HRB National Drugs Library e-newsletter volume 21, issue 7

August 2025	HRB National Drugs Library e-newsletter volume 21, issue 7

In this issue

Irish-related publications

International publications

News

Dail Debates

Useful links

Archive

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News

Minister Murnane O’Connor announces investment in alcohol treatment services in response to growing demand

[Department of Health] (31 Jul 2025)

Drug searches in Ireland fall by 7,000 amid garda staffing crisis

[Irish Examiner] O'Keeffe, Cormac (31 Jul 2025)

Minister Murnane O'Connor attends inaugural steering group meeting to oversee the development of the new National Drugs Strategy

[Department of Health] (30 Jul 2025)

Thousands of illegal vapes seized from shops by HSE over the past year

[thejournal.ie] O'Carroll, Conor (30 Jul 2025)

Ministers for Health announce that HHC is now classified as an illegal drug

[Department of Health] (29 Jul 2025)

Diversion scheme for those caught in possession of drugs to be in place by November

[Irish Examiner] O'Keeffe, Cormac (29 Jul 2025)

Time to face the reality of synthetic drug use among young people

[thejournal.ie] Sherlock, Marie (26 Jul 2025)

IMO warns delay in alcohol labelling a ‘serious threat’ to public health

[Irish Medical Organisation] (25 Jul 2025)

Number of festivals to have HSE's harm reduction initiative is halved ahead of drugs strategy review

[Irish Examiner] O'Keeffe, Cormac (24 Jul 2025)

Press release: Consequences of alcohol labelling delay will be felt by ordinary Irish people every day

[Alcohol Action Ireland] (23 Jul 2025)

Available, affordable, potent: Ireland is being hit by 'a perfect storm' of cocaine

[Irish Examiner] O'Keeffe, Cormac (17 Jul 2025)

Behind the scenes: Ships delivering drugs to Ireland are making drop-offs in other countries first

[thejournal.ie] O'Connor, Niall (14 Jul 2025)

HSE cannot support vaping and nicotine pouch addiction through quit smoking programmes

[Irish Examiner] Griffin, Niamh (13 Jul 2025)

Gambling Regulator publishes licensing application guidance

[Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland] (10 Jul 2025)

New powers for CAB as Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan strengthens State’s ability to seize criminal assets

[Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration] (08 Jul 2025)

HSE aims to improve public knowledge that alcohol is a carcinogen that causes at least 7 types of cancer.

[Health Service Executive] (08 Jul 2025)

'Ireland needs military-grade drones to fend off bombardment of drugs by cocaine cartels'

[Irish Examiner] O'Keeffe, Cormac (07 Jul 2025)

'Fagin’s Law' offences by adults to groom children into criminality 'difficult to prove', review finds

[Irish Examiner] Murray, Sean (04 Jul 2025)

Minister for Children Disability and Equality Norma Foley announces €330,000 in funding to support Ireland’s Prevention and Early Intervention programmes for children and young people

[Department of Children, Disability and Equality] (02 Jul 2025)

