The Brief Addiction Science Information Source (BASIS)

Op-Ed/Editorials - On the flip side: Unintended consequences of public health programs

The views expressed in the Op-Ed/Editorials page are solely the views of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the BASIS, its sponsors, or affiliated organizations. Howard J. Shaffer, Ph.D., C.A.S. Debi A. LaPlante, Ph.D. Division on Addictions Our job as scientists is to challenge conventional wisdoms, even when such challenges will be unpopular. Our profession charges us with finding the exceptions to rules and the caveats that end stories. With that in mind, in this editorial we consider the potential for unintended consequences of generally admired policies and programs. Although public policy and regulations often seek... Read more →

The WAGER Vol. 10(5) - Growing Pains: The progression of gambling problems from adolescence to young adulthood

Growing Pains: The progression of gambling problems from adolescence to young adulthood Researchers (Gupta & Derevensky, 1998; Jacobs, 2003; Shaffer, Hall, & Vander Bilt, 1999) have noted higher past-year prevalence rates of problem gambling among young people than among adults. Difference in the past-year prevalence could be due to a decrease in problem gambling with greater maturity. The differences might also be due to real differences between young people and adults or more basic measurement problems (e.g., inaccurate adolescent estimates and lack of commonality across populations in defining gambling problems). Without prospective study, any of these interpretations is possible. This... Read more →

Addiction and the Humanities, Volime 1(8) - Getting Smashed: The Story of One Woman’s Struggle with Alcohol Abuse

A recent study of college drinking behavior reveals that in 2001, 48.2% of students who consumed alcohol, drank to get drunk (Wechsler, et al., 2002). Alcohol, even in small servings, slows reflexes and impairs judgment; binge drinking* or drinking heavily can place people at greater risk for serious consequences, such as car crashes and date rape (NIAAA, 1995). Also disconcerting is a trend among female students: women are trying to drink as much alcohol, and as quickly, as their male counterparts. In April 2002, Time Magazine featured an article titled “Women On a Binge,” which discusses this phenomenon. The opening... Read more →

Op-Ed/Editorials - When Tribes Buy Racinos

The views expressed in the Op-Ed/Editorials page are solely the views of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the BASIS, its sponsors, or affiliated organizations. I. Nelson Rose, Ph.D. Professor, Whittier Law School Costa Mesa, CA BASIS, editorial board member Startling changes are sweeping the world of legal gambling. Gaming tribes that for decades lived in abject poverty now have a new problem: finding ways to diversify their enormous wealth. Meanwhile, states have the opposite difficulty. The Islamist attacks of 9/11, coming at the time of the burst of the Internet stock market bubble, drove most... Read more →

ASHES Vol. 1(4) - Where There’s Smoke There’s Fire: Personality and Metabolic Responses to Nicotine

Many smokers claim that smoking relieves anxiety and helps promote relaxation. Such claims are consistent with a self-medication motive for lighting up (Khantzian, 1997). Khantzian’s self-medication theory suggests, in part, that individuals engage in behaviors, sometimes excessively and harmfully, to compensate for problems like depression or anxiety. This week ASHES reviews a study of hostility, a problem that is often associated with an increased susceptibility to nicotine dependence. If Khantzian’s self-medication theory applies, nicotine is a way for people with hostile tendencies to diminish these feelings. In a recent study by Fallon, Keator, Mbogori, Turner, and Potkin (2004), the authors... Read more →

Op-Ed/Editorials - Strength Through Balance: The Importance of Councils on Problem Gambling

The views expressed in the Op-Ed/Editorials page are solely the views of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the BASIS, its sponsors, or affiliated organizations. Kathleen M. Scanlan Director, the Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling Editorial Board Member, BASIS The Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling’s founder and long-time executive director, Thomas N. Cummings, worked with great energy in the early 80’s to advocate for services to address problem gambling. In his appeals to Massachusetts Legislators and other public officials, he would often describe the services he was seeking as analogous to a three-legged stool. In order... Read more →

Op-Ed/Editorials - Come Bet with Me

The views expressed in the Op-Ed/Editorials page are solely the views of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the BASIS, its sponsors, or affiliated organizations. Ken Winters, Ph.D. Professor, Dept. of Psychiatry Director, Center for Adolescent Substance Abuse Research University of Minnesota For those who monitor the gambling industry, you will want to follow the recent proposal to expand gambling to the airways. Richard Branson, the entrepreneurial British owner of Virgin Atlantic Airlines, announced a couple of months ago that he intends to include blackjack and roulette on his new international fleet of double-decker planes. A... Read more →

The Dram, Volume 1(4) - Treating Co-occurring Alcoholism and Depression

National studies show that alcoholism and depression frequently co-occur (Kessler, Crum, Warner, Nelson, Schulenberg, Anthony, 1997). Each problem poses significant emotional, financial, and social costs to families and society. Though there are effective treatments for either health crisis alone, treating co-occurring depression and alcoholism might require more than simply combining effective individual approaches to each disorder. This week The DRAM focuses on a study by Moak, Anton, Latham, Voronin, Waid, and Durazo-Arvizu (2003) that assessed the effectiveness of sertraline, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), for treating drinking and depression, when added to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Moak et al.... Read more →