DrugWise Daily |
9th September 2026 |
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UK news
DDN Magazine September 2026
Enjoy this special edition of the mag and all of the content you helped us create online at our website. It’s not about conference coverage as much as vibrant and visible signs that our sector is a very real partnership on all sides. People with lived experience are not waiting to be ‘done to’ – they already know that they’re the lifeblood of the sector | DDN, UK
The Big Addiction Conversation – changing the way Britain talks about addiction
This Addiction Awareness Week (19-25 September), The Forward Trust launches a new national campaign to change the way Britain talks about addiction | Forward Trust, UK
WithYou Wigan and Leigh launches expert-led alcohol treatment pilot
WithYou has launched a specialist alcohol treatment pilot in Wigan and Leigh, embedding the latest UK clinical guidelines and evidence-based therapies directly into its new treatment pathway - ensuring people get the right help, at the right time, where they are | WithYou, UK
National naloxone programme Scotland - Quarterly monitoring bulletin
This release by Public Health Scotland (PHS) presents information on the number of take-home naloxone kits issued by the National Naloxone Programme (NNP) in Scotland (January to March 2025/26) | PHS, UK
Precursor chemical import and export authorisation wallchart
This chart shows the regulation of precursor chemicals in the UK. Updated on 7th September | Home Office, UK
Free nicotine pouches handed out to children despite addiction concerns
Health experts say teachers and parents are increasingly concerned about children using the discreet pouches, with one survey finding nearly half of teachers were aware of them being used | LBC, UK
Launching the Free UK Drug Trends Intelligence Platform
I’ve found that keeping on top of drug trends in the UK is becoming increasingly difficult. Important intelligence is spread across ONS, OHID, NRS, NISRA, drug-checking services, alerts, research reports and other national and regional sources. New substances and patterns of harm can also develop much faster than traditional reports are published. I’ve developed the UK Drug Trends Intelligence Platform to bring this information together in one place | Tony D'Agostino, UK
Opioids: Health Education
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what specific measures have been implemented since 2024 to raise awareness among at-risk populations, including people sleeping rough and socially isolated people, about the dangers of synthetic opioids | They work for you, UK
Whisky: Excise Duties
To ask the Chancellor of the exchequer, what estimate he has made of total Treasury revenue generated from Scotch Whisky following the increase in duty in 2024 | They work for you, UK
Drug gangs exploited and raped us as teens, then police failed us, women tell BBC
Christine was 13 when she began exchanging messages online with someone she believed was a teenage boy. On their first meeting, she discovered he was a grown man 10 years older than herself. He also told her he was involved with gangs and drugs | BBC, UK
International news
Organised crime driving illicit cigarette factory boom ‘in almost every EU state’
Bloc losing €13bn in revenue with one in 10 cigarettes illegal, watchdog reports | Guardian, UK
EUDA and Italy support international partners in building stronger drug early-warning systems
Drug experts from seven enlargement and neighbourhood partner countries begin a three-day study visit in Rome today to strengthen their ability to identify and respond to new psychoactive substances (NPS) | EUDA, Portugal
Smoking linked to increased loneliness, study shows
Smoking is not social and leads to increased loneliness, according to a large Europe-wide study presented at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Congress in Barcelona, Spain | News Medical, USA
Equivalence of care? A scoping review of prison healthcare experiences of women and non-binary people who use drugs
[Open access] "Overall, experiences of healthcare in prison were characterised by pervasive institutional stigma, mistrust, and denial of women's pain" – key findings based on the accounts of female prisoners and/or those who identify as neither exclusively male or female | IJDP, USA
Recreational Marijuana Laws and Workplace Absence
[Open access] Finds that as US states open legal retail cannabis outlets, past-week absence from work increases slightly but significantly, partly due to an increase in sickness‐related absences which itself may be related to increased mental health problems | Health Economics, USA
Reporting requirement type matters: associations between distinct reporting requirements and birth outcomes in the U.S
[Open access] In US states healthcare staff may be required to report pregnant women using alcohol or drugs. What that reporting is for affects neonatal welfare – beneficial when for substance use assessment/treatment, neutral when for child protection, negative when for data-gathering | IJDP, USA
Distinct characteristics identified for patients with rheumatoid conditions, opioid use disorder
Patients with rheumatic conditions and opioid use disorder (OUD) have distinct demographic and clinical characteristics, including lower use of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and higher acute care use, according to a study published online July 13 in Arthritis Care & Research | Medical Xpress, USA
Once teens pick up any nicotine product, they're more likely to try others
New research published today reveals that Australian high school students have put their health at risk by using a range of nicotine products, including vapes, tobacco and nicotine pouches, with higher cigarette and nicotine pouch use reported among male students | Medical Xpress, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
“Using alcohol prenatally is almost never a deliberate choice to cause harm”: Breaking down stigma around FASD and improving support during pregnancy
In this Q&A, Claudine Evetts, National Lead Nurse for WithYou, shares expert insights on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)—explaining what the condition is, how non-judgmental support empowers families, and how WithYou's collaborative new resources are helping maternity teams deliver compassionate, stigma-free harm reduction | WithYou blog, UK