Drug and alcohol dependence
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Drug Alcohol Depend · May 2011
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyEnjoyment of smoking and urges to smoke as predictors of attempts and success of attempts to stop smoking: a longitudinal study.
'Enjoyment' and 'addiction' have been proposed as opposing reasons why people continue to smoke despite the manifest dangers. This study examined the roles of these as barriers to smoking cessation. ⋯ Both enjoyment of smoking and strength of urges to smoke are important in the smoking cessation process, but in different ways. Interventions to promote cessation need to address both in order to maximise the rate of quit attempts and their chances of success.
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Drug Alcohol Depend · May 2011
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyPrevalence and correlates of waterpipe tobacco smoking by college students in North Carolina.
Known most commonly in the U.S. as "hookah," waterpipe tobacco smoking appears to be growing among college students. Despite beliefs that waterpipe use is safer than cigarette smoking, research to date (albeit limited) has found health risks of waterpipe smoking are similar to those associated with cigarette smoking, including lung cancer, respiratory illness, and periodontal disease. The goals of this study were to estimate the prevalence of use among a large, multi-institution sample of college students and identify correlates of waterpipe use, including other health-risk behaviors (i.e., cigarette smoking, alcohol, marijuana, and other illicit drug use) and availability of commercial waterpipe tobacco smoking venues. ⋯ The results highlight the popularity of waterpipe tobacco smoking among college students and underscore the need for more research to assess the public health implications of this growing trend.
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Drug Alcohol Depend · May 2011
Comparative StudyMeasuring pain medication expectancies in adults treated for substance use disorders.
The U.S. prevalence of misuse of prescription opioid analgesics has increased substantially over the past decade but research on the factors influencing misuse of these medications remains preliminary. In the literature on alcohol, marijuana and stimulants, substance-related expectancies have been found to predict level of substance use. A similar line of research is needed to better understand reasons for misusing pain medications. ⋯ This new measure of pain medication expectancies had sound psychometric properties and the resulting factors were associated with other clinically important aspects of patient functioning. The results highlight the need to assess for and address perceptions related to pain medication use in patients presenting to addictions treatment.