DDN February 2024 DDN_Feb_2024 | Page 4

NEWS ROUND-UP

Number of young people in treatment up by 10 per cent

There were just under 12,500 young people in contact with drug and alcohol services in the year ending March 2023 , according to the latest NDTMS data published by OHID – a ten per cent increase on the previous year . However the number is still 13 per cent lower than the pre-COVID figure of 14,291 in 2019-20 . While around half of under-18s in treatment reported problems with alcohol , cannabis is still the most common substance that young people access treatment for – at 87 per cent .

Fewer young people reported problems with benzodiazepines – down to 2 per cent from 3.7 per cent the previous year – but 9 per cent said they had problems with powder cocaine and 7 per cent with ecstasy . The number reporting problems with ketamine was up from 4.5 per cent to 5.8 per cent , and the number saying they had issues with solvent misuse increased from just under 3 per cent to more than 5 per cent . More than half reported polydrug use .
The median age of young people in treatment was just under 16 , with a ratio of roughly two thirds boys to one third girls . Almost a third were referred by education services , and just over a fifth by social care , with more than 80 per cent successfully completing treatment . Twelve per cent dropped out , and 3 per cent transferred to a different

Government bans disposable vapes

provider – similar proportions to the previous year .
The number of young people with a mental health treatment need now stands at 48 per cent – up from 32 per cent three years previously – with 65 per cent of girls reporting a mental health need compared to 39 per cent of boys . More than half of girls also reported self-harming behaviour , and five per cent of young people entering treatment reported some form of child sexual exploitation .
Report at www . gov . uk / government / statistics / substance-misuse-treatmentfor-young-people-2022-to-2023 / young-peoples-substance- misuse-treatment-statistics-2022- to-2023-report
Fewer young people reported problems with benzodiazepines ... but 9 per cent said they had problems with powder cocaine and 7 per cent with ecstasy ... More than half reported polydrug use .

Drug seizures up

THE GOVERNMENT INTENDS TO BAN DISPOSABLE VAPES in a move to ‘ protect children ’ s health ’, DHSC has announced . Disposable vapes are a ‘ key driver ’ in the rise in the number of young people vaping , it states , with the proportion of under- 17s using vapes increasing almost ninefold over the last two years . There will also be new restrictions on flavours specifically aimed at children and a move towards ‘ plainer , less visually appealing ’ packaging . Vapes will have to be displayed away from products like confectionary , and the sale of nicotine pouches to children will also be banned .
The announcements form part of the government ’ s response to its eight-week consultation on smoking and vaping , and it has
also re-stated its intention to create a ‘ smoke-free generation ’ by preventing anyone currently aged 15 or under from ever being able to legally buy tobacco ( www . drinkanddrugsnews . com / government-plans-smokefree-generation /).
Banning disposable vapes when they were ‘ so widely used ’, however , would require strict enforcement to be effective , warned ASH chief executive Deborah Arnott . Illegal vapes were already ‘ flooding the market ’, even before a ban , she stated . ‘ While banning disposables might seem like a straightforward solution to reduce youth vaping , it could have substantial unintended consequences for people who smoke ,’ added Dr Sarah Jackson of UCL ’ s Institute of Epidemiology
Illegal vapes are already flooding the market , even before a ban .
DEBORAH ARNOTT
and Health Care . ‘ In the event of a ban , it would be important to encourage current and ex-smokers who use disposables to switch to other types of e-cigarettes rather than going back to just smoking tobacco .’ See tobacco harm reduction feature page 6
THE UK ’ S BORDER FORCE made the highest number of drug seizures on record in the year 2022-23 , according to the latest Home Office figures . There were almost 26,000 seizures , an increase of nearly a quarter on the previous year , involving more than 90 tonnes of illegal drugs – including more than 15 tonnes of cocaine . Almost 3.5 tonnes of cocaine were also seized separately by the police .
Border Force officials have seized at least 9 tonnes of cocaine every year for the last three years , the Home Office states , the result of ‘ bigger intelligenceled seizures ’. Cocaine seizures across Europe are now at record levels , with more than 300 tonnes seized in EU member states in 2021 , according to last year ’ s EMCDDA figures ( DDN July / Aug 2023 , page 4 ). Most cocaine enters the continent via ports such as Antwerp and Rotterdam , and global production of the drug has surged in the post-COVID years – the most recent analysis by UNODC found a 35 per cent increase in coca cultivation between 2020 and 2021 ( DDN , April 2023 , page 5 ).
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