DrugWise Daily |
26th May 2026 |
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UK news
Opioid addiction linked to increased risk of dementia
Individuals addicted to opioids have a 56% higher risk of developing dementia than non-users, according to a study led by researchers at Oxford Population Health and the Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford. The findings are published in Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association | Oxford Population Health, UK
Falling through the cracks: Closing the gap in stop smoking support for people with common mental health conditions
This report examines the inequalities in smoking among people with mental health conditions. It draws together evidence on smoking prevalence, barriers to quitting, examples of emerging practice, and sets out recommendations for national government, the NHS, local authorities and the voluntary sector to improve access to tailored support, strengthen partnerships and ensure people with mental health conditions are not left behind | ASH, UK
Over 140 health leaders call for national action as report warns 1.5 million people with depression and anxiety who smoke risk being left behind
Mental health and public health leaders have called on the Government to publish a national roadmap to a smokefree country that prioritises people with common mental health conditions, as a new report warns that 1.5 million people with depression and anxiety who smoke are at risk of being left behind | ASH, UK
True scale of UK’s prison drug crisis revealed as deaths hit record high
Chief inspector of prisons demands ministers to get a ‘grip’ on the crisis as tactics for smuggling lethal substances into jails have escalated to drones that can deliver up to 11kg of drugs at a time | Independent, UK
Nearly 1 in 5 primary leaders tell parents to stop vaping
Heads’ unions hope plans to make vaping illegal anywhere on site will help settings to reinforce existing school rules | TES, UK
Avoid alcohol in heatwave, says ambulance service
The director of 999 operations at London Ambulance Service (LAS) has asked people to "avoid alcohol" or "take plenty of fluids along with alcohol" in the heatwave to avoid needing their care | BBC, UK
Alcohol charities warn 99p Buzzballz shot ‘designed to appeal to children’
Cheap ready-to-drink cocktail criticised as appealing to children while ‘hiding behind a thin “nostalgia” label’ | Guardian, UK
Pete Doherty to headline Scotland’s first alcohol-free music festival in Glasgow
Recovery Connects, a unique event bringing together people recovering from addictions to drugs and alcohol, will be held at Queens Park Arena | Glasgow Live, UK
Ketamine Report 2025-2026
Our Ketamine Report 2025-2026 offers a look at our collective work over the past year and highlights the initiatives and differences we are making locally, regionally and nationally | WithYou, UK
Prisons: Drugs
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to help prison staff combat substance misuse by inmates in the prison estate | They work for you, UK
Retail Trade: Alcoholic Drinks
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of licensing Laws in deterring retailers from supplying alcohol to individuals who are (a) visibly intoxicated and (b) known to be vulnerable due to addiction | They work for you, UK
Alcoholic Drinks: Delivery Services
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of implementing alcohol blocks on delivery service apps and supermarket accounts | They work for you, UK
Positive Inspection Results Highlight Quality and Impact Across Services
The Forward Trust is pleased to share a series of strong inspection outcomes that recognise the high-quality care, recovery support and partnership working delivered across our services | Forward Trust, UK
Share your Experience of Getting Addiction Support
If you called a helpline or were guided towards a rehab, we’d like to hear about your experience. Were you given options? Did something feel unclear? Did it work for you? You can share anonymously. All experiences — good or bad — are welcome | EMCAT, UK
Positive Inspection Results Highlight Quality and Impact Across Services
The Forward Trust is pleased to share a series of strong inspection outcomes that recognise the high-quality care, recovery support and partnership working delivered across our services | Forward Trust, UK
Substance use continuing to cause preventable harm [Guernsey]
The States of Guernsey's Combined Substance Use Strategy 2025 Annual Report found a key focus to protect children and young people from substance-related harm was still needed. However, the report, looking at the progress of the five-year strategy, said 89% of its work was in progress and it had achieved more than half of its targets. The Combined Substance Use Strategy 2027-2032 was published in March | BBC, UK
Warnings the medicinal cannabis industry could turn deadly without tougher regulation [Jersey and Guernsey]
Jersey and Guernsey must not allow medicinal cannabis to become a widely available, commercial product, if they choose to relax drug laws further, according to one American health expert | ITV, UK
Chemsex Awareness & Forward Trust Pathways
Monday, June 1 • 10 AM - 12 PM GMT+1. Gain an understanding of what chemsex means, the substances used and how we at Forward Trust can support those engaging in the scene | Darren Lacey, UK
Hundreds of nitrous oxide bottles hidden in shop
A 19-year-old man has been arrested after police recovered more than 100 boxes of nitrous oxide bottles from a convenience store | BBC, UK
Three jailed after former nightclub converted into cannabis farm
