This episode focuses on data released ahead of the first anniversary of the Scottish Government's flagship health policy of minimum unit pricing. You might be mistaken in thinking the issue is a simple one – has minimum unit pricing led to a rise or fall in consumption? However, interpretation of the figures available so far suggests the story is more complex.

Alison Douglas of Alcohol Focus Scotland cuts through the headlines to explain what the figures do and do not mean.

In Iran, alcohol consumption, production, and trade are criminalised for Muslim citizens; however, bootleg alcohol and harmful alcohol consumption is a burden that should not be overlooked.

Currently the Iranian Ministry of Health has developed a national programme that aims to reduce alcohol consumption by 10% between 2015 and 2025 through three main action steps: first, integration of alcohol screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment in primary health care. Although this is a positive move forward, the rollout of the programme faces several barriers including insufficient...

Reducing the harms of youth substance use is a global priority. Parents have the potential to play a key role in these efforts. However, it is felt that parents are often unsure about how to address substance use with their children. Parent responses to youth substance use are often grounded in abstinence and critiqued as ineffective and unresponsive to youth contexts.

In order to develop effective parent-targeted interventions, it is important to hear young people’s perspective.

A recent study has sought to capture youth perspectives on parental approaches to substance use. The researchers...

Alcohol taxation holds massive potential for global health, for helping achieve the sustainable development goals and also for significantly contributing to financing health and development. 

This infographic, designed by IOGT International, describes the potential benefits of alcohol taxation. The resource provides evidence for improvements that could be achieved in terms of public health, public safety, womens rights, domestic resource, child rights and socioeconomic progress.

Abstract

Objective: To test if precollege drinking data gathered during an online brief intervention are associated with problems and could inform screening for campus alcohol prevention efforts. 

Participants: Two cohorts of incoming students (N = 5300). 

Method: Precollege alcohol drinking was gathered through an online preenrollment alcohol brief intervention. Drop out was obtained from university records. On-campus alcohol violations were obtained from university judicial affairs, and off-campus alcohol citations were obtained from the city police. The 2011 cohort was tracked for 4...

Summary

Background

Moderate alcohol intake has been associated with reduced cardiovascular risk in many studies, in comparison with abstinence or with heavier drinking. Studies in east Asia can help determine whether these associations are causal, since two common genetic variants greatly affect alcohol drinking patterns. We used these two variants to assess the relationships between cardiovascular risk and genotype-predicted mean alcohol intake in men, contrasting the findings in men with those in women (few of whom drink).

Methods

The prospective China Kadoorie Biobank enrolled 512 715...

In celebration of International Women’s Day we are highlighting studies throughout the month of March that further our understanding of how sex and gender influence the course of addiction and treatment , with a particular focus on women.

This week’s review examines the possibility that interventions aimed at reducing alcohol consumption may reduce a ‘hidden’ form of alcohol-related violence – domestic abuse.

Reading this analysis prompts thoughts about the role alcohol may play in initiating or exacerbating controlling and abusive behaviours in intimate relationships, and how the presence of...