Round up

Citation

(2012), "Round up", Drugs and Alcohol Today, Vol. 12 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/dat.2012.54412aaa.004

Round up

Article Type: Round up From: Drugs and Alcohol Today, Volume 12, Issue 1

Alcohol

Associations between displayed alcohol references on Facebook and problem drinking among college students. The objective of the study was to examine the associations between displayed alcohol use and intoxication/problem drinking references on Facebook and self-reported problem drinking using a clinical scale. It included undergraduate students (18-20 years old) at two state universities with public Facebook profiles. Results suggest that clinical criteria for problem drinking can be applied to Facebook alcohol references. Megan Moreno, Dimitri Christakis, Katie G. Egan, Libby N. Brockman, and Tara Becker – Article in Arch. Pediatr. Adolesc. Med., October 2011 – DOI:10.1001/archpediatrics.2011.180. Online for subscribers. http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/archpediatrics.2011.180

Well connected – web-based treatment for problem drinkers. The main aim of this thesis from the Netherlands was to assess whether the web-based treatment program for problem drinking www.alcoholdebaas.nl was effective in terms of reducing alcohol consumption and improving health status. Marloes Gerda Postel – Thesis/Radboud University. http://repository.ubn.ru.nl/handle/2066/91233

British Society of Gastroenterology and Royal Bolton Hospital – QIPP Case Study reports on the work of alcohol care teams and their impact upon aims to reduce acute alcohol admissions and improve quality of care. www.evidence.nhs.uk/document?ci=http%3A%2F%2Farms.evidence.nhs.uk%2Fresources%2FQIPP%2F29420&ReturnUrl=%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dalcohol%2Bcare%2Bteams

2020 Health Report – From One To Many the risks of frequent excessive drinking – a project undertaken by 2020 health, a think tank, that looked at those termed “risky drinkers” who are increasing the risk to their future health by their high-alcohol consumption. The authors focus on individual screening for alcohol consumption to identify risky drinkers and the provision of brief interventions to tackle this drinking behaviour. They discuss the challenges to delivery of this kind of early treatment in GP practices and make recommendations for implementation of more universal screening and provision of brief interventions. www.2020health.org/2020health/research/From-one-to-many.html

Alcohol, work and productivity. this report from the Science Group of the European Alcohol and Health Forum summarises the most recent scientific evidence on the linkages between harmful drinking and productivity or employment, and on the workplace as a locus for addressing harm from alcohol, through workplace interventions. http://ec.europa.eu/health/cs/science_02_en.pdf

Brief interventions: achieving widespread delivery? Opportunities and challenges for the further delivery of alcohol “Identification & Brief Advice” (IBA) across England – looks at the challenges to implementing routine alcohol brief interventions (or ”IBA”) across England. http://ranzetta.typepad.com/files/brief-interventions_achieving-widespread-delivery.pdf

Drugs

The SRAP network is about addiction prevention within Roma and Sinti communities – is a network of 11 associated European partners (cities, NGOs and university), dedicated to sharing information, promoting mutual learning and carrying out research on prevention and reduction of use/abuse of illegal/legal drugs among young Roma. It publishes an e-newsletter. http://srap-project.eu/

Count the Costs campaign – being run by Transform Drug Policy Foundation focuses on the unintended consequences of the war on drugs. Launched for the 50th anniversary year of the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. The campaign has three aims:

1. 1.

   to document the costs of the war on drugs on a web site in seven key policy areas;

2. 2.

   to reach out to the wider NGO field through policy briefings assessing the potential costs and benefits of alternative approaches; and

3. 3.

   to promote debate on alternatives based on the best possible evidence and analysis. www.countthecosts.org/

Our invisible addicts – First report of the Older Persons’ Substance Misuse. Working Group of the Royal College of Psychiatrists – explores the issue of substance misuse by older people. It examines the nature and extent of substance misuse in older people, identifies precipitants and complications, highlights best-practice guidance. Considers training opportunities, develops future strategy, discusses clinical service provision and education, research, and policy. www.rcpsych.ac.uk/press/podcasts/ourinvisibleaddicts.aspx with a podcast

Consideration of the novel psychoactive substances (Legal highs). The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) was requested to consider the issue of Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPS). Their report provides high level advice to the government on various practicable policy and legislative options that would tackle the on-going sale, supply and consequential harms associated with NPS and considers areas for research. ACMD, October 2011, p. 70. www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/agencies-public-bodies/acmd1/acmdnps2011?view=Binary

The online market of ”legal highs” in Poland – a short article by Marta Kolasinka that shows Poland has among the highest number of consumers of designer drugs in Europe. This is a surprising result given the fact that Poland introduced new restrictive laws preventing the use of ”legal highs” in October 2010. www.rednetproject.eu/documents/newsletters/Rednet_News_AUG11.pdf

An Overview of New Psychoactive Substances and the Outlets Supplying Them. The National Advisory Committee on Drugs (Eire) commissioned a study of new psychoactive substances and the outlets supplying them. This review represents the aggregation of available knowledge on new psychoactive substances within the Irish context, and empirical research aimed at providing new insights into this complex phenomenon. Specifically, the review sought to assess the availability and accessibility of new psychoactive substances in retail outlets throughout Ireland and online, and to identify and describe the products, and where possible, their specific contents. Outlets supplying them. www.drugsandalcohol.ie/15390/