Dail Debates

Oireachtas debates

Proceeds of Crime and Related Matters Bill 2025: Second Stage. (17 Jul)
Question 567 – Departmental funding [community-based drug services]. (17 Jul)
Proceeds of crime and related matters Bill 2025: Second stage. (17 Jul)
Question 280 – Healthcare policy [nicotine pouches]. (16 Jul)
Question 282 – Alcohol sales. (16 Jul)
Questions 307 & 308 – Healthcare policy [Snuff]. (16 Jul)
Vol. 1071 No. 4 – Other members’ questions [Cocaine]. (16 Jul)
Question 412 – Industrial development [drinks sector]. (15 Jul)
Question 523 – Departmental projects [night-time economy]. (15 Jul)
Question 916 – Health Service Executive [nicotine pouches]. (15 Jul)
Question 961 – Departmental strategies [Alcohol]. (15 Jul)
Question 985 – Cannabis for medicinal use. (15 Jul)
Question 986 – Cannabis for medicinal use. (15 Jul)
Question 987 – Cannabis for medicinal use. (15 Jul)
Question 210 – Cannabis for medicinal use. (14 Jul)
Question 336 – Healthcare policy [Vapes, pouches, HHC]. (10 Jul)
Questions 1335, 1336, 1337 – Cannabis for medicinal use. (10 Jul)
Joint Committee on Children and Equality debate - Engagement with Tusla. (10 Jul)
Question 161 – Legislative measures [Nicotine]. (09 Jul)
Question 20 – Revenue Commissioners [Tobacco]. (09 Jul)
Question 442 – School funding [Gambling]. (08 Jul)
Question 534 – Homeless accommodation. (08 Jul)
Question 659 – An Garda Síochána [Searches]. (08 Jul)
Question 670 – Drug dealing. (08 Jul)
Question 833 – Mental health services [Recovery]. (08 Jul)
Question 848 – Cannabis for medicinal use. (08 Jul)
Question 859 – Misuse of drugs [HHC]. (08 Jul)
Seanad Éireann debate - National Drugs Strategy: Statements. (08 Jul)
Question 21 – Misuse of Drugs. (03 Jul)
Question 39 – Drug dealing [Policy]. (03 Jul)
Question 42 – Drug dealing [Gardai]. (03 Jul)
Question 52 – Drug dealing [Drug tourism Limerick]. (03 Jul)
Question 22 – Naval service. (02 Jul)
Questions 233 & 234 – Product labelling. (02 Jul)
Vol. 1070 No. 3. Questions on policy or legislation. (02 Jul)
Question 254 – Departmental reports [E-Liquid Products]. (01 Jul)
Question 685, 686, 687 – Tobacco control measures. (01 Jul)
Question 824 – Traveller community. (01 Jul)
Question 689 & 365 – Health strategies [Alcohol] (01 Jul)
Joint Committee on Defence and National Security debate - General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025: Discussion (resumed). (01 Jul)

Welcome

Our newsletter includes links to Irish and international publications related to alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. To view our entire collection of research and access our resources visit our website, Ireland's comprehensive substance use research library. And follow us @HRBdrugslibrary

Also, take a look at the NDTRS treatment data tables, services map and alcohol dashboard, among other resources on our site.

Irish-related publications

Trends in cocaine use and cocaine-related harms in Ireland: a retrospective, multi-source database study

Mongan, Deirdre et al (2025) BMC Public Health, Early online. doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-23224-y

National Drug Treatment Reporting System, 2024 alcohol treatment demand

Ní Luasa, Siobhán and O'Neill, Derek and O'Sullivan, Michael and Lyons, Suzi (2025) Dublin: Health Research Board

Drug use in Ireland 2023: findings from the Healthy Ireland survey

Ireland survey. Mongan, Deirdre and Millar, Seán R and Galvin, Brian (2025) Dublin: Health Research Board

National Psychiatric Inpatient Reporting System (NPIRS) annual report on the activities of Irish psychiatric units and hospitals, 2024

Daly, Antoinette and Lovett, Harriet and Lynn, Ena (2025) Dublin: Health Research Board

Evaluation of the National Drug Strategy “Reducing Harm, Supporting Recovery 2017-2025”

Grant Thornton. (2025) Dublin: Department of Health

Novel substance, same old problems: admissions of psychosis precipitated by hexahydrocannabinol, a widely available semi-synthetic cannabinoid

O'Mahony, Brian et al (2025) BJPsych Bulletin, pp. 1-6. 10.1192/bjb.2025.85

Canal Communities community based public safety strategy. Moving towards a public health approach to violence

Ruane, Lynn (2025) Dublin: Canal Communities Local Drugs and Alcohol Task Force

Impact of guidance issued during COVID-19 to expand take-home doses of opioid agonist treatment (OAT) in Ireland: protocol for a population-based analysis of prescribing practices and patient outcomes 2018 to 2023

Cousins, Gráinne et al (2025) HRB Open Research, 8. doi.org/10.12688/hrbopenres.14044.2

Irish health survey 2024

(2025) Cork: Central Statistics Office

Growing up in the west: Planet Youth reports 2025.

(2025) Galway: Western Region Drug and Alcohol Task Force.

Drogheda Implementation Plan: final progress report

(2025) Dublin: Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration

Report to the Irish Government on the visit to Ireland carried out by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture... from 21 to 31 May 2024

European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. (2025) Strasbourg: Council of Europe.

