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KHAT IN THE BAG
Khat is to become a class C drug, home
secretary Theresa May has announced.
Although the ACMD did not recommend
banning the drug, the decision would ‘help
protect vulnerable members of our
communities’, she stated, and the
government has promised a
‘proportionate’ policing response in terms
of possession for personal use.
DrugScope said it was ‘concerned and
disappointed’ that the government had
gone against the ACMD’s advice, while
Release said that ‘once again, the
government chooses to ignore the
evidence when it comes to drug policy’.
STRATEGY SUPPORT
More consideration needs to be given to
the specialist needs of women involved in
prostitution and substance use when
planning strategies and services,
according to a report from DrugScope and
AVA. ‘We need more and better support
from policy makers, planners and
commissioners, and from services on the
ground to help these women, many of
whom have multiple and complex needs,’
said DrugScope chief executive Martin
Barnes.
The challenge of change at
www.drugscope.org.uk. See news focus,
page 6.
PRESCRIPTION FOR CHANGE
New commissioning guidance on support
for people addicted to prescription or over-
the-counter medicines has been issued by
Public Health England (PHE). Depending on
local need, support could be delivered
through existing services, developed in
partnership with local GPs or via dedicated
services and support groups, it says.
‘Problems of addiction to medicines can
occur in any community, so all local
authorities should have a plan to assess
and respond to local need,’ said PHE
director of alcohol and drugs, Rosanna
O’Connor. ‘While GPs should be the first
port of call for problems of dependence on
these drugs, specialist help should also be
provided to anyone who needs it.’
Guidance at www.gov.uk
MENTAL HELP
Mental health nurses are to join police
officers on patrol in four pilot sites to
‘improve responses to mental health
emergencies’, the government has
announced. The nurses will accompany
police to incidents where immediate
mental health support is needed, so that
people are not ‘detained in the wrong
environment’. The first pilots will take
place in Derbyshire, Devon and Cornwall,
North Yorkshire and Sussex, with more to
be announced.
NEWS IN BRIEF
Alcohol advertising that promotes ‘lifestyle’ images of
drinkers or scenes that glamourise drinking should be
banned, according to a report from Alcohol Concern. The
recommendation is one of several in
Stick to the facts
,
which maintains that self-regulation is failing.
The charity wants to see a ban on alcohol sponsorship
of all sports, music and cultural events as well as on
cinema advertising for everything except 18-rated films.
The report also calls for restrictions on advertising content,
so that only images and messages related to ‘the
characteristics of the product’ – such as origin, ingredients
and means of production – are allowed. The measures are
necessary to ‘protect children and young people from
excessive exposure’ to alcohol advertising, the charity says.
Regulation also needs be statutory and independent of
the alcohol and advertising industries, with meaningful
sanctions such as fines for non-compliance – based on ‘the
size of marketing budget and estimated children’s
exposure’. Regulating digital and online content presents a
particular challenge however, the document states, with
self-regulation failing to adequately protect the young.
Advertising body ISBA responded by saying that self-
regulation was effective and that the UK had ‘some of the
toughest advertising rules in Europe’.
Alcohol Concern chief executive Eric Appleby, however,
said that children and young people reported that they were
better able to recognise alcohol brands than those of cakes
or ice cream. ‘This has to be a wake-up call to the fact that
the way we regulate alcohol advertising isn’t working. It’s
time we reset the balance between commercial and public
interest. That’s why we want advertisers to stick to the facts
alone and for alcohol advertising to be banned at sporting,
cultural or music events.’
A separate report from Alcohol Concern Cymru,
On your
doorstep
, has also found that children and young people
are increasingly using online shopping services to buy
alcohol. In nearly half of test purchases organised by South
Wales Police, alcohol was handed over to 15-year-olds
without any requests for proof of age.
‘The process of purchasing alcohol online, for example via
supermarket websites, is unique in that the sale is made in
private and with relative anonymity, away from traditional
retail premises,’ said Alcohol Concern policy and research
officer Mark Leyshon. ‘Young people have told us that these
sites offer less robust age verification practices and provide a
quick and easy way to get hold of alcohol, especially for young-
er teenagers who would likely have greater difficulty in buying
alcohol in person from in-store at a supermarket or off-licence.’
Meanwhile, a report evaluating the impact of the
Licensing (Scotland) Act has been issued by NHS Health
Scotland. Among the aspects of the act that had been
viewed most positively since its full implementation in 2009
were fewer irresponsible promotions, increased powers for
licensing boards and training for board members and trade
staff. Issues that ‘provoked a more mixed response’,
however, included the impact on the off-trade sector and
the collection of national and local data in a way that
allowed ‘meaningful comparison’.
‘The Licensing Act has reduced irresponsible promotions
in pubs and clubs, but cheap, high-strength alcohol is still
being sold in off-sales, particularly supermarkets,’ said chief
executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland, Dr Evelyn Gillan. ‘Action
that licensing boards take to reduce the availability of
alcohol in order to reduce harm will be limited while alcohol
continues to be sold at pocket money prices.’
Stick to the facts and On your doorstep at
www.alcoholconcern.org.uk
An evaluation of the implementation of, and compliance
with, the objectives of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005:
final report at www.healthscotland.com
July 2013 |
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Round-up
Glamourised ‘lifestyle’ promotions
must be banned, says Alcohol Concern
RECOVERY CUTS IT:
The Recovery Kitchen, which teaches culinary skills to people in recovery, has
seen its first graduations. The eight-week course, launched by Turning Point Zephyr in partnership
with Birmingham City Council and Event Masters catering company, is taught by a Savoy-trained chef.
‘After only a few weeks we opened our shutters and started serving a three course meal to other
service users and providers,’ said one graduate.