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Early signs of changes to Scotland’ s street benzo market, warns PHS
There are‘ early signs of new changes’ in the street benzo market in Scotland, says the latest quarterly RADAR report from Public Health Scotland( PHS). A new street benzodiazepine, ethylbromazolam, has now been detected 16 times in Scottish WEDINOS samples from seven NHS board areas following no previous detections, and has also been detected in hospital toxicology for the first time.
‘ There is a risk that people who use drugs are at increased risk of overdose and death if ethylbromazolam, a sedating and emergent benzodiazepine, establishes itself in the Scottish market,’ PHS states.
Suspected drug deaths in Scotland between June and August this year were down by 13 per cent on the previous quarter, but were 12 per cent higher than the corresponding quarter in 2024. Scottish Ambulance Service naloxone administration incidents were 11 per cent up on the previous quarter and 12 per cent higher than the corresponding quarter last year,
LOBBYING BY THE ALCOHOL INDUSTRY was taking place‘ right up to the wire’ before the publication of the government’ s ten-year health plan for England in July this year, according to a report by the Alcohol Health Alliance, ASH and the Obesity Health Alliance.
The ten-year plan had been rumoured to include a commitment to MUP alongside other measures to tackle growing rates of alcohol-related harm, says Killer tactics 2: business as while drug-related attendances at A & E departments and drugrelated hospital admissions were 8 and 10 per cent higher than the previous quarter respectively. While the latest set of official drug death statistics – published by National Records of Scotland last month – showed a 13 per cent fall to 1,107, the total is still almost four times higher than 25 years ago.
Contamination of drugs with toxic substances remains‘ both common and widespread’ in Scotland, PHS says, with an‘ urgent need for accessible drug checking services across the country’. Nitazenes have previously been detected in drugs sold as heroin, benzodiazepines and oxycodone in Scotland, with more than half of Scottish samples submitted to WEDINOS not‘ solely’ containing the intended purchase. A new xylazine type drug, medetomidine, is also now being used as an adulterant in heroin, the report adds. There was a 4 per cent decrease in drug treatment starts compared to the previous quarter, with powder cocaine now the most commonly
usual, but as publication neared‘ it became clear that this had been dropped’. Media stories in the days before the plan’ s launch – reportedly based on a leaked draft, the document says – also claimed that it would include new restrictions on alcohol advertising, but these had been removed by the time of publication, despite DHSC previously confirming they were under consideration.
The proposed restrictions had been‘ strongly opposed’
Contamination of drugs with toxic substances remains both common and widespread in Scotland.
reported main drug for people being assessed for treatment.
There is an‘ urgent’ need for coordination to improve the country’ s ability to respond to polysubstance use and a continually evolving drug market, the report states, with the changing profile of the drug market contributing to a‘ very high likelihood of sudden, localised spikes of severe harms’. Evidence-based benzodiazepine harm reduction and treatment support interventions need to be delivered‘ at scale’, and should be available for community and prison settings, it adds.
RADAR quarterly report October 2025 at https:// publichealthscotland. scot.
Drinks industry‘ lobbied right up to the wire’ on health plan
by industry bodies, and‘ in the end, the plan contained very little on alcohol beyond a commitment to introduce new standards for alcohol labelling’, the report says. The document calls for new guidelines to limit alcohol industry engagement in policy making, as well as a requirement for transparency on conflicts of interest at‘ all levels of government’, including advisors.
Killer tactics 2: business as usual available at https:// ash. org. uk /
Local News
SAFE SPACES The Forward Trust’ s East Kent service has launched a series of workshops‘ tailored specifically to the female experience of treatment’ and accessible to women at any stage of their recovery. The aim is to provide a safe space for women to develop their social networks and improve wellbeing, Forward says. Contact EKWomen @ forwardtrust. org. uk.
BEDDING DOWN Three Jericho Society facilities in Greenock and Dundee will now be owned by Abbeycare, safeguarding 30 jobs and keeping 40 rehab beds open.‘ Under Abbeycare’ s stewardship the core values that have established the Jericho Society as one of the most recognised services in Scotland for recovery outcomes will remain the same,’ said Abbeycare chief executive Paul Bowley.
SHAPING UP North Northamptonshire has awarded Change Grow Live the contract to deliver its adult services for nine years, in a move that will‘ reshape’ drug and alcohol support. The contract will begin next April. greenocktelegraph. co. uk
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