Expert analysis: alcohol and cancer

Neville, Breeda (2025) Alcohol Action Ireland blog

Review of the Evaluation of the National Drug Strategy “Reducing Harm, Supporting Recovery 2017-2025”

(2025) Dublin: Alcohol Action Ireland

Mental health in the Irish LGBTQI+ population with disabilities: findings from the being LGBTQI+ in Ireland study

Higgins, Agnes et al (2025) Dublin: Trinity College Dublin

Room for recovery: housing hope after exploitation

(2025) Dublin: Ruhama

Bilateral watershed infarcts due to hypoperfusion in the context of drug abuse: case report

Redmond, Aine et al, Theodorοs (2025) International Journal of Neuroscience, 135, (7), pp. 822-826. doi.org/10.1080/00207454.2024.2333480

10% increase in women seeking treatment for drug and alcohol addiction in first quarter of 2025 [Coolmine interview].

Caufield, Joe (2025) Dublin: RTE

Parental mental health & the impact on children

(2025) Dublin: Barnardos

Effects of inducements on sports gambling and decision-errors: an experimental study

Ó Ceallaigh, Diarmaid et al (2025) Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 14, (2), pp. 959-971. doi.org/10.1556/2006.2025.00056

The problem gambling podcast 2025. [Video]

(2025) Extern Problem Gambling

Review of the Homeless Action Plan 2022 - 2024

Draft version. Bray, Andy et al (2025) Dublin: Dublin Region Homeless Executive

HSE Public Health: health inequalities position paper 2025

HSE Public Health. (2025) Dublin: Health Service Executive

HSE Corporate Plan 2025–2027

(2025) Dublin: Health Service Executive

Report of the committee on standing orders and Dáil reform. Orders of reference and establishment of committees. Adopted by the Committee 29 April 2025

Committee on Standing Orders and Dail Reform. (2025) Dublin: Houses of the Oireachtas

Thematic report on persistent income poverty and deprivation in Ireland. An analysis of the longitudinal Central Statistics Office (CSO) Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC), 2015-2023.

Alamir, Anousheh and Maitre, Bertrand (2025) Dublin: Department of Social Protection

High Level Taskforce on Mental Health and Addiction – 2nd annual progress report (September 2023-2024)

High Level Taskforce Steering Committee. (2025) Dublin: Department of Health; Department of Justice.

HSE drugs and alcohol helpline and the HSE HIV and sexual health helpline annual report 2024

Dooley, Aileen (2025) Dublin: Health Service Executive

Office of the State Pathologist annual report 2024

Office of the State Pathologist. (2025) Dublin: Department of Justice

Epidemiology of hepatitis B in Ireland: trends up to 2024

Health Protection Surveillance Centre. (2025) Dublin: Health Service Executive

Epidemiology of hepatitis C in Ireland: trends from 2004 to 2024

Health Protection Surveillance Centre. (2025) Dublin: Health Service Executive

Monitoring community HIV testing in Ireland, 2023

(2025) Dublin: Health Service Executive

Courts Service annual report 2024

(2025) Dublin: Courts Service

Recorded crime Q1 2025

(2025) Cork: Central Statistics Office

Health Service Executive annual report and financial statements 2024

(2025) Dublin: Health Service Executive

National Review Panel annual report 2024 [Prisons]

National Review Panel. (2025) Dublin: Tusla

Irish Cancer Society - pre-budget submission 2026

(2025) Dublin: Irish Cancer Society

The decline in the number of public houses 2005 to 2024

Foley, Anthony (2025) Dublin: Drinks Industry Group of Ireland

British-Irish Council annual report 2024/25

(2025) Edinburgh: British-Irish Council

Practitioner Health Matters Programme annual report 2024

(2025) Dublin: Practitioner Health Matters Programme

International publications

Health and social responses: provision of harm reduction equipment for high-risk drug use

European Union Drugs Agency. (2025)

Learning from 25 years of preventative interventions in Scotland

(2025) Edinburgh: Scottish Government

Fit for the future: 10 year health plan for England

Department of Health & Social Care, Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street. (2025) London: UK Government

‘I am somebody now’—exploring meanings and experiences of gaining employment among people in substance use disorder treatment

Aas, Erlend Marius et al (2025) Drugs: Education Prevention and Policy, Early online. pp. 1-15. doi.org/10.1080/09687637.2025.2527640

"It's because they're my kids, and I love them": substance use disorders' impact on children and families: a secondary analysis.

