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This paper examines the relative effect of both individual and societal factors that impinge directly on smoking behaviour of women and men. The societal factors are cigarettes price, tobacco control legislation, newspaper coverage of tobacco issues, overall economic factors, and social milieu characteristics. Three Canadian provinces are studied, from 1978 to 1995. A repeated cross-section design is used. Data are derived from national surveys and official documents. Results show that smoking occurs in social contexts within which the price of cigarettes appears to have a significant negative impact on the prevalence of smoking and the quantity of cigarettes smoked by men, but no effect on either the prevalence of smoking or the amount smoked by women. More comprehensive and restrictive no-smoking legislation and legislation on youth access to tobacco influence negatively the prevalence of smoking both for men and women. However, these laws do not have the same effects on the number of cigarettes smoked by women and men. Newspaper articles on the other hand, negatively influence smoking prevalence for women and men. As differences are observed in the responsiveness of men and women to tobacco control policies, policymakers and practitioners need to keep in mind that tobacco control policies have to be tailored to the broader context of the lives of women and men. Future work needs also to be done to clarify the interrelationships between social influences on smoking such as price, laws and media, and the relationships between these and intrapersonal and interpersonal factors, as well as other social and cultural factors. Keywords: Gender; Smoking; Legislation; Price; Media; Evaluation; Canada

Objective: To determine if allowing wine sales in corner grocery stores, beginning in 1978 for domestic Quebec wines and then in 1983 for imported wines, in addition to sales in government monopoly stores, led to an increase in alcohol consumption. Method: Aggregate retail sales data for the period 1953 to 1990 were analyzed using econometric regression techniques. Time series (unit root) analysis and structural modeling were used to take into account the effect of price, income and other social, economic and demographic factors in order to determine the effect of factors underlying consumption behavior in both the long and short term. Results: In the post-intervention period, wine consumption continued along the rising trend established in the preintervention period, with an apparent shift in favor of domestic wine consumption. The increase in wine consumption was highest in the period immediately following privatization, but the increase eventually dampened down within a few years. There was no fundamental change in the responsiveness of wine consumption to price. Conclusion: Our findings ,suggest that the level of wine consumption can be controlled through price changes when alcohol availability increases through increased sales outlets. (J. Stud. Alcohol 57: 434-448, 1996), A case study of wine consumption in Quebec, Canada, after grocery stores started commercial sale shows that intake of wine can be regulated by price changes when more sales outlets provide greater availability of alcohol. However, consumption behavior is affected more by price than by availability. Analysis of sales data from 1953 to 1990 shows that wine consumption in Quebec increased after privatization but the increase subsequently declined. The effect of price on wine consumption was unaffected by increased wine availability., IN THE LATE 1970s, in an attempt to favor the local Quebec wine producers, Bill 21 was passed by the provincial Quebec legislature. This bill had the effect of allowing [...]

Spirituality is a topic of increasing interest to clinicians and researchers interested in addiction because its perceived role in the promotion of meaningfulness in the recovery from addiction. Our review of the literature evaluates different domains relative to the relation between addiction, religion, and psychiatric treatment. Spirituality as a protective or precipitating factor for substance use and as a key component of recovery will be debated. Illustrations of its potential and limitations as a component of treatment will be presented. Types of investigation and integration of this dimension in an eventual therapeutic process strictly respecting the needs and specificities of each one will be discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During fiscal year 1983-84, Ontario general hospitals admitted 2651 patients with a primary diagnosis of alcohol dependence or non-dependent use of alcohol but with no secondary diagnoses requiring treatments only available in hospital. These averaged 10.7 days in hospital and the total cost of their hospitalization (excluding medical services) was estimated at $7.4 million. Many of these admissions appear to have been for alcohol detoxication or for psychosocial treatments of alcohol abuse. Because alternative, more cost-effective methods for detoxication and treatment are suggested by the research literature, efforts to use and develop such alternatives in local communities are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]