The Brief Addiction Science Information Source (BASIS)

ASHES, Vol. 9(11) – Who's first? A prospective study of smoking initiation among college students

Researchers are keenly interested in identifying risk factors and predictors of smoking initiation. However, relatively little attention has been afforded to the influence of different types of smoking (e.g., cigarettes, hookah, or marijuana) on each other. Today’s ASHES reviews a prospective longitudinal study that investigates how cigarette, hookah, and marijuana smoking influence the initiation of each other (Fielder, Carey & Carey, 2013). Methods The sample was derived from a larger health study of first-year female college students. The final sample for this study consisted of 483 participants. The study used a prospective longitudinal design. Participants completed a baseline survey during... Read more →

The DRAM, Vol. 9(11) - Assessing alcohol abuse prevention systems at US colleges

The risks to college students who drink at heavy or problematic levels are well-known (e.g., unintentional injuries, academic problems; Hingson, Zha, & Weitzman, 2009). To combat these problems, college administrators and health prevention specialists have implemented strategies that target both individuals and their environment to reduce high-risk drinking. This week’s DRAM reviews a study that assessed the current status of systems to prevent alcohol abuse at U.S. colleges (Toomey et al., 2013). Methods The researchers identified 1,572 accredited 4-year residential colleges and stratified the list according to college size (small: <2,500 students or large: >2,500 students) and funding source (public... Read more →

The WAGER, Vol. 18(11) – Doomed to fail? Predictors of problem gambling relapse

A large variety of factors determine whether someone will relapse into problem gambling after recovery. These range from genetics to environmental factors, and even include a person’s mood or stress level on a particular day (e.g.,Daughters et al. 2005). The few studies that examine these potential risk factors rarely look at more than one or two variables (e.g. Ledgerwood and Petry 2006) . This week’s WAGER reviews a prospective, longitudinal investigation into predictors of problem gambling relapse (Smith, Battersby, Pols, Harvey, Oakes, & Baigent, 2013). Studies such as these are valuable, because they allow us to track potential relapse factors... Read more →

STASH, Vol. 9(11) – I’d do this, but not that: Estimating the harms of using different psychoactive drugs

Many countries, including the United States, have developed classification systems for drugs based on their estimated risk for abuse, dependence, and negative consequences. However, it is not clear if these official systems reflect regular users’ opinions regarding the harmfulness of different drugs. Today’s STASH reviews a study that investigates how well official UK and US drug harmfulness classifications reflect regular drug users’ opinions of drug harmfulness (Morgan, Noronha, Muetzelfeldt, Fielding & Curran, 2013). Methods The researchers posted a survey announcement online, and passively recruited 5,691 individuals (76% males) from over 40 countries to complete an online survey of their beliefs... Read more →

ASHES, Vol. 9(10): Reality TV: Quit attempts in response to a national anti-smoking media campaign

Fifty percent of smokers attempt to quit every year through various means (CDC, 2011). Previous research suggests that highly emotional antismoking ads with personal stories or graphic imagery can be effective in getting people to quit (Dunlop, Cotter & Perez, 2013), though not consistently (Addiction & The Humanities, 8(8)). For 3 months last year, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ran a national multi-media anti-smoking campaign called “Tips from Former Smokers” (“Tips”). The campaign, which cost $54 million dollars, featured graphic advertisements showing the effect of smoking-related illness on individuals’ lives. This week, ASHES reviews a study... Read more →