Ford, Meghan K et al (2025) PLoS ONE, 20, (7). doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0327654

Enhancing opportunities to reduce escalation to substance use disorders through early engagement: a retrospective observational data linkage study of primary and secondary care in Wales

Ohaeri, Columbus et al (2025) BMJ Public Health, 3, (2). doi.org/10.1136/bmjph-2024-002369

Measuring substance use in refugees: a systematic review of assessment instruments

Lindert, Jutta et al (2025) Substance Use & Addiction Journal, Early online. doi.org/10.1177/29767342251348146

Noncommunicable diseases progress monitor 2025

(2025) Geneva: World Health Organization

Why language matters. A terminology guide when discussing substance use, developed alongside people with lived and living experience

(2025) Wales: Barod

Substance use disorder, the workforce, and treatment quality for minoritized populations: a systematic review

Maxey, Hannah L et al (2025) Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy, 20. doi.org/10.1186/s13011-025-00656-8

Psychological distress trajectories in residential alcohol and other drug treatment

Hatton, Emma L et al (2025) Drug and Alcohol Review, Early online. doi.org/10.1111/dar.14099

Physician perspectives on reducing harm and supporting emergency department patients who use drugs

Collins, Zoe K et al (2025) PLoS ONE, 20, (7). doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0327899

Youth justice services: relationships, rehabilitation and the reality of the young people involved-a meta-synthesis of the qualitative literature

Moore, Kerri et al (2025) Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, Early online. doi.org/10.1007/s10567-025-00534-6

Scaling up low barrier wound care for people who use drugs: a mixed methods study

Turi, Eleanor et al (2025) Harm Reduction Journal, 22. doi.org/10.1186/s12954-025-01241-9

Transporting the effect of the ASSIST school-based smoking prevention intervention to the Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use Among Young People in England Survey (2004-2021): a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial

White, James (2025) Addiction, Early online. doi.org/10.1111/add.70141

Previous-day drug expenditure among a sample of people who inject drugs, 2024

Wilson, Joanna et al (2025) Sydney: National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, UNSW Sydney

Social cognition and decision-making in people with methamphetamine use disorder

Mahlberg, Justin et al (2025) Addiction, Early online. doi.org/10.1111/add.70108

Synthetic cannabinoid withdrawal: a systematic review of case reports

Sharma, Rishi and Weinstein, Aviv (2025) European Addiction Research, Early online. pp. 1-17. doi.org/10.1159/000546633

Assessing the threat posed by the increased availability, use and harms of highly potent synthetic opioids in the Baltic region

(2025) Lisbon: EUDA

Cocaine cues used in experimental research: a systematic review.

Brobbin, Eileen et al (2025) Brain Sciences, 15, (6). doi.org/10.3390/brainsci15060626

What are synthetic drugs?

Duddy, Claire (2025) House of Commons Library Insight

The xylazine-fentanyl nexus: a public health emergency

Sandhu, Kanwarpreet Singh et al (2025) SAGE Open Medicine, 13. doi.org/10.1177/20503121251348068

Suicidal ideation and suicide completion in benzodiazepine users: a systematic review of current evidence

Khan, Safiyyah M et al (2025) Cureus, 17, (5). DOI: 10.7759/cureus.84318

Non-fatal overdose in narrative accounts of people in recovery from drug use

Maiden, Hannah et al (2025) Journal of Substance Use, Early online. doi.org/10.1080/14659891.2025.2512509

Fatal drug overdoses in healthcare workers: a thematic framework analysis of coroner reports

Algahtani, Thikra (2025) Addiction, Early online. doi.org/10.1111/add.70139

Evaluation of the National Mission on Drug Deaths: lived experience survey

(2025) Edinburgh: Public Health Scotland

Among people who use heroin, tobacco smoking and illegal drugs cause a similar number of premature deaths

Lewer, Dan (2025) Addiction, Early online. doi.org/10.1111/add.70140

The association between mental disorders and treatment retention among people with opioid use disorder receiving opioid agonist treatment: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Tran, Lucy T et al (2025) Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 274. doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2025.112768

Extended-release buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorder: a mixed-methods study of response and experience

Lowry, Natalie et al (2025) Addiction, Early online. doi.org/10.1111/add.70106

Pain management strategies for patients receiving extended-release buprenorphine for opioid use disorder: a scoping review

Azar, Pouya et al (2025) Substance Use: Research and Treatment, 19. doi.org/10.1177/29768357251343612

Age-period-cohort analysis of past 12-month cannabis use in Germany (1995-2021)

Schöllner, Natalie S et al (2025) Addiction, Early online. doi.org/10.1111/add.70087

Longitudinal study of risk factors predicting cannabis use disorder in UK young adults and adolescents

