In February 2019, the UK government appointed Professor Dame Carol Black to undertake an independent review of drugs.

The aim of the review was to inform the government’s thinking on what more can be done to tackle the harm that drugs cause.

Dame Carol’s Review of Drugs: Phase One Report provides a detailed analysis of the challenges posed by drug supply and demand, including the ways in which drugs fuel serious violence.

The report is linked with an information pack that lays out the evidence relating to drug use, supply and effects, including current trends and future risks.

A phase two...

Publication

This guide assists providers in offering treatment to women living with substance use disorders. It reviews gender-specific research and best practices, such as common patterns of initial use and specific treatment issues and strategies.

This webinar focuses on the issue of self-care for addiction professionals and was delivered by ICUDDR Deputy Director Cary Hopkins Eyles.

Many of us are drawn to work in the field of substance use disorders due to our history, family, and personal traits, such as compassion and empathy. While these can be great assets, they can also be detrimental to us personally.

In this webinar, Cary explains how to identify healthy and unhealthy traits, how we can care for ourselves, and what authentic self-care looks like.

Cary has worked in the field of substance use disorders for 18 years. She is...

According to data published by Statistics Finland, the number of drug-related deaths in one year has increased by 25% in 2018.

Causes of death included accidental poisonings from multiple substances, deaths caused by long-term drug use, and drugs used to commit suicide.

The increase in drug-related deaths was observed in all age groups but, especially, in the 20–29 group.

It was noted that in Finland, drug-related deaths are concentrated within younger age groups compared to the European average.

From the 2nd of March, Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) for alcohol will come into effect in Wales. 

The policy, which has shown positive outcomes in Scotland, aims to tackle alcohol-related harm and death.

MUP is designed to reduce the amount of low cost, high strength products.

Although the law enabling the Welsh Government to set a minimum unit price was passed on 9 August 2018, there have been delays to the introduction of MUP due to objections from Portugal, who argued it breached European free trade law by discriminating against imported alcohol products.

An awareness campaign, aimed at...

Summary

This report presents the latest findings on drug-related hospital emergencies from a network of sentinel hospitals across Europe.

Almost 24,000 emergency presentations were recorded at 32 sentinel hospitals over the first 4 years of the project. The data reveal that the substances most commonly involved in acute drug toxicity presentations include heroin, cocaine and cannabis. Prescription medicines are frequently reported. The report also sheds light on other aspects of drug-related emergencies such as clinical features, geographical variation, outcomes, demographics and time...