organisation until the end of the year. ‘It
has been an immense privilege and
personally very rewarding to have been able
to serve as chief executive of Action on
Addiction, and I am delighted to be handing
over to someone like Graham who brings
such a range and depth of experience as
well a personal and professional
commitment to the charity’s ethos and
purpose,’ he said.
DISC MAN
CHIEF EXECUTIVE
of DISC (Developing
Initiatives Supporting Communities), Mark
Weeding, is to retire after 25 years with the
organisation. His replacement will be
northern director of the Lifeline Project,
Paul Townsley. ‘Working in the sector I have
always admired DISC and the chief
executive role is a fantastic opportunity
coming at an exciting time for DISC and
myself,’ said Townsley. ‘Mark and his team
have brought DISC to a great place.’
YOUTH DRINKING
DOWN
THE RATE
of alcohol-related hospital
admissions among the under-18s has fallen
by more than 40 per cent over the last
decade, according to Public Health England
(PHE). However, almost 60 per cent of
English local authorities saw small
increases in adult admissions, which
remain 55 per cent higher in the most
deprived communities.
Local alcohol profiles
for England at
News
TOUGHER ACTION
GOVERNMENTS
need to introduce more
effective policies to tackle harmful drinking,
according to the OECD. Levels of ‘hazardous
and heavy episodic drinking’ are on the rise
among young people and women, it says, with
average annual alcohol consumption by adults
in OECD countries now estimated at around
10 litres of pure alcohol per capita, the
equivalent of more than 100 bottles of wine.
Tackling harmful alcohol use: economics and
public health policy at
HYPER LINKS
MORE THAN THREE DRINKS
a day can increase
the risk of developing hypertension by up to
75 per cent, according to a new document
from Alcohol Concern. ‘Having just one drink a
day can increase the risk, and the overall risk
climbs higher for every drink after that,’ said
chief executive Jackie Ballard. The relationship
between alcohol and hypertension ‘stays
significant’ even when issues like age, weight,
gender, ethnicity, diet, exercise and smoking
are taken into account, she added, making
alcohol ‘one of the most controllable and
preventable risk factors’ for the condition.
Alcohol and hypertension at
FAVOURED FACES
THE UK RECOVERY WALK
charity has changed
its name to FAVOR UK, which stands for Faces
and Voices of Recovery. ‘We have grown in a
way we could never have anticipated or
imagined, and now have over 1,100 members
made up of individuals in recovery, their friends
and families, and community recovery organ-
isations,’ said the charity, which was originally
inspired by the work of FAVOR in the US.
BARTON BOWS OUT
ACTION ON ADDICTION
chief executive Nick
Barton is to step down in September after
seven years in the post. He’ll be replaced by
acting chief executive of Nacro, Graham
Beech, but will continue to work with the
Read the full stories, and more, online
‘LANDMARK’ NPS
BLANKET BAN
THE GOVERNMENT IS TO INTRODUCE A BLANKET BAN ON ‘LEGAL HIGHS’
,
as announced in last month’s Queen’s Speech. The Psychoactive Substances Bill will
‘prohibit and disrupt’ the production, distribution and supply of all new
psychoactive substances (NPS).
The legislation will be UK-wide, and will include powers to both seize and
destroy NPS as well as to ‘search persons, premises and vehicles’. The blanket ban
means that the authorities will no longer need to take a substance-by-substance
approach to NPS, more than 500 of which have been banned already.
The new laws, which will also extend to nitrous oxide, are likely to effectively spell
the end of the high street ‘head shop’, and offences detailed in the bill will carry a
maximum sentence of seven years. Once the legislation is passed, it will be an
offence to produce, import, supply or possess with intent to supply ‘any substance
intended for human consumption that is capable of producing a psychoactive effect’,
although substances such as caffeine, alcohol and tobacco will be exempt.
‘The landmark bill will fundamentally change the way we tackle new psychoactive
substances – and put an end to the game of cat and mouse in which new drugs
appear on the market more quickly than government can identify and ban them,’
said crime minister Mike Penning.
The announcement has met with a mixed response, with Transform accusing the
government of ceding control to ‘those on the wrong side of the law’ and Release
executive director Niamh Eastwood describing the bill as ‘full blown regression’.
The Local Government Association (LGA), however, said that an outright ban
would enable trading standards officers to protect the public from ‘devastating
consequences’ by closing down head shops, while Addaction chief executive Simon
Antrobus said that, although the government was right to clarify the ‘legal grey
area’ around the sale of NPS, ‘we mustn’t kid ourselves that this legislation is
enough to address the harm caused by these substances’. Any regulatory measures
would need to be backed up by a ‘renewed focus on education, support, advice and
specialist treatment’, he stated.
NPS are now being detected in Europe at a rate of two per week, according to
EMCDDA’s latest
European drug report
, which was published as
DDN
went to press.
Mike Penning:
‘...put an end
to the game
of cat and
mouse in which
new drugs
appear on the
market more
quickly than
government
can identify
and ban them.’
SUPPORT.
DON’T
PUNISH
THE
SUPPORT. DON’T PUNISH
CAMPAIGN
will be holding its
third global day of action on 26
June, to coincide with the UN’s
international day against drug
abuse and illicit trafficking.
The campaign aims to stage
‘high profile and visually
symbolic local actions’
following similar events in
100 cities worldwide last year
(
DDN
, July 2014, page 4). The day
will be an ‘excellent opportunity
to raise awareness’ before next
year’s UN General Assembly
Special Session (UNGASS) on
drugs, says the campaign.
More information at
supportdontpunish.org
4 |
drinkanddrugsnews
| June 2015
The campaign will be
holding its third global
day of action on 26
June to coincide with
the UN’s international
day against drug abuse
and illicit trafficking
