Last month, we spoke to Project Manager of Better Than Well, Luke Trainor. Reflecting on three years of the programme at the University of Birmingham, Luke commented on two trends he’s seeing – or not seeing – that have been made tangibly more pertinent in UK news, in the weeks that followed.
To quote headlines, these are; ‘The Ketamine Crisis that has Crept Up on British Youth’, as reported by The Guardian. And the ‘Big rise in teenage problem gamblers’, reported by the BBC. And other publications, in both cases.
Identifying trends in substance use and behavioural addictions
Curiously, both these articles – and similar others – followed Luke’s own experience of working primarily with younger people, and what he’s encountered in changing student support needs. (Or not encountered), in the case of gambling, in particular).
Luke reflected that despite working with students, for more than three years, that there has been a distinct lack of engagement from certain demographics when it comes to gambling. Which, when you consider how accessible, socially normal, and prevalent a behaviour it is in advertising, is a surprise.
In recent articles throughout the UK media, it was highlighted that legislation around gambling, particularly when it relates to younger people, needs to be clearer, possibly more stringent, and perhaps entirely re-evaluated.
Quoted in The Guardian, a government spokesperson said: ““We recognise the impact harmful gambling can have on individuals and their families and we are absolutely committed to strengthening protections for those at risk, including young people.”
“Ministers are currently considering the best available evidence, including the Gambling Commission’s recent statistics, and the full range of gambling policy and will update in due course.”
A study by the Gambling Commission identified that the number of teenagers who recognised that they had a problem with gambling had doubled, in just one year.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, however, no article covering this story cited specific support for young people in the UK, when it comes to harms from gambling.
The growth of ketamine use in the UK
In the Better Than Well annual report of 2023, it was noteworthy how prominently ketamine already featured, when identifying the primary drug used by students in the the CRP. While opiates, benzodiazepines, cannabis and cocaine featured more frequently, ketamine had already firmly established itself in the mix, and was certainly impacting the lives of the programme’s students.
The numbers, in fact, showed that it already wasn’t far cannabis and cocaine, in terms of student support needs, and was already matching the numbers of students who had struggled with psychedelics. And psychedelics, like opiates and benzodiazepines, which were the most frequently used drugs, covers a wide range of individual substances.
“We haven’t worked out who we’ve had in this year’s intake,” commented Luke, referring to students joining Better Than Well in 2024. “But I’d be surprised if there wasn’t a marked increase in the trend of ketamine addiction.”
And these UK news articles, highlighting not only the increasing use of the drug, have begun to see the dangers of its long-term impact.
As reported in The Independent, there has been at least a 35% increase in under-30s being addicted to ketamine and seeking rehab treatment, with one in three of those seeking rehab also exhibiting serious bladder damage and complications.
As a drug, it is generally cheaper than cocaine, and even alcohol. And, as Luke pointed out, there is also a: “Deficit in the research space around what ketamine addiction looks like, and what recovery from ketamine looks like.”
Finding support for ketamine or gambling addiction
We have just added a brand new page to our website, which provides details of a wide range of free support services, including Gambler’s Anonymous, and Narcotics Anonymous. Listed alongside many other longstanding recovery support groups, most of these listings are national, and free to attend.
Students looking for support with addiction at university, or setting up an on campus recovery-support group, are more than welcome to contact us directly, too. Many universities will have some form of referral process, via student support and student wellbeing teams, but few, of course, currently offer this support directly on site.
With ever-changing trends in addiction, and therefore recovery, constantly ongoing in society, it’s another reason why on-campus Collegiate Recovery Programmes should be more normalised across the country, when considering student support needs.
If you have any questions about getting started, please do get in touch, and register for free with the site. Alongside an extensive Toolkit of key information about how CRPs work, and what is required to set one up, you’ll also be able to contact us at any time for advice on getting set up.
Professionals from the following organisations contributed to this project
