The World Health Organization’s Less Alcohol Unit, Department of Health Promotion, the Alcohol Research Group, and the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research are pleased to announce a new scientific research and writing mentorship initiative. 

The initiative aims to support early-stage researchers from low- and middle-income countries in their work to analyse, report and publish a study related to strengthening alcohol policies tackling the determinants driving the acceptability, availability and affordability of alcohol consumption. The initiative aims to accelerate the finalisation...

The featured articles investigate the association of smoking products and alcohol consumption, identify causes and influences, and explore therapeutic avenues and cessation interventions.  

Free to access until 31 January!

Articles

1. Targeting the Opioid Receptors: A Promising Therapeutic Avenue for Treatment in “Heavy Drinking Smokers”
2. Behavioral Economic Demand for Alcohol and Cigarettes in Heavy Drinking Smokers: Evidence of Asymmetric Cross-commodity Reinforcing Value
3. A Combined Alcohol and Smoking Cue-Reactivity Paradigm in People Who Drink Heavily and Smoke Cigarettes: Preliminary...

The Institute of Alcohol Studies presents Seminar one in its four-part series on alcohol and sustainability. Seminar one looks at the impact of alcohol on the UN's SDGs and the opportunities for improved alcohol policy arising from the Goals.

The speakers were:

• Chair: Kristina Sperkova, Movendi International

• Dudley Tarlton, United Nations Development Programme

• Professor Jeff Collin, University of Edinburgh

• Aadielah Maker Diedericks, South African Alcohol Policy Alliance

​​​​​​Each year there are 3 million deaths as a result of the harmful use of alcohol.

As alcohol gets broken down, chemicals affect the way our body sends signals and communicates and increase the chances of developing cancer.

In this article, published in Lancet Oncology, the researchers present global, regional, and national estimates of alcohol-attributable cancer burden in 2020.

Findings:

• Globally, an estimated 741 300 of all new cases of cancer in 2020 were attributable to alcohol consumption.
• Males accounted for 568 700 of total alcohol-attributable cancer cases
• Cancers of the...

summary

Introduction: alcohol consumption during pregnancy (CADE) is recommended, which produces physical, cognitive and behavioral problems in the mother and fetus, so it is recommended to abstinence from this substance during pregnancy; however, factors present in adolescents may be related to the onset or continuation of alcohol consumption during pregnancy.

Objective: to identify the prevalence and factors related to alcohol consumption in pregnant adolescents (AS) through a systematic review.

Method: search for articles in English and Spanish between 2009 and 2019 in EA. The databases...

Background:

Previous research using whole-brain neuroimaging techniques has revealed structural differences of grey matter (GM) in alcohol use disorder (AUD) patients. However, some of the findings diverge from other neuroimaging studies and require further replication. The quantity of relevant research has, thus far, been limited and the association between GM and abstinence duration of AUD patients has not yet been systematically reviewed.

Methods:

The present research conducted a meta-analysis of voxel-based GM studies in AUD patients published before Jan 2021. The study utilised a whole...

Abstract

Introduction: In Mexico, alcohol consumption is the main problem related to substance use among university students.

Objective: To analyze emerging alcohol consumption patterns in students at a public university through the administration of an online survey.

Method: This is a cross-sectional, survey-based study. Participants included 3,888 students from a large university in Mexico City, to whom the alcohol and sociodemographic data section of the Cuestionario de Estudiantes 2014 was electronically administered in August-September 2018 and 2019. Latent Class Analysis was applied...

No safe dose of alcohol for the brain was found. Moderate consumption is
associated with more widespread adverse effects on the brain than previously recognised.
Individuals who binge drink or with high blood pressure and may be more susceptible. Detrimental effects of drinking appear to be greater than other modifiable factors. Current ‘low risk’ drinking guidelines should be
revisited to take account of brain effects.

In México, underage alcohol consumption is a major public health problem. Notwith-standing the complex character of alcohol consumption, evidence indicates that enforcing the policies aimed to control the availability of alcohol has produced positive outcomes and has proved to be one of the most cost-effective strategies for curbing consumption, as well as they have succeeded in reducing health and social problems associated to alcohol use. Evaluate the effect of enforcing compliance with minimum-age restrictions for thesale of alcoholic beverages in the number of cases of acute alcohol...