Key Findings
This is a quick summary of the main discovery for each research paper we have published, organized issue by issue. Each key finding is below the article title, with a link to the abstract.
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May 2021
Changes in delta‐9‐tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) concentrations in cannabis over time: systematic review and meta‐analysis
Concentrations of THC in international cannabis markets increased from 1970 to 2017 while cannabidiol (CBD) remained stable.
Text messaging interventions for reducing alcohol consumption among risky drinkers: systematic review and meta‐analysis
Text messaging alcohol interventions may reduce alcohol consumption compared with no or basic health information but there are doubts about the overall quality of the evidence.
Effectiveness of drugs acting on adrenergic receptors in the treatment for tobacco or alcohol use disorders: systematic review and meta‐analysis
The noradrenaline system may be a promising mechanism to target in tobacco and alcohol use disorders.
Washington's liquor license system and alcohol‐related adverse health outcomes
In the US state of Washington, Initiative 1183 (privatizing liquor sales) appears to have been associated with a significant increase in the rate of accidental injury hospitalizations in urban counties.
SF‐6D utility scores for alcohol use disorder status and alcohol consumption risk levels in the US population
Higher alcohol consumption appears to be associated with worse health‐related quality of life and people who drink alcohol but become abstinent appears to be associated with a reduction in health-related quality of life.
Computer‐delivered brief alcohol intervention for patients with liver disease: a randomized controlled trial
A computer‐delivered brief alcohol intervention reduced drinking days and unhealthy drinking days at 6‐month follow up in military veterans with liver disease compared with brief education and advice to reduce consumption.
Latent alcohol use patterns and their link to depressive symptomatology in medical care patients
Patterns of ‘frequent alcohol use plus frequent bingeing’ and ‘occasional alcohol use plus occasional bingeing’ appear to have positive associations with depression when compared with ‘light alcohol use plus no or occasional bingeing’.
Assessment of the impact of implementation of a zero blood alcohol concentration law in Uruguay on moderate/severe injury and fatal crashes: a quasi‐experimental study
Implementing a zero blood alcohol concentration threshold for all drivers in Uruguay appears to have reduced fatal crashes during the following 12 and 24 months.
Internet‐based therapy versus face‐to‐face therapy for alcohol use disorder, a randomized controlled non‐inferiority trial
Among help‐seeking patients with alcohol use disorder, Internet‐delivered treatment was not inferior to face‐to‐face treatment in reducing alcohol consumption but failed to show non‐inferiority on some secondary outcomes.
Is cannabis being used as a substitute for non‐medical opioids by adults with problem substance use in the United States? A within‐person analysis
Among US adults with problem substance use who use non‐medical opioids, the odds of opioid use appear to be approximately doubled on days when cannabis is used.
Typologies of illicit drug use in mid‐adulthood: a quasi‐longitudinal latent class analysis in a community‐based sample of twins
Unique patterns of declined/discontinued (“desistant”) and persistent drug use are differentially heritable and differentially associated with risk factors, psychiatric symptoms, and substance use disorder outcomes.
The impact of survey mode on US national estimates of adolescent drug prevalence: results from a randomized controlled study
Adolescent drug prevalence estimates in the US differ little across electronic tablet versus paper‐and‐pencil survey modes and show little to no effect modification by socio‐demographics.
Cocaine treatment demands in 10 western European countries: observed trends between 2011 and 2018
Despite substantial country‐specific variation regarding cocaine prevalence and treatment demand, there has been an overall significant increase since 2015 in the share of cocaine‐related treatment demand in western Europe.
Skin‐cleaning among hospitalized people who inject drugs: a randomized controlled trial
A skin‐cleaning intervention for people who inject drugs delivered during hospitalization did not significantly reduce either overall emergency department use or hospitalization but may have reduced injection drug use‐related emergency department visits.
The role of social capital in facilitating hepatitis C treatment scale‐up within a treatment‐as‐prevention trial in the male prison setting
Social capital, including bonding, bridging, and linking, can play an important role in hepatitis C treatment‐as‐prevention efforts within the male prison setting.
Trends in cannabis use and attitudes toward legalization and use among Australians from 2001–2016: an age‐period‐cohort analysis
Cannabis use appears to be increasing in Australia among adults over 35 and decreasing among adolescents and young adults. Legalization support also appears to have been increasing since 2007, signaling discordance between use and attitudes among adolescents and young adults.
COVID‐19, smoking, vaping and quitting: a representative population survey in England
In England, current smokers and long‐term ex‐smokers appear to have higher odds of self‐reported COVID‐19 compared with never smokers in adjusted analyses, with no large differences between people who used nicotine replacement therapy or e‐cigarettes.
Physicians’ very brief (30‐sec) intervention for smoking cessation on 13 671 smokers in China: a pragmatic randomized controlled trial
A 30‐sec smoking cessation intervention increased self‐reported abstinence among smokers in China at 12‐month follow‐up.
Association of e‐cigarette advertising with e‐cigarette and cigarette use among US adults
In the US, exposure to e‐cigarette advertising appears to be positively associated with use of e‐cigarettes and cigarettes among adults and with increased cigarette consumption among older adults.
England SimSmoke: the impact of nicotine vaping on smoking prevalence and smoking‐attributable deaths in England
An indirect method of simulation modelling indicates that substantial reductions in smoking prevalence occurred in England from 2012–2019 coinciding with the growth in nicotine vaping product use.
Association of the COVID‐19 lockdown with smoking, drinking and attempts to quit in England: an analysis of 2019–20 data
In England, following the March 2020 COVID‐19 lockdown, rates of smoking cessation and use of remote cessation support increased, but so too did high‐risk drinking prevalence.
E‐cigarette use is associated with subsequent cigarette use among young adult non‐smokers, over and above a range of antecedent risk factors: a propensity score analysis
Among previously never‐smoking US young adults, e‐cigarette use appears to be strongly associated with subsequent combustible cigarette smoking, over and above measured pre-existing risk factors.
Assessing the concurrent validity, inter‐rater reliability and test–re‐test reliability of the Australian Treatment Outcomes Profile (ATOP) in alcohol and opioid treatment populations
The Australian Treatment Outcomes Profile (ATOP) is reliable for assessing recent substance use and clinical risk, health and welfare among alcohol and opioid clients in treatment settings and is suitable for routine clinical care.
Reconsidering alcohol treatment non‐responders: psychosocial functioning among heavy drinkers 3 years following treatment
Approximately one‐half of those who engage in heavy drinking in the year following treatment for alcohol use disorder appear to maintain high levels of psychosocial functioning up to 3 years following treatment.
Relationships between socio‐economic status and lottery gambling across lottery types: neighbourhood‐level evidence from a large city
People in lower socio‐economic status neighbourhoods in Toronto, Canada appear to engage in more lottery gambling than those in higher socio‐economic status neighbourhoods.