Shocking figures which have been released by the Office for National Statistics, show that the number of females who are dying through drug poisoning, has taken a sharp rise.

In 2009, there were 780 drug related deaths, but by 2010 this figure had increased to 857. This is an overall increase of 9%. Even more worryingly, a staggering 46% of these deaths were down to suicide.

In contrast to these figures, the number of men who died from drug poisoning in 2010, has taken quite a drop from 2009. In 2009, there were 2,098 male fatalities through drug abuse, whereas in 2010 this figure had dropped to 1,890. This is an overall decline of 10%.

Other drug related statistics from the Office for National Statistics, show that instances of cocaine related deaths have also fallen quite dramatically. In 2010, there were 144 deaths related to this substance, which is a fall of 29% from the previous year. The number of cocaine related deaths is now at its lowest level since 2003. Deaths relating to heroin or morphine are still five times higher than in 1993, but down slightly from 2009.

The overall number of drug related deaths has dropped from 2,878 in 2009 to 2,747 in 2010. This is a difference of 131.

If you are worried about the effects of your drug abuse, then you may want to look into hypnotherapy as a way of dealing with your drug addiction. To find out more about how it could help you, please visit our fact sheet for further information.

View the original Daily Mail article.

A study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry has revealed that chronic cannabis users who started smoking before they reached the age of 15 performed worse in neuropsychological tasks than those who started later.

Research was conducted by the Federal University of Sao Paulo in Brazil and involved looking at the mental functioning of 100 cannabis users after 10 years of consistent use as well as 50 non-users.

The researchers found that 49 users who started smoking the drug before they were 15 were significantly worse at sustaining attention, controlling impulses and executive functioning.

In a test which required card-sorting the early users also made far more errors than the 55 participants who had taken up the habit later in life and the 44 participants who had never taken the drug.

‘We found that early-onset, but not late-onset, chronic cannabis users had deficits in their cognitive functioning.’ Commented head of research Dr Maria Fontes.

‘Adolescence is a period in which the brain appears to be particularly vulnerable to the neurotoxic effects of cannabis.

‘The brain before the age of 15 is still developing and maturing, so exposure to cannabis during this period may be more harmful.’ She added.

If you are a cannabis smoker and are concerned that you are becoming too reliant upon the drug then your first port of call should be your GP who will be able to provide you with professional advice on the next steps. Alternatively, many addicts have found hypnotherapy to be of great benefit and if you would like to find out more about how it may be able to help you, please visit our fact-sheet on hypnotherapy for drug abuse.

View the original Daily Mail article.

The report is co-authored by Professor David Nutt, the former UK chief drugs advisor and founder of the Independent Scientific Committee, a body which aims to investigate drugs without political interference.

The committee carried out a modelling exercise in a bid to find out whether it is alcohol or drugs which are more harmful to society and the findings lend support to previous work in the UK and Netherlands, confirming that the present drug classification system has little to do with evidence of harm.

The study involved 16 criteria, including affects on physical and mental health, social harms, environmental damage and economic costs.

Once the modelling exercise was complete the scores for both harm to others and harm to users were added together and it was found that though heroin, crack and methylamphetamine, were the most harmful to individuals, alcohol, heroin and crack cocaine are the most harmful to society.

If you or someone you know is suffering from drug or alcohol dependency then it is important that you seek help. Hypnotherapy has long since been used as an option for addictions and is an avenue of help that many choose to explore. If you would like information on how hypnotherapy can help then please view our alcohol fact sheet here and our drugs fact sheet here, or to contact a hypnotherapist in your local area you can use the search tool located on the homepage.

Original article

Dr Caryl Beynon, from the Centre of Public Health at Liverpool John Moores University, has highlighted the fact that most modern studies tend to focus on the younger generation and how to treat their addictions and not enough services are provided for older drug users.

Beynon and her team of researchers studied a group of 49 – 61 year olds who had sought help from drug treatment services. The results showed that ill health brought about by drug usage was common among participants.

The researchers found that mental health problems such as circulatory problems, respiratory problems, diabetes, hepatitis, weight loss and malnutrition were common among the group studied.

Brenda Roe, professor of health research at Edge Hill University has said that more research is needed in order to begin developing services for older drug addicts. She also believes that older drug users could begin to play a key role in educating younger people on the dangers of drug use.

If you or someone you know is finding it difficult to cope with substance abuse it is important you visit you GP who will be able to provide you with the appropriate advice and support. Many of those trying to conquer a drug addiction also explore alternative methods which can be used safely alongside conventional medicine, one example of which is hypnotherapy.

Often the most difficult stage of recovery is actually managing to stay off the drugs after the initial treatment. Hypnotherapy is a very good way of reinforcing positive changes and helping you to resist the temptation of falling back into old habits. If you would like to find out more about hypnotherapy for drug abuse please click here and to contact a hypnotherapist in your local area please use the search tool located on the homepage of this site.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11262369

Alcohol abuse 8.8%
Drug abuse 8.3%
Weight loss 8.1%
Panic attacks 5.3%
Relationship issues 5.2%

Triggered by Lily Allen’s recent dramatic weight loss, which she attributed to hypnotherapy, weight loss is at the top of the list. Hypnotherapy can change eating patterns, instilling a healthy one, reducing cravings and, most importantly, stop people from reverting back to old eating habits, and therefore keeping the weight off.

Also highlighted is addictions – drug, alcohol, gambling, or cigarettes addictions can all be helped by hypnotherapy.

More recently, hypnotherapy is being used to help reduce people’s anxiety caused by the credit crunch. It can be used to help people alter their spending habits in order to make their money go further. It can also help people deal with their anxiety and fear, and help them face scenarios brought on by the credit crunch, such as dealing with debt or redundancy.

Read the article here…

The number of women seeking help for cocaine addiction has doubled in the last two years, and the number of women being cautioned has increased by more than five times. The middle-class links are still evident – with the most cautions being issued in Surrey, Hertfordshire and the Thames Valley.

The image of glamour associated with the drug – high profile users include supermodel Kate Moss – is thought to be the attraction for women, and cocaine is one of the most expensive drugs.

Read more and a personal account of cocaine addiction here…