PRICED OUT
THE FINAL DECISION
on
minimum unit pricing in
Scotland will be taken by
domestic courts, the Scottish
Government has stated,
following a ruling by the EU
Court of Justice that the
proposals could breach
European law by ‘significantly’
restricting the market. ‘The
Scottish Government remains
certain that minimum unit
pricing is the right measure for
Scotland,’ said health secretary
Shona Robison, despite the EU
court recommending the use
of tax measures – which would
still allow competition
between retailers – instead.
SYNTHETIC THREAT
NEW PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES
– particularly
synthetic cannabinoids – are now the ‘most
serious’ threat to safety and security in British
jails, according a report from HM Inspectorate of
Prisons.
Changing patterns of substance misuse in
adult prisons and service responses
studies the
evidence frommore than 60 inspections and
10,000 survey responses from individual
prisoners, and calls for the establishment of a
national committee, chaired by the prisons
minister, to bring together ‘cross-government and
cross-sector expertise’.
Report at
;
EMERGENCY MEASURES
A&E ATTENDANCE RATES
for alcohol poisoning
doubled from 72 to 148 per 100,000 population
between 2008-09 and 2013-14, according to a
report from the Nuffield Trust. Rates were highest
among ‘older, poorer men’, says
Alcohol-specific
activity in hospitals in England
. ‘At a time when
unprecedented efficiencies need to be made by
the NHS and local authorities, preventative action
must be taken seriously,’ says the trust.
Document at
A DOG’S LIFE
THE DOGS TRUST
is looking at ways to help
homeless hostels become dog friendly, as less
than 10 per cent currently accept dogs. ‘We know
from our own experience of working with dog
owners that most would rather remain on the
streets than be forced to give up their four-legged
friend,’ says Homeless Link.
Hostel staff can fill in a survey at
News
BILL BLASTED
AN EARLY DAY MOTION
on the Psychoactive
Substances Bill has been tabled by Paul Flynn
MP. ‘This House regrets the depth of scientific
illiteracy’ in the bill, it states, adding that the
document is ‘evidence-free and prejudice-rich’.
A proposed amendment to exempt alkyl
nitrites, or ‘poppers’, from the legislation was
defeated last month, and both houses have
now agreed on the text of the bill, which is
waiting for the final stage of Royal Assent
before becoming an Act of Parliament.
CRACK ON
THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE
estimated to have
started using opiates and/or crack in 2013
was between 5,000 and 8,000, according to
Home Office statistics. The figures represent a
fall of around a fifth compared to 2005 and
are down ‘hugely’ since the 1980s and ‘90s,
says
New opiate and crack-cocaine users:
characteristics and trends.
The downward
trend has ‘flattened since about 2011, but
available data do not suggest that this is the
precursor to a new increase’, the report states.
‘If anything, the downward trend may resume
in 2014, though the situation requires further
monitoring.’
Report at
KETAMINE CALL
KETAMINE
should not be placed under
international control, the World Health
Organization (WHO) has ruled. The substance
‘does not pose a global public health threat’and
controlling it could limit access to anaesthesia
and pain relief in many parts of the developing
world, it warns. The drug’s medical benefits ‘far
outweighed’the potential harm from recreation-
al use, saidWHO’s Marie-Paule Kieny, adding
that an international ban could ‘limit access to
essential and emergency surgery, which would
constitute a public health crisis in countries
where no affordable alternatives exist.’
Read the full stories, and more, online
CMO TOUGHENS ALCOHOL GUIDELINES
MEN SHOULD DRINK NO MORE THAN 14 UNITS OF ALCOHOL PER WEEK
,
according to strict new guidelines from the chief medical officer. The
previous recommendation was 14 units for women and 21 for men.
The Department of Health (DH) says the revised guidelines are based on
a ‘detailed review of the scientific evidence’ and supported by a new
statement from the Committee on Carcinogenity (CoC) on the links
between alcohol and cancer. ‘Drinking any level of alcohol increases the risk
of a range of cancers,’ states DH.
The new guidelines also recommend that people do not ‘save up’ their
units for one or two heavier drinking sessions, as well as urging people to
drink more slowly, alternate alcoholic drinks with water and have ‘several
alcohol-free days a week’. They also revise the existing guidance for
pregnant women, stating that ‘no level of alcohol’ is safe, rather than the
previously recommended one to two units.
The aim is to reduce the mortality risk from cancer and other diseases,
says the government, as the ‘links between alcohol and cancer were not
fully understood’ when the guidelines were first published in 1995.
‘Drinking any level of alcohol regularly carries a health risk for anyone,
but if men and women limit their intake to no more than 14 units a week
it keeps the risk of illnesses like cancer and liver disease low,’ said chief
medical officer Dame Sally Davies. ‘What we are aiming to do with these
guidelines is give the public the latest and most up to date scientific
information so that they can make informed decisions about their own
drinking and the level of risk they are prepared to take.’
The new guidelines were welcomed by Alcohol Concern as way of
raising awareness of potential health harms. ‘Beyond liver disease, the
public’s understanding of the health problems associated with alcohol is
low,’ said chief executive Jackie Ballard. ‘The public have a right to know what they’re consuming and these
recommendations are designed to allow people to make an informed choice about how much they drink.’
Industry body the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA), however, warned that the male recommendations now
put the UK ‘well out of line’ with comparable countries such as Spain (35 units), Italy (31.5) or the US (24.5). ‘In other
countries, most guidelines recognise the difference in terms of physiology and metabolism between men and women,’
said chief executive Brigid Simmonds. Cutting the limit also meant classifying ‘a whole new group of males’ as at-risk
drinkers, she said, with the ‘real danger’ that people would simply ignore the advice.
A statement from the Committee on Carcinogenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment
(COC) at
‘Drinking any level
of alcohol regularly
carries a health risk
for anyone.’
DAME SALLY DAVIES
4 |
drinkanddrugsnews
| February 2016
‘Minimum unit pricing
is the right measure
for Scotland...’
Shona RobiSon
