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Parental Absence in Early Childhood and Onset of Smoking and Alcohol Consumption before Adolescence

Scientific article

10 October 2016

Abstract Background: Parental absence, due to death or separation from a parent, has been associated with smoking and alcohol consumption in adolescence and adulthood. The aim of this study was to investigate whether parental absence in...

Current Tobacco Smoking and Desire to Quit Smoking among Students — Global Youth Tobacco Survey 2012–2015

Scientific article

26 May 2017

Summary What is already known about this topic? Smoked tobacco products, such as cigarettes and cigars, are the most common form of tobacco consumed worldwide and most tobacco smokers begin smoking during adolescence. What is added by this...

Do α2-Adrenergic Agonists Decrease the Symptoms Associated With Opioid Withdrawal?

Scientific article

1 June 2017

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

Scientific article

24 August 2016

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

Scientific article

17 May 2017

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

Book

17 May 2017

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

Scientific article

15 May 2017

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?

Scientific article

16 May 2017

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

Book

16 May 2017

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?

Scientific article

16 May 2017

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...