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Populations
Distinct groups of people within a society who share certain characteristics such as age, gender, geographic location, socioeconomic status, cultural background, or exposure to particular risk factors that may influence patterns of substance use, vulnerability to substance use disorders, and access to services. In the context of substance use systems, identifying and understanding different populations helps guide the design of prevention, treatment, recovery, and policy responses that are appropriate, equitable, and responsive to specific needs. Examples may include youth, women, people experiencing homelessness, individuals in the criminal justice system, or communities affected by specific social or economic conditions.
Alcohol Before 18. What's the Harm - A Guide for Parents
Talking about alcohol with your children can be a complicated and sensitive topic to navigate.
Young people are absorbing information about alcohol from a range of sources within their environment.
Friends, teachers, and family can shape...
Alcohol’s Secondhand Harms: Prevalence and Risk Factors
Harmful drinking can have severe physical and psychological consequences for the person consuming alcohol. However, the negative impact does not just stop at the individual level.
Researchers from the US have examined data from two...
Participate in Online Survey: Experiences and Needs of Families of Former Members of the UK Armed Forces with Substance Use Problems
The University of York and Adfam would like to invite you to take part in the above-named research project. The project has research ethics approval from the University of York. It is funded by the Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT).
The...
Prenatal Alcohol Exposure and Offspring Alcohol Use
Despite increasing awareness of the negative consequences of alcohol, rates of consumption among young adults remain high.
Longitudinal studies provide insight into the risk and protective factors in a young persons life that might...
Tobacco Use Among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Young Adults
It is recognised that smoking and use of tobacco products among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) young adults is higher compared to their heterosexual and cisgender peers.
Although it is believed that within the LGBTQ...
Drinking in Pregnancy: Lasting Effects of Low-level Alcohol Use?
It is generally known and accepted that heavy drinking during pregnancy can have harmful effects on the development of the unborn child. What is less well understood, and is causing uncertainty amongst the public, is the impact of low-level...
Changing Perceptions: How Harmful Is Drinking in Later Life?
Given the current growth of ageing populations, alcohol consumption among the elderly has received increased attention.
What is deemed to be a ‘safe’ level of consumption has also been thrown into question, in the light of new evidence of...
Psychostimulant Use and the Brain
Over the past decade there has been an increase in the manufacture and use of psychostimulants in countries around the world. Around two-thirds of illicit psychostimulant users are male with average age of use for methamphetamine and...
Prevalence and Risk Factors for Initiating Tobacco and Alcohol Consumption in Adolescents Living in Urban and Rural Ethiopia
Both alcohol and tobacco use is an increasing public health concern in low- or middle-income countries. Due to an annual economic growth rate of approximately 10%, Ethiopia is a target for both the alcohol and tobacco industries.
Although...
Vibrant and Healthy Kids: Aligning Science, Practice, and Policy to Advance Health Equity
Early experiences and life circumstances shape prenatal and early childhood development, with powerful impacts on the developing brain and body that shape health outcomes across the life course and can span generations. The preconception...
Family-Based Intervention Program for Parents of Substance-Abusing Youth and Adolescents
The use of drugs among adolescents/youth often results in a high degree of distress for the family members who live with them. This in turn can lead to a deterioration of mental (psychological) health, hindering any attempt to successfully...
Seminar On Substance Use Organized by Mian Afzal Trust Hospital (MATH) Gujranwala Pakistan
A seminar on substance use was organized by Mian Afzal Trust Hospital, Gujranwala Pakistan in connection with the international day against drug abuse. The seminar was presided over by Mr. Sana Ullah Rathore, Director ISSUP Pakistan Chapter...
World Refugee Week
Last week was World Refugee Week and World Refugee Day was on June 20. UNODC showed solidarity on social media to mark that day.
UNODC has piloted family skills programmes in line with the International Standard on Drug Use Prevention to...
Cannabis Use Patterns at the Dawn of US Cannabis Reform
Abstract
In the United States (US), three in 10 cannabis users develop cannabis use disorder (CUD). Usage patterns in line with CUD may be associated with socio-economic disadvantage, and other negative effects. Thus, research on CUD is...
Prenatal Alcohol Screening During Pregnancy by Midwives and Nurses
Abstract
Background
Alcohol use during pregnancy can have a variety of harmful consequences on the fetus. Lifelong effects include growth restriction, characteristic facial anomalies, and neurobehavioral dysfunction. This range of effects...
Alcohol Use and Breast Cancer Risk
Despite the clear associations between alcohol consumption and breast cancer, public awareness of this issue is low.
UNODC takes an active role in the 2019 Society for Prevention Research Annual Conference
UNODC participated at the Society for Prevention Research Annual Conference held in San Francisco, 28-30 May 2019. UNODC presented in total 3 posters, one on the development of fidelity checklists, in particular, to measure fidelity of the...
Substance Use Prevention for Adolescents: The Icelandic Model
Back in the 1990s, results from the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and other Drugs (ESPAD) highlighted concerning levels of adolescent substance use in Iceland. Since the publication of the ESPAD results, Icelandic authorities...
DFPF Newsletter April-2019
Monthly Newsletter from April 1, 2019 – April 30, 2019
During this month, Drug Free Pakistan Foundation (DFPF) had organized CVE training program for the hostel superintendents and faculty of University of Education, Lahore. DFPF field...
Gender-Specific Substance Use Patterns and Associations with Individual, Family, Peer, and School Factors in 15-Year-Old Portuguese Adolescents: A Latent Class Regression Analysis
Background
Adolescence is a critical period of vulnerability to substance use. Recent research has shown that gender differences in adolescence substance use are complex and in constant flux. The present study aims to investigate gender...