A landmark genetic study has pinpointed biological drivers of cocaine use disorder that extend well beyond the brain, raising fresh hopes for treatments tailored to an individual’s genetic profile. Researchers at the University of California San Diego used more than 800 genetically diverse rats to map the DNA signatures linked to cocaine use disorder, producing what is now the largest...
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Create Strength Group Wins Prestigious GSK IMPACT Award for Bradford Drug Recovery Work
A Bradford charity has won the 2026 GSK IMPACT Award, earning national recognition for its work supporting people affected by cannabis, opiates, and prescription medicine dependency. Create Strength Group is one of 10 winners selected from a record number of entries. The ceremony took place in London. The award includes £40,000 in unrestricted funding and a place on a leadership...
England Cricket Alcohol Ban Considered as Ben Stokes Future Hangs in Balance
England Cricket Alcohol Ban Considered as Ben Stokes Future Hangs in Balance England’s cricket chiefs are actively weighing an England cricket alcohol ban for players on international duty. The move follows a nightclub incident. It cost Test captain Ben Stokes and fast bowler Gus Atkinson their places in the second Test squad. Rob Key, the ECB’s managing director of men’s...
Nicotine Use Among Young People Surges as Health Influencers Spread Misleading Claims
Nicotine use among young people is climbing sharply across the United States. Public health officials are raising serious concerns about the role social media influencers play in driving that trend. According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, nicotine pouch use by people under 21 nearly quadrupled between 2022 and 2025. In 2024, almost 8% of high schoolers reported...
Dad ‘Totally Ready for Rehab’ Dies After Suspected Spice Use in Exeter
A synthetic drug Spice death has claimed the life of an Exeter father, just days before he was due to enter rehabilitation. Sam Tigwell, aged 33, collapsed on a city street on 29 July 2024 and died in hospital six days later. His mother told an inquest she firmly believed he was ready to change. Lethal Batch Linked to a...
Cannabis and Sleep Problems Are Trapping People in a Silent Dependency Cycle, Neurologists Warn
Millions of people now use cannabis as a nightly sleep aid. From teenagers reaching for a gummy because melatonin stopped working, to veterans self-managing post-traumatic nightmares when mental health appointments are months away, cannabis has quietly become the go-to remedy for lost sleep. But neurologists who specialise in sleep medicine are sounding a clear warning: what feels like a solution...
Cannabis Use in Older Adults Slipping Through the Cracks of Clinical Care
Four in every five older adults who used cannabis in the past year never discussed it with their doctor. That finding, from a new national study in the United States, raises serious questions about whether general practice is keeping pace with a fast-growing pattern of substance use among people aged 65 and over. Clinical cannabis screening in this age group...
Moderate Alcohol Consumption Risks Are Higher Than Most People Realise, New Study Finds
A major new study has found that moderate alcohol consumption risks are far greater than most people realise. Harmful effects begin at levels many adults consider perfectly ordinary. The research was published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. It draws on 56 systematic reviews and is the most comprehensive assessment of lifetime alcohol risk conducted in the...
Sugary Drinks and Liver Cancer Risk Confirmed in Major New Analysis
A sweeping new meta-analysis links daily sugary drinks to liver cancer, raising fresh concerns about how everyday consumption habits shape long-term health outcomes. The study, published in JAMA Network Open, pooled data from 11 research papers covering more than 1.5 million participants. Researchers found that one sugary drink per day raised the risk of two primary liver cancer subtypes: hepatocellular...
Indiana Man Arrested as Police Seize Over 40lbs of Cannabis in Traffic Stop and Raid
Cannabis Trafficking Arrest Made After Routine Traffic Stop in Southern Indiana A 32-year-old Indiana man is now facing drug trafficking charges. Detectives found more than 42 pounds of cannabis during a traffic stop and property search in southern Indiana earlier this month. The cannabis trafficking arrest came on 2 June. Detectives from the Evansville Vanderburgh County Drug Task Force spotted...
