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Aims: The United Kingdom and Australia have developed highly divergent policy responses to electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS). To understand the historical origins of these differences, we describe the history of tobacco control in each country and the key roles played in setting ENDS policy in its early stages by public health regulations and policy networks, anti‐smoking organizations, 'vaper' activist networks and advocates of harm reduction policies towards injecting drug use. Methods: We analysed key government reports, policy statements from public health bodies and non‐government organizations (e.g. cancer councils and medical organizations) on ENDS; submissions to an Australian parliamentary inquiry; media coverage of policy debates in medical journals; and the history of tobacco control policy in Australia and England. Key discourses about ENDS were identified for each country. These were compared across countries during a multi‐day face‐to‐face meeting, where consensus was reached on the key commonalities and divergences in historical approaches to nicotine policy. This paper focuses on England, as different policy responses were apparent in constituent countries of the United Kingdom, and Scotland in particular. Results: Policymakers in Australia and England differ markedly in the priority that they have given to using ENDS to promote smoking cessation or restricting smokers' access to prevent uptake among young people. In understanding the origins of these divergent responses, we identified the following key differences between the two countries' approaches to nicotine regulation: an influential scientific network that favoured nicotine harm reduction in the United Kingdom and the absence of such a network in Australia; the success of different types of health activism both in England and in Europe in opposing more restrictive policies; and the greater influence on policy in England of the field of illicit drug harm reduction. Conclusions: An understanding of the different policy responses to electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) in England and Australia requires an appreciation of how actors within the different policy structures, scientific networks and activist organizations in each country and region have interpreted the evidence and the priority that policymakers have given to the competing goals of preventing adolescent uptake and encouraging smokers to use ENDS to quit smoking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Kettil Bruun Society for Social and Epidemiological Research on Alcohol (KBS) was established in 1987 and is an independent organization open to all scientists working on problems related to social and epidemiological research on alcohol. The aim of the Society is to promote social and epidemiological research which fosters a comparative understanding of the social aspects of alcohol use and alcohol problems. In line with this the Society also aims at promoting a spirit of international collaboration. The Kettil Bruun Society is based on individual membership and, by 2003, has 197 fully paid-up members, representing 34 different countries over five continents. The main activities include an annual meeting as well as thematic meetings. In these meetings, discussions are emphasized by having precirculated papers and assigned discussants. The KBS also serves as a basis for organizing international collaborative projects. Project meetings or work-shops are often organized around the annual meetings, and the projects tend to run over several years. The Society's primary influence is through the mutual influence of its members on each others’ thinking, the work of the projects that KBS sponsors and the influence its members have collectively on the development of the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The aim of this paper is to provide an account of the history, current status and vision of the Korean Institute on Alcohol Problems (KIAP). In the context of increasing alcohol consumption, rising second-hand effects and industry-friendly government policy, the Korean College Alcohol Study (KCAS) was established in the Republic of Korea in 1999, and changed its name to the Korean Institute on Alcohol Problems (KIAP) in 2005. KIAP's mission is to decrease alcohol consumption and its related harms by promoting research, advocating policy, developing intervention programmes and preparing media communications. Since 1999, KIAP has published scientific papers and books in alcohol research and used the internet and other media for dissemination of specialized information to the general population. In the last decade, KIAP has trained front-line alcohol researchers, and advanced domestic and international networks to promote evidence-based alcohol control policy in Korea. The light of hope shines brightly as KIAP grows and establishes critical linkages to move forward in its mission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Aim It has been proposed that alcohol industry 'social aspects/public relations' organizations (SAPROs) serve the agenda of lending credibility to industry claims of corporate responsibility while promoting ineffective industry-friendly interventions (such as school-based