Vital signs: overdoses of prescription opioid pain relievers – United States, 1999-2008. During 1999-2008, overdose death rates, sales and substance abuse treatment admissions related to opioid pain relievers (OPR) all increased substantially. Overdose deaths involving OPR abuse now exceed deaths involving heroin and cocaine combined. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed rates of fatal OPR overdoses, non-medical use, sales and treatment admissions. This report describes the use and abuse of OPR by state. www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6043a4.htm?s_cid=mm6043a4_w

Estimating illicit financial flows resulting from drug trafficking and other transnational organized crimes research report – a UNODC report which examined the magnitude of illicit funds generated by drug trafficking and organized crime, and the extent to which they are laundered. It estimates that the total amount of criminal proceeds generated in 2009, excluding those derived from tax evasion, may have been approximately $2.1 trillion, or 3.6 per cent of GDP in that year (2.3-5.5 per cent). The illicit drug trade – accounting for half of all proceeds of transnational organized crime and a fifth of all crime proceeds – is the most profitable sector. The study paid particular attention to the market for cocaine; probably the most lucrative illicit drug trafficked across borders. The findings suggest that most profits from the cocaine trade are laundered in North America and in Europe, whereas illicit income from other sub-regions is probably laundered in the Caribbean. www.unodc.org/unodc/en/frontpage/2011/October/illicit-money_-how-much-is-out-there.html?ref=fs6

Dad and Me: research into the problems caused by absent fathers – an Addaction, UK report which considers the impact a father’s absence has on his children’s lives. The negative effects of his absence manifest in all kinds of ways; through anti-social behaviour and criminal activity, and sometimes through heavy drinking and drug use. www.addaction.org.uk/news.asp?itemid=735&itemTitle=Absentee±dads±fuelling±addiction%2C±anti±social±behaviour±and±crime%2C±says±Addaction±report&section=80&sectionTitle=News&postComment=NO

Holding Pattern: an exploratory study of the lived experiences of those on methadone maintenance in Dublin North East – a brief report exploring the views clients and service users, from the Clients Forum of the Dublin North East Drugs Task Force (Ireland) about their experiences of progressing through treatment and rehabilitation. www.drugsandalcohol.ie/16231/1/Van_Hout_Bingham_Dublin_North_East_report_Holding_Pattern_(2).pdf

Drug-Related Emergency Department Visits Attributed to Intentional Poisoning – a national report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reveals that more than 14,720 emergency department visits were caused by drug-related intentional poisonings during 2009. The report shows that the majority of those visits (63 per cent) were by females, and that 73 per cent of the visits were by people aged 21 or older. A wide variety of substances were involved in these intentional poisonings, including alcohol, illicit drugs, and pharmaceuticals. http://oas.samhsa.gov/2k11/DAWN040/WEB_DAWN_040.htm

Tobacco

Action on Smoking and Health – have updated the following free fact sheets Young People and Smoking, and Smoking: Illness and Death http://ash.org.uk/information/facts-and-stats/fact-sheets. Their briefings on Plain Packaging and on Tobacco Displays at Point of Sale have also been recently updated. http://ash.org.uk/information/facts-and-stats/ash-briefings

Other media

Healing Neen – after surviving a childhood of abuse and neglect, Tonier “Neen” Cain lived on the streets for two decades, where she endured violence, hunger and despair. She had 66 criminal convictions related to her addiction. Incarcerated and pregnant in 2004, treatment for her lifetime of trauma offered her a way out. This film recounts her story Produced by: Laura Cain, Thom Stromer, Tonier Cain, Leon Shea, Gallery 144 Productions – 54 minutes, www.openfilm.com/videos/healingneen

Minister of Tobacco – a Dutch documentary describes the strong links between the Dutch Minister of Health, Edith Schippers, and the tobacco industry, in apparent violation of Article 5.3 of the FCTC. Since Edith Schippers became Health Minister in October 2010 a number of tobacco control initiatives have been weakened or cancelled, including the reversal of the smoke-free law in small bars, funding cuts for media campaigns, and the cancellation of reimbursement for stop-smoking medications. The English version of the documentary available at: www.itcproject.org/blogs/mediacover/ministerof-tobacco-in-the-netherlands

Prohibition – a three-part documentary series, which explores the story of what happens when the US outlawed the sale of intoxicating liquor – and the disastrous unintended consequences that follow. This cautionary tale raises profound questions about the proper role of government and the limits of legislating morality. Preview at: http://video.pbs.org/video/1855374167 3 DVD set (6 h): Item No PROH600: www.shoppbs.org/product/index.jsp?productId=11696663&csu=268264&csc=267767&csm=207385720&csa=205142542

The State of Harm Reduction in Europe: a film crew of the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union attended a recent meeting of the European Harm Reduction Network (EuroHRN) in Marseille and interviewed professionals and activists from several countries to provide an overview of the current state of harm reduction in Europe. www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KxldfcQlQE&feature=player_embedded

Compiled by Christine Goodair, who is Chair-Elect of SALIS, The International Organisation for Substance Abuse Librarians and Information Specialists.