SOCIALIST HEALTH ASSOCIATION

Promoting health and well-being through the application of socialist principles

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You are here: Home / Resources / Public Health and Wellbeing / Substance Abuse

Substance Abuse

This page is about drugs of all sorts, including alcohol and tobacco. In our view the issues surrounding them all are similar. It is a fact of life that, in the absence of a strong religious taboo, homo sapiens has recourse to mind altering drugs of one kind or another. Attempting to prohibit the use of such drugs stands as much chance of success as banning sex. Probably less chance. Driving these things underground is counter-productive.

The only rational response to this evident truth is to provide the requisite drugs within a regulated framework that assures an adequate supply and the purity of the drugs. This should take place within a taxation regime that generates funds to support comprehensive health education programmes aimed at discouraging drug use, and providing specific care and treatment when needed.

In the UK the NHS and local councils fund free access to residential detoxification and financially-supported access to rehabilitation.

Harm attributed to different drugs

  • Action on Smoking and Health
  • Addiction Resources for American Communities
  • Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs
  • Alcohol and drugs Home Office
  • Alcohol Concern
  • Alcohol Health Alliance UK
  • Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England
  • Alcohol labelling: Useful but…
  • Alcohol Portal on Powerbase
  • Alcohol Rehab Help
  • Alcoholics Anonymous
  • Beer prices across UK
  • Benzodiazepine Addiction,Withdrawal & Recovery
  • Better than reality – Clive James
  • British Beer & Pub Association
  • Can Legislation Prevent Debauchery? Mother Gin and Public Health in 18th-Century England
  • Campaign for Real Ale
  • Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse
  • Cannabis Law Reform/
  • Cannabis Legal supporters of the Verein für Drogenpolitik e.V. (Association for Drug Policy), a non-profit organization working for harm-reduction oriented drug policies in Germany.
  • Cannabis warnings ‘not working’ 2009
  • Classifying drugs: the Home Secretary and the David Nutt case
  • Consumer Safety Guide.
  • Council bosses call for cheap alcohol ban
  • Drugalert (Abuse of prescribed medication – US site)
  • Drug Misuse Information Scotland
  • Drugs, alcohol and tobacco – Dept of Health
  • Drugs and the Law (The Runciman Report) 1999
  • Drug signs and teenagers
  • DrugNews (Pharmaceuticals)
  • Drug Rehab Connections
  • Drugwatch – information about US prescribed drugs, their effects and side effects
  • Effects of Drug Addiction on Oral Health
  • Evidence to the Health Committee enquiry into alcohol March 2009
  • European Alcohol policy
  • European Association for the Treatment of Addiction
  • European Drugs policy
  • European Public Health
  • European Tobacco policy   EU freezes tobacco law after lobbying scandal October 2012
  • Federation of Drug & Alcohol Professionals
  • Frank
  • Get the Facts on Substance Abuse
  • Health chiefs in booze price plea Scotland 2009
  • High Society – Ben Elton
  • Historic UK Beer Statistics
  •  Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs
  • Indian Hemp Drugs Commission Report (1894)
  • International Drug Policy: Animated video Report 2009
  • Kettil Bruun Society for Social and Epidemiological Research on Alcohol
  • knowyourdna.com/guides/can-a-dna-test-predict-addiction/
  • Lansley’s speech on smoking 2012
  • Limiting the damage from alcohol Conference 2008
  • The Man that Waters the Workers’ Beer
  • Measures to tackle alcohol misuse
  • Narcotics Anonymous
  • National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse
  • Pathfinders Recovery Center ( Abuse of prescribed medication – US site )
  • Patient UK
  • Policy paper on minimum unit price of alcohol Consumer Focus Scotland 2009
  • Policy reunion: Reducing smoking rates
  • Public health: The fug of mixed messages 2011
  • Reducing Alcohol Harm: Health services in England for alcohol misuse NAO 2008
  • Reducing the harms of alcohol in the UK – BMJ 2007
  • Release – Drugs, the Law and Human Rights
  • Sacked adviser criticises Brown 2009
  • Scottish alcohol plan at-a-glance
  • Scottish Drugs Forum
  • SHA response to smoking consultation 2005
  • Smokefree
  • Smokefree Action
  • Smoking – BMJ
  • Smoking Prevalence and Deprivation, a Comparison (mapped by wards)
  • Sobriety and Recovery Resources
  • Substance Abuse Treatment
  • Tobaccoand Health Inequality
  • Tobacco Free Pensions
  • UK Drug Policy Commission
  • Urban 75 drugs guide
  • Wine and Spirit Trade Association
  • World Health Organisation: Management of substance abuse
No alcohol for me

No alcohol for me

 

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Promoting health and well-being through the application of socialist principles

We stand for:

  • Universal Healthcare meeting patients’ needs, free at the point of use, funded by taxation.
  • Democracy based on freedom of information, election not selection and local decision making.
  • Equality based on equality of opportunity, affirmative action, and progressive taxation.

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The Socialist Health Association is a campaigning membership organisation. We promote health and well-being and the eradication of inequalities through the application of socialist principles to society and government. We believe that these objectives can best be achieved through collective rather than individual action.

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