DrugWise Daily |
26th August 2026 |
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UK news
Major Review Finds Nicotine Vapes Best Chance to Quit Smoking - video
The Cochrane team looked at 80 major trials involving nearly 30,000 people and found that nicotine vapes were more effective than traditional aids such as patches and gum | BBC, UK
Dealer jailed for exploiting 14-year-old boy into selling drugs for him
A drug dealer has been jailed for six years and nine months after he admitted exploiting a schoolboy to sell drugs for him in one of the first convictions of its kind in Scotland | BBC, UK
Kingston’s Picnic in the Park for IOAD
Friday 28th August 2026 Our Kingston Wellbeing Service is hosting a Picnic in the Park on Friday 28 August, marking International Overdose Awareness Day (31 August) with an afternoon of connection, learning and remembrance. The event runs from 1–3pm at Fishponds Park, Surbiton, and offers a supportive, informative afternoon focused on overdose awareness, prevention and recovery | VIA, UK
Drug checking in Bristol
Saturday 29th August. Our drug checking is a free, anonymous service, and involves surrender of a substance to us, which we immediately perform tests on in our onsite laboratory, and then provide information and through a tailored harm reduction advice based on our findings. Our Bristol drug checking service is located at: Bristol Drugs Project, 1 Brunswick Square, St Paul's, Bristol BS2 8PE | The Loop, UK
County lines heroin and cocaine dealer jailed
Sadhiul Haque, 28, of no fixed abode, admitted being concerned in the supply of heroin and crack cocaine and being in possession of the same drugs with intent to supply | BBC, UK
International news
Chinese teens are turning to mind-numbing drugs to 'run away from reality'
At 14, *Xiaomei, a high-performing student from a coastal province in China, decided to overdose on cough medication. She wanted to impress an older boy who told her it would help her relax. The tablets were usually only available with a doctor's prescription, but she managed to buy them online | BBC, UK
US strikes a vessel in the eastern Pacific, killing 2 people in first attack in months
US Southern Command has struck another vessel in the eastern Pacific, killing two accused of trafficking drugs | Guardian, UK
‘It’s made for horses, for heaven's sake’: Electric Picnic boss warns against ketamine use at festival
Melvin Benn also said he has no plans to lift the festival’s ban on teenagers or reveal future line-ups before tickets go on sale | Journal, Ireland
Presidential Message on Overdose and Drug Poisoning Awareness Week
During Drug Poisoning Awareness Week, our Nation renews its resolve to defeat the scourge of illicit drugs and synthetic poisons that have devastated hundreds of thousands of American lives. My Administration is relentlessly confronting this threat at every source, and we will always put our national security and the safety, health, and well-being of the American People first | The White House, USA
Nicotine e-cigarettes help four more people per 100 quit than patches or gum
Nicotine e-cigarettes are more effective at helping people quit smoking than many conventional methods, including nicotine gum and patches, behavioral support or no support at all, an updated Cochrane review finds | Medical Xpress, USA
STASH, Vol. 22(9) – Cannabis and cars: An analysis of how cannabis use relates to driving behaviors and perceptions about driving after use
Cannabis is the second most common substance associated with impaired driving after alcohol. As the U.S. continues to liberalize cannabis regulations and the substance grows in popularity, it is likely that driving under the influence of cannabis will continue to increase. Therefore, this week, STASH reviews a study by Jenni Teeters and colleagues that explored the association between cannabis use and driving perceptions and behaviors | CHA, USA
Opioid use disorder medications and recovery residences
Recovery residences like Oxford Houses are helpful, cost-effective resources in the substance use disorder continuum of care. Medications like buprenorphine/naloxone (Suboxone) reduce opioid use and overdose risk, but many recovery residences have traditionally not allowed individuals taking these medications. This study examined whether receiving medication for opioid use disorder was associated with retention and changes in recovery capital among residents of recovery housing | Recovery Research Institute, USA
Early recovery may bring more peace, but not more friendship
Social relationships predict recovery from alcohol use disorder, often involving a shift away from pro-substance-use to pro-recovery peers. Most research on this shift has focused on who is in a person’s social network, not on the quality of relationships. This study examined how the nature of relationships change during the first year of recovery and whether these experiences differ depending on people’s remission status | Recovery Research Institute, USA
International overdose awareness day : 25 ywears on - still needed
Every August 31, International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD) brings a global community together to take action on overdose. Hold an event, spread the message, take action today. This year the theme for IOAD is 25 Years On. Still Needed. For 25 years, International Overdose Awareness Day has brought people together to remember those we’ve lost and to take action to save lives | Penington Institute, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
Alcohol and pancreatic cancer: an example of how alcohol-caused deaths are greatly under-estimated globally?
Expert committees are often called upon to adjudicate which causes of death, injury or illness meet criteria for being caused by alcohol use... Such expert groups face the challenge of determining whether reduced risks often observed among low-volume drinkers compared to abstainers in relation to some serious diseases are genuine or spurious. Pancreatic cancer is one such condition | IAS blog, UK