right management they could treble it. Mark Steel,  Inbepenbent , b May June 2013 |  drinkanddrugbnewb | b Letters | Mediabsavvy www.drinkanddrugsnews.com CITRIC QUESTIbN bs a  harm reduction worker at the Cairn Centre, the main needle exchange in the centre of Dundee, I wondered if any of your readers could answer a question. We have noticed lately that our clients are asking for lots of citric – much more than they need. We asked them why and it turns out that the IDUs in this area have changed the order in which they prepare their hits. They put the heroin in first, then put in the citric, and then the water – instead of putting the water in before the citric. So we have been reminding clients of the correct order. However, a few of them are now telling us that the reason they need much more citric is to dissolve the adulterants in their heroin. They are telling us that the mixture is very white. Is there a new adulterant around, which is dissolved by acid, or is the heroin simply being adulterated even more, with the usual stuff? It would be great to hear what other NX workers, or others, think. George Donald, Cairn Centre, Dundee SUPPbRTING  […]

[…] managed carefully, the transition from high dead space to low dead space syringes is also a risk-free intervention for services to provide as part of a comprehensive harm reduction package. It must never be a substitute for the highest possible coverage of harm reduction services, but rather a complementary string to the bow to make […]

[…] ‘People who use drugs have dealt with very serious viruses before.’ The document, work on which was led by EuroNPUD project manager Mat Southwell, includes essential COVID-19-related harm reduction advice, as well as wider health information around the virus. It also contains guidance on successfully managing opioid substitution therapy during the crisis, including what to […]

[…] the research – we’re dominated by American research, and it’s something they do well, but at the time [2008] they’d try to squash anything to do with harm reduction, which was very sad. I think the EU has done a lot to forge links with the Latin American countries, particularly Spain and Portugal, because they […]

[…] class B to class C, a status it would manage to retain for a full five years before yo-yoing back up again. The government launches its Alcohol harm reduction strategy for England, which the BMJ quickly dismisses as the ‘dampest of squibs’. Any government serious about addressing the issue would increase the price, the journal […]

[…] is not a simplistic call to prioritise abstinence and recovery. Amazingly, after 40 years of debating it, too many people in the sector still see the abstinence/ harm reduction issue in binary terms – choose your side and criticise the other side. An effective system has to have a full menu of services. Good healthcare […]

[…] be selling contaminants and substances of concern. ‘They can sell anything and get lost in the crowd. ‘We’re not encouraging or condoning drug use, but we give harm reduction advice – 90 per cent of our service users have never spoken about drug use to a healthcare professional so we’re reaching people at the very […]

[…] talk about the obstacles in our way. Drug law enforcement was bound to be at the top of the agenda for a conference that cares passionately about harm reduction. While drug use was ‘ubiquitous, right across the population’, drug law enforce­ment was ‘a tool for social control’, said Niamh Eastwood, executive director at Release. Furthermore, […]

[…] need.’ ‘The continuing high rates of drug-related deaths and the emerging threat of overdoses associated with fentanyl points to a national need to improve the balance of harm reduction initiatives,’ added a spokesperson for Change Grow Live (CGL). ‘We know what effective harm reduction consists of: rapid access to effective substitute opioid prescription; supporting take-home […]

[…] in her speech. ‘You have to keep trying, and that’s what Kaleidoscope keep demonstrating. She spoke of her first visit to Kingston, where the charity was pioneering harm reduction through its needle exchange and methadone dispensing service. It was ‘chaotic, busy and noisy’ and ‘a fantastic example of harm reduction and recovery-orientated services’. Most importantly […]

[…] not more’, according to a report from the Health Poverty Action NGO. The money could then be ring-fenced to support the NHS as well as education and harm reduction programmes, it says. Legalisation ‘is an idea whose time has come’ With the Canadian senate about to vote on legalising cannabis for recreational use, regulation and […]

[…] page 5), he argued. ‘We need to recognise the difference between use and misuse of drugs, and we have a way to go to recognise how important harm reduction is – people will only go into treatment when they’re ready.’ When it came to recreational use, however, money was ‘better spent on those who have […]

