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The majority of drug-related deaths in Scotland in 2011
were among people not in receipt of a substitute
prescription, according to a new report by ISD Scotland and
NHS Scotland.
The year saw the highest number of drug-related deaths
ever registered in Scotland (
DDN
, September 2012, page 4),
with methadone ‘implicated in or potentially contributing to’
47 per cent of them, leading to a government review of
substitute prescribing. However, according to analysis of 438
of the deaths in the
National drug-related deaths database
(Scotland) report 2011
, 74 per cent of those who died were
not receiving a substitute prescription at the time of their
death, and nearly 60 per cent of those where methadone was
implicated were not in receipt of a methadone prescription.
The figures ‘helped to contextualise’ the 2011 statistics,
said the Scottish Drugs Forum (SDF). According to the
document, the high levels of overall deaths involving
methadone could have been the result of a number of
factors, including users seeking different drugs during the
2010/11 heroin ‘drought’ and high levels of poly drug use,
with 97 per cent of fatalities having more than one drug
present in their system.
In terms of the ‘significant number’ of deaths involving
people who were on a methadone programme, however, the
report points to potential factors such as poor dosing
regimes, poly drug use, lack of access to prescribing support,
older age and poor overall health.
‘There is a huge body of evidence around the protective
nature of substitute therapy for drug users,’ said SDF
director David Liddell. ‘What is clear from the statistics is
that most people who died had dropped out of treatment
for a range of reasons and this is clearly worrying.’
Failure to frame opioid replacement therapy (ORT) in the
context of a range of interventions was too often ‘an
unfortunate feature’ of public debate, he stated, with
‘simplistic arguments around whether or not we should
have ORT. The debate must move on from this narrow lens
and focus on the wider issues of how to respond effectively
and holistically to the needs of the 60,000 people with drug
problems.’
National drug-related deaths database (Scotland) report
2011 at www.isdscotland.org
Heavily advertised brands and cheap, strong alcohol are
the drinks most consumed by vulnerable young people
involved with treatment services, according to an Alcohol
Concern survey.
According to the study – which surveyed more than 380
11 to 17-year-olds across 14 treatment services in England
and Wales – Foster’s lager was the most commonly consumed
drink, followed by generic or own-brand vodka, Smirnoff
vodka, Frosty Jack’s cider and Glen’s vodka.
The frequency of spirit consumption has almost doubled
among 11 to 15-year-olds since 1990, and has risen by 95
per cent among girls. Vodka was most widely consumed by
the girls who took part in the survey, while strong cider was
popular with both sexes and beer tended to be drunk by
boys. The results echo the findings of a report from the
Boston University School of Public Health and Center on
Alcohol Marketing and Youth (
DDN
, March, page 4), which
found youth alcohol consumption in the US to be far more
dominated by a ‘relatively small number of brands’ than
consumption among adults.
Research by Alcohol Concern also found that the ‘Dan
and Brad’ characters from Fosters TV advertising were more
familiar to 10 and 11-year-olds than characters from leading
confectionary and crisp brand adverts. ‘Alcohol advertising is
linked to consumption, particularly in those under 18 years
old, and it’s time we introduced robust measures which
protect this group from exposure to it,’ said Alcohol Concern
policy programme manager, Tom Smith.
CARTELS EYE EUROPE
EU law enforcement agency Europol says
that it has gathered intelligence that
Mexican criminal gangs are ‘attempting to
establish themselves as key players in the
European drugs market’. Although moves
by the Sinaloa cartel to establish
themselves in Europe were averted by a
‘timely, intelligence-led law enforcement
operation’, Mexican groups continue to
expand their roles ‘along the supply chain
towards Europe’ to increase profits, says
the agency. ‘We do not want the level of
violence and brutality which we see in
Mexico mirrored in Europe,’ said agency
director Rob Wainwright.
HEAVY HITTERS
Research has been published by Sheffield
Hallam University showing the impact of
welfare reforms across the UK. The report
provides information for every local
authority district, with the worst affected
areas facing losses of twice the national
average. ‘As a general rule, the more
deprived the local authority, the greater the
financial hit,’ it says.
Hitting the poorest
places hardest at www.shu.ac.uk
HIGH IMPACT
New psychoactive substances could
‘impact disproportionately on young people
with difficult lives’ – such as those leaving
local authority care or who have pre-
existing mental health issues – in the
same way as heroin, the Scottish Drugs
Federation (SDF) has warned. It was vital
not to simply focus on supply, stressed
chief executive David Liddel. ‘We also need
to look – as we should do with all drug use
– at why people are using these new
substances and the impact they have on
individuals.’ This would help services to
respond more effectively and inform
approaches to prevention, he said. The
forum has also developed a new set of
information materials for Scotland’s
community-based naloxone programme,
including posters, leaflets and booklets.
Available at www.sdf.org.uk
RYAN CHAIR
Ryan Campbell has been appointed as
chief executive of KCA (UK). Previously
development director at RAPt, he is also
chair of mental health charity Mind. KCA
was ‘unique in being able to meet the
needs of people of all ages who are
experiencing substance misuse, mental
health problems and other complex
issues, in a passionate, outcome driven
and human approach’, he said.
May 2013 |
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Round-up
NEWS IN BRIEF
Vulnerable young choose high profile brands
The provision of drug consumption rooms is being
considered by Brighton and Hove’s Safe in the City
partnership and health and wellbeing board.
The proposal is one of a number in a report from the
Independent Drugs Commission for Brighton and Hove,
which was commissioned by the city council.
Among the other recommended measures are more
training in naloxone administration and improved data
collection on drug use patterns and supply routes. The report
also calls for a more creative use of social media as part of
education and support services for younger people, and urges
that young people’s services be kept separate, so that younger
users ‘don’t have to mix with older, more established users’.
The proposals were discussed at a meeting of Brighton
and Hove Safe in the City partnership board at the end of
April, and will be followed by any feasibility studies
considered necessary before recommendations are made for
committee politicians to vote on. There was ‘no set timeline
other than that around the commission coming back to look
at what has been taken up in 12 months time,’ a council
spokesperson told
DDN
.
There are around 2,000 problem heroin and cocaine
users in the city, according to the commission, with almost
1,500 people attending drug treatment services in Brighton
in 2011-12. ‘We have a relatively high number of drug users
in the city, and in the past we have had high numbers of
drug-related deaths,’ said Brighton and Hove director of
public health, Tom Scanlon. ‘We have come a long way from
the peak in 2000 when 67 Brighton and Hove residents died
from drug use. While this has fallen to 20 deaths, each of
these still represents a personal tragedy for the person
concerned and for families and friends.’
Brighton considers ‘consumption rooms’
Three quarters of Scots drugs death
victims ‘not on prescription’