Drug and alcohol review
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Drug and alcohol review · May 2019
Homelessness and incarceration associated with relapse into stimulant and opioid use among youth who are street-involved in Vancouver, Canada.
While much research has sought to identify the factors associated with initiation and cessation of various forms of drug use among vulnerable youth, little is known about relapse into drug use in this population. We sought to characterise relapse into stimulant and opioid use among street-involved youth in Vancouver, Canada. ⋯ Relapse into stimulants and/or opioids was common among youth in our setting, and incarceration, homelessness, and daily stimulant use were found to be positively associated with relapse among youth. Findings suggest that increased access to youth housing supports and alternatives to the criminalisation of drug use may help to reduce the rates of relapse into stimulants and/or opioids in this population.
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Drug and alcohol review · Mar 2019
Predictors and reasons for starting and sustaining quit attempts in a national cohort of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander smokers.
The national prevalence of daily smoking among the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population is 39% but falling. We explore factors associated with starting and sustaining quit attempts, and reasons given for quitting. ⋯ Different factors predict making and sustaining quit attempts among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander smokers. We need to rethink current messages that just encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander smokers to keep making quit attempts by increasing motivation to quit, as motivation and making more quit attempts does not predict eventual success. We could focus more on increasing smokers' confidence that they can successfully quit.
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Drug and alcohol review · Jan 2019
Smoking behaviours among heterosexual and sexual minority youth? Findings from 15 years of provincially representative data.
Sexual identity disparities in smoking behaviours are well established; however, there is limited research on whether these disparities have diminished as the social and political landscape has changed for lesbian, gay and bisexual people. Thus, we examined changes in prevalence and sexual identity disparities in three smoking behaviours among Canadian adolescents from 1998 to 2013. ⋯ Efforts to prevent smoking behaviours among youth should continue. Tailored preventive strategies for sexual minority youth might help address existing disparities.
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Drug and alcohol review · Jan 2019
Social networks and quitting in a national cohort of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander smokers.
Health behaviours, such as smoking and quitting, spread person-to-person through social networks. We explore how social networks are associated with making and sustaining quit attempts for at least 1 month among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander smokers. ⋯ Exposure to smoking in the social networks of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander smokers is an obstacle to quitting, but there is also considerable support for quitting from within these same social networks. Health staff could consider encouraging smokers to draw on the few non-smokers within their social networks as role models to increase their confidence in quitting.