In 2020, the Canadian Substance Use Costs and Harms (CSUCH) data reported that substance use resulted in a loss of $22.4 billion in productivity. This represents 45.6% of the overall cost and harms of substance use, which amounted to $49.1 billion in Canada for that year, as per the latest available data. The Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA) has recently published a resource titled "Cost of Substance Use on the Economic Productivity of Canadians – Findings at a Glance," which sheds light on the expenses and consequences linked to the decline in productivity. Some key...

Background: Electronic cigarette usage has seen a significant increase globally in recent years, with many countries reporting a rise in users. However, the way African news portrays this phenomenon remains unclear.

Methods: This study employs a mixed-methodology approach to investigate this subject. The research focuses on news articles about electronic cigarette use obtained from AllAfrica, an online African news archive. A total of 38 online news and opinion articles published between June 2017 and June 2022 met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Content analysis revealed prevalent...

In the UK, alcohol presents an urgent and growing problem: 70 people die due to alcohol every day. The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated this crisis, with alcohol-specific deaths having increased by 27% between 2019 and 2021, reaching record highs.

The estimated cost of alcohol on the UK healthcare system is £8.3 billion annually. Predictions show that unless alcohol consumption returns to pre- pandemic levels, by 2034 it will cost the already-stretched NHS in England an additional £1billion.Although alcohol harms have increased, sadly the provision of treatment has not: only one in five...

BACKGROUND: Coolmine’s implementation of quality standards involves a period of change management, strategic planning, and national policy development.

METHODS: A narrative case study focusing on national policy and internal strategic planning.

CONCLUSIONS: From 2000, Coolmine embarked on a change management journey that kept the organisation at the forefront of drug and alcohol treatment in Ireland and internationally while maintaining fidelity to the Therapeutic Community. The strategy for quality assurance is replicable across similar organisations.

تم الإعلان عن أن السلطات المحلية في جميع أنحاء إنجلترا ستستفيد من تمويل حكومي إضافي بقيمة 421 مليون جنيه إسترليني حتى عام 2025 لتحسين علاج إدمان المخدرات والكحول والتعافي منه.

سيمكن التمويل الإضافي من إنشاء أكثر من 50000 مكان عالي الجودة لعلاج المخدرات والكحول.

وسيمكن التمويل السلطات المحلية من:

• توظيف المزيد من الموظفين للعمل مع الأشخاص الذين يعانون من مشاكل المخدرات والكحول
• دعم المزيد من المغادرين للسجون في خدمات العلاج والتعافي
• الاستثمار في تحسين جودة العلاج الذي يقدمونه - مما يساعد بدوره على جعل الشوارع أكثر أمانا من خلال إخراج الناس من الإدمان المعروف أنه يؤدي إلى الإساءة