Drone Smuggling Into Prisons: The £35m Battle to Secure UK Jails
Drones Are Turning Prison Walls Into Open Doors Steel grills might not sound like a bold response to organised crime. But across England and Wales, those grills now sit at the frontline of a growing battle. Drone smuggling into prisons has become one of the most serious security challenges facing the justice system. Sky News recently gained access to HMP...
What Research Now Tells Us About Helping Young People Avoid Substance Use
A leading Harvard researcher has issued a clear warning. Youth substance use prevention is not receiving the sustained investment it needs. Young people continue to fall through the cracks at every stage of care. Dr John F Kelly is the founder of the Recovery Research Institute and the National Center on Youth Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery at Massachusetts General Hospital....
AI and Addiction Therapy: Why Technology Cannot Replace the Human Clinician
Artificial intelligence has made striking inroads across healthcare, and addiction treatment is no exception. Apps, chatbots, and AI-powered coaching platforms are now actively marketed as tools for people struggling with alcohol and other substance use disorders. Some position themselves as genuine alternatives to seeing a therapist altogether. The pitch is compelling on the surface: round-the-clock availability, no waiting lists, no...
Feeling Lonely? New Research Shows the Hidden Link Between Loneliness and Substance Use in Young Adults
Loneliness has quietly become one of the defining public health concerns of our time. Long before the U.S. Surgeon General declared it an epidemic in 2023, researchers were already tracking its ripple effects on mental and physical wellbeing. Now, a new study adds fresh weight to that evidence. Loneliness and substance use in young adults are more closely linked than...
Healthcare Professionals Still Rely on Lectures to Tackle Substance Use Stigma, New Review Finds
Reducing substance use stigma in healthcare settings has never been more urgent. Yet a major new scoping review finds that most training programmes designed to shift attitudes among healthcare professionals still default to lectures and handouts. More effective, immersive approaches remain rare. The review analysed 108 peer-reviewed studies and concludes that the field carries genuine momentum, but also serious gaps....
The Hidden Danger Growing in Plain Sight: Cannabis and Nicotine Co-Use Is Reshaping Youth Drug Culture
Cigarette smoking among young people has fallen to historic lows, and public health officials have rightly celebrated that progress. Yet cannabis and nicotine co-use is quietly rising to take its place. A new generation is not turning away from nicotine altogether. Young people are consuming it differently, pairing it with cannabis through vaping devices and nicotine pouches that leave almost...
Could Cannabis Be Fuelling the Rise in Cancer Among Young People?
Cannabis is now linked to rising cancer rates in young people, and the evidence is growing harder to ignore. A major new study suggests that cannabis and young adult cancer risk are more closely connected than previously thought, with cannabis use potentially driving an alarming increase in breast and testicular cancer among adolescents and young adults aged 15 to 39....
Vape Sales to Children Nottingham: Seven in Nine Shops Failed Age Checks
Selling Vapes to Minors: Nottingham Results Are a Wake-Up Call Seven out of nine businesses in Nottingham sold vapes to minors during supervised test purchases. Nottinghamshire Police and Trading Standards revealed the findings earlier this month. Volunteers under 18 carried out the purchases under close supervision. The exercise was part of a targeted enforcement operation. The results point to a...
WHO Warns Governments: Nicotine Pouches and Children Are a Dangerous Mix
The World Health Organisation has issued a stark warning to governments worldwide. Nicotine pouches and children are at the centre of a growing public health crisis, the WHO says. Tobacco companies are deliberately targeting young people with sweet flavours, social media influencers and aggressive advertising. The goal, the organisation argues, is to hook a new generation on nicotine before stronger...
Moderate Alcohol Use and Death Risk: What the Largest US Study Yet Has Found
No Safe Level: Moderate Alcohol Use and Death Risk Laid Bare in Major Study The link between moderate alcohol use and death risk is real, measurable, and starts earlier than most people expect. For years, a glass of wine with dinner carried a quiet respectability. Light drinking was the civilised middle ground, distinct from the excess that public health campaigns...
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