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Problem shared
‘We provide support to around 30,000
people per year via the HelpLine and
NetLine, and around 8,000 people each
year also receive support through our
network of treatment services.’
MEDIA SAVVY
MILLENNIALS AND THEIR SUCCESSORS,
Generation Z, wear their ethical
credentials on their sleeves. They like
their coffee Fairtrade, their fur fake
and their chicken free range. They
pride themselves on being
responsible consumers – yet many
are happy to help sustain the most
brutal trade on Earth. These cocaine-
snorting hypocrites rail against
8 | drinkanddrugsnews | September 2018
‘elites’ and the 1 per cent, yet
their habit lines the pockets of
cartel kingpins who display
their gold-plated guns and
pet tigers on Instagram,
#narcostyle. They want to
save the Earth and balk at the
use of plastic straws, yet for
every gram of coke they put
up their nose, four square
metres of rainforest are
destroyed. They want to tear
down statues of long-dead
men who were involved in the
slave trade, yet their cheeky
line at the weekend fuels a trade
closely linked to modern slavery.
Clare Foges, Times, 1 August
IT’S CLEAR THAT WESTERN COCAINE
USERS HAVE TO ACCEPT THEY ARE
CONTRIBUTING TO VIOLENT CRIME
that has left hundreds of thousands
dead in Latin America over the past
decades, and is spilling on to British
I am writing regarding your recent
feature on problem gambling (DDN,
July/August, page 12). The article states
that treatment provision for those
affected by problem gambling is still
sparse, which is a point we at GamCare
would like to address. GamCare
operates the National Gambling
HelpLine, providing information, advice
and support for anyone affected by
problem gambling (including family and
friends). Advisers are available seven
days a week from 8am to midnight on
Freephone 0808 8020 133, or via web
chat at www.gamcare.org.uk.
We also offer a range of free
treatment (face to face, online and over
the phone) across England, Scotland
and Wales, as well as a moderated
forum so that people can speak to
others experiencing similar issues and
seek support. Our support services are
funded by GambleAware.
We provide support to around
30,000 people per year via the HelpLine
and NetLine, and around 8,000 people
each year also receive support through
our network of treatment services. We
are also able to refer into the CNWL
National Problem Gambling Clinic and
the Gordon Moody Association (who
both also receive funding via
GambleAware) when clients have more
complex needs.
Catherine Sweet, head of marketing
and communications, GamCare
referral routes
It was great to see the July/August issue
of DDN devote two pages to a profile of
the Central and North West London
NHS Foundation Trust’s clinic for
problem gamblers. Staff working in
substance misuse services or other
addiction services can refer service
users to the CNWL clinic and the other
services which make up the national
problem gambling treatment service by
calling the National Gambling Helpline
on 0808 8020 133. Self-referrals are also
welcome.
Treatment across Great Britain is
funded by BeGambleAware.org and
carries no cost for referring
organisations or service users. People
who do not need treatment for problem
gambling can also use the same contact
details to obtain advice on safer
gambling.
John McCracken, director of
commissioning, GambleAware, London
The news, and the skews, in the national media
streets. Perhaps the carnage in Latin
America is a comfortable distance
away from those snorting coke at
weekend parties across the UK. If your
money funds the market, you are
complicit in the consequences.
Iman Amrani, Guardian, 1 August with politicians who refuse to face
reality. Prohibition does not