[…] possession remains prohibited but users are referred to treatment programmes rather than prosecuted, moving from a ‘predominantly criminal justice approach towards one based on public health and harm reduction’, it says. The organisations are also calling for universal provision of ‘evidence-based’ drugs education through statutory PHSE education in schools, as well as the use of […]

[…] remains prohibited but users are referred to treatment programmes rather than prosecuted – moving from a ‘predominantly criminal justice approach towards one based on public health and harm reduction’, it says. The organisations are also calling for universal provision of ‘evidence-based’ drugs education through statutory PHSE education in schools, as well as the use of […]

[…] smoking and do not act as a gateway to smoking, says a report from the Royal College of Physicians (RCP). The controversial devices are therefore a useful harm reduction tool and ‘likely to be beneficial to UK public health’, it states. E-cigarette use is limited ‘almost entirely’ to people who already smoke, says the RCP, […]

[…] In terms of the treatment sector, Release would like to see the next government promote interventions based on the evidence rather than ideology, recognising the importance of harm reduction. That’s not to say that the availability of abstinence-based options is not important, but rather that we need a treatment system that responds to the needs […]

[…] ‘We have seen reductions in deaths and hospital admissions directly caused by sustained, high levels of alcohol consumption, and this is further evidence that those drinking at harmful and hazardous levels have reduced their consumption,’ said lead for the evaluation of MUP at Public Health Scotland, Clare Beeston. ‘MUP alone is not enough to […]

[…] to act or react. The key message to emerge was, ‘don’t panic, we already know what to do’, said Sumnall. Existing approaches were ‘entirely suitable’, with classic harm reduction components ‘absolutely vital’, including messages around not sharing syringes. ‘It’s not about new drugs,’ he said. ‘We’re not seeing new and novel harms… It’s about understanding […]

[…] illegal) habitually. You can contact me at frazerleonfoster@gmail.com Frazer Foster, by email   Banana splits  I went to a few of the big debates on abstinence versus harm reduction in London in 2008 and 2009 and listened to a lot of fear coming from the floor, and anger. Paul Hayes, chief executive of the NTA, […]

[…] thoroughly – this has been the case internationally, that originally you get a lot of public discontent’. ‘To reduce drug-related deaths, we must continue to focus on harm reduction and also on services that are actively helping people overcome and recover from addiction,’ said Listen Up host and Abbeycare outreach manager Eddie Clarke. ‘At Abbeycare, […]

[…] people who are alcohol dependent. We’ll continue to work with the Welsh Government and our partners to make that support available when and where people need it. Wales and Scotland are showing that MUP is an important part of the alcohol harm reduction toolkit. We’d encourage decision-makers in England and Northern Ireland to give it serious consideration.’

[…] practitioners are best placed to know exactly how to tailor smoking interventions to the needs of their patient.’ A briefing paper from the Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction (GSTHR) last year stated that social workers should be given the tools to promote tobacco harm reduction as they’re often the ‘initial, and in some cases, […]

[…] 2009 and tackle the marketing of vapes to children, is currently being debated in the House of Lords. A research paper from the Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction (GSTHR) last year stated that the large-scale shift to vaping in the UK had been helped by successive governments making ‘pragmatic policy decisions based on the […]

[…] the drug market was contributing ‘to a very high likelihood of sudden, localised spikes of severe harms’, it continues. ‘There remains an urgent need for evidence-based benzodiazepine harm reduction and treatment support interventions to be delivered at scale. These should be available for community and prison settings.’ Scotland’s public health response needed to ‘move faster’, […]

[…] reliable way to know what substances might be contaminated or how different drugs might interact. Having someone nearby who can help in an emergency is a vital harm reduction step, but it’s important to remember that there is no completely safe way to use these substances.’ Last month the most recent Rapid Action Drug Alerts […]

[…] per cent of all alcohol consumed in Wales. Increasing the MUP rate from its current level of 50p would ‘lead to further reductions in alcohol consumption and harm, with the biggest impacts in the most deprived groups’, it states. The Welsh Government is considering raising the MUP level to 65p, as the Scottish Government […]

[…] the most marginalised people who use drugs are not being offered suitable opioid agonist maintenance treatment (OAMT) options that would support them to move off street opioids. Harm reduction is undergoing a renaissance in the UK as we see the limits and dangers of forcing people out of treatment and into unwanted states of abstinence. […]

