DrugWise Daily |
11th February 2026 |
Thank you to our Premium sponsors:
|
|
Could you sponsor DrugWise Daily? Please Email Harry Shapiro to discuss |
|
UK news
Stirling experts warn tobacco industry interference persists as Scotland celebrates 20 years since smoking ban
The global tobacco industry is still deploying tactics that were used two decades ago to attempt to weaken Scotland’s smoking ban, University of Stirling experts have warned | University of Stirling, UK
Man dies and six ill after suspected overdoses
Det Insp Tom Kelly, of Humberside Police, said officers were trying to establish "the full circumstances of the incidents and whether the reports are linked". "We are in the early stages of our investigation," he added. "However we are considering the possibility that they could have been caused by contaminated batches of drugs." | BBC, UK
Former health minister calls for digital detox services to tackle alcohol harm costing NHS billions
Former health minister and addiction psychiatrist, Dr Dan Poulter, is calling for urgent change and for the government to introduce tech-enabled alcohol services, warning that outdated pathways are contributing to avoidable A&E attendances and repeat hospital admissions | Health Tech World, UK
Children’s Mental Health Week: Kent teens find a safe place in Mind and Body programme
To mark Children’s Mental Health Week 2026, WithYou is celebrating the impact of its Mind and Body programme in Kent, which provides free specialist mental health support to young people and their families | WithYou, UK
New recovery group backed by House of The Vivienne launches in Liverpool
Liverpool is set to host a new substance misuse recovery support group, Stebriety, a peer-led initiative offering a safe and supportive space for people seeking recovery and connection | The Guide Liverpool, UK
COA Week 2026
8th - 14th February. COA Week is a campaign to raise awareness of children affected by parental alcohol problems, celebrated internationally each year during the week in which Valentine’s Day falls. In the UK, COA Week is led by the charity Nacoa UK who provide year-round support. Please join us. Together we can increase awareness of this hidden problem and the support available | NACOA UK, UK
Drug Education Forum Event – Spring 2026
Feb 26 from 3:30pm to 5pm GMT. Online. Free. Dr Ashly Fuller, researcher in online harms and safety, will talk about young people’s experience of drugs on social media. Professor Chris Pudney from the University of Bath will build on the same theme, by focusing on the global networks that enable spice to be sold on social media platforms, and finally Alex Piot, PhD candidate at UCL and Director of Research at the Centre for Evidence Based Drug Policy, will look at how policy shapes young people’s perceptions and behaviours relating to ketamine. All three will take part in a panel discussion and there is an optional half hour session for networking | DEF, UK
Thousands of illegal cigarettes seized from shops
Officers from West Northamptonshire Council visited nine stores in Northampton and Daventry on 1 and 2 February and seized goods from eight of them | BBC, UK
International news
‘Coca leaf is life itself’: Andean growers’ hopes fade as WHO upholds global ban
Under US pressure as part of the ‘war on drugs’, the WHO still categorises the sacred Indigenous remedy as akin to heroin or fentanyl, despite its many therapeutic properties | Guardian, UK
Drug Policy and People Deprived of Liberty: Connecting movements and international strategies - video
How can we face punitive responses to drug-related offences, the challenges of prison systems, and human rights violations? A panel of international experts share their experiencies and call for drug policy changes | HRI, UK
Smokers who have major heart attacks do so 11 years earlier than non-smokers, new report finds
Some 36% of people who presented with heart attacks in 2024 were current smokers | Journal, Ireland
Faster blood test could support safer decision-making in drug-related emergencies
New research from King's College London suggests that a rapid blood testing method could deliver reliable results far more quickly than previously thought, potentially supporting faster and more accurate decision-making in emergency departments | Medical Xpress, USA
New study finds near-universal fentanyl exposure with xylazine in some—but not all—US cities
In the national conversation about overdose, fentanyl is often framed as a single, wide-reaching crisis, but new evidence from five major U.S. cities suggests a more fragmented, complex reality | Medical Xpress, USA
Wastewater reveals increase in new synthetic opioids during major New Orleans events
In early 2025, the party-loving city of New Orleans, Louisiana, hosted two major events within the span of a month: Super Bowl LIX and Mardi Gras. And, as with many major events, it appears there was an increase in recreational drug use during this time | Medical Xpress, USA
Learning Health Systems and Substance Use Care Cascade Achievement Among Justice-Involved Youth
What is the effect of a learning health systems (LHS) intervention, including the youth legal system and behavioral health care, on substance use or substance use disorder (SU/D) care cascade outcomes among adolescents involved in the youth legal system? | JAMA Network Open, USA
STASH, Vol. 22(2) – Family treatment courts promote family reunification following child removal
For a parent whose substance misuse is severe enough to result in child removal, completing substance use treatment is very difficult. Family treatment courts are designed to promote parents’ engagement in substance use treatment and might therefore be more likely to result in reunification compared to traditional child welfare courts. This week, we review a study by Margaret Lloyd Sieger and colleagues that explored reunification after involvement in family treatment and traditional child welfare courts | CHA, USA
How to Dispose of the Environmental Argument Against Vapes?
One of the many controversies around vaping nicotine is the impact on the enviroment—particularly of disposable, single-use vapes | Filter Magazine, USA
In British Columbia, Drug Policy Rollbacks Are Limiting HIV Care
Harley Ransom began practicing harm reduction in southeastern Ontario in the late 1980s, when he was 6 years old. His mother was injecting heroin, so he learned how to clean her wounds and shoplift syringes from pharmacies. His mother contracted HIV from her boyfriend, so Ransom also learned not to rush to help her without putting gloves on first | Filter Magazine, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
Is the Great British Pub on the verge of extinction? The truth behind the headlines
Pubs have steadily been closing for well over 100 years. In 1904, there were almost 100,000 pubs in England and Wales. By 1950 there were 73,500, and now across the UK there are around 45,000 | IAS blog, UK
Supervised Injecting Rooms Save Lives. Why Are Councils Turning Their Backs on Them?
Australia is facing a growing crisis of drug-related harm. Overdose deaths are rising and there’s inadequate investment in proven harm reduction strategies such as Supervised Injecting Facilities (SIFs). Despite the evidence supporting SIFs as effective public health interventions, Australia operates only two such facilities, one in Sydney and the other in the City of Yarra, Victoria | Sydney Criminal Lawyers, Australia