Authors: Noemi Robles, Silvia Matrai, Vanesa Carral Bielsa, Joan Colom, Antoni Gual

Europe presents the highest rates of alcohol consumption per inhabitant, with an impact exceeding 6% of the DALYs lost. However, European researchers claim that most of the research in the alcohol field is conducted outside Europe. In order to assess this claim, a review of international indexed publications on alcohol marketing and availability, two cornerstones of alcohol public health policy, was performed.

A Weekly FAX from the Center of Substance Abuse Research. University of Maryland, Colege Park

Majority of High School Students Who Are Infrequent Marijuana Users Say They Would Not Use If Marijuana Were Legal; Frequent Users More Likely to Report They Would Use as Often or More Often

Author: EUCAM

Beers with a high alcohol content are prevalent throughout Europe. They are also easily accessible, relatively inexpensive and often packaged in ‘super-sized’ containers (up to bottles of three litres). This research was conducted by EUCAM in 16 European countries.

Authors: EMCDDA/Robert West

A better understanding of the complex science of ‘addiction’ can improve responses to drug problems. This report contains a critical review of existing addiction theories and explores how these can be organised into an overarching structure to inform how we assess, prevent and treat addictive behaviours. This model is not limited to illicit drugs, but can also be applied to alcohol, tobacco and even non-pharmacological addictions, such as gambling or compulsive use of the Internet.

Models of addiction delivers the message that understanding the biological basis of addiction, along with the broader social and psychological aspects of addictive behaviour, can lead to successful prevention and treatment responses.

Author: Eleanor Winpenny, Sunil Patil, Marc Elliott, Lidia Villalba van Dijk, Saba Hinrichs, Theresa Marteau and Ellen Nolte (Rand Europe)

Evidence strongly suggests that alcohol advertising will increase the likelihood that adolescents will start to drink alcohol at a young age and may increase alcohol use among those who already consume alcohol.
It is against this background that the European Commission Health and Consumer Directorate-General (DG SANCO), by way of the EAHC, commissioned RAND Europe to carry out an assessment of young people’s exposure to alcohol marketing through television and online media. The overall aim of the work presented in this report was to use novel approaches to measure alcohol advertisement exposure among young people in Europe through audiovisual and online media.