DrugWise Daily |
11th August 2026 |
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UK news
Councils to get more powers to stop vape and betting shops, PM announces
New vape shops will require planning permission and councils will get more powers to block new betting shops, under government plans aimed at improving high streets | BBC, UK
Posters & Infographics - harm reduction resources
Two new harm reduction infographics now available - MDMA Pill Update 2026 and MDMA crystal - Crush. Dab. Wait. | The Loop, UK
Action plan on drug-related harm prioritises treatment
A detailed action plan setting out how drug-related harm will be tackled on the Isle of Man has been published by the government | BBC, UK
Bedfordshire Recovery Walk [Facebook link]
Following the success of last year's event, the Bedfordshire Recovery Walk returns on Saturday 12 September at Wardown Park, Luton. Organised in partnership by Luton Borough, Central Bedfordshire and Bedford Borough Councils, Change Grow Live, Community Led Initiatives, Path 2 Recovery and the Recovery College, the walk provides an opportunity for those unable to attend the National Recovery Walk organised by FAVOR UK to celebrate recovery closer to home | Luton Borough Council, Central Bedfordshire Council and Bedford Borough Council, UK
Cocaine worth £232m found in banana shipment
Cocaine with a street value of £232m was discovered hidden in a large shipment of bananas from South America | BBC, UK
International news
Systematic review and meta analysis of comprehensive community initiatives on alcohol use and related harms
[Open access] Multi-faceted campaigns focused on a community might be thought to have the best chance of curbing alcohol use and related harm, but "the most thorough systematic review to date" identified "no statistically significant impact" across relevant studies. Results are consistent with the lack of evidence for adding 'community' components to direct work with children | Addiction, UK
Sale of vapes and cigarettes to young people could be banned
Government considering ban for anyone born after certain date | Irish Times, Ireland
Dutch advertising regulator reprimands Philip Morris over AI campaign
The Dutch Advertising Code Committee (RCC) has reprimanded tobacco giant Philip Morris for an AI campaign encouraging people to oppose the new tobacco regulations the European Union is working on. According to the Dutch regulator, Philip Morris is violating the tobacco advertising ban with this campaign framed as public consultation, NOS reports | NL Times, The Netherlands
Therapeutic Use of Cannabis and Cannabinoids
Evidence for use of cannabis and cannabinoids is insufficient for most medical conditions, including acute and chronic pain, insomnia, and most mental health disorders | JAMA Network, USA
Nicotine E-Cigarettes for Cigarette Smoking - Cessation Recommendations to US-Based Clinicians
Cigarette smoking, maintained predominantly by nicotine dependence, is a long-term and relapsing behavior that continues to be a leading cause of preventable death and disease worldwide. E-cigarettes with nicotine are less harmful than cigarettes and have been shown to be more effective for smoking cessation than US Food and Drug Administration –approved nicotine replacement therapies. However, misperceptions of the harms of e-cigarettes are common, even among clinicians | JAMA Network, USA
An Alternative Approach for Detecting Problematic Alcohol Use: Developing the Student Alcohol Risk Assessment Scale-15 Using AI-Assisted Machine Learning
[Open access] Arguing that screening questionnaires to identify risky drinking may fail to capture consequences particularly relevant to university students, researchers in Turkey developed and tested a 15-item questionnaire to classify students as low, medium or high risk drinkers, and to reflect student-relevant indicators of harm. The questionnaire is fully replicated in the article | Int J Methods Psychiatric Research, USA
Finding Optimism in the Tobacco Harm Reduction Maelstrom
n my worst moments, reporting on the tobacco harm reduction space, as I’ve been doing for the past four years, can feel hopeless. Eight million people continue to die of diseases related to combustible tobacco use each year. Yet all over the world, the smoking-cessation tools most capable of transforming this situation are banned, restricted and smeared | Filter Magazine, USA
Can ‘magic mushrooms’ help treat cocaine dependence?
Psychedelic-assisted therapy could open a new path for treating cocaine use disorder, which has no approved medications yet | Scientific American, USA
Long-Acting Injectable Buprenorphine in Prison: Insights From a Short-Answer Survey of People in the Criminal Justice System Commencing Long-Acting Injectable Buprenorphine During a Non-Randomised Clinical Trial
[Open access] The views of prisoners in Australia starting treatment with long-acting (weekly or monthly) injections of buprenorphine. Though seen as beneficial, they were no 'silver bullet' and should, researchers argued, be just one of the options offered in individualised treatment. A key advantage was that patients experienced less pressure to divert their medication to other prisoners, reducing violence and intimidation | DAR, USA
The rise of illegal tobacco in Australia
A sustained rise in vaping alongside a decline in smoking tells an important public health story. Behaviour is changing, and policy should seek to understand why rather than assume all nicotine trends move in the same direction | abc.net.au, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
What do cereals, cookies and cigarettes have in common?
The science behind your morning cereal and after-dinner cookie could have more in common with a cigarette than most consumers realise, says Michael J Skoler, chief executive officer of Sokolove Law. In this opinion piece, he explores how formulation expertise migrated from 'Big Tobacco' into the food industry, and why that history is now central to a growing wave of litigation | FoodBev, USA