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BIG SPENDERS
Drug users in the US spend an estimated
$100bn annually on cocaine, marijuana,
heroin and methamphetamine, according to a
White House-commissioned report from the
Rand Corporation. Total expenditure is driven
by a ‘minority of heavy users who consume
on 21 or more days each month’, says
What
America’s users spend on illegal drugs
, and
while overall expenditure remained stable in
the ten years to 2010, the amount spent on
marijuana increased while that spent on
cocaine fell – ‘consistent with supply-side
indicators’.
Report at www.whitehouse.gov
CRIMEA CALL
The International and Eurasian networks of
people who use drugs (INPUD and ENPUD)
have issued a warning about the plight of
more than 800 clients of opiate substitution
programmes in Crimea. Russian president
Vladimir Putin and Crimean leaders signed a
bill to absorb the peninsula into Russia last
month, putting Crimean drug users at the
mercy of Russia’s ‘highly repressive drug
laws and deeply punitive approach’ (
DDN
,
February, page 6). The organisations are
calling on the international community to put
pressure on the Russian Federation to ‘to
respect internationally accepted human
rights compliant, public health approaches
for people who use drugs and allow for the
currently running OST and NSP programmes
to continue to run in the Crimea.’
HAVE YOUR SAY
The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs
(ACMD) is holding an open meeting on 11
April where members of the public will be
able to put questions and provide feedback
on the council’s work.
Details at
www.gov.uk/government/news/acmd-public-
event-open-meeting-on-11-april-2014
BRAIN TRAINING
More training for health and social care
professionals in recognising alcohol-related
brain damage (ARBD) is needed, according to
a report by Alcohol Concern Cymru. ARBD
covers a range of conditions including
Wernicke–Korsakoff syndrome and – although
it can be successfully treated if recognised
early – is being under-diagnosed, says
All in
the mind
. ‘When alcohol-related brain damage
is on the radar, the focus is often on older
street drinkers,’ said Alcohol Concern Cymru
director Andrew Misell. ‘But staff on the front
line have been seeing younger people, and
other people who don’t fit the stereotype of a
homeless dependent drinker, coming in with
ARBD.’
Report at www.alcoholconcern.org.uk
The government, NHS and Public Health England
(PHE) need to take ‘urgent action’ to address the
growing problem of liver disease, according to a
report from the All-Party Parliamentary Hepatology
Group (APPHG). A national approach to prevention,
early diagnosis and improved service provision is
needed immediately, says
Liver disease: today’s
complacency, tomorrow’s catastrophe
.
Deaths from liver disease rose by 40 per cent to 11,000
a year in the decade to 2012, the vast majority of them
preventable, says the report. The document renews the call
for a 50p minimum unit price for alcohol, as well as for data
on all aspects of liver disease to be ‘collected, monitored
and used effectively on a far more thorough and systematic
basis’. It also wants to see PHE and NHS England set ‘a
clear goal’ of eliminating hepatitis C within 15 years.
‘Liver disease is the only one of the UK’s top five
causes of death where death rates continue to rise and
there is no national strategy to tackle this,’ said APPHG
chair David Amess MP. ‘Unless urgent and coordinated
action is taken now, in less than a generation liver disease
has the potential to be the UK’s biggest killer. As most liver
disease can be prevented, this is a tragic waste of life.’
Meanwhile the government has updated its guidance
on banning the sale of alcohol below the cost of duty
plus VAT. The ban, announced earlier this year, was
branded an ‘unsatisfactory compromise’ by alcohol
health organisations calling instead for a minimum unit
price (
DDN
, February, page 4). Alcohol Concern has also
accused the government of disregarding the health of the
nation to ‘protect the interests of big alcohol’ after a 1p
per pint cut in beer duty and a duty freeze on spirits and
ordinary ciders was announced in last month’s budget.
‘The notion that this freeze is about protecting
responsible drinkers is irresponsible spin – alcohol
misuse costs us all £21bn a year, our hospitals weigh
under the burden of it and our police forces are stretched
to the limit because of it,’ said Alcohol Concern chief
executive Eric Appleby. ‘Instead of taking serious,
evidence-based action the chancellor has given the
alcohol industry the green light to make bigger profits at
all of our expense. This freeze makes a mockery of the
government’s ban on below cost sales, rendering it even
less effective than it would have been.’
A new report from Alcohol Concern also states that an
increasing number of drinks companies are linking their
brands to non-alcohol products in order to build brand
awareness. Examples cited in
Brand stretch
include Jack
Daniel’s sauces and Baileys ice cream. ‘It’s clear that
alcohol companies are already topping up their traditional
and new media marketing with brand stretching,’ said
briefing author Mark Leyshon. ‘Any attempt to more
effectively regulate alcohol advertising will have to take
this into account if it’s going to make any difference.’
Liver disease: today’s complacency, tomorrow’s
catastrophe at kingsfund.blogs.com
Banning the sale of alcohol below the cost of duty plus
VAT at www.gov.uk
Brand stretch at www.alcoholconcern.org.uk
4 |
drinkanddrugsnews
| April 2014
www.drinkanddrugsnews.com
News |
Round-up
NEWS IN BRIEF
MPs demand ‘urgent
action’ on liver disease
Plans to strengthen powers to seize
substances used as ‘cutting agents’
for illegal drugs have been
announced by the Home Office.
Under the plans, enforcement
agencies will have a general power to
seize and destroy ‘any substance
reasonably suspected of being
intended for use’ as a cutting agent.
In 2012, more than 7 tonnes of the
cutting agents benzocaine, lidocaine
and phenacetin were seized, while the
Home Office states that animal
wormer levamisole has also been
found in seized street drugs.
‘I am very concerned that, in order
to maximise their profits, drug dealers
are using cutting agents that may
present a hazard to health,’ said crime
prevention minister Norman Baker.
‘People taking these drugs are playing
Russian roulette with their lives, as
they have no idea what is in them. The
action we are taking to enhance the
powers available to police and law
enforcement agencies will help combat
this dangerous and reckless trade.’
Meanwhile, the Department for
Transport has announced that the
recommended driving limits for 16
drugs have been approved following
two consultations (
DDN
, August 2013,
page 5). It will be an offence to be over
the prescribed limit for eight illegal
drugs – including cocaine, cannabis and
MDMA – and eight legal ones, including
methadone, diazepam and temazepam,
with the regulations to come into force
in the autumn. An agreed limit on
amphetamine will be added to the
legislation at a later date, following
consultation on the possible impact on
people taking medicine for attention
deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
‘This new offence will make our
roads safer for everyone by making it
easier for the police to tackle those
who drive after taking illegal drugs,’
said road safety minister Robert
Goodwill. ‘It will also clarify the limits
for those who take medication.’
Government announces tougher
powers to seize cutting agents
Deaths from liver disease
rose by 40 per cent to
11,000 a year in the
decade to 2012