responsible drinking messages had
‘frequently been expanded to include the
brand name or drink type, or some other
extra wording added to fit the wider theme
of the advertising campaign’.
Drink responsibly (but please keep drinking)
at
MORE NPS BANNED
Five more ‘legal highs’ have been banned
under temporary powers by the government.
Compounds related to methylphenidate –
including ethylphenidate, which is sold as
Gogaine or Burst – are now subject to a
temporary class drug order (TCDO) for up to
12 months while the ACMD decides whether
they should be permanently controlled.
‘Users have been known to inject the drug,
putting themselves at risk of blood-borne
disease and infection,’ said the Home Office.
CANNABIS CARE
Provision of effective cannabis treatment is
likely to become more vital in European drug
policy, according to a new report from
EMCDDA. The document analyses the
interventions most likely to be successful,
based on evidence from a range of
treatment programmes across Europe. ‘With
large numbers entering cannabis
programmes every year in Europe, largely
paid for by public funds, treatment
effectiveness is a key consideration for
policy,’ said EMCDDA director Wolfgang Götz.
News
HOME HIV TESTS
The first legally approved home HIV self-
testing kits have gone on sale in the UK. The
devices, which are able to detect antibodies in
small drops of blood, can provide a result in 15
minutes and claim to be 99 per cent accurate,
although positive results must be re-
confirmed at a clinic. 'We campaigned for a
long time to secure the legalisation of HIV
self-test kits which happened in April 2014, so
it is great to see the first self-test kits being
approved,’ said Terrence Higgins Trust chief
executive Dr Rosemary Gillespie.
FINANCING FEARS
Voluntary sector organisations working with
offenders continue to be dogged by financial
uncertainty, according to the latest
State of
the sector
report from Clinks. ‘We found that
the needs of service users are increasing and
becoming more complex, volunteering
remains vital for the sector, and volunteer
recruitment is increasing,’ states the
document. ‘Many organisations are relying on
their reserves, putting them at risk of closure,
and the majority of organisations only
sometimes, or never, receive full cost recovery
on the contracts they deliver.’
State of the
sector 2015 at
PARENTAL DEATHS
More than a third of Scottish drug-related
deaths in 2013 were parents or parental
figures, according to new analysis from ISD
Scotland. The proportion of deaths in over-35s,
meanwhile, increased from half in 2009 to
two thirds in 2013.
National drug related
deaths database (Scotland) report 2013 at
WHO’S RESPONSIBLE?
Responsible drinking messages in advertising
are being used by the alcohol industry to
promote their brands rather than help
consumers ‘make sensible choices about their
drinking’, according to a report from Alcohol
Concern. The charity wants to see ‘ambiguous’
messages replaced with factual health
warnings, after its research found that
Read the full stories, and more, online
NEW GOVERNMENT MUST HELP
THOSE WITH MULTIPLE NEEDS
THE INCOMING GOVERNMENT
should launch a national programme of improved and
coordinated support for those with multiple and complex needs, according to charity
the Revolving Doors Agency. Any new government would be unable to afford to
continue a situation where ‘shrinking public funds are tied up’ paying for the con-
sequences of failed policies, it says, with the organisation estimating the cost of
‘severe and multiple disadvantage’ at more than £10bn per year.
There are ‘a minimum’ of 58,000 people in England alone experiencing a
simultaneous combination of substance problems, homelessness and offending,
frequently linked with mental health issues, the charity says, with health and
welfare systems designed to tackle single issues struggling to respond.
The agency is calling on the government to prioritise support for long-term
recovery – including ‘the journey towards employment’ – which should include an
immediate review of the impact of welfare sanctions on vulnerable groups. It also
wants to see improved opportunities and provision for service user involvement, as
well as effective community-based rehabilitation for offenders with multiple needs,
including specific services for groups such as under-24s and women.
‘In a period of falling spending and rising demand on our public services, tackling
the complex problems faced by individuals caught in this negative “revolving door”
cycle must be a priority for whoever forms the next government,’ said chief executive
Christina Marriott. ‘We cannot continue in a situation where public money is tied up
paying for the consequences of repeated failed interventions – the financial, social
and, above all, human cost of this failure is too great.
‘We want to see a system where people facing multiple and complex needs are
supported by effective, coordinated services in every area, and are able to tackle their
problems, reach their potential and contribute to their communities,’ she continued.
‘The evidence shows this could save public money while improving outcomes for
some of the most excluded people in our society. We know what works. Now is the
time for action.’
The Revolving Doors Agency manifesto 2015: Five priorities for an incoming
government at
Christina Marriott:
‘We cannot
continue in a
situation where
public money is
tied up paying for
the consequences
of repeated failed
interventions.’
HEP AWARENESS
A NEW FILM
about hepatitis C designed to
raise awareness and improve confidence in
diagnosis among GPs and other primary
care staff has been launched by the Royal
College of GPs, HCV Action and the
Hepatitis C Trust. ‘Despite the fact that
hepatitis C affects so many hundreds of
thousands of people in the UK, we
frequently hear of low awareness and knowledge of the virus among
GPs,’ said Hepatitis C Trust chief executive Charles Gore. ‘GPs will be
increasingly relied upon in the future to manage and detect the virus,
so this really is a must-see film.’
4 |
drinkanddrugsnews
| May 2015
Detecting &
managing
hepatitis C in
primary care
available to
view at
hcvaction.org.uk
