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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August 2021

Cannabis use and co‐use in tobacco smokers and non‐smokers: prevalence and associations with mental health in a cross‐sectional, nationally representative sample of adults in Great Britain, 2020

Approximately one in 13 adults in Great Britain reports having used cannabis in the past year, approximately four times as many among cigarette smokers as non‐smokers.

Link to Abstract

Joint effects of alcohol use, smoking and body mass index as an explanation for the alcohol harm paradox: causal mediation analysis of eight cohort studies

People of lower socio‐economic status appear to be more vulnerable to the effects of alcohol use and smoking on alcohol‐attributable mortality.

Link to Abstract

Characteristics of oxycodone‐related ambulance attendances: analysis of temporal trends and the effect of reformulation in Victoria, Australia from 2013 to 2018

In Australia from 2013-2018, oxycodone ambulances attendances showed increasing female presentations, alcohol use, extramedical use of non‐opioid pharmaceuticals and suicidal thoughts/behaviours and decreasing heroin and illicit drug involvement.

Link to Abstract

Who would be targeted by increasing the legal age of sale of cigarettes from 18 to 21? A cross‐sectional study exploring the number and characteristics of smokers in England

Increasing the age of sale of cigarettes to 21 years in England would currently target approximately 364,000 lower dependent smokers from more disadvantaged backgrounds aged 18-20, who have less motivation to quit.

Link to Abstract

Adding Vaping Restrictions to Smoke-Free Air Laws: Associations with Conventional and Electronic Cigarette Use

Adding vaping restrictions to smokefree worksite laws does not appear to be associated with a reduction in recent vaping among emerging adults.

Link to Abstract

The associations of smoking dependence motives with depression among daily smokers

Depression appears to be associated with smoking dependence and smoking dependence motives related to heavy use, automatic use, and smoking and regulation of affective states.

Link to Abstract

The impact of comprehensive tobacco control policies on cardiovascular diseases in Beijing, China

Beijing's 2015 tobacco control policy package appears to have been associated with a more than 10% reduction in all cardiovascular hospital admissions.

Link to Abstract

Behavioral counseling and abstinence‐contingent take‐home buprenorphine in general practitioners’ offices in Malaysia: a randomized, open‐label clinical trial

Giving opioid‐dependent patients in Muar, Malaysia buprenorphine-naloxone (BN) and physician management plus behavioral counseling or abstinence‐contingent buprenorphine-naloxone (ACB) resulted in greater reductions of opioid use compared with providing BN and physician management without behavioral counseling or ACB.

Link to Abstract

Effectiveness of training stop‐smoking advisers to deliver cessation support to the UK national proposed standard versus usual care in Malaysia: a two‐arm cluster‐randomized controlled trial

Training Malaysian stop smoking service providers in the UK National Centre for Smoking Cessation and Training standard treatment programme appeared to increase 6 month continuous abstinence rates.

Link to Abstract

Sex differences in factors predicting post‐treatment opioid use

Risk factors for relapse to opioid use following opioid use disorder treatment appear to be, for women, greater substance use problems and withdrawal symptoms and, for men, younger age and histories of conduct disorder and multiple substance use disorder.

Link to Abstract

Effect of initiation of medications for opioid use disorder on hospitalization outcomes for endocarditis and osteomyelitis in a large private hospital system in the United States, 2014–18

For people with opioid use disorder hospitalized with endocarditis or osteomyelitis, initiation of methadone or buprenorphine appears to be associated with improved receipt of gold‐standard therapy, as quantified by increased days on intravenous antibiotic treatment.

Link to Abstract

Explaining differential effects of medication for opioid use disorder using a novel approach incorporating mediating variables

Much of the difference in medication effectiveness on opioid relapse among non‐homeless adults with opioid use disorder appears to be explained by mediators of adherence, illicit opioid use, depressive symptoms and pain.

Link to Abstract

For better or for worse? A pre–post exploration of the impact of the COVID‐19 lockdown on cannabis users

Cannabis use among daily cannabis users in the Netherlands increased at the group level during the period of COVID‐19 lockdown.

Link to Abstract

Testing the validity of national drug surveys: comparison between a general population cohort and household surveys

The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children indicates that illicit drug use may be underestimated in the Crime Survey for England and Wales.

Link to Abstract

Adapting treatment length to opioid‐dependent individuals’ needs and preferences: a 2‐year follow‐up to a 1‐year study of extended‐release naltrexone

Extended‐release naltrexone (XR‐NTX) was well tolerated in long‐term treatment of opioid‐dependent individuals in Norway already in XR‐NTX treatment.

Link to Abstract

Effects of a brief alcohol intervention addressing the full spectrum of drinking in an adult general population sample: a randomized controlled trial

There was no clear evidence for efficacy of a computer‐based brief alcohol intervention but some evidence of medium‐term benefits among low‐risk drinkers.

Link to Abstract

Progression of cannabis withdrawal symptoms in people using medical cannabis for chronic pain

Adults with chronic pain seeking medical cannabis certification or re‐certification appear to experience mild to severe withdrawal symptoms.

Link to Abstract

Trajectories of alcohol‐induced blackouts in adolescence: early risk factors and alcohol use disorder outcomes in early adulthood

Females in Australia appear to be at higher risk of adolescent alcohol‐related blackouts independent of alcohol consumption levels and age of initiation.

Link to Abstract

Increased risk of dementia in older female US veterans with alcohol use disorder

Alcohol use disorder among female US veterans aged more than 55 years appears to be associated with a more than threefold increase of dementia.

Link to Abstract

A new perspective on European drinking cultures: a model‐based approach to determine variations in drinking practices among 19 European countries

Beverage preference appears to remain a decisive indicator for distinguishing Europeans’ drinking practices.

Link to Abstract

A systematic comparison of the global comparative risk assessments for alcohol

Differences in estimates of the alcohol‐attributable burden of disease in two recent studies indicate the need to improve the accuracy of underlying data and risk relations.

Link to Abstract

Co‐development of alcohol use problems and antisocial peer affiliation from ages 11 to 34: selection, socialization and genetic and environmental influences

Antisocial peer affiliation in adolescence appears to be a salient, genetically influenced risk factor for early alcohol use and increase in alcohol use from adolescence to young adulthood.

Link to Abstract

What on‐line searches tell us about public interest and potential impact on behaviour in response to minimum unit pricing of alcohol in Scotland

Analysis of internet search engine queries appears to show that a fraction of people in Scotland may have considered circumventing minimum unit pricing in 2018 by looking for on‐line alcohol retailers.

Link to Abstract

Real‐world effectiveness of pharmacological treatments of alcohol use disorders in a Swedish nation‐wide cohort of 125 556 patients

Naltrexone monotherapy and combined with disulfiram and acamprosate appear to be associated with lower risk of hospitalization due to any alcohol‐related causes, compared with no medication.

Link to Abstract

The association of telomere length with substance use disorders: a systematic review and meta‐analysis of observational studies

People with substance use disorders appear to have shorter telomere length than controls but this finding should be interpreted with caution due to the poor quality of the evidence.

Link to Abstract