Police Scotland rolls out naloxone programme country-wide
Police officers across the whole of Scotland are to be equipped with and trained in the use of naloxone , Police Scotland has confirmed . The national roll-out follows pilot schemes in Caithness , Dundee , Falkirk , Glasgow and Stirling that saw more than 800 officers trained to use naloxone and more than 650 volunteer to carry nasal spray kits .
All operational officers across the country will now carry naloxone spray , says chief constable Iain Livingstone , following an independent review last year by the Scottish Institute for Police Research . The roll-out extends to all officers in response and community roles , along with armed police , dog handlers , public order and road police up to the rank of inspector . Any other officers or staff are also free to undertake
ALCOHOL-RELATED DEATHS in Scotland increased during the pandemic despite lower drinks sales , according to analysis by Public Health Scotland ( PHS ). While rates of alcohol-related hospital stays fell , the increase in deaths was driven by people aged 45-64 , mostly men – ‘ groups that experienced the highest rates of deaths caused by alcohol prior to the pandemic ’.
The analysis is based on data for alcohol sales up to May 2021 , hospital stays to March 2021 and deaths to December 2020 . The increase in deaths is despite sales for 2021 being almost 10 per cent lower than the 2017-19 average , and 16 per cent lower for the January-May period .
Despite the overall fall in sales during the pandemic , population-level consumption was still above recommended levels , says PHS , with 17 units of pure alcohol per adult sold every week , representing enough to ‘ put every adult in Scotland over the chief medical officer ’ s low-risk weekly the training , says Police Scotland . Scotland ’ s drug death rate has long been by far the worst in Europe , and remains three and a half times greater than the UK as a whole . There were more than 1,300 drugrelated deaths in Scotland in 2020 , and while provisional figures for 2021 show a slight decrease these are taken from initial police reports rather than the official statistics from National Records of Scotland , which are based on death certificates and pathologist reports .
‘ We have a purpose and remit which goes beyond law enforcement ,’ said Livingstone . ‘ We have a positive legal duty to improve the lives of our communities . Equipping and training officers with naloxone will contribute to that mission .’ It was also crucial that ‘ timely and
Alcohol deaths in Scotland rise despite falling sales
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0 sustainable support is available to provide treatment for those suffering addiction ’, he stated . ‘ Police officers are often first on the scene of a suspected overdose and are well placed to act quickly and potentially save a life – the pilot has shown this ,’ added the Scottish Drug Forum ’ s strategy co-ordinator for drug death prevention , Kirsten Horsburgh . ‘ Expanding naloxone carriage by police to cover the whole of Scotland is significant , and an obvious next step . It has been positive to hear frontline police recognising that this is part of key policing duties to preserve life .’
drinking guideline ’. Scotland ’ s rate of alcohol-specific deaths for 2020 was 22 per 100,000 population , 8 per cent up on the average for 2017 to 2019 and ‘ higher than any individual annual rate in the study period .’
Deaths rose by almost a fifth between 2019 and 2020 ( DDN , September 2021 , page 4 ), following a decline the previous year , prompting campaigners to call for the minimum unit price to be increased to 65p . Alcohol sales and harm in Scotland during the COVID-19 pandemic at www . publichealthscotland . scot
Alcohol-specific death rates in Scotland by cause
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Mental and behavioural disorders
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' We have a purpose and remit which goes beyond law enforcement .'
IAIN LIVINGSTONE
Lax labelling
‘ WOEFULLY INADEQUATE ’ LABELLING is keeping consumers in the dark about the sugar and calorie content of their drinks , according to analysis commissioned by the Alcohol Health Alliance ( AHA ).
It was possible to consume almost the entire recommended daily limit of sugar from two medium-sized glasses of popular wines , the researchers state . The study involved analysis of 30 bottles of leading-brand red , white , rosé , fruit and sparkling wines , none of which displayed sugar content on their labels , despite this being a requirement for non-alcoholic drinks .
Just 20 per cent of the labels , meanwhile , displayed the wine ’ s calorie content . A 175ml glass of Barefoot Bubbly Pink Moscato was found to contain 13.8g of sugar , almost half of the government ’ s 30g a day guideline , while bottles of Yellow Tail Shiraz , Hardy Stamp Shiraz Cabernet , Campo Viejo Rioja Tempranillo and Casillero Del Diablo Cabernet Sauvignon all contained close to 600 calories each , with AHA describing alcohol ’ s exemption from food and drink labelling regulation as ‘ absurd ’. Wine survey 2022 at ahauk . org bordertelegraph . com
4 • DRINK AND DRUGS NEWS • MARCH 2022 WWW . DRINKANDDRUGSNEWS . COM