The Brief Addiction Science Information Source (BASIS)

The DRAM Vol. 4(1) - Alcohol Use and HIV Risk in South Africa

Residents of sub-Saharan Africa comprise 60% of the 41 million people in the world with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS; World Health Organization and UNAIDS, 2004); about 18.8% of South African adults have human immunodeficiency virus (HIV; World Health Organization, 2006). Changing behaviors that increase the risk of HIV exposure, such as risky consumption of alcohol, might improve the public health in this region. This week’s DRAM reviews a study examining the relationships among alcohol-sex outcome expectancies, alcohol use in sexual contexts, sensation seeking, and HIV risk behaviors within a population of South African sexually transmitted infection (STI) clinic patients... Read more →

The WAGER Vol. 13(1): When Your Heart Beats for Gambling

The excitement of gambling is often described as an increased arousal, where gamblers experience an almost euphoric state. This euphoria is believed to be an important factor in the reinforcement of gambling. Moodie & Finnigan (2005) investigated elevated arousal in frequent and infrequent fruit machine players, as well as non-gamblers. Each group consisted of 21 individuals (three females in each group). Frequent gamblers were identified as people who gambled more than three times a week. Infrequent gamblers in this sample gambled an average of two times a month and non-gamblers had no history of gambling. The study gave participants £6... Read more →

STASH Vol. 4 (1) – Running with the (Red) Bulls: Is energy drink consumption fueling caffeine dependence among college students?

Approximately 70% of college students report not getting enough sleep (Engle-Friedman et al., 2003), and many students resort to caffeine consumption to remedy sleep deprivation. Since the late 1990’s, energy drinks like Red Bull have been supplementing coffee and soda as sources of caffeine (Ellis, 2006). According to the Mayo Clinic, many popular energy drinks contain as much or more caffeine as a cup of coffee (Mayo Clinic, 2007). The increasing popularity of energy drinks with high caffeine levels among college students might lead to an increased number who suffer from the side effects of caffeine consumption (e.g., dehydration, increased... Read more →

Op-Ed/Editorials: Private Interest vs. Public Interest: Science Caught in the Crossfire

Leslie Bosworth, B.A. Debi LaPlante, Ph.D. Richard LaBrie, Ed.D. Howard Shaffer, Ph.D, C.A.S. As public policy makers and scientists address modern public health problems such as obesity, they acknowledge the negative impact the tobacco industry had on public health policy discussions of the past (Danynard, 2003). For the past few decades, the tobacco industry introduced industry favoring scientific evidence to public policy discussion, slowing legislation addressing health issues such as second hand smoke. This harmful effect coupled with allegations of biased research has sparked debate among the research community as to the moral integrity of accepting private funding, especially from... Read more →

Addiction & the Humanities Vol. 4(1) - Frank "Superfly" Lucas: American Gangster

In the last Humanities, we discussed the role of Khun Sa, "The Golden Triangle King", in international drug trafficking. Based out of Myanmar (formerly Burma) Khun Sa had enormous success in growing and trafficking opium. Continuing with the theme of drug trafficking, this week's HUMANITIES reviews the newly released Denzel Washington movie, American Gangster. The movie is similar to other Hollywood movies depicting gangsters and drug dealers (e.g., The Godfather I, II, and III, Scarface, Goodfellas, Hustle and Flow), but American Gangster's storyline is inspired by a real drug dealer: Frank "Superfly" Lucas. The title American Gangster is the first... Read more →

ASHES Vol. 4(1) - Is Honesty Always the Best Policy? How the TRUTH and “Think. Don’t Smoke.” Anti-Smoking Campaigns Influence Adolescent Perceived Smoking Prevalence

Research has shown that some adolescents tend to overestimate smoking among their peers (Sherman, Presson, Chassin, Corty, & Olshavsky, 1983; Tyas & Pederson, 1998). Longitudinal and cross-sectional studies show that such overestimation predicts smoking in the future (Miller & McFarland, 1987; Prentice & Miller, 1996). Anti-smoking campaigns have worked to correct adolescents’ inaccurate perceptions about smoking prevalence; however, there is a paucity of research assessing the effect of these programs. This week’s ASHES reviews a comparison of the TRUTH and the “Think. Don’t Smoke.” (TDS) campaigns’ influence on adolescents’ perceived smoking prevalence. To evaluate the influence of two anti-smoking public... Read more →