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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January 2021

Determinants of prescription opioid use: population‐based evidence from Finland

Prescription opioid use in Finland appears to be more common among low socio‐economic status people, similar to the US and UK.

Link to Abstract

Prevalence and description of kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) use in the United States: a cross‐sectional study

Estimated US past‐year prevalence of kratom use is 0.8%. Kratom users tend to have more serious substance abuse profiles than non‐users or users of cannabis, alcohol or cigarettes.

Link to Abstract

Effect of screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment for unhealthy alcohol and other drug use in mental health treatment settings: a randomized controlled trial

Screening and brief intervention for unhealthy alcohol and drug use in mental health treatment settings were effective at reducing the frequency of heavy drinking and stimulant use.

Link to Abstract

Changes from 2017 to 2018 in e‐cigarette use and in ever marijuana use with e‐cigarettes among US adolescents: analysis of the National Youth Tobacco Survey

Among US adolescents, e‐cigarette use increased in in smokers and non-smokers in 2018 compared with 2017.

Link to Abstract

The effect of tobacco and alcohol consumption on poverty in the United Kingdom

Tobacco and alcohol expenditures appear to exacerbate poverty in low income households in the United Kingdom.

Link to Abstract

On the stability and the progression of gambling problems: longitudinal relations between different problems related to gambling

In psychiatric diagnosis, four symptoms of problem gambling (chasing, tolerance, excessive gambling and guilt) appear to have prognostic validity in assessing gambling‐related risk. Tolerance and chasing appear to increase the risk of progressing to more severe gambling problems.

Link to Abstract

Avoidance of tobacco health warnings? An eye‐tracking approach

Subjective and objective (eye‐tracking) measures of avoiding health warnings on cigarette packs produce different results, suggesting these measures tap into different constructs: visual avoidance indicates low‐level disengagement with warnings while self‐reported avoidance reflects higher‐level engagement with warnings.

Link to Abstract

Polysubstance use and association with opioid use disorder treatment in the US Veterans Health Administration

The majority of veterans in the US Veterans Health Administration diagnosed with opioid use disorder appear also to have at least one comorbid substance use disorder and many have multiple substance use disorders.

Link to Abstract

‘It's just basically a box full of disease’—navigating sterile syringe scarcity in a rural New England state

Limited access to sterile syringes contributes to an environment in which people who inject drugs report that they are less able to refrain from risky injection practices.

Link to Abstract

The real‐world impact of dosing of methadone and buprenorphine in retention on opioid agonist therapies in Ukraine

In Ukraine, higher dosages of opioid agonist therapies, especially for methadone maintenance treatment patients, appear to be associated with higher levels of treatment retention.

Link to Abstract

Similar countries, similar factors? Studying the decline of heavy episodic drinking in adolescents in Finland, Norway and Sweden

The decline in adolescent heavy episodic drinking in Finland, Norway and Sweden between 1999 and 2015 appears to be associated with declining adolescent daily smoking, declining perceived access to alcohol and increasing parental control.

Link to Abstract

Unemployment from stable, downsized and closed workplaces and alcohol‐related mortality

The persistent long‐term association between unemployment and alcohol‐related mortality in Finland may imply a causal relation.

Link to Abstract

Socio‐economic differences in all‐cause mortality in people with alcohol use disorder: a prospective cohort study

In Norway, increasing socioeconomic status appears to be associated with decreased admission to treatment for alcohol use disorders and increased relative mortality risk from alcohol use disorders.

Link to Abstract

Impact of health warning labels communicating the risk of cancer on alcohol selection: an online experimental study

Health warning labels for the increased risk of cancers associated with alcohol consumption reduced the selection of alcoholic versus non‐alcoholic drinks in a hypothetical choice task in an online setting; labels with images had the largest effect.

Link to Abstract

Prevalence of alcohol use disorder among individuals who binge eat: a systematic review and meta‐analysis

Lifetime alcohol use disorder appears to be more prevalent among people with binge eating disorders than among those without.

Link to Abstract

Systematic review of the emerging literature on the effectiveness of naloxone access laws in the United States

Naloxone access laws in the US have increased naloxone distribution but it is not clear whether this has reduced fatal opioid overdose.

Link to Abstract