The intersection of substance use with broader public health concerns.
Public Health
Do α2-Adrenergic Agonists Decrease the Symptoms Associated With Opioid Withdrawal?
Study Selection This systematic review included randomized controlled clinical trials that compared the administration of an α2-adernergic agonist with other interventions such as placebo or methadone to reduce symptoms of opioid withdrawal...
Estimating the Cost-Effectiveness of Brief Interventions for Heavy Drinking in Primary Health Care across Europe
Background Screening and brief interventions for alcohol are an effective public health measure to tackle alcohol-related harm, however relatively few countries across the European Union (EU) have implemented them widely. This may be due to...
Non-Medicinal Ritalin Use: Study Enhanced, But Taking a Chance
New research published in the Journal of Neural Transmission highlights a number of potential adverse side-effects from using the stimulant drug Ritalin without a prescription. Ritalin (Methylphenidate) is medically used to treat Attention...
Effectiveness Bank Matrix Bite: Treatment not for the Patient but for the Community
The final row of the Alcohol Treatment Matrix enters the domain of treatment organised not primarily for the patient, but to safeguard the wider community, encountering what seems a core contradiction depicted on the cover of WHO guidance...
Gender-Specific Predictors of At-Risk Adolescents’ Hazardous Alcohol Use
Abstract Background Previous research has found strong associations between adolescents’ hazardous alcohol use and their perception of peer behavior, as well as own spending money and a range of antisocial behaviors. However, there is...
The European Drinking Table: Who Tops the List?
The recently published results from the European Social Survey provide us with an indication of who in Europe consumes the most alcohol. Among the findings, notable are: The more well-off you are, the more you drink. The worse-off you are...
Guidelines for Prescribing Opioids: A Free Online Training Course
A free online training course from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is now available. The course addresses the CDC recommendations with respect to the prescription of opioids for chronic pain as well as their treatment...
Excessive Drinking: More a Result of Low Socioeconomic Status Than Access to Alcohol?
Among US neighbourhoods, poverty and disorganisation, that is high levels of crime, drug trafficking and graffiti etc., may increase the risk of problem drinking, more so than the presence of bars or stores that sell alcohol. In other words...
State HCV Incidence and Policies Related to HCV Preventive and Treatment Services for Persons Who Inject Drugs — United States, 2015–2016
Summary What is already known about this topic? The United States has experienced a sharp increase in hepatitis C virus (HCV) incidence that can be attributed to injection drug use. Some states have used public health laws and treatment...
Current and Binge Drinking Among High School Students — United States, 1991–2015
Summary What is already known about this topic? Each year from 2006 to 2010, excessive alcohol consumption was responsible for approximately 4,300 deaths among persons aged <21 years, and, in 2010, underage drinking cost the United States...