Addiction

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Few studies of the impacts of COVID-19 public health measures on drug markets and drug use patterns have used longitudinal data. We aimed to examine whether COVID-19 measures were associated with increases in methamphetamine price, decreases in methamphetamine use frequency, and subsequent changes in secondary outcomes of other drug use frequency in metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria. DESIGN: Longitudinal analysis framework was used from a longitudinal cohort of people who use methamphetamine SETTING: Victoria state, Australia...

AIMS: To measure the impact of Canada's recreational cannabis legalization (RCL) in October 2018 and the subsequent impact of the COVID-19 lockdowns from March 2020 on rates of emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations for traffic injury. DESIGN: An interrupted time series analysis of rates of ED visits and hospitalizations in Canada recorded in population-based databases from January/April 2010 to March 2021. SETTING: ED visits in Ontario and Alberta and hospitalizations in Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, Prairies [Manitoba, Saskatchewan], and Maritimes [Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island]...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Psychosocial approaches are the hallmark of treatment for harmful alcohol use. However, the most effective psychosocial intervention has not been identified. We aimed to compare the effectiveness of psychosocial therapy for harmful alcohol use using a network meta-analysis approach. METHODS: We searched PubMed, Embase, CENTRAL, CINAHL and ProQuest Dissertations & Theses from inception to January 2022. Randomized controlled trials in adults age >18 years with harmful alcohol use were included...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) Cascade of Care is a public health model that has been used to measure population-level OUD risk, treatment engagement, retention, service, and outcome indicators. However, no studies have examined its relevance for American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities. Thus, we aimed to understand (1) the utility of existing stages and (2) the relative "fit" of the OUD Cascade of Care from a tribal perspective. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, AND MEASUREMENTS: Qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews with 20 individuals who were knowledgeable about the treatment of OUD in an Anishinaabe tribal setting in Minnesota, U...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The Scottish Government introduced minimum unit pricing (MUP) for alcohol on 1st May 2018. This means retailers in Scotland cannot sell alcohol to consumers for less than £0.50 per unit (1 UK unit = 8g ethanol). The Government intended the policy to increase the price of cheap alcohol, cut alcohol consumption overall and particularly among those drinking at hazardous or harmful levels, and ultimately reduce alcohol-related harm. This paper aims to summarise and assess the evidence to date evaluating the impact of MUP on alcohol consumption and related behaviours in Scotland...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The characteristics of cannabis-involved motor vehicle collisions are poorly understood. This study of injured drivers identifies demographic and collision characteristics associated with high tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentrations. DESIGN: Prospective observational study. SETTING: Fifteen Canadian trauma centres between January 2018 and December 2021. Cases Injured drivers (n=6956) who required blood testing as part of routine trauma care...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Participating in online gambling is associated with an increased risk for experiencing gambling-related harms, driving calls for more effective, personalized harm prevention initiatives. Such initiatives depend on the development of models capable of detecting at-risk online gamblers. We aimed to determine whether machine learning algorithms can use site data to detect retrospectively at-risk online gamblers indicated by the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI)...

AIMS: For smokers unmotivated to quit, we assessed the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of behavioural support to reduce smoking and increase physical activity on prolonged abstinence and related outcomes. DESIGN: A multi-centred pragmatic two-arm parallel randomised controlled trial. SETTING: Primary care and the community across four United Kingdom sites. PARTICIPANTS: Nine hundred and fifteen adult smokers (55% female, 85% White), recruited via primary and secondary care and the community, who wished to reduce their smoking but not quit...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Socio-cultural (gender) and biological (sex)-based differences contribute to psychostimulant susceptibility, potentially affecting treatment responsiveness among women with methamphetamine use disorder (MUD). The aims were to measure (i) how women with MUD independently and compared with men respond to treatment versus placebo and (ii) among women, how the hormonal method of contraception (HMC) affects treatment responsiveness. DESIGN: This was a secondary analysis of ADAPT-2, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter, two-stage sequential parallel comparison design trial...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The rate of drug poisoning (or overdose) deaths in England and Wales has risen annually since 2010. The current study aimed to measure seasonal and other cyclical changes in these deaths within years. METHODS: We used the daily count of deaths due to drug poisoning in England and Wales between 1 January 1993 and 31 December 2018 to investigate variation by season, weekday, week-of-month, and public holiday. We used Poisson regression to estimate the count of deaths per day for each of these variables and peak-to-low ratios...

AIMS: To evaluate whether adding financial incentives to usual care is cost-effective in encouraging pregnant women to quit tobacco smoking, compared with usual care alone. DESIGN: Cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) and cost-utility analysis (CUA) from a healthcare provider's perspective, embedded in the Smoking Cessation in Pregnancy Incentives Trial (CPIT III). Long-term analyses were conducted from the same perspective, using an existing Markov model over a lifetime horizon...

AIMS: To quantify the association between opioid agonist treatment (OAT) and overdose death by age group; test the hypothesis that across different age groups, opioid overdose mortality is lowest during OAT with buprenorphine compared with time out of treatment or OAT with methadone; and test associations between OAT and opioid overdose mortality in the presence of chronic circulatory, respiratory, liver, and kidney diseases. DESIGN: Retrospective observational cohort study using linked administrative data...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Chronic infection with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) has a detrimental impact on health-related quality of life (QoL). Scale-up of HCV direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy among people who inject drugs (PWID) is underway in several countries since the introduction of interferon-free regimens. This study aimed to assess the impact of DAA treatment success on QoL for PWID. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study using two rounds of the Needle Exchange Surveillance Initiative, a national anonymous bio-behavioural survey, and a longitudinal study involving PWID who underwent DAA therapy...

This paper critically analyses a statement by Australia's National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) on e-cigarettes in May 2022 that will be used to guide national policy. We reviewed the evidence and the conclusions drawn in the NHMRC Statement. In our view, the Statement is not a balanced reflection of the benefits and risks of vaping because it exaggerates the risks of vaping and fails to compare them to the far greater risks of smoking; it uncritically accepts evidence of harms from e-cigarettes while adopting a highly sceptical attitude towards evidence of their benefits; it incorrectly claims that the association between adolescent vaping and subsequent smoking is causal; and it understates the evidence of the benefits of e-cigarettes in assisting smokers to quit...

Long-acting injectable buprenorphine (LAIB) is a new treatment for opioid use disorder that is generating positive outcomes. Negative effects are typically mild and transient but can occasionally be serious, resulting in treatment discontinuation/non-adherence. This paper aims to analyse patients' accounts of how they felt during the first 72 hours after initiating LAIB METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were conducted (June 2021-March 2022) with 26 people (18 male, 8 female) who had started LAIB within the previous 72 hours...