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Background: Legal and illegal drugs impose a considerable burden to the individual and to society. The misuse of addictive substances results in healthcare and law enforcement costs, loss of productivity and reduced quality of life., Methods: A social cost study was conducted to estimate the substance-attributable costs of alcohol, tobacco, illegal drugs and psychoactive medication to Belgian society in 2012. The cost-of-illness framework with prevalence-based and human capital approach was applied. Three cost components were considered: direct, indirect and intangible costs related to substance misuse., Results: The direct and indirect cost of addictive substances was estimated at 4.6 billion euros in Belgium (419 euros per capita or 1.19% of the GDP) and more than 515,000 healthy years are lost due to substance misuse. The Belgian social cost study reaffirms that alcohol and tobacco impose the highest cost to society compared to illegal drugs. Health problems are the main driver of the social cost of legal drugs. Law enforcement expenditure exceed the healthcare costs but only in the case of illegal drugs., Conclusion: Estimating social costs of addictive substances is complex because it is difficult to determine to what extent the societal harm is caused by substances. It can be argued that social cost studies take only a 'snapshot' of the monetary consequences of substance misuse. Nevertheless, the current study offers the most comprehensive analysis thus far of the social costs of substance misuse in Belgium., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Investing in social capital has been put forth as a potential lever for policy action to tackle health inequity. Notwithstanding, empirical evidence that supports social capital's role in the existence of health inequity is limited and inconclusive. Furthermore, social capital literature experiences important challenges with regard to (1) the level on which social capital is measured and analyzed; (2) the measurement of the concept in line with its multidimensional nature; and (3) the cross-cultural validity of social capital measurements. The Social capital and Well-being In Neighborhoods in Ghent (SWING) study is designed to meet these challenges. The collected data can be used to investigate the distribution of health problems and the association between social capital, health and well-being, both at the individual and at the neighborhood level. The main goals of the SWING study are (1) to develop a coherent multilevel dataset of indicators on individual and neighborhood social capital and well-being that contains independent indicators of neighborhood social capital at a low level of aggregation and (2) to measure social capital as a multidimensional concept. The current article describes the background and design of the SWING study., Methods/design: The SWING study started in 2011 and data were collected in three cross-sectional waves: the first in 2011, the second in 2012, and the third in 2013. Data collection took place in 142 neighborhoods (census tract level) in the city of Ghent (Flanders, Belgium). Multiple methods of data collection were used within each wave, including: (1) a standardized questionnaire, largely administered face-to-face interviews for neighborhood inhabitants (N = 2,730); (2) face-to-face interviews with key informants using a standardized questionnaire (N = 2,531); and (3) an observation checklist completed by the interviewers (N = 2,730 in total). The gathered data are complemented by data available within administrative data services., Discussion: The opportunities and ambitions of the SWING study are discussed, together with the limitations of the database.