DrugWise Daily |
9th July 2026 |
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UK news
Thiamine prescribing
This guidance note is to remind healthcare professionals to routinely prescribe thiamine to people thought to be dependent on alcohol. It's prompted by Public Health Scotland data showing that in 2024/25, only around 8% of people assessed for specialist alcohol treatment reported being prescribed thiamine – despite the UK Clinical Guidelines for Alcohol Treatment (2025) being clear that thiamine prophylaxis should be offered to all people who drink harmfully and dependently | SHAAP, UK
Alcohol Matters in General Practice – free resources for clinicians
Here are a set of free resources developed with RCGP Scotland. While badged for primary care, the content is relevant to clinicians across specialties: A six episode podcast, Conversations about Alcohol, hosted by GP Dr Rachel Phillips, featuring addiction psychiatrists, hepatologists and lived experience perspectives (20-30 min episodes). A webinar on NES TURAS, counting towards CPD for trainees. Readymade PowerPoint slides for team meetings | SHAAP, UK
Craving and personal functioning as mediators of extended-release buprenorphine efficacy: A four-way decomposition analysis from a randomised trial
[Open access] The parent British randomised trial found long-acting injectable buprenorphine more effective at suppressing illegal use of opioids than sublingual buprenorphine or oral methadone. This offshoot analysis ask why, and finds that reduced subjective 'need' for opioids is part of the answer | Addiction, UK
I didn't want to wake up tomorrow, says ex-alcoholic
A woman who works as a practitioner in the addiction clinic that helped her recover from alcoholism is telling her story in order to show others there is hope | BBC, UK
Driving under Influence
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of drink and drug driving enforcement campaigns | They work for you, UK
Steroid Drugs: Health Education
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential benefits of (1) running a targeted public health campaign to raise awareness of the health consequences of physique-enhancing drugs, including anabolic steroids, and (2) using social media platforms as part of any such campaign | They work for you, UK
Hospitality Industry and Retail Trade: Electronic Cigarettes and Tobacco
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Department for Business and Trade has made any assessment of the potential effect of the measures in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill on (a) restaurants, (b) pubs, (c) small and independent retailers | They work for you, UK
Drug mules flooding region face tougher penalties
British "mules" caught smuggling cannabis from Thailand face jail and a charge for every kilo they are carrying under new tough measures to combat a drug trafficking "explosion". The National Crime Agency (NCA) warning came after a BBC North West investigation heard how gangs were making huge profits sending couriers from Bangkok to the UK with loads in suitcases destined for the streets of the cities and towns of the north of England | BBC, UK
Shops closed in illegal vape and tobacco crackdown
Four vape shops in Nottingham have been closed as part of a crackdown on illegal tobacco and vape sales. The closure orders were granted following work between Nottingham City Council Trading Standards and the public health team, and Nottinghamshire Police | BBC, UK
International news
Drugs and Tobacco Harm Reduction: shared challenges, shared solutions | #GFN26 - video
Harm reduction approaches are now an established and fundamental part of the response to drug use. While tobacco harm reduction has an expanding evidence base it is often viewed in narrow terms, as if people who smoke exist in a discrete silo. This session brings a drug harm reduction perspective to THR, drawing on frontline experience across a range of environments and sectors, seeking to highlight what works in terms of harm reduction for individuals and communities | GF TV, UK
Europe’s Northern Gateway: Inside the Cocaine Trade in Belgium and the Netherlands
By any traditional metric, Belgium and the Netherlands are among the most stable, prosperous, and administratively efficient societies in the world. Yet beneath this façade of order lies a rapidly evolving criminal ecosystem – one that has transformed the ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam into critical arteries of the global cocaine trade | Talking Drugs, UK
154. Is Medical Cannabis Over-Prescribed? with Dr Andy Barker - podcast
Join us in this episode as Prof Nutt speaks with Dr Andy Barker, a senior psychiatrist, medical cannabis prescriber, and the co-founder of This Native Mind. Andy shares his journey into medical cannabis, detailing the regulatory process for prescribers entering the field | Drug Science, UK
Why gen Z are ‘romanticizing’ their hangovers: ‘It’s lowkey a beautiful thing’
For young people, flaunting eye bags and bed rotting has become a cheeky rebuttal of body optimization culture | Guardian, UK
Treatment and management approaches for ketamine misuse: A systematic review of medical interventions
[Open access] Ketamine is increasingly and often damagingly misused. What has been tried to treat ketamine use and prevent or treat its medical complications, the most prominent of which affect the bladder? | JSAT, USA
Perceived Risk of Fentanyl Use Among US Adolescents
Results of this study suggest that there is a need to inform adolescents about the lethal dangers of fentanyl use | JAMA Network Open, USA
FDA clears Zyn: Nicotine pouches may hook a new generation, says expert
The company can now market flavored pouches as less harmful than cigarettes, alarming health experts | Medical Xpress, USA
An interrupted time series analysis of fentanyl, naloxone, and opioid-involved deaths in five counties in Eastern Missouri
From the USA the first evidence that distributing naloxone through community channels (ie, excluding medical supplies) curbs opioid overdose deaths even when the potent opioid fentanyl is pushing up the death rate – but only if abundant supplies generate "naloxone saturation", a finding reminiscent of needle exchange's impact on hepatitis C | JSAT, USA
Pilot randomized study of three digital models to train opioid use disorder counselors in community reinforcement and family training
[Open access] If you want counsellors to really learn how to engage families in promoting treatment entry, don't just teach them, but also give them feedback and 'coaching' from qualified practitioners based on recordings of how actually perform – a lesson familiar from motivational interviewing | DAD, USA
A comparison of telehealth and in-person delivery of alcohol behavioral couple therapy
[Open access] Offshoot of a study of whether oxytocin augmented outcomes from couples therapy. This analysis found that couples offered COVID-enforced 'telehealth' sessions did no worse (if anything, better) than those who saw their therapists in person | JSAT, USA
DEA Proposes Schedule I Ban for the First “Gas Station Drug,” Tianeptine
On July 8, the Drug Enforcement Administration moved to permanently ban tianeptine under Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). For the past decade tianeptine has been known in the United States as “gas station heroin,” a moniker that has come to represent a larger category of unregulated elixirs, tonics and supplements sold over the counter. The agency is accepting comment electronically or by mail, including requests for a hearing, through August 7 | Filter Magazine, USA
Richmind Boosts Support for Smoking, Vaping Cessation
People who access community services often have considerably higher smoking rates than the general population and face additional barriers that can make quitting more difficult. Community service organisations are uniquely placed to provide trusted support and foster a positive culture that encourages and enables people to quit smoking and vaping | Mirage News, Australia
Vape shop numbers 'seem to be getting out of control' - mayor
Wairoa's mayor wants councils to have more legal powers to combat a proliferation of vape stores. Mayor Craig Little said eight retailers sold vapes in the North Island town, which had a population of about 5000 people | RNZ, New Zealand
Blogs, comment and opinion
The Last One for the Road review – ageing-boozer tragicomedy offers drunken antics on the road to Venice
Two optimistic drinkers bumble around with a lovelorn student in tow in a depressing yet funny, faintly baffling tragicomedy | Guardian, UK