The intersection of substance use with broader public health concerns.
Public Health
The Burden of Binge and Heavy Drinking on the Brain: Effects on Adolescent and Young Adult Neural Structure and Function
Introduction: Adolescence and young adulthood are periods of continued biological and psychosocial maturation. Thus, there may be deleterious effects of consuming large quantities of alcohol on neural development and associated cognition...
New Data on Opioid Use and Prescribing in the United States
The United States is in the midst of an opioid overdose epidemic. Between 1999 and 2010, prescription opioid–related overdose deaths increased substantially in parallel with increased prescribing of opioids. In 2015, opioid-involved drug...
Contrasting Trends of Smoking Cessation Status
Abstract Objective The World Health Organization recommends that smokers be offered help to quit. A better understanding of smokers’ interest in and commitment to quitting could guide tobacco control efforts. We assessed temporal...
Tobacco Use in Top-Grossing Movies — United States, 2010–2016
Summary What is already known about this topic? The Surgeon General has concluded that there is a causal relationship between depictions of smoking in the movies and the initiation of smoking among young persons. The more frequently youths...
The 'Explosion’ That Never Happened: Crack and Cocaine Use in Britain
In 1989 a whirlwind of concern was stirred up by a US drug enforcement officer who predicted for Britain a US-style “explosion” of violence associated with the ‘almost instantly addictive’ crack version of cocaine. That did not happen - but...
Contextual Factors Associated with Marijuana Use in School Population
ABSTRACT Introduction: Marijuana use among the student population has increased in Mexico and Latin America. There are social, interpersonal and individual factors associated with the onset and continuation of marijuana use. These include...
How Economic Recessions and Unemployment Affect Illegal Drug Use
ABSTRACT Background: Economic recessions may influence illegal drug use via different mechanisms, for example increased use due to more psychological distress or decreased use due to lower income and purchasing power. This paper reviews the...
An Approach to the New Psychoactive Drugs Phenomenon
ABSTRACT Background: The new psychoactive drugs (NPD) are those that represent a danger to public health and are not prohibited by conventions on international narcotics. The concept also includes new contexts and new routes of consumption...
World Health Statistics: Monitoring Health for the Sustainable Development Goals
The World Health Statistics series is the World Health Organization's (WHO) annual compilation of health statistics for its member states. The latest World Health Statistics provides data on 21 health-related Sustainable Development Goals...
Financial Incentives for Reducing Smoking and Promoting Other Health-Related Behavior Change in Vulnerable Populations
ABSTRACT Substantial reductions in U.S. cigarette smoking and associated chronic diseases over the past 50 years have benefited health. Unfortunately, those reductions have distributed unevenly throughout the population. Smoking remains...