Mental Health & Social Care Bulletin No. 399

An Alcohol Matrix has been developed to help commissioners and practitioners get easy access to research that will support them in their alcohol treatment services. The Substance Misuse Skills Consortium has been quoted as saying that this is a key resource. Bulletin 399 has access to this information and much much more, including news on social care provision.

Mental Health & Social Care Bulletin No. 395

In Bulletin No. 395 you can link to the new statistical report from the Health Social Care Infromation Centre: Statistics on Alcohol: England, 2013. The bulletin also has a large section this week on various addictions.

Mental Health & Social Care Bulletin No. 382

Matters concerning alcohol figure in Bulletin No. 382. A coalition of 70 alcohol groups have produced a report which includes a call for a  concensus across the UK for a minimum of 50p price per unit of acohol. The Welsh branches of Alcohol Concern and The Royal College of Psychiatrists have published a report on the links between problem gambling and alcohol. Following on from a report which showed a higher level of alcohol intake by children in Brighton than in other parts of the country, the local authority is considering implementing contracts where parents pledge not give their children alcohol. Also in this bulletin a new section on Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)

Mental Health & Social Care Bulletin No. 367

The Publication section in Bulletin No. 367  has seven reports this week, ranging from information on self harm, dementia, care homes to drug use

Gambling link to Psychosis

A study by Spanish researchers published in Comprehensive Psychiatry suggests that mentally ill patients who suffer from psychosis are more likely to have an addiction to gambling compared to those suffering from other conditions. Pathological gambling has always been linked to conditions such as alcoholism but little research has been done in the past on its comorbidity with psychosis.

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Read the original abstract

Class A Drug treatment declines

The number of people beginning treatment for dependancy on cocaine and heroin fell substantially from 2008/9 numbers according to the National Treatment Agency for Substance Abuse. The greatest decline was in the under 30's age group. This has been seen as a positive indiction of the way drug dependancy is being dealt with and not a lack of services precluding addicts from gaining help

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Read the report

Teenage abstinence or economy of truth?

Figures released by by the NHS Information Centre reveal that there has been a decrease in smoking, drinking and drug taking by teenagers. The data for 2009-2011 was procured from a survey conducted on 7,264 11- 15 year olds from 246 schools


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The failure of drug treatment policies

The coalition government has indicated that it wants to radically change the way drug addicts are treated. In the wake of this the Centre for Policy Studies, a Conservative party linked think tank, has concurred that the present methods are not working. It recommends that methadone prescribing and benefits funding that cost around £3.6bn per year be replaced with a rehabilitation programme

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Read the original report

Parents, teenagers and drinking

A survey carried out on behalf of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has highlighted the influence of parental drinking habits on their offspring. It appears that even moderate parental overindulgence can affect teenage attitudes what is acceptable limits of intake

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Anthrax contamination of heroin

A fourth incident in the Leicestershire area of heroin being contaminated by heroin has come to light after another young man died after taking the drug. The Health Protection Agency is making a full investigation and a further post mortem of the victim is set to take place. Meanwhile heroin users are being urged not to take the drug.

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Chairman of Bar Council advocates legalised personal drug use

The chairman of the Bar Council which represents the UK's barristers has put forward the view that personal drug use should be made legal. Nicholas Green argues that this would save the British economy billions of pounds. Drug crime alone reaches 13 billion per year. Benfits to public health would also be achieved.

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New legal highs warning

A warning about new "legal highs"has been issued by Wales Drug and Alcohol Helpline. With mephedrone recently banned as a Class B drug, clubbers are looking for alternatives and 400 have been identified on the Internet

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Alcohol dependency increases prescriptions

Statistics released from the NHS Information Centre show that there was a 12% increase last year in prescriptions handed out to deal with alcohol dependency in England. The figures cited compared the prescribing of two particular drugs in 2009 with that in 2008. However, experts caution that it may be a matter of increased willingless of patients to face their addiction rather than an increase in alcoholism itself.

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Read the report

Valium as addictive as heroin

Scientists have warned that benzodiazepines such as Valium (diazepam) that are well known treatments for anxiety are as addictive as Class A drugs such as heroin. The Swiss study in Nature journal said benzodiazepines use the same "reward pathways" in the brain. It is hoped that the findings of this research will lead to the next generation of non-addictive treatments for anxiety.

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Read the original abstract

Age and addiction

Research to be published by the Scottish Drugs Forum indicates that drug addicts over the age of 35 are more likely to commit suicide. A survey of over 70 users and their professionals involved in their care showed that they were likely to feel overwhelmed by their past experiences and a feeling of being neglected.

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Gambling with your family

Treatment models for gambling addiction mainly centres on the gamblers themselves. New research has concentrated on the effects of problem gambling on the families of the gamblers. The paper published in the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy aims to raise awareness of this issue.

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Alcoholic epileptic seizures and calcium

Researchers have found that by blocking the flow of calcium ions into brain cells, epileptic seizures that commonly ocurr after withdrawl from alcohol abuse can be prevented. This research from the Georgetown University Medical Center was presented at the 39th annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience.

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FRANK cocaine adverts

The drugs information and advice service, Frank is targeting 15- 18 year olds with a series of adverts that spell out the dangers to the heart and nose from taking cocaine. The adverts are being shown at cinemas and on television, and with posters at a cost £1.5 million.

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Online gambling ten times more addictive

Researchers at Nottingham Trent University have presented a study at the British Psychological Society’s Social Psychology Conference in Sheffield which concludes that online gambling is up to 10 time s more addictive than offline forms. Most affected are single young males who drink and smoke heavily.

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Over the counter addiction

It takes just three days to become addicted to some of the most common over-the-counter pain killers which contain high doses of codeine, according to the government's drug watchdog the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). This warning comes in the wake of the parliamentary report which reported the dangers of addiction. Stronger warnings on packets are to be introduced and only small packets available without a prescription.

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Read the MHRA press release