The Tobacco and vapes bill banning anyone born after 2008 from buying tobacco in the UK completed its progress through parliament in a move that ministers hope will create a smoke-free generation and reduce the burden on the NHS. The bill…
News Archives
Liver disease: alcohol relapses
Excessive alcohol consumption can lead to alcohol-related liver disease, such as cirrhosis and hepatitis, so abstinence from alcohol is recommended – but return-to-use is common. The Dram reviewed a University of Cambridge et al 2025 study that explored how people…
GPs warned about gabapentinoids
GPs were warned to exercise more caution in prescribing gabapentinoids, particularly alongside other medications, after analysis of UK data on gabapentinoid prescribing 2010-2020 showed that taking the drugs alongside benzodiazepines linked to a doubling in the risk of hospitalisation for…
Smartphones, addiction and ban
“Smartphones, and their symbiotic relationship with social media apps, have proved themselves the tobacco of our age. The government’s announcement on Monday that it would turn its existing guidance in England on phones in schools into a statutory ban sounds less…
Surviving Earth: bruising portrait of addiction and redemption
The addiction-recovery mantra of taking it one day at a time is at the heart of this honest-feeling drama from 1st-time London film-maker Thea Gajić. Surviving Earth features Vlad, a charismatic recovering heroin addict living in Bristol, having arrived in…
Is Belgium a narco-state?
Europe has overtaken the US as the world’s largest cocaine market. Belgium and the Netherlands, via their ports, have faced the brunt of the associated gangsterism. Some cocaine-laden containers are waved through by corrupt port staff, while others are sent…
Ireland: The Dry season 3
“It’s a stereotype that Ireland is full of drinkers. It’s a problem all over the world,” said playwright and screenwriter Nancy Harris on her parents’ separation, the myth of family and her hit show The Dry – Season 3 starts…
Competing memories drive relapse and recovery
A Texas A&M University study – Dual-engram architecture within a single striatal cell type distinctly controls alcohol relapse and extinction – uncovered distinct brain cell networks that promote or suppress relapse, offering promising strategies for more effective alcohol use disorder…
Spirituality combats addiction
Based on a meta-analysis of 55 longitudinal investigations involving over half a million participants, the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health identified a consistent pattern: people who engage in spiritual practices – through religion, prayer or meditation – show…
Cannabis, opioids and knee arthritis
Yet another cannabis benefit claim debunked: cannabis with opioids offers no added pain relief for knee arthritis, Johns Hopkins University et al found. Neither cannabis nor opioids alone provided significant pain relief and using them together did not improve results.
