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CRIMEA CRACKDOWN
Russia has banned methadone from clinics in
Crimea, following its annexation of the region.
The International and Eurasian networks of
people who use drugs (INPUD and ENPUD)
recently called on the international community
to put pressure on Russia over the treatment
of 800 substitution programme clients in
Crimea (
DDN
, April, page 4). However, the
head of Russia’s Federal Drug Control Service
(FSKN), Victor Ivanov, told the Russian news
agency ITAR-TASS that methadone was ‘not a
cure’ and that ‘practically all methadone
supplies in Ukraine were circulating on the
secondary market and distributed as a
narcotic drug in the absence of proper
control… a source of criminal incomes’.
ENGAGING APPOINTMENT
Andrew Brown, formerly Mentor UK’s director
of programmes, has been announced as
DrugScope’s new director of policy, influence
and engagement. ‘With this excellent addition
to the staff team we look forward to
DrugScope building on our reputation for high
quality, influential policy work, drawing on the
best available evidence and the experiences
and expertise of our members,’ said chief
executive Marcus Roberts.
STARK STATISTICS
Homicides linked to gangs and organised
criminal groups account for 30 per cent of the
overall total in the Americas, compared to
less than one per cent in Asia, Europe and
Oceania, says a report from the United
Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
More than 60,000 people are estimated to
have been killed in drug-related violence in
Mexico alone in the six years to 2012,
according to Human Rights Watch. ‘It is likely
that changes in drug markets drive lethal
violence, rather than violence being driven by
overall levels of trafficking flows,’ says
Global
study on homicide 2013
.
Available at
www.unodc.org
REVOLUTIONARY DECISION
Red Army vodka, which is sold in a gun-
shaped bottle, has been found to breach the
Responsible Retailing Code of Northern
Ireland for associating alcohol with violence
and aggression, with the Portman Group’s
Independent Complaints Panel concluding that
the name and packaging were ‘inappropriate’
for an alcoholic drink. ‘Strict UK alcohol
marketing rules specifically prohibit an
alcoholic drink from being sold if it has any
association with bravado, or with violent,
aggressive, dangerous or anti-social
behaviour,’ said the group’s chief executive
Henry Ashworth.
The impact of alcohol is not being recognised and
prioritised by local authorities, according to a report
from Alcohol Concern. The document looks at the health
and wellbeing strategies, joint strategic needs
assessments (JSNAs) and clinical commissioning group
(CCG) strategies of 25 local authorities, including 15
ranked among the highest for alcohol-related harm.
The aim of the research was to see how much of a
priority alcohol harm was for the ‘newly empowered’
local authorities, following the transfer of public health
responsibility from primary care trusts last year. Many of
the strategies had an over-reliance on hospital
admissions data and were ‘unlikely’ to meet Public
Health England’s (PHE) definition of a ‘comprehensive
section on alcohol-related charm’, said the charity.
The document calls for directors of public health to
make sure that JSNAs prioritise alcohol harm and
consider its impact on groups including women, victims
of abuse, offenders and people with mental health
problems. They should also make sure, in partnership
with CCG chairs, that strategic processes consider clients’
care pathways through treatment, with ‘clear
responsibility for each step’, it says.
‘Alcohol misuse has a huge impact on local
authorities, not just at the hospital or doctor’s,’ said chief
executive Eric Appleby. ‘It ranges from health to crime
and disorder, affects older people as well as young people
and impacts on families and social services as well as the
look and feel of the high street. It’s vital that local
authorities recognise all of these impacts in order to
create joined-up strategies to address them. We need to
see clear prioritisation for both treatment and prevention
services – responsibility must not be allowed to fall
between the gaps of local bodies’ remits.’
The charity has also branded David Beckham’s decision
to promote Diageo’s Haig Club whisky ‘incredibly
disappointing’. ‘Given David Beckham’s other roles
promoting sport and a healthy lifestyle to children, we
believe this will send a confusing message to them about
the dangers of alcohol and its impact on a healthy lifestyle,
and we call on the star to rethink his association with this
product,’ said deputy chief executive, Emily Robinson.
An audit of alcohol-related harm in joint strategic needs
assessments, joint health and wellbeing strategies and CCG
commissioning plans at www.alcoholconcern.org.uk
NEWS IN BRIEF
May 2014 |
drinkanddrugsnews
| 5
www.drinkanddrugsnews.com
News |
Round-up
Needle and syringe programmes need to do more to
support people who use image and performance-
enhancing drugs, according to NICE (the National
Institute for Health and Care Excellence). Despite an
estimated 60,000 anabolic steroid users in the UK, it
remains a ‘grey area’ for needle exchange services, says
the institute.
NICE’s updated guidance recommends that needle
and syringe programmes and commissioners make sure
that users of image and performance-enhancing drugs
have access to all the equipment they need, as well as
calling for effective area-wide strategies to meet the
needs of young people.
‘Needle and syringe programmes have been a huge
success story in the UK – they are credited with helping
stem the Aids epidemic in the ’80s and ’90s,’ said director
of NICE’s centre for public health, Professor Mike Kelly.
‘However, we are now seeing a completely different group
of people injecting drugs. They do not see themselves as
“drug addicts” – quite the contrary, they consider
themselves to be fit and healthy people who take pride in
their appearance. These services must continue to be
configured in the most effective way to reach and support
the people who need them the most, wherever they live,
and protect their health as much as possible.’
Meanwhile, the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Faculty
of Addiction Psychiatry is calling on the government to
boost support to services treating people for gambling
addiction. Although almost 500,000 people in the UK are
estimated to have a gambling disorder, services are
under-developed and remain funded almost exclusively
by the gambling industry. The document wants to see
the government ‘recognise gambling disorder as a public
health responsibility’ to enable treatment to be provided
by existing drug and alcohol services.
‘Increasingly based on strong partnerships between
the NHS and voluntary sector, community services have
the experience and expertise to work towards helping
people with a gambling disorder,’ said the document’s co-
author Dr Henrietta Bowden-Jones. ‘Extending treatment
to the “third addiction” of gambling could deliver similar
benefits, and would help ensure that care is joined-up,
efficient, and seamless.’
NICE guidance on needle and syringe programmes
(PH52) at guidance.nice.org.uk
Gambling: the hidden addiction at www.rcpsych.ac.uk
NICE calls for more needle
exchange support for steroid users
Local authorities ‘not
recognising impact’ of alcohol
‘Alcohol misuse has a
huge impact on local
authorities, not just at
the hospital or doctor’s...’
ERIC APPLEBY