Key Findings

This is a quick summary of the main discovery for each research paper we have published, organized issue by issue. Each key finding is below the article title, with a link to the abstract. 


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December 2020

Global opioid agonist treatment: a review of clinical practices by country

Opioid agonist treatment practices vary greatly both within and across countries. Of particular concern is the persistence of lower dose prescribing practices, in which patients may be prescribed doses below those proven to yield significant clinical benefits.

Link to Abstract

Tramadol use and public health consequences in Iran: a systematic review and meta‐analysis

Despite control policies, tramadol use is as prevalent as the use of illicit opioids in Iran.

Link to Abstract

Assessing the contribution of alcohol‐specific causes to socio‐economic inequalities in mortality in England and Wales 2001–16

Deaths from alcohol‐specific causes increase inequalities in both life expectancy and variation in age of death between socio‐economic groups in England and Wales.

Link to Abstract

Using ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to explore mechanisms of alcohol‐involved HIV risk behavior among men who have sex with men (MSM)

Increased subjective sexual arousal after drinking heavily appears to account partly for alcohol‐related HIV risk behaviors in the daily lives of men who have sex with men.

Link to Abstract

Impact of bottle size on in‐home consumption of wine: a randomized controlled cross‐over trial

Consuming wine at home from 50 cl bottles, compared with 75 cl bottles, may reduce amount consumed and rate of consumption.

Link to Abstract

The unique nature of public stigma toward non‐medical prescription opioid use and dependence: a national study

US residents do not typically hold people with prescription opioid use disorder responsible for their addiction, but they express high levels of willingness to subject them to social exclusion.

Link to Abstract

Policy congruence and advocacy strategies in the discourse networks of minimum unit pricing for alcohol and the soft drinks industry levy

A comparison of the discourse in the UK press during the policy development processes for 1) minimum unit pricing for alcohol and 2) the soft drinks industry levy suggests greater cross‐sector collaboration among policy opponents than proponents.

Link to Abstract

The association of criminal justice supervision setting with overdose mortality: a longitudinal cohort study

Based on the absolute or relative risk, parole, probation and community settings are appropriate for enhanced overdose prevention interventions for people involved with the criminal justice system.

Link to Abstract

Association between density of gaming venues in a geographical area and prevalence of insolvency: longitudinal evidence from Australia

There is a positive association between the number of gaming venues in a local geographic area and the number of personal insolvencies in that area.

Link to Abstract

Characterizing the predictive validity of measures of susceptibility to future use of combustible, vaporized and edible cannabis products in adolescent never‐users

A five‐item susceptibility-to-cannabis-use composite index appears to be useful for characterizing and predicting youth at risk for cannabis use initiation across a spectrum of cannabis products.

Link to Abstract

Effect of e‐cigarette advertisement themes on hypothetical e‐cigarette purchasing in price‐responsive adolescents

E‐cigarette advertising exposure may increase reported likelihood of purchasing e‐cigarettes, with effects differing by advertisement content.

Link to Abstract

Electronic cigarettes, nicotine use trends and use initiation ages among US adolescents from 1999 to 2018

E-cigarettes may have offset conventional smoking among US adolescents between 2010 and 2018 by maintaining total nicotine use prevalence and diverting them from more harmful conventional smoking.

Link to Abstract

The impact of local smoke‐free policies on smoking behaviour among adults in Indonesia: a quasi‐experimental national study

There may be an association between the adoption of local smoke‐free policies in Indonesia and decreased adult smoking intensity, but the evidence is inconsistent.

Link to Abstract

Aberrations in peripheral inflammatory cytokine levels in substance use disorders: a meta‐analysis of 74 studies

People with substance use disorder appear to have higher peripheral concentrations of inflammatory cytokine and lower peripheral concentrations of leptin than people without.

Link to Abstract