WELCOME
Welcome to our 'online newspaper', created to promote, support and enhance long-term, sustainable recovery from addictions/ dependencies of all kinds. We are delighted to receive and disseminate constructive comments, blogs, articles and research. Keep them rolling in! Deirdre Boyd, CEO and Editor
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"GET TREATMENT OR LOSE BENEFITS"
MAKE YOUR VIEWS KNOWN during the consultation phase of the latest bill: No one written off: Reforming welfare to reward responsibility. Addiction Today's questions start with: What does the government mean by "treatment"? How do they assess who is dependent and who is merely abusing drugs? Who will do the assessments? How are they qualififed? How will treatment providers cope? Will they have contracts if they need to cater for extra capacity and thus commit to extra overheads? Read more/Comment.
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"DRUG ACTION TEAMS SHOULD TRIPLE PATIENTS REFERRED TO REHAB"
10% of the 128,000 people desperately seeking help for their drug problems should be offered rehab or another drug-free choice of treatment by the Drug Action Teams, stated Nick Lawrence, head of Alcohol, Drugs & Tobacco Policy at the Department of Health.
This was in response to a question posed by Addiction Today highlighting that DAT commissioners currently place only 3.6% of patients into rehab, according to figures from the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse. 10% would almost treble the numbers of people given the opportunity for a drug-free life – and solve the critical problem of empty beds alongside waiting lists. “We count ourselves lucky to have 65% occupancy rates,” said one.
"If DAT commissioners continue the way they are, I expect 50% of rehabs will be closed in a year or two," said another treatment provider.
One treatment provider reported that his local DAT refused to place people in rehab until they were detoxed and/or drug-free for a month first - the very reason they needed to get into rehab! "And they are being forced to wait 28 weeks for detox," he said. They can be demotivated or even die in the interim."
The discussion arose at a meeting of CEOs of treatment providers, organised by umbrella body EATA. Read today/Comment.
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DON'T MISS THE JULY ISSUE OF ADDICTION TODAY!
RESEARCH: WHAT IS SUCCESS? "Interventions geared for public-health and safety purposes can delay or prevent long-term recovery," find Dr David Best et al. They advocate a 'life-course model'. Read today/Comment.
POLICY: REFORMING PRISONS. Huseyin Djemil's report on the problem of drugs in prisons has been in the headlines - we follow it up with his insightful solutions.
EDITORIAL: RECOVERY - A COVETED PRIZE. "Recovery is a process through which an individual is enabled to move-on from their problem drug use towards a drug-free life..." starts the new Scottish drug policy. We look at redefinitions and reactions. Read today/Comment.
TECHNIQUES: CHALLENGE 'AUTHORITY'. Bad thinking leads to bad clinical decision-making which can hurt clients; one powerful solution is to use 'critical thinking'.
NEUROCHEMISTRY. Professor Icro Maremmani shares scientific findings on the connections between brain chemicals and addictive behaviours. Read today/Comment.
TECHNIQUES/FAMILIES, WHO'S WHO OF EVENTS, BOOK REVIEWS, DIARY, AND MORE... INCLUDING NEWS NATIONALLY, FROM ALCOHOL CONCERN, FROM DRUGSCOPE, FROM EATA AND EMCDDA.
To subscribe or for a sample copy, email Fran Henshall.
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MISUSE & ADDICTIONS WEEK: SOME HIGHLIGHTS
Haringey DAT/Drug Action Team hosted "women's days" on 24,25,26 June - with beauty treatments, massages, aromatherapy, even childcare while learning! Clean Break held a play with and for addicts in various stages of recovery. Drugsline launched posters and held open days. Broadway Lodge teamed with Tara Palmer-Tomkinson... and more. Sharp held a vigil for those we have loved and lost to addiction. Castle Craig celebrated its 20th anniversary on 29 June. If you want to learn more about treatment centres, contact one of the participants here.
