News and Notes

By Gregory Bloss, NIAAA Division of Epidemiology and Prevention Research The US National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) has supported research on alcohol-related public policies through recent program announcements entitled ‘Research on Alcohol-Related Public Policies such as those detailed in the Alcohol Policy Information System (APIS).’ Research applications are invited for (a) studies of the effects of alcohol-related public policies on health outcomes such as alcohol-related injuries and deaths, chronic illnesses, and receipt of alcohol treatment; (b) evaluations of policy measures as means of improving health outcomes; (c) analyses to elucidate mechanisms through which alcohol-related policies influence attitudes and behaviours that ultimately affect health and other outcomes; and (d) research to advance methods for studying relationships between public policies and alcohol-related behaviours and outcomes. For full information and submission deadlines, please visit the website address below. These program announcements particularly encourage use of NIAAA's Alcohol Policy Information System. APIS is an online data resource that provides detailed and comparable information on US alcohol-related policies at the State and federal levels of government, based on primary legal research on statutes and regulations. The APIS web site presents policy information through summaries, maps, charts, and detailed comparisons of the component provisions of specific policies. Detailed information is shown in formats that facilitate valid comparisons of policy status across jurisdictions and over time for 36 selected policy topics, including underage drinking, control systems, taxation, drunk driving, alcohol and pregnancy, and health services financing. A key feature is the availability of exact effective dates of changes in policy provisions. Coverage for most topics extends from 1 January 1998 to 1 January 2007 and includes documentation of sources, explanatory notes, and supplementary background information. Sources: Program announcements: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-07-427.html Alcohol Policy Information System (APIS): http://alcoholpolicy.niaaa.nih.gov Contact: Gregory Bloss, NIAAA Division of Epidemiology and Prevention Research, gbloss@mail.nih.gov BBC News reports that the government of Nigeria has begun legal action against three international cigarette companies, including British American Tobacco (BAT) and Philip Morris International Tobacco Ltd. The government is demanding more than 40 billion US dollars in compensation over these companies' alleged role in promoting underage smoking. The government is also seeking an injunction compelling the companies to stop the marketing of cigarettes to minors. Radio and tv adverts have been restricted until after 10pm, and billboard advertising has been scrapped. Cigarette smoking is widespread in Nigeria and BAT recently set up a factory there. Tobacco companies have aggressively marketed their products in Africa and other developing regions over the past 20 years to compensate for the loss of sales in developed countries that have imposed smoking restrictions. Source: BBC News, 07 November 2007 Link: http://tinyurl.com/2chm9r The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that West and Central African governments and the UN are so focused on reducing the supply of illicit drugs they have ignored efforts to reduce demand. ‘There is total disequilibrium with regards to the means given to different actors [in the fight against drugs],’ said Cheikh Diop, president of the Federation of Senegalese NGOs Fighting against Drugs. ‘So much money is invested in the fight against drug trafficking or the reduction of supply; but when it comes to reducing the demand—or the users themselves—organisations working on this approach have almost no financial means.’ At a meeting in November 2007 held in the Senegalese capital Dakar, participants representing NGOs from 13 African countries expressed concern over what they considered insufficient funding for organisations focusing on prevention and treatment of drug use. ‘We don't have the means to do what we want to do,’ said Abdoulaye Diouf, local organiser of the meeting and manager of the Senegalese Jacques Chirac Drug Information and Awareness Centre. Representatives said they lacked training in research, analysis and marketing. According to Diouf, they rarely assess the impact of their work, and thus ‘it isn't recognised.’ He also said some NGOs complained of lack of expertise in the field. The organisations pushed for better cooperation among themselves, as well as between NGOs, governments and the UN. The consultation was part of a global NGO Forum ‘Beyond 2008’, coordinated by the Vienna NGO Committee on Narcotic Drugs (VNGOC). Consultations are taking place worldwide to assess the contribution NGOs have made in the fight against drugs in the last decade and to establish an action plan for coming years. VNGOC was established to link NGOs, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the Commission on Narcotic Drugs with the objective to support the work of the UNODC, provide information on NGO activities, and raise awareness of global drug policies. Source: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75164 The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) reports that after a decade of rising drug use, Europe may now be entering a more stable phase. The 2007 annual report comments that there are signs that heroin use and drug injecting have become generally less common and that levels of cannabis use may now be stabilising after a sustained period of growth. Nevertheless, positive messages are marred by high levels of drug-related deaths and rising cocaine use. Headline findings include: Cannabis: use stabilising and signs of popularity waning among the young—3 million may be using it on a daily, or almost daily, basis. Cocaine: estimates rise again. Around 4.5 million Europeans report using the drug in the last year. Record cocaine seizures in Europe. HIV: overall positive assessment, but 3,500 new infections among drug injectors in 2005 underline need for continued efforts. Up to 200,000 drug injectors live with HIV. Up to 1 million live with HCV, ‘Europe's hidden epidemic’. Deaths: Europe risks failing to meet targets to reduce drug-related deaths. Between 7,000 and 8,000 overdose deaths per year, with no downward trend detectable in the most recent data. The EMCDDA reports that nearly a quarter of all adults in the European Union—around 70 million aged 15–64—have tried cannabis at some point in their lives, and around 7%—23 million—have used it in the last year. But while cannabis remains Europe's most commonly consumed illicit drug, and use is historically high, new trend data are a cause for ‘cautious optimism’ says the report. Data presented in the report relate to 2005 or the last year available. Figures and tables can be found in the report itself or in the 2007 Statistical Bulletin. The 2007 Annual Report is available at: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/events/2007/annualreport.cfm In related news, the EMCDDA Management Board has selected 15 high-level scientists from the EU member states to serve on the agency's Scientific Committee. The Scientific Committee plays a major role in the agency's efforts to attain scientific excellence. An EMCDDA regulation adopted in January 2007 stipulated that the Committee—previously composed of one representative from each EU Member State—be slimmed down to 15 members chosen through a public selection process on the basis of scientific excellence and independence. The list of new members and details of the call for expression of interest can be found at: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/html.cfm/index35030EN.html Australian researchers have found that cannabis use by patients with schizophrenia is associated with enhanced cognitive functioning, with both frequency and recency of use linked to better neuropsychological performance. Carissa Coulston, from the University of Sydney in New South Wales, and colleagues [1] studied 60 males with schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder and 17 healthy males, with the two groups matched for age, years of education, and pre-morbid intelligence quotient. The researchers examined the participants' medical history, substance use, and psychiatric symptoms, and a neuropsychological battery was administered to determine attention/processing speed, executive functions, memory, and perceptual organization. They also analyzed urine samples to determine the patients' substance use within 24 hours of cognitive assessment. The control group performed significantly better than the schizophrenia group on tests for psychomotor speed, inhibition speed, visual spatial rule adherence, cognitive flexibility, and immediate memory components. Focusing on cannabis use in schizophrenia patients, the researchers discovered that 44 patients met the DSM-IV criteria for lifetime cannabis abuse/dependence. Of these, 11 were high frequency users over the previous year, seven were medium frequency users, and 34 were low frequency users. Logistic regression analysis revealed that more patients with lifetime cannabis abuse/dependence performed better on the psychomotor speed component than those without lifetime abuse/dependence. Frequency and recency of cannabis use were associated with better performance, particularly on the attention/processing speed and executive function domains. While acknowledging the issues around cannabis use in schizophrenia patients, the team concludes in the journal Schizophrenia Research: ‘In essence, the findings of this study suggest that cannabinoids, via their agonistic effects on cannabinoid receptors in the forebrain, may have a potentially useful role in the treatment of high-order cognitive processes known to be impaired in schizophrenia.’ These findings represent an important consideration when evaluating much of the epidemiological data showing links between cannabis use and schizophrenia. Source: http://www.psychiatrysource.com/NewsItem/Cognitive-functioning-enhanced-by-cannabis-use-in-.aspx?l1=3&firstpage=true Meeting the Challenge: Current Thinking and Developments. One-day conference and launch of Mental Health and Substance Use: Dual Diagnosis journal. 11 March 2008, Trinity Park Conference Centre, Ipswich, UK. Organised by Routledge and Suffolk Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust. Contact: http://www.smhp.nhs.uk/conference 2008 National Drug Treatment Conference. The Radisson Hotel, Glasgow, Scotland, 13–14 March 2008. Contact: 2008 NDTC, Exchange Supplies, 1 Great Western Industrial Centre, Dorchester, Dorset DT1 1RD; tel +44 (0)1305 262244; fax +44 (0)1305 262255; email info@exchangesupplies.org; website http://www.exchangesupplies.org 16th Annual Public Health Forum. Organised by the UK Public Health Association. Liverpool, 1–2 April 2008. Contact: http://www.ukphaconference.org.uk 2nd Annual Conference of the International Society for the Study of Drug Policy. 3–4 April 2008, Lisbon, Portugal. Supported by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction and the Instituto de Droga e de Toxicodependencia. Contact: Alex Stephens, ISSDP Secretary, email a.w.stephens@kent.ac.uk; website http://www.issdp.org/conferences.htm Building Capacity for Action. European Alcohol Policy Conference. Barcelona, 3–5 April 2008. Contact: SuportServeis, tel. +34 93 201 7571; fax +34 93 201 9789; e-mail buildingcapacity@suportserveis.com; website http://www.ias.org.uk/buildingcapacity/index.html 16th European Congress of Psychiatry. Nice-Acropolis, Nice, France, 5–9 April 2008. Contact: Kenes International, 1–3, Rue de Chantepoulet, P.O. Box 1726, CH-1211 Geneva 1, Switzerland; tel: +41 22 908 0488; fax: +41 22 732 2850; email: aep@kenes.com; website http://www.kenes.com 29th Annual Medical-Scientific Conference. American Society of Addiction Medicine. Sheraton Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 10–13 April 2008. Contact: http://www.asam.org Meeting the Needs of Diverse Populations—Hard to Reach or Easy to Ignore? 13th National Conference of the Management of Drug Users in Primary Care. 24–25 April 2008, Brighton Centre, Brighton. Contact: Healthcare Events at http://www.healthcare-events.co.uk Yor're Not Listening To Me! 32nd annual New Directions in the Study of Alcohol Group Conference, Sarum College, Salisbury, UK. 24–27 April 2008. Contact: Carol Driver tel +44 (0) 141 548 4507; email carol.driver@actiononaddiction.org.uk A Call to Action: Successful Tobacco Control for the Future. Conference organized by Action on Smoking and Health, Wales. 28–29 April 2008, Cardiff International Arena. Contact: http://www.smoking-conference-wales.org.uk Making Time for Treatment. 5th UK/European Symposium on Addictive Disorders. Millennium Gloucester Hotel, South Kensington, London. 8–10 May 2008. Contact: enquiries@ukesad.org; http://www.ukesad.org Towards a Global Approach. 19th Conference of the International Harm Reduction Association, Palacio de Congresos, Fira de Barcelona, Spain. 11–15 May 2008. Contact: http://www/ihra.net/Barcelona/Home College on Problems of Drug Dependence. 70th Annual Meeting, the Caribe Hilton, San Juan, Puerto Rico. 14–19 June 2008. Contact: http://www.cpdd.vcu.edu ISBRA and RSA Annual Conference. Washington DC, 27 June-03 July 2008. Contact: Debby Sharp at DebbyRSA@sbc.global.net UKNSCC 2008. UK National Smoking Cessation Conference, Hilton Metropole, Birmingham. 30 June-1 July 2008. Contact: 2008 UKNSCC, Exchange Supplies, 1 Great Western Industrial Centre, Dorchester, Dorset DT1 1RD; fax +44 (0)1305 262255; email info@exchangesupplies.org; website http://www.exchangesupplies.org News and Notes welcomes contributions from its readers. Send your material to Peter Miller, News and Notes Editor, Addiction, National Addiction Centre PO48, 4 Windsor Walk, London SE5 8AF. Fax +44 (0)20 7703 5787; e-mail susan@addictionjournal.org Conference entries should be sent to Susan Savva at susan@addictionjournal.org Subject to editorial review, we will be glad to print, free of charge, details of your conference or event, up to 75 words and one entry only. Please send your notification three months ahead of time and specify in which issue you would like it to appear.

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