Addiction
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An early meta-analysis testing the concurrent validity of the Alcohol Purchase Task (APT), a measure of alcohol's relative reinforcing value, reported mixed associations, but predated a large number of studies. This systematic review and meta-analysis sought to: (1) estimate the relationships between trait-based alcohol demand indices from the APT and multiple alcohol indicators, (2) test several moderators and (3) analyze small study effects. ⋯ The Alcohol Purchase Task appears to have concurrent validity in alcohol research. Intensity and Omax are the most relevant indices to account for alcohol involvement.
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Observational Study
Electronic cigarettes, nicotine use trends and use initiation ages among US adolescents from 1999 to 2018.
Recent nicotine use trends raise concerns that electronic cigarettes (ECs) may act as a gateway to cigarettes among adolescents. The aims of this study were to examine prevalence trends of exclusive EC use, exclusive cigarette use and dual use to determine the corresponding ages of initiation and to investigate hypothetical trends in total nicotine use and cigarette use in the absence of ECs among US adolescents. ⋯ Electronic cigarettes may have offset conventional smoking among US adolescents between 2010 and 2018 by maintaining the total nicotine use prevalence and diverting them from more harmful conventional smoking. Additionally, electronic cigarette users appear to initiate at older ages relative to conventional smokers, which is associated with lower risk.