education or TV advertising campaigns) and creating doubt about interventions which have a strong evidence base (such as higher taxes on alcoholic beverages). This paper investigated whether submissions to Australia's National Preventative Health Taskforce (NPHT) from alcohol industry bodies regarding the Australian SAPRO, Drinkwise, have used this organization to demonstrate corporate responsibility while promoting industry-friendly interventions. Method Submissions to the Australian National Preventative Health Taskforce (NPHT) discussion paper Australia, the healthiest country by 2020 ( n = 375) were examined to identify those with primary alcohol content. A thematic analysis of the resulting 33 submissions was conducted to determine which organization, institution or individual discussed Drinkwise. Setting Australia. Findings Nine of the 33 submissions discussed Drinkwise; all were submitted by the alcohol industry or its affiliates. Every industry submission referred to Drinkwise either as providing evidence of social responsibility or by suggesting the industry-friendly actions of Drinkwise as alternatives to those recommended by the NPHT report. Conclusions Drinkwise has been used by the alcohol industry to create an impression of social responsibility while promoting interventions that maintain profits and campaigning against effective interventions such as higher taxes on alcohol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims This paper provides a description of the rationale, study design, treatments and assessment procedures used in the Cannabis Youth Treatment (CYT) experiment. Design CYT was designed to (a) test the relative effectiveness, cost and benefitcost of five promising treatment interventions under field conditions and (b) provide evidence based manual-guided models of these interventions to the treatment field. Setting The study involved two community-based treatment programs and two major medical centers.. Participants Participants were 600 adolescents recruited from the regular intake who were between the ages of 12 and 18, had used marijuana in the past 90 days, and met one or more criteria of dependence or abuse. Interventions Participants were randomly assigned to one of five interventions: Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Family Support Network (FSN), Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach (ACRA), or Multidimensional Family Therapy (MDFT). Measurements Self-report data were collected at intake, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months post discharge using the Global Appraisal of Individual Needs (GAIN), as well as several supplemental self-reports, collateral reports, urine testing, and service logs. Findings This paper reports on the study's implementation including the psychometric properties of the measures (alphas over 0.8), validity of self-report (kappa over 0.6), high rates of treatment completion (81% completed two or more months), and high rates of follow-up (over 94% per wave). Conclusions The feasibility of implementing the CYT manual-guided treatment and quality assurance model in community-based adolescent treatment programs is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims. We previously reported effects of the GMCA intervention in reducing social and commercial access to alcohol by youth, and reducing alcohol use by 18-20-year-olds. This paper reports on effects of CMGA on arrests and car crashes. Design. CMGA was a group-randomized trial that implemented and evaluated a community-organizing effort to change community policies and practices to reduce youth access to alcohol. Seven Midwestern communities were randomly assigned to the intervention condition and eight communities were assigned to the control condition. Intervention. For 2.5 years, a part-time community organizer worked in each of the seven intervention communities with local public officials, enforcement agencies, alcohol merchants, the media, schools and other community groups to reduce youth access to alcohol. Measurement. We collected annual arrest and quarterly traffic crash data for the years 1987-1995, providing a 6-year baseline and 3 years of data during the intervention. Data were stratified into two target age groups (15-17 and 18-20) and a control group (age 21 and over). Analyses used random-coefficient models because we had repeated observations for each unit of assignment in a group-randomized trial with heterogeneous trends across communities. Findings. We observed net declines in the intervention communities for all arrest and traffic crash indicators. The decline was statistically significant for DUI arrests among 18-20-year-olds and approached significance for DUI arrests and disorderly conduct violations among 15-17-year-olds. Conclusions. Together with previously published results from this study, the results reported here suggest that a community-organizing approach to limit youth access to alcohol may be effective, at least for selected end-points and subgroups. We conclude that this approach may be useful, but that a longer intervention period is required to increase effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the commentary "Correcting the Record on NCRG-Funded Research" by L. Cottler et al in volume 111 of the periodical.

