Media/Press Kit
Brief Addiction Science Information Source
Purpose and Significance of BASIS
The BASIS is an Internet site of the Division on Addictions at the Cambridge Health Alliance, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School. The Division is dedicated to promoting worldwide understanding of addiction and the minimizing the harmful effects of addictive behaviors. Visitors to the site can learn about cutting-edge research on addiction involving gambling, alcohol, tobacco and more. The BASIS offers a variety of resources for researchers, treatment providers, public policy makers and other individuals concerned about the impact of addiction on their own life or the lives of friends and family members.
According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, more Americans use the Web to search for health and medical information (66%) than to book travel reservations (55%) or to download music (20%). People appreciate quick and free access to health information; however, filtering the junk science that litters the Internet is a challenge, especially for those without a science background. The BASIS fills the need for credible information about addiction that is science-based but accessible to a public audience. The involvement of Harvard Medical School faculty members and their dedication to publicizing evidence-based health information ensures the high quality of the BASIS materials.
Components of BASIS
Science and Education
Each week, the BASIS publishes one of five online journals: The WAGER, The DRAM, STASH, ASHES, and Addiction and the Humanities which focus, respectively, on issues surrounding gambling, alcohol, other drugs, and tobacco addiction, and their relationship to and influence on our society. Access to these timely research reports is free and open to the public. Readers are invited to join a free email notification list that announces on a weekly basis the topic of each new issue.
Journalists will find that the one-page reports are a valuable resource when researching a story on addiction. For example, a reporter looking for information on youth gambling can do a quick search of the past issues of The WAGER for research findings on this population. The DRAM and ASHES, which debuted in January 2005, have similarly rich archives on which to draw.
Self-help Tools
Research reveals that many people change their excessive behavior patterns without entering formal treatment. The Division on Addictions is creating several self-administered guides to help people get started on the process of change. Participation is free and anonymous.
Addiction Resources
The BASIS offers access to diagnostic and screening instruments, curricula, scientific article reprints, and presentations by Division on Addictions faculty.
Facts
The BASIS evolved from a successful Division on Addictions science publication, The Weekly Addiction Gambling Education Report (The WAGER; now the Worldwide Addiction Gambling Education Report). The WAGER began as a weekly fax designed to bring addiction science to academics and the greater public. In 1999, The WAGER changed to an Internet-based publication without interruption to its publication schedule. Today The WAGER boasts almost 6,500 hits per month and readers from not just the United States but also Canada, Japan, Australia, the United Kingdom, Italy, Israel, Germany, China, Singapore and Mexico among others. Furthermore, The WAGER was listed in The New York Times technology section (March 29, 2001) as one of the top Internet resources devoted to examining the clinical, economic, legal, and social dimensions of problem gambling. The success of The WAGER inspired the Division on Addictions to build an online resource focused on the broad range of addictive behaviors.
Funding
The BASIS is made possible by funding from the National Center for Responsible Gaming, through the Institute for Research on Pathological Gambling and Related Disorders, bwin.com, Interactive Entertainment, AG, Hyatt Gaming Services, Inc., and the Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling. We thank these donors for supporting our efforts to foster public understanding of addiction and reduce addiction-related harms.
Media Contact
Christine Reilly, Executive Director
The Institute for Research on Pathological Gambling and Related Disorders
Phone: 781-306-8604
E-mail: christine_reilly@challiance.org