Skumlien, Martine et al (2025) Communications Medicine, 5, (1). doi.org/10.1038/s43856-025-01018-y

Cannabis use disorder and five-year risk of oral cancer in a multicenter clinical cohort

Cuomo, Raphael E (2025) Preventive Medicine Reports, 57. doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2025.103185

Prevalence rates, perceptions of risk, and motivations for nonmedical cannabis use in pediatric pain

Kossowsky, Joe et al (2025) JAMA Network Open, 8, (5). 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.12870

Use of tobacco and cannabis following state-level cannabis legalization

Hyatt, Andrew S et al (2025) JAMA Network Open, 8, (7). 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.20093

Understanding tobacco and cannabis co-use, cessation strategies and intervention opportunities with young adults in UK further education colleges: a mixed methods study

Walsh, Hannah et al (2025) Substance Use & Misuse, Early online. pp. 1-11. doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2025.2533985

Minimum unit pricing for alcohol in Wales

Welsh Parliament, Health and Social Care Committee. (2025) Cardiff: Welsh Government

Double measures: conceptual tensions and the treatment of evidence in alcohol policy

Francis, Bennet and Jukola, Saana (2025) Philosophy of Medicine, 6, (1). doi.org/10.5195/pom.2025.226

Alcohol use disorder: from risk to diagnosis to recovery. NIAAA

(2025) The Healthcare Professional's Core Resource on Alcohol

Trends in motives for attempts to reduce alcohol consumption among risky adult drinkers in England: a representative population survey, 2017-2024

Kale, Dimitra et al (2025) Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports, 15. doi.org/10.1016/j.dadr.2025.100340

Almost two thirds of UK workers drink alcohol for work-related reasons

(2025) Alcohol Change UK blog

Can homes, schools and digital platforms drive young people’s alcohol consumption? Snapshot series on alcohol control policies and practice. Brief 13

(2025) Geneva: World Health Organization

Estimating the differential exposure of household groups to alcohol duty reforms in Great Britain

Wilson, Luke B et al (2025) Journal of Public Health, Early online. doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdaf081

Applying an intersectional lens to alcohol inequities: a conceptual framework

Bright, Sophie et al (2025) Addiction, Early online. doi.org/10.1111/add.70130

Alcohol, the brain and associated behaviours. [Video]

McCartney, David (2025) SHAAP

Concurrent treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder and alcohol use disorder in women: a randomized clinical trial

Persson, Anna et al (2025) JAMA Network Open, 8, (7). 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.21087

The global burden of stroke attributable to high alcohol use from 1990 to 2021: an analysis for the global burden of disease study 2021

Qian, Nannan et al (2025) PLoS ONE, 20, (7). doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0328135

Why addressing conflicts of interest is essential to progress in reducing commercially driven health harms: lessons from tobacco

Gilmore, Anna B et al (2025) Future Healthcare Journal, 12, (2). doi.org/10.1016/j.fhj.2025.100268

Smoking cessation interventions for young adults - a scoping review

Peckham, Emily et al (2025) Substance Use & Misuse, Early online. pp. 1-9. doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2025.2530785

Model-based appraisal of the potential effects of minimum pricing for tobacco in Scotland

Gillespie, Duncan et al (2025) Tobacco Control, Early online. doi.org/10.1136/tc-2024-059252

Sociodemographic and regional differences in cigarette consumption across Great Britain: a population study, 2022-2024

Jackson, Sarah E et al (2025) Nicotine & Tobacco Research, Early online. doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntaf133

Evaluating the impact of vaping facts films on vaping harm perceptions among young adults in the UK: a randomized on-line experiment

Alharbi, Mohammad et al (2025) Addiction, Early online. doi.org/10.1111/add.70119

Vaping and young people: assessing early impacts of Australia’s comprehensive approach to vaping product control

Generation Vape. (2025) Sydney: Cancer Council NSW

What strategies do healthcare providers use to promote adolescents' vaping cessation? A scoping review

Nimmi, Naima et al (2025) International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 22, (6). doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22060839

Neurodiversity and gambling harm: a rapid evidence assessment

Sweet, Amy (2025) Addiction Research & Theory, Early online. doi.org/10.1080/16066359.2025.2523826

Comparative efficacy of psychological interventions for internet gaming disorder: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Wang, Ruofei et al (2025) Frontiers in Psychiatry, 16. doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1619138

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