The article offers news briefs related to alcohol and its effects on human beings. The National Alliance for Action on Alcohol (NAAA) is inviting memberships from other organizations. According to University of California's Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research (CMCR), cannabis can be used as a treatment for some pain related medical conditions. The American Psychiatric Association's 2010 Annual Meeting will be held in New Orleans, Louisiana from May 22-26, 2010.

The article provides detailed information on The Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs (APSAD). The society was established in 1981 as Australian Medical Society on Alcohol and Other Drugs (AMSAD). The society focuses on factors including changing patterns of alcohol and other drugs (AOD) usage, comorbidity issues and to improve the standards in clinical practice and research into AOD issues. The article also describes the activities, developments, goals, membership fees, advantages of memberships, tie-ups with other organizations and recent achievements of the society.

The Society for the Study of Addiction (SSA) is a learned society which is a company limited by guarantee with charitable status, an independent organization promoting the cause of research, public policy and treatment of addiction. Founded in London in 1884 with the aim of promoting a research-based understanding of inebriety, it is the oldest society of its kind. The pursuit and enhancement of evidence-based policy and treatment informed its work in the early days and has remained its organizing principle throughout its history. Led initially by medical political interests, the Society has grown to encompass a broader disciplinary base, reflecting the expansion of interest in addiction from biological, psychological and social science into nursing, social work, probation, other arms of criminal justice work and voluntary sector professionals. Today its membership is made up of researchers, practitioners and policy makers from all these disciplines, the majority of whom reside and work in the United Kingdom; its international membership makes up nearly one-third of the total membership and there are current endeavors to expand collaboration with other national societies in the field. Its activities are focused upon the Society journals, Addiction and Addiction Biology, other publishing activities, the annual symposium and a number of policy initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author focuses on the publication of the book "Drinking in Context: Patterns, Interventions, and Partnerships." The book is the result of a collaboration between four organizations, the International Harm Reduction Association, the World Federation for Mental Health, the International Center for Alcohol Policies, and the Institut de Recherches Scientifiques sur les Boissons. The author reports that the book is addresses drinking patterns, targeted and tailored interventions, alcohol-impaired driving, public disorder related to drinking, drinking by young people, and interventions minimizing harm. Particular attention is given to the author's concern about members of the alcohol industry publishing scientific research on the dangers of alcohol.

The article discusses the series of 13 commissioned statements published by "Addiction" depicting the life and times of a range of societies dealing with alcohol and drugs. The international coverage of the series includes reports from North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australasia. Lists of societies and dates of foundation and key features are also presented in the article. Twelve of the organizations are identifiable as national societies with the 13th international in its membership and intention.

Aim To determine whether marijuana use predicts later development of depression after accounting for differences between users and non-users of marijuana. Design An ongoing longitudinal survey of 12 686 men and women beginning in 1979. Setting The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth of 1979, a nationally representative sample from the United States. Participants A total of 8759 adults (age range 29–37 years) interviewed in 1994 had complete data on past-year marijuana use and current depression. Measurements Self-reported past-year marijuana use was tested as an independent predictor of later adult depression using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies—Depression questionnaire. Individual’s propensity to use marijuana was calculated using over 50 baseline covariates. Findings Before adjusting for group differences, the odds of current depression among past-year marijuana users is 1.4 times higher (95% CI: 1.1, 1.9) than the odds of depression among the non-using comparison group. After adjustment, the odds of current depression among past-year marijuana users is only 1.1 times higher than the comparison group (95% CI: 0.8, 1.7). Similarly, adjustment eliminates significant associations between marijuana use and depression in four additional analyses: heavy marijuana use as the risk factor, stratifying by either gender or age, and using a 4-year lag-time between marijuana use and depression. Conclusions After adjusting for differences in baseline risk factors of marijuana use and depression, past-year marijuana use does not significantly predict later development of depression. These findings are discussed in terms of their relevance for understanding possible causal effects of marijuana use on depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Brazilian Association for the Study of Alcohol and other Drugs [Associação Brazileira de Estudos do Álcool e outras Drogas (ABEAD)] is a non‐profit entity with the purpose of encouraging discussions and exchanges on advances in the prevention, treatment and research of addition. It currently brings together 840 professionals from different areas, such as Psychiatry, Social Assistance, Nursing, Psychology, Sociology, Law, in addition to community leaders, thus having an innovative and dynamic character. It organises annual national congresses and regional meetings hosting foreign guests. The society has a style that is innovative and dynamic. After more than 20 years of work, ABEAD exerts significant national influence and its members have been invited to participate in the main decisions regarding issues linked to drug abuse in Brazil. Among other achievements, it has contributed to the proposals on prevention and treatment policies and the standardization of the different levels of assistance provided by public health‐care. In addition, its members have worked closely with the initiatives made by the government and medical entities in the search for a consensus on the treatment of the different types of dependence, including alcohol dependence and smoking. ABEAD's goal for the future is to broaden its participation in the national drug policy arena and to intensify the work with other medical organizations and with the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the effectiveness of the drug education program of the Australian organization Life Education. Examination of the short-term public health effects on primary schoolchildren of whom were exposed to five consecutive years of the program; Predictors for social drug use.

The author reflects on the need for a strong global response on alcohol-related harm. The author states that alcohol harm is an output of transnational corporations (TNCs) that engaged in the process of consolidation and expansion. It mentions that the rise in alcohol consumption among young people had resulted to high rates of alcohol harm. It adds that the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Strategy is urging WHO Member states to lessen the use of alcohol through laws and policies.