[…] gaps in the heroin market being filled with highly potent synthetic drugs. ‘Given the potential negative consequences of this, Europe needs to improve its preparedness for the harm reduction and other challenges that such a market shift could bring,’ the report states. Seizures of nitazenes in Europe have risen rapidly, with the quantity detected in […]

The Student Drug and Alcohol Awareness Week, run annually by Students Organising for Sustainability (SOS-UK), supports the move towards harm reduction in the Higher Education sector through asking institutions and organisations to share educational resources, run events and engage in meaningful conversation about student drug and alcohol use. It encourages the move away from zero […]

[…] what has happened in the field over that period. Kaleidoscope is a pioneering organisation – in its 55 years it has been at the forefront of advocating harm reduction, community support and systemic reform in drug policy. At the heart of the work is a deep commitment to empowering the most marginalised people in society […]

[…] drug user involvement. April Wareham and the team from Working with Everyone have embarked on tracing the path of drug user involvement that takes them from the harm reduction pioneers of the 1980s with a backdrop of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, through the rise of the recovery movement, to the here and now. Some of the […]

[…] of problematic drug use and drug-related deaths. ‘We had seven deaths in ten days a couple of weeks ago,’ he said. This meant multiple challenges for his harm reduction-based service, he said, including ‘huge’ levels of non-fatal overdoses, ‘benzo use through the roof’, high levels of femoral injecting and increasing crack use. Sixty per cent […]

[…] effects of psychoactive substances patterns of consumption differentiated across social groups responses to drug and alcohol-related harms from a range of perspectives, such as criminal justice, treatment, harm reduction, public health, and health inclusion We critically examine substance-related harms for individuals, families and communities and how harms are mediated by gender, class, race and ethnicity. […]

[…] service in Leeds.’ The help on offer is focused on more than supporting people to stop using drugs and get out of the chemsex scene. ‘We offer harm reduction advice and support, so that if people do still want to be involved, we can ensure they’re keeping themselves and everyone else as safe as possible,’ […]

A timely opportunity for harm reduction Drug consumption rooms are about so much more than needles. As discussion among people involved in facilities around Europe showed (p6), we have a timely opportunity here – to integrate harm reduction with our work on new substances and new risk behaviours and get in place environments that work […]

[…] get a proper picture of the distribution of novel opioids. 3: Consolidate our knowledge base – there’s a lot of information we don’t have that will inform harm reduction. How many fatalities or near misses related to smoking? We say ‘start low, go slow’ but with isotonitazene (for example) forming long-acting potent metabolites, what does […]

[…] officer for England, Professor Chris Whitty.   See the April issue of DDN for a feature on tackling nitazenes   Related articles: (Features, March 2024): Testing the limits – Harm reduction experts make the case for more drug checking for nitazenes and other substances. (Features, September 2023): DDN visited the Global Forum on Nicotine in Warsaw to […]

The country’s first regular drug checking service has been launched in Bristol. Operated by harm reduction organisation The Loop in partnership with Bristol City Council, Bristol Drugs Project (BDP), and the universities of Bath and Liverpool, the free, confidential service will operate once a month. The service will operate once a month in Bristol Licensed […]

Injecting drug use among under-18s remains a global data ‘blind spot’, according to a report from Harm Reduction International (HRI). Young people who inject drugs are ill-informed about the risks, less likely to access treatment and have ‘specific develop­mental, social and environmental vulnerabilities’, says Injecting drug use among under-18s: a snapshot of available data. There […]

[…] of drug-free wings in prisons doubles to 45, with up to 100 special blocks planned by 2025, and DDN is devastated to hear of the death of harm reduction activist and long-time DDN conference team member Si Parry.  MARCH  The government announces that it intends to ban nitrous oxide, despite the ACMD advising that the […]

There is increasing recognition of the impact of moral injury – the psychological harm caused by experiences that violate someone’s moral or ethical code. Those affected by it need appropriate and effective treatment, say Amanda Bonson, Gavin Campbell and Dominic Murphy. The concept of PTSD arising from traumatic experiences is widely understood. Accidents, conflict […]

