In what way is parental socioeconomic status associated with nicotine dependence in children?
This is the question a new study conducted in Norway aimed to find out. The study measured parental socioeconomic status by looking at their...
The European Schools Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) collects comparable data on substance use among 15- to 16-year-old students. It monitors drug usage trends within, as well as, between European countries.
The latest...
Smoking and its related harms cost the world more than $1 trillion and claim the lives of around 6 million people each year, according to a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the National Cancer Institute.
$1 trillion...
In its first report for almost 20 years, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), has found the use of marijuana seems to be particularly connected to:
Smoking is a serious health issue worldwide. Prevalence, however, has steadily declined across Australia over the last several decades thanks to a number of successful public health campaigns. The number of smokers in the country is now...
As we welcome in the New Year it seems an ideal time to take stock and present the key points from the 2016 European Drug Report (EDR), the European Monitoring Centre for Drug and Addiction’s (EMCDDA) annual review of the European drug...
According to new findings published in the journal Tobacco Control, more than 53 million people in 88 countries have stopped smoking between 2008 – 2014 because of tobacco control measures.
Statistically, this means that during the 4-year...
A new European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) Best Practice report will be published in early 2017. It will take an in-depth look at substance use prevention in Europe.
The report's stated aim is "not to rate...
A new study suggests that Londoners consume the most cocaine during the week. However, it was also found that, when weekends were taken into account, the Belgian city of Antwerp overtook the UK’s capital for cocaine consumption. The results...
In its latest Smoke-Free Movies Report, the World Health Organisation (WHO) advised governments that films featuring tobacco use ought to be classified for their adult content. Published in the journal Tobacco Control, a new study supports...
New research suggests that certain personality traits, such as having a lack of restraint or being impulsive, increase the likelihood of developing alcohol use disorders. On the flip side, the study found that people with high resilience...
A new study carried out by researchers at Purdue University, and subsequently published in the journal PLOS ONE, has found that mixing alcohol with energy drinks may affect the adolescent brain in much the same way as does taking cocaine...
The latest Scottish Schools Adolescent Lifestyle and Substance Use Survey (SALSUS) provides a national overview of the prevalence of smoking, alcohol consumption and drug use in 2015, as well as looks at trends over time. It assesses risk...
The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) defines contingency management as “a general behavioural intervention technique used in the treatment of drug dependence … designed to weaken drug use and strengthen...
Alcohol use is common among children and adolescents despite the fact that this particular form of risk-behaviour can have a negative impact on one’s psychological and social development. A recent article published in the journal Drugs...
A recent review of studies focusing on excessive drinkers identified and counselled in primary care settings has found that, when combined with screenings and assessments, brief, regular intervention sessions lead to greater reductions in...
Four US states currently allow r
ecreational marijuana use and twenty-four allow medical marijuana. However, little research has been carried out to uncover the drug’s effect on the development of human embryos if smoked or consumed in...
Substance abuse entails a whole host of social, physical and mental health problems. A recent overview published in the Journal of Adolescent Health evaluates the effectiveness of interventions focused on smoking, alcohol or combined drug...
This month saw the release of the findings from the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD). The publication shows the country-by-country results for the use of various legal and illegal drugs. Thirty-five European...
Levels of alcohol consumption have generally decreased in the West over the last ten years. A series of papers published in a recent special issue of Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy focuses on this topic of drinking cultures...