News | Addiction and substance misuse

Opinion

Why pharmacy should call for a rethink on the latest UK drug policy proposals

The government's white paper on illegal drug possession is not based on evidence: money should be spent on reducing harm instead.…

Published: 18 January 2023

News

Codeine linctus would qualify for reclassification to a prescription-only medicine, minutes reveal

Exclusive: The Commission on Human Medicines concluded that, owing to evidence of incorrect use and abuse of codeine linctus, it meets a criterion for reclassification to a prescription-only medicine.…

Published: 18 January 2023

News

Draft NICE quality standard says adults stopping antidepressants should be supported to taper the dose slowly

The draft guidance says tapering antidepressants will help to reduce withdrawal effects and long-term dependence.…

Published: 18 January 2023

Feature

Infographic: 2022 unwrapped

What a year — there’s certainly been no shortage of health-related news, from a merry-go-round of health secretaries (and, of course, prime ministers), to COVID-19, mpox, medicines shortages, strike action and much more. Here, we guide you through the year in pharmacy.…

Published: 21 December 2022

News

Wales is first UK nation to publish guidance on analgesic stewardship

The guidance aims to improve patient outcomes, reduce analgesic-related harm and ensure cost-effective use of analgesics.…

Published: 17 November 2022

Feature

‘Pharmacists come into primary care to make a difference and prescribing is an important part of that toolkit’

Andy Christopherson, lead for prescribing and clinical pharmacy, East Dunbartonshire Health and Social Care Partnership…

Published: 6 October 2022

Feature

‘Understand what the role is and be prepared to defend it’

Deborah Hollywood, clinical pharmacist, York Road Group Practice, Ellesmere Port…

Published: 6 October 2022

News

Migraine and epilepsy drugs promoted to under-18s as weight-loss aids on TikTok

Exclusive: Social media platform removes posts after investigation by The Pharmaceutical Journal reveals that prescription-only drugs are being recommended to teenagers wanting to lose weight.…

Published: 22 September 2022

News

Patients in most deprived areas are 50% more likely to be prescribed dependency-forming drugs, finds NHS report 

In 2021/2022, 1.80 million patients were prescribed dependency-forming medicines, such as opioids and gabapentinoids, in England's most deprived areas, 1.66 times more than the 1.09 million in the least deprived areas.…

Published: 8 September 2022

News

Drug-related deaths increase by 6% in England and Wales to record levels

Data from the Office for National Statistics show there were 4,859 drug-related deaths in 2021, the highest number since records began in 1993.…

Published: 5 August 2022