[…] still be many hurdles to overcome, but pressure was building on commissioners, clinicians, treatment services and prisons to take naloxone seriously and to incorporate it as essential harm reduction. You Need To Get Angry By 2014 Scotland, Wales and Ireland each had national programmes of naloxone distribution in place, but in England it had been […]

[…] and thrive.  11.20–11.40pm Tea, coffee and refreshments Exhibition Hall 11.40–1.00pm Session two, Conference Hall PARTNERSHIP WORKING Peer power – a story of co-production Cranstoun’s team share their dynamic harm reduction initiatives. Alistair Bryant describes the PACKs peer team’s naloxone distribution and Luke O’Neil explains how they used innovative tech to create BuddyUp. From policy to practice […]

[…] effectively engage/re-engage and retain service users, prevent drop-out and maximise successful treatment completions To be responsible for providing Needle and Syringe Provision, the supply of naloxone and harm reduction information and advice To support and promote ‘visible recovery’ within the service including a focus on appropriate planned exits from service at all stages of the […]

[…] effectively engage/re-engage and retain service users, prevent drop-out and maximise successful treatment completions To be responsible for providing Needle and Syringe Provision, the supply of naloxone and harm reduction information and advice To support and promote ‘visible recovery’ within the service including a focus on appropriate planned exits from service at all stages of the […]

[…] initial brief was simple – design a message and some visuals that a handful of country partners from the Dutch government-funded PITCH Project could use to promote harm reduction and decriminalisation. On 26 June 2013, we were blown away when we learned about campaign activities happening in 41 cities and 22 countries around the world, […]

[…] different for everyone and I wouldn’t try to prescribe my own routes to anyone else, but I think you’ve got to have a balance of abstinence and harm reduction. I think it’s got to be understanding this is an illness, and trying to provide the right support to the person so that it’s person-centred.’ Having […]

[…] people’s opinions on drug prohibition, asks Nick Goldstein. Nick Goldstein is a service user Just when you thought it was safe to read DDN again… I’m back! Harm reduction is as much a chronic relapsing condition as addiction, and after being hopelessly involved in harm reduction for far too long I’d decided I deserved a […]

[…] new approach to treatment in the 10-year Drug Strategy: ‘We welcome the major step forward that this strategy signals for the long-term future of drug treatment and harm reduction. We back the strategy’s acknowledgment that addiction must be treated as a chronic health condition. This is a significant breakthrough for drug treatment and a critical […]

[…] in the country. The facilities will be in two sites in East Harlem and Washington Heights The ‘overdose prevention centers’ are an extension of the city’s existing harm reduction services and will be co-located with established NSPs.  The US has been in the midst of an opiate overdose crisis since the turn of the millennium, […]

[…] access to menstrual and contraceptive products, the provision of onsite hepatitis C testing and pathways to treatment, and connections to peer support groups. Humankind also recognises that harm reduction principles should be a thread that runs through all our service provision. To support the process we are recruiting a national harm reduction lead who will […]

[…] in these deaths. We will no doubt see these rates continue to rise if we do not adopt policy reform and invest in overdose prevention sites and harm reduction and treatment, and review the law to end criminal sanctions for possession offences.” It continues to be deaths related to opiates that are driving the figures, […]

[…] found that the number of rough sleepers with a drug problem had increased from 50 per cent to 60 per cent in just four years. It’s about Harm Reduction ‘Getting out as much naloxone as possible to people who don’t necessarily engage with standard services is really important,’ says Megan Nash, team leader for WDP’s […]

[…] represents the lowest rate since 2012, again it is those in the most-deprived areas that are more likely to be hospitalised or die because of an alcohol-related harm,’ she said. ‘Like all harm caused by alcohol, this is preventable.’  ‘We’re really pleased to see that as a nation we are drinking less for the […]

[…] Dame Carol Black’s Independent review of drugs and the subsequent government drug strategy which launched in December 2021 came with significant investment – £530m for treatment and harm reduction, £68m for housing support, £21m support for employment and £129m for continuity of care for those leaving the criminal justice system – all to be released strategically […]

[…] drug checking services at festivals can permanently influence behaviour, according to a new study by the University of Liverpool. The Loop provides drug safety testing, welfare and harm reduction services at nightclubs, festivals and other leisure events. The study looked at almost 1,500 face-to-face brief interventions from three music festivals in England in 2017 before […]