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MISUSE & ADDICTIONS WEEK: WHERE TO FIND HELP
The alcohol- and drug-treatment field continued to increase access to care for those whose lives are damaged by alcohol and drugs - by again organising a week in which treatment organisations hold 'open days' in the last week of June, centring round the United Nations' International Day Against Drugs on 26 June. Ian Martin of the Home Office's Drug Strategy Unit has agreed with Addiction Today's CEO that they will work in partnership to expand this idea in 2009.
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CONTRIBUTE TO AN ARTICLE IN THE OBSERVER
Amelia Hill, social affairs correspondent for The Observer newspaper, is interested in writing about financially stable, well-adjusted families whose young children (15 years or younger) have become dependent on alcohol or drugs. Where do they turn for help? How are they judged by relations and neighbours? "I am hoping families will contact me - anonymously if they wish," she requests. Tel: 020-7713 4997or email amelia.hill@observer.co.uk
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OVER 160 CHILDREN EACH WEEK ENTER HOSPITAL DUE TO ALCOHOL
The NHS Information Centre has revealed that 8,494 children younger than 18 years ended up in hospital for alcohol-related problems in 2007. Overall, 207,778 hospital admissions were linked to alcohol in 2007. Read today/Comment.
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The UK's last public debate on whether to reclassify cannabis to a Class B drug took place on the Eddie Nestor BBC Radio London show [midnight Sunday 4 May] where Addiction Recovery Foundation CEO Deirdre Boyd debated the issue with legalisation campaigner Steve Rolles. Click here to get the statistics and references used in the show.
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WHAT ARE TODAY'S "SOCIAL EVILS"?
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation identifies "family breakdown" and "drugs and alcohol" - with the latter perceived as both cause and consequence of society's problems. Read today/Comment.
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SOME ARCHIVE ARTICLES:
STAR RATINGS FOR TREATMENT CENTRES by inspector David Finney, published end-February. Read today/Comment.
CREATIVE WRITING as an inspiration for recovery, by Fiona Friend - learn how to use it with this article printed in Addiction Today journal a year ago. Read today/Comment.
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DoH ADDS TO GUIDANCE FOR REHABS
Nick Lawrence, deputy director and head of alcohol, drugs and tobacco policy at the Department of Health has sent out addendum guidance for addiction treatment services on the reallocation of capital funds. Read today/Comment.
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COALITION FOR ADDICTION RECOVERY CHOICES
What is "recovery" from addiction? It affects millions of people in the UK, but most cannot define the answer.
"People in recovery and those who have power over their lives have a right to be consulted about how recovery is perceived," urges Addiction Recovery Foundation CEO Deirdre Boyd, who is also editor of Addiction Today.
"It is not as simplistic as whether they are alcohol- and drug-free but also whether the underlying problems - some going back to childhood - have been addressed adequately so that they stay healthy, rebuild healthy family and other relationships. For instance, how can an employer or potential employer assess if they can be trusted with sensitive jobs? When is an impaired lawyer 'recovered enough' to get their licence back? What about gaining the right to fill in a mortgatge-applicatoin form truthfully without being penalised, to get health and life insurance cover without being penalised, to be accepted by their GP, to be reinstated at university? All the people involved have different ideas on what recovery is - and not all are accurate or helpful." Read today/Comment.
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The right time for women to quit smoking.
Read today/Comment.
More than two alcoholic drinks a day risks Alzheimer's.
Read more here.
Two glasses of wine a day can double breast-cancer risk.
Read more here.
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DRUNK, VIOLENT, PROMISCUOUS... A US VIEW OF UK YOUTH
The 7 April cover of renowned Time magazine identifies UK youth as "unhappy, unloved and out of control - an epidemic of violence, drime and drunknness has made Britain scared of its young". It criticises the education system and binge-drinking culture. Read today/Comment.
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REWARDING TREATMENT PROVIDERS FOR RESULTS WORKS
A government which pays substance-abuse treatment providers for results, not services, could foster improved quality of care and accountability, according to a study by the Treatment Research Institute. Thomas McLellan PhD and colleagues, with consultant Jack Kemp, studied Delaware's results-oriented contracting system and concluded that providers "improved their ability to attract patients and keep them engaged in treatment longer – both signs of improved addiction treatment quality and accountability for services." Read today/Comment.
