Latest Press Releases

Treatment of addictive disorders: (Not) an issue for medical education?

03/05/2012

A survey among German medical students investigated whether future physicians in Germany received adequate training to treat various diseases during undergraduate education. The main conclusion was that German medical students did learn how to treat hypertension and diabetes; however, treatment of alcohol use disorders and smoking was hardly covered during undergraduate study.

GPs should advise drinkers to keep a daily record of their drinking

28/03/2012

The new UK alcohol strategy includes a plan to ensure that General Practitioners (GPs) advise heavy drinkers to cut down (The Government’s Alcohol Strategy, 23 March 2012, downloadable from http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/). There is good evidence that this can reduce how much people drink. The big question is, what should GPs say to their patients?

Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement Threatens Public Health

12/03/2012

An editorial to be published by the scientific journal Addiction has been made available online, revealing that negotiations are underway behind closed doors for a far-reaching new trade and investment agreement that could tie the hands of governments’ future alcohol and tobacco control policies in perpetuity.

Recovery Housing and Treatment Programs Reduce Relapse among Recovering Opioid Addicts

28/02/2012

Opioid-dependent individuals who want to kick the habit typically begin the road to recovery with detoxification. But detox is ineffective as a stand-alone treatment, with relapse rates ranging from 65% to 80% just one month after discharge. New research published online today in the journal Addiction reveals that individuals with substance use disorders may be as much as ten times more likely to stay abstinent when they have access to drug-free recovery housing and day-treatment programs following detox.

Alcohol and your heart: friend or foe?

30/01/2012

A meta-analysis done by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) into the relationship between alcohol consumption and heart disease provides new insight into the long-held belief that drinking a glass of red wine a day can help protect against heart disease.

Big Alcohol Dominates Alcohol Regulator Meeting: New Addiction Article Documents Unhealthy Influence of Alcohol Industry over State Regulators

24/01/2012

In a peer-reviewed article in the February 2012 issue of Addiction, Sarah Mart, director of research at Alcohol Justice, has documented the alcohol industry’s excessive involvement in a 2010 annual conference of state liquor administrators.

Despite the risks, mephedrone users in the UK are ready to try the next legal high

18/01/2012

Since mephedrone was made illegal in the UK in 2010, the street price of the drug has risen while the quality has degraded, which in turn may have reduced use of the drug. New research published online today reveals that young people who continued to use mephedrone after it became illegal would switch to a new legal high if it were pure and rated highly by their friends or on the Internet. They would be less deterred by a lack of scientific research on the new drug.

Using behavioral management to reduce substance abuse, crime and re-arrest among drug-involved parolees

10/01/2012

A study from Rhode Island Hospital has found that collaborative behavioral management may be effective in reducing substance abuse among convicted marijuana users who are paroled. The findings have important implications for the management of a substantial proportion of the U.S. community correctional population. The study is published in Addiction and is available online in advance of print.

BC Policies to Restrict Cheap Alcohol have Curbed Consumption

14/12/2011

The minimum prices set by the BC Liquor Distribution Branch have helped curb drinking in the province. That’s the conclusion of researchers from UVic’s Centre for Addictions Research of BC (CARBC).

Alcohol can lead to unsafe sex: It�s official

12/12/2011

A new study has found that alcohol consumption directly impacts a person’s intention to have unsafe sex. In other words, the more you drink, the stronger becomes your intention to engage in unsafe sex.

Norwegian study finds opening bars longer increases violence

28/11/2011

A new study published today in the international journal Addiction demonstrates that even small changes in pub and bar closing hours seem to affect the number of violent incidents. The findings suggest that a one-hour extension of bar closing hours led to an increase of an average of 20 violent cases at night on weekends per 100,000 people per year. This represents an increase in violence of approximately 16 percent.

New study finds that PROMETA�, a controversial methamphetamine treatment program, is ineffective

14/11/2011

A recent study has found that PROMETA™, a popular but controversial treatment for methamphetamine addiction, is no more effective than placebo in reducing methamphetamine use, keeping users in treatment, or reducing cravings for methamphetamine. The study was funded by Hythiam, the company that owns the PROMETA™ protocol, and is published online today in the scientific journal Addiction.

Effects of sleeping medication compared with alcohol

10/11/2011

The effect of zopiclone (Imovane®) on traffic-relevant skills was compared with alcohol in a study by Norwegian researchers. The risk of influence by zopiclone was seen to be greatest shortly after ingestion, and could be compared with the influence of alcohol.

Study of US popular music links luxury alcohol brands with degrading sex: Is the alcohol industry profiting from underage drinking?

20/10/2011

In a study published online today in the international journal Addiction, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh reported that the average US adolescent is heavily exposed to alcohol brand references in popular music. Branded alcohol references are most common in rap, R&B, and hip hop songs, and they are commonly associated with a luxury lifestyle characterized by degrading sexual activity, wealth, partying, violence and the use of drugs.

Stronger tobacco control policy in the Netherlands would save thousands of lives

26/09/2011

A new study shows that 145,000 deaths could be averted in the next 30 years in the Netherlands by implementing stronger tobacco control policies.

Social contacts, self-confidence crucial to successful recovery through Alcoholics Anonymous

14/09/2011

Among the many ways that participation in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) helps its members stay sober, two appear to be most important – spending more time with individuals who support efforts towards sobriety and increased confidence in the ability to maintain abstinence in social situations. In a paper that will appear in the journal Addiction and has been released online, researchers report the first study to examine the relative importance to successful recovery of the behavior changes associated with participation in AA.

Drug regulations work to cut �ice� use

07/09/2011

Regulations that control chemicals used to make the drug ‘ice’ work, but they come at a cost, according to new research published today in the journal Addiction.

Revisiting the David Nutt debate: Is it possible to rank different drugs by the harm they cause?

06/09/2011

The scientific and political worlds were transfixed in late 2009 when UK drugs advisor Dr. David Nutt was sacked by Home Secretary Alan Johnson for his controversial views on the harmfulness of different drugs and the lack of evidence behind current drug policy, views first publicised in a Lancet report in 2007.1 Scientists at the time were unanimous that scholarly research such as Nutt’s should not be subject to political attack, but a new article in the scholarly journal Addiction points out a more rational basis for criticizing Nutt’s work on the harmfulness of drugs: it is scientifically flawed.

Licence to smoke: Taking vitamin pills may undermine motivation to reduce smoking

01/08/2011

A new study has found that smokers who take multivitamins offset their healthy behaviour by smoking more cigarettes. This is an example of what psychologists call the licensing effect, which occurs when people make a virtuous choice that permits them to make a poor choice later on, such as when someone ‘earns’ a weekend binge by avoiding alcohol all week. In this case, smokers take multivitamins, a healthy choice that they believe reduces the risk of cancer and allows them to smoke more. In fact, there is no evidence that multivitamins protect against cancer.

New research exposes alcohol industry public relation tactics

25/07/2011

A new study has revealed how the alcohol industry is using its Drinkwise organisation to create an impression of social responsibility while promoting measures for which there is little evidence of impact and are unlikely to hurt profits.