According to data published by Statistics Finland, the number of drug-related deaths in one year has increased by 25% in 2018.

Causes of death included accidental poisonings from multiple substances, deaths caused by long-term drug use, and drugs used to commit suicide.

The increase in drug-related deaths was observed in all age groups but, especially, in the 20–29 group.

It was noted that in Finland, drug-related deaths are concentrated within younger age groups compared to the European average.

From the 2nd of March, Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) for alcohol will come into effect in Wales. 

The policy, which has shown positive outcomes in Scotland, aims to tackle alcohol-related harm and death.

MUP is designed to reduce the amount of low cost, high strength products.

Although the law enabling the Welsh Government to set a minimum unit price was passed on 9 August 2018, there have been delays to the introduction of MUP due to objections from Portugal, who argued it breached European free trade law by discriminating against imported alcohol products.

An awareness campaign, aimed at...

Summary

This report presents the latest findings on drug-related hospital emergencies from a network of sentinel hospitals across Europe.

Almost 24,000 emergency presentations were recorded at 32 sentinel hospitals over the first 4 years of the project. The data reveal that the substances most commonly involved in acute drug toxicity presentations include heroin, cocaine and cannabis. Prescription medicines are frequently reported. The report also sheds light on other aspects of drug-related emergencies such as clinical features, geographical variation, outcomes, demographics and time...

In July 2019, the UK Government set out its ambition for England to be smokefree by 2030. Government guidelines say the next steps should have been announced by 6th January 2020, but it has yet to do so.

Several key charities, including ASH, British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, Royal College of Physicians, the British Medical Association, the British Lung Foundation, and the Royal Society for Public Health, has called on the UK government to lay out the next steps in order to reach their target.

The charities have put forward a Roadmap to a Smokefree 2030, as a suggestion as to...

The rise in alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harms in the UK in recent decades has gone hand in hand with the increasing affordability of alcoholic beverages. 

Minimum Unit Pricing (setting a minimum price below which a unit of alcohol cannot legally be sold) was approved by the Scottish Parliament in 2012.

This report provides an analysis of off-trade alcohol sales data for the 12-month period since the implementation of minimum unit pricing (MUP) in Scotland.

The report, written by NHS Scotland, provides a descriptive analysis of the:

• The volume of pure alcohol sold per adult in...