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INSURANCE IN U.S. MOVES TO COVER ADDICTION/ DEPENDENCY ON A PAR WITH OTHER ILLNESS
In a major victory for addiction treatment and recovery advocates, the US House of Representatives passed a bill to mandate that insurers cover addiction and mental illness on par with other illnesses. "We have waited 12 long years," said Jim Ramstad, cosponsor with Senator Patrick Kennedy of the bill. Read today/Comment.
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CATCH UP ON THE 10-YEAR DRUG STRATEGY TO 2018
Drugs: Protecting families and communities underscores what Addiction Today has been striving for across two decades: "The goal of all treatment is for drug users to achieve abstinence from their drug – or drugs – of dependency," states the drugs strategy for 2008-2018. "For some, this can be achieved immediately, but many others will first need a period of drug-assisted treatment with prescribed medication. Drug users receiving drug-assisted treatment should experience a rapid improvement in their overall health and their ability to work, participate in training or support their families. They will then be supported in trying to achieve abstinence as soon as they can." Read today/Comment.
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NICE GUIDELINE ON ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE
"I was alarmed not to see the many treatment centres specialising in recovery from alcohol dependence NOT represented on the list of stakeholders informing/steering the Management of Alcohol Dependence guidelines from the National Institute for Health & Clinical Excellence," reports Addiction Today editor Deirdre Boyd. Read today/Comment.
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SCOTLAND MOVES FROM METHADONE DEPENDENCE TO REHAB
A new Scottish anti-drugs strategy by this summer will see a move away from dependence on methadone to treat addicts, with more emphasis on drug-free and residential rehabilitation. But there is no sign of help for the estimated 50,000 children who live with drug-addicted parents. Officials will review drugs budgeting, and report by spring next year. Read today/Comment.
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ADDICTED CELEBRITIES NEED HELP NOT MOCKERY
Click on the screen below to watch the excellent CBS show featuring Craig Ferguson on recovery – almost 1 million people have.
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Home Office figures show that drug offences leapt by over 60% since Labour relaxed the law on cannabis possession in 2004. Drug crime rocketed by 21% last year alone. And there were 55,700 drug offences in July-September last year – police counted 34,600 drug offences in July-September 2004, the time of the reclassification.
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TREATMENT-CENTRE LEAGUE TABLES
Action plan by ‘healthcare watchdog’ has started... “They are not league tables,” insists Peter Burkinshaw of the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse, when discussing joint reviews by the Healthcare Commission and the NTA of alcohol- and drug-treatment providers, to identify and promote improvements where needed. The results are not due until autumn – but already providers are describing them as league tables. “If I came top, I’d be boasting about it,” said the chief executive of one treatment centre, as others nodded in agreement. Read the March Addiction Today for more details. Read today/Comment.
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WOMEN'S DRINK DEATHS DOUBLE
"Thirty-somethings most at risk," government experts warn - lower tolerance and long licensing hours identified as key factors. Read today.
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WHAT CAN WE EXPECT IN 2008? Three expert views
First columnist: PAUL HAYES, CEO of the National Treatment Agency
"The consensus that ‘treatment works’ is being overtly challenged in the media for the first time in many years. This is in part a reflection of a shift in thinking in some political and academic circles to support an increasingly abstinence-focused system. The National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse believes the evidence supports a treatment system which balances the immediate benefits to individuals and communities of maintenance and harm reduction, with the long- term benefits of recovery from dependency and treatment completion... Read today/Post comment
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THE GUIDE TO REHAB - WHAT REALLY WORKS
20 research facts everyone should know about rehab treatment for alcohol and drugs dependency
In late 1999, Dr David Best (who was working with the National Addiction Centre), Addiction Today editor Deirdre Boyd and the then-CEO of EATA met to initiate an easy-to-use reference document about addiction treatment which could be used by professionals and general public, and which not only covered the key issues but were based on incontrovertible research addressing those issues. EATA requested Addiction Today to publish in full the key research findings - seven years later, we republish the facts. They have not dated. Read today/Comment.