Three men caught working at a cannabis farm inside a former Aberdeen city centre nightclub have been jailed | BBC, UK
'Cuckoo' drug dealer jailed for killing frail man
A drug dealer who beat a vulnerable man to death over five weeks and forced him to sleep beside dogs has been jailed for 12 years | BBC, UK
HIV rapist's drug dealer accomplice sentenced
John Harrison, 54, lived for a while with Adam Hall and the pair sold drugs including cocaine, MDMA and ketamine in the "chemsex" community over a 16-month period, Newcastle Crown Court heard | BBC, UK
International news
No joke: Daily Mash banned from Facebook because platform doesn’t get irony
Satirical newsbrand The Daily Mash has been banned from Facebook for almost four months after the platform “struggled to understand humour” | Press Gazette, UK
Norway Becomes the First Country to Publicly Fund Generic Ketamine for Depression
In the year 2000, psychiatry experienced one of the most important breakthroughs in decades: researchers showed that ketamine, a widely used anesthetic, could produce a powerful antidepressant effect within hours | Drug Science, UK
Change of substance-related hospitalisation in adolescents after cannabis legalisation in Thailand in 2022
Impacts on teenagers of legalising adult cannabis use in North America appear to have been modest, but in Thailand (the first Asian country to legalise use under minimal regulation) it may have been different – a "significant increase in hospital admissions related to cannabis, stimulants, nicotine, volatile solvents and hallucinogens among adolescents" | Addiction, UK
Indian businessman spends 57 days in jail after airport scanner mistakes spice mix for heroin
Petitioner argued that the detection machine, manufactured in Canada, was not calibrated to handle aromatic Indian spices | Independent, UK
Three dead and 18 first responders sickened by apparent fentanyl exposure in New Mexico
First responders hospitalized and decontaminated after four people were found apparently overdosing | Guardian, UK
Sweden hits smoke-free goal of under 5% daily smokers
Sweden met its target of becoming smoke-free in 2025 with less than 5% of the population smoking cigarettes daily, though a quarter of the population still used nicotine daily in some form, such as vapes and snus, a report showed Monday | Medical Xpress, USA
Integrating substance use disorder treatment into clinic-based internal medicine expands access to care
Researchers at the University of Cincinnati have found that embedding addiction treatment into primary care training clinics may be a promising approach to addressing substance use disorders | Medical Xpress, USA
Efforts to understand the nation's drugged driving problem stall under Trump
Federal highway safety officials have long tracked the role of alcohol in fatal crashes, but they don't track deaths that involve a driver under the influence of drugs or a combination of drugs and alcohol | Medical Xpress, USA
Advocates Fear EU “Domino Effect,” as Belgium Bans Vape Flavors
Belgium has confirmed a ban on vape flavors, leaving consumers with only two legal options: tobacco-flavored or unflavored. The move, which will make vaping less attractive to people who smoke, has been coming. And harm reduction advocates worry about its wider influence across the European Union | Filter Magazine, USA
NIDA Explains Link Between Drugs and HIV, Without Mentioning Syringes
On May 18, National Institute on Drug Abuse Director Nora Volkow published a blog post highlighting the intersection of injection drug use and HIV—but without any mention of syringe access. Using needles doesn’t put people at risk of HIV; sharing them does | Filter Magazine, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
1.5 million people with poor mental health smoke – how can we stop them being left behind?
As mental health professionals, we spend a great deal of time thinking about how we can improve people’s mental and physical wellbeing. But too often, the biggest contributor to poor physical health and premature mortality among people with mental health conditions – smoking – is overlooked | ASH blog, UK
How ‘zebra striping’ on a night out can help you drink less – and potentially avoid a hangover
On a typical night out, the rhythm of drinking can be hard to control. Rounds arrive quickly, glasses are topped up before they’re empty, and intentions to “take it slow” often dissolve by the second or third drink. If you’re not careful, you’ll find yourself waking up with a dreaded hangover the next morning | Conversation, UK
Sheila Gilheany: New alcohol labels should have been introduced today, but lobbyists derailed them
May 22 should have marked a proud moment for public health in Ireland, with the introduction of regulations ensuring all alcohol products would have to carry labels giving health information, including facts on cancer, liver disease, and pregnancy. These are modest but necessary measures given four people die every day in Ireland from this product, with thousands more living with significant harms | Irish Examiner opinion, Ireland
A single dose of psilocybin eased depression symptoms for months, our study found
A single dose of psilocybin eased symptoms of depression within days, with benefits lasting for more than three months compared to placebo, our new study has found | Conversation, Sweden
Australia abandoned harm minimisation on smoking – and fuelled a black market
Australia’s steep cigarette excise increases and restrictive vaping policies have fuelled a massive illegal tobacco market while undermining the country’s long-standing harm-minimisation approach to public health | Pearls and Irritations, Australia