The Brief Addiction Science Information Source (BASIS)

The DRAM, Vol. 9(10) – If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again: Alcohol outlet compliance rate does not tell the whole story about underage alcohol availability

To measure the availability of alcohol to underage consumers, researchers and policy-makers commonly examine non-compliance rate – the percent of stores selling alcohol in a given area at which a minor is able to purchase alcohol because stores are not complying with purchasing laws (Freisthler, Gruenewald, Trena et al., 2003; Paschall, Grube, Black et al., 2007; Toomey, Komro, Oakes et al., 2008). If non-compliance rates in a given area are low, it is generally believed that alcohol is not available to minors. However, because adolescents are generally free to visit as many alcohol outlets as they want and share information... Read more →

The WAGER, Vol. 18(10) - Slot machine response frequency predicts gambling disorder

Some structural characteristics of slot machines are believed to increase the time and money gamblers spend gambling. These characteristics might include frequent small gains and “near misses”, big wins, and manipulation of symbol sequence and contingencies (as reviewed by Linnet, Thomsen, Møller, & Callesen, 2013). In addition, differences in how people play slot machines might differentiate people who have gambling problems from those who do not. This week’s WAGER reviews the first study to demonstrate an association between the frequency of slot machine responses and Gambling Disorder (GD) (Linnet et al., 2013). Methods Researchers assessed the slot machine response frequency... Read more →

STASH, Vol. 9(10) - 140 characters at a time: Attempting to track Adderall use with Twitter

Growing research suggests that social media data can fuel the emergence of technology-enhanced public health monitoring. For example, Signorini and colleagues (2011) used Twitter as a tool to survey and predict H1N1 (swine flu) outbreaks. Recently, researchers have started to examine whether social media data provide valuable public health information for behavioral disorders, such as addictive behavior. This week’s STASH examines a study that used Twitter status messages to monitor mentions of misuse of Adderall, a psychostimulant often prescribed as a medication for ADHD (Hanson, Burton, Giraud-Carrier, West, & Barnes, 2013). Methods The researchers used software[1] that enables Twitter users... Read more →

ASHES, Vol. 9(9) – Taking your doctor’s advice to heart: Role of heart attack severity in successful smoking cessation

Smoking cessation can significantly reduce the mortality risk among smoking patients with coronary artery disease (Critchley & Capewell, 2003). However, many patients fail to quit smoking despite the well-known risk. Today’s ASHES reviews a study that investigates adherence to guidelines to quit smoking among patients after a myocardial infarction (MI) (Choi et al., 2013). Methods The researchers recruited 275 smoking patients (97% males) immediately after or one year after they had been admitted to a hospital due to MI. All patients were instructed to stop smoking by their doctors. The researchers collected data on Smoking behavior, Severity of coronary artery... Read more →