DrugWise Daily |
16th September 2026 |
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UK news
Evaluation examines impact of Residential Rehabilitation programme across Scotland: news story
Between financial years 2019/20 and 2025/26, the number of Scottish residents starting a residential rehab placement, funded publicly or privately, increased by around 60%. The number of publicly funded placements more than doubled. The Scottish Government target for 1,000 people in Scotland to have a publicly funded residential rehabilitation placement by 2026 was met | Public Health Scotland, UK
Evaluation of the Scottish Government Residential Rehabilitation programme: Synthesis report
The primary purpose of the evaluation, and this report, was to explore the impact of the Residential Rehabilitation programme on the way in which residential rehab is organised, how easily it can be accessed and how well it delivers for individuals with substance use issues across Scotland | Public Health Scotland, UK
Health Under Influence: The Industry Playbook Behind Scotland’s Preventable Health Harms (PDF)
This guide has been developed to support MSPs, and those involved in shaping public health policy, in understanding how commercial actors can seek to influence public health policy. It provides practical insights to inform day-to-day engagement with industry representatives, while encouraging broader reflection on how commercial interests can shape Scotland’s public health landscape | NCD Alliance, UK
Scotland fans allowed to buy alcohol at upcoming games
A ban is usually in place in Scottish football but trial alcohol sales have been taking place recently, including for the national team's friendlies against Japan and Curaçao earlier this year | BBC, UK
Sign up for an Open Houses event
Open Houses is a national campaign in England to improve access to residential treatment services. We are extending an invitation to visit rehab centres and see recovery in action. It’s an opportunity for commissioners, clinicians, policymakers, partner organisations and anyone else with an interest to meet those who live and work in rehab, and understand the role it plays in supporting recovery, families and communities | Open Houses, UK
From randomised trial to national implementation: employment outcomes from individual placement and support in english alcohol and drug treatment services
Individual Placement and Support programmes aim to fast-track patients into paid employment through intensive and individualised support, including support for employers. In England a randomised trial produced promising results and by 2025 support was available to nearly all substance use treatment patients, a roll-out which this analysis suggests produced even better results | IJPH, UK
Alcoholism: Social Services
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what financial support is being provided to local authorities, including Leicester City Council, to help manage the cost of alcohol-related demands on local social services | They work for you, UK
Alcohol-related crime up more than 25% in city
Plymouth City Council's cabinet agreed on Monday to extend a public spaces protection order (PSPO) to run until October 2029. The PSPO, which is in force across the whole of the city, allows police officers to ask people to stop drinking or give up their alcohol when officers think it might lead to anti-social behaviour | BBC, UK
Man with links to crime boss jailed for role in £8m drugs raid
Charles McAughey, 65, was arrested in December after police discovered 100 blocks of the Class A drug behind a hidden compartment in a lorry in Bellshill, North Lanarkshire | BBC, UK
International news
New study aims to improve dual diagnosis services in Ireland
Evidence-based insights will increase understanding of dual diagnosis and drug-related deaths | HRB Ireland
Number of people seeking treatment for nitrous oxide misuse has more than doubled since 2022
The HSE’s National Drugs Treatment Reporting System started recording nitrous oxide misuse presentations to addiction treatment services in 2022. In 2022, there were 30 incidents of problematic use of nitrous oxide being recorded either as a main problem drug or as an additional problem drug. This jumped to 54 the following year in 2023, and rose slightly to 56 in 2024 | Journal, Ireland
The Dutch Experiment: First Results from Closing the Supply Chain in Coffeeshops
The Closed Coffeeshop Chain Experiment is testing whether the whole chain, from cultivation to sale, can be regulated. The first results are now in. And while it is still early days, there are some interesting developments | C-EHRN, The Netherlands
E-Cigarette Directory Laws, Sales, and Product Availability From 3 Early-Adopting US States
These findings suggest that directory laws in early-adopting states are not associated with lasting declines in sales of flavored e-cigarettes not authorized by the US Food and Drug Administration, which are popular among youths, and may divert resources from evidence-based tobacco control strategies | JAMA Network Open, USA
Supervised consumption service use and high-frequency public injecting among people who inject drugs in Toronto: A cross-sectional analysis (2018–2020)
Using a facility where drugs could be injected under medical supervision was associated with a lower probability of injecting frequently in public – a risky practice for the injector, and an unwelcome sight for other members of the community | IJDP, UK
ASHES, Vol. 22(10) – Is tobacco use among adolescents associated with poor dental health over time?
Risky behaviors like adolescent tobacco and e-cigarette smoking could contribute to poor oral health, and the risk might be greater when these substances are combined. However, longitudinal studies are needed to test the association between tobacco use and oral health outcomes among adolescents over time. This week, ASHES reviews a study by Noor Abdulhay and colleagues that did just that | CHA, USA
Study pinpoints nonfatal overdose hotspots in Palm Beach County
Fatal drug overdoses have long been the focus of the nation's overdose crisis, but nonfatal overdoses occur far more frequently. These events often bring people to emergency departments, creating opportunities to connect them with lifesaving treatment and prevention services | Medical Xpress, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
From sewage to statistics: What wastewater testing could add to population modelling
When you think about addictions research and public health modelling, raw sewage probably isn't the first thing that comes to mind... | SARG blog, UK
Only 1% of tobacco-control compliance cases led to conviction, study finds
Lucy Dillon looks into a recent study of Irish tobacco-control enforcement which showed little change in compliance rates and convictions over a decade | HRB blog, Ireland