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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October 2017
PPAR-gamma agonist pioglitazone modifies craving intensity and brain white matter integrity in patients with primary cocaine use disorder: a double-blind randomized controlled pilot trial
Compared with placebo, patients receiving pioglitazone show a higher likelihood of reduced cocaine craving and improved brain white matter integrity as a function of time in treatment.
Alcohol consumption and risk of unemployment, sickness absence and disability pension in Denmark: a prospective cohort study
In Danish men aged 18–60, both alcohol abstinence and heavy consumption are associated with increased subsequent risk of unemployment and sickness absence compared with low consumption. In Danish women, abstainers have increased risk of unemployment, sickness absence and disability pension, while binge drinkers are more likely to become unemployed subsequently.
Adolescents’ exposure to paid alcohol advertising on television and their alcohol use: exploring associations during a 13-year period
While Australian adolescents’ exposure to alcohol advertising on television reduced between 1999 and 2011, higher levels of past-month television alcohol advertising were associated with an increased likelihood of adolescents’ drinking.
Substance use disorders in prisoners: an updated systematic review and meta-regression analysis in recently incarcerated men and women
From 1966 to 2015, approximately a quarter of newly incarcerated prisoners of both sexes across 10 countries had an alcohol use disorder, and the prevalence of a drug use disorder was at least as high in men, and higher in women.
Do more robust prescription drug monitoring programs reduce prescription opioid overdose?
US states that have more robust prescription drug monitoring programs (PMPs) have fewer prescription opioid overdose deaths than states with weaker PMPs.
The impact of normative perceptions on alcohol consumption in military veterans
Among US military personnel, attitudes to drinking appear to mediate the association between descriptive norms (what most people in a group think, feel, or do) and injunctions norms (what most people in a group approve of) about alcohol and subsequent level of alcohol consumption.
Assessing the impact of a temporary class drug order on ethylphenidate-related infections among people who inject drugs in Lothian, Scotland: an interrupted time–series analysis
The UK government's 2015 temporary class drug order on ethylphenidate was effective in reducing infections among people who inject drugs during an outbreak situation in Lothian, Scotland.
Impact of prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) on opioid utilization among Medicare beneficiaries in 10 US States
Prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) are associated with reductions in opioid use among disabled and older adult Medicare beneficiaries in the United States compared with states that do not have PDMPs.
Perceived harms and benefits of tobacco, marijuana, and electronic vaporizers among young adults in Colorado: implications for health education and research
Young adults in Colorado, USA, perceive the harms and benefits of tobacco and marijuana in terms of potency, chemical additives, addiction, combustible versus non-combustible products, and source of information.
Varenicline versus nicotine patch with brief advice for smokers with substance use disorders with or without depression: effects on smoking, substance use and depressive symptoms
Varenicline appears to improve the chances of achieving at least 3 months of smoking abstinence in smokers with substance use disorders trying to stop, compared with transdermal nicotine patches, the effect being independent of history of depressive disorder.
Association between smoking and alcohol-related behaviours: a time–series analysis of population trends in England
Between 2014 and 2016, monthly changes in prevalence of smoking in England were associated positively with prevalence of high-risk drinking.
An analysis of purchase price of legal and illicit cigarettes in urban retail environments in 14 low- and middle-income countries
The median purchase price of illicit cigarettes is higher than that of legal cigarette packs in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia appear to have few or no illicit cigarettes for purchase from formal, urban retailers.
Does coffee consumption impact on heaviness of smoking?
Amount of coffee consumption is unlikely to have a major causal impact upon amount of cigarette smoking.