Full title: Consequences and behaviour problematised: The establishment of alcohol misuse as an object of empirical inquiry in late 18th- and early 19th-century European medicine

Author: Ruuska Arto (University of Helsinki)

In his article, Arto Ruuska discusses European medical thought on alcohol in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Earlier historiography has identified the era as the starting point of individualising disease concept of alcohol addiction. Ruuska argues that the era’s proper legacy is rather the establishment of alcohol-related phenomena as objects of empirical inquiry, and – contrary to the claims made in the historiography of the ‘disease concept of addiction’ – the articulation of socio-cultural embeddedness of alcohol-related pathologies.

Author: Dimiter Toshkov (Leiden University)

Policy-making is embedded in politics, but an increasing number of issues, like obesity, tobacco control, or road safety, do not map well on the major dimensions of political conflict. This article analyzes the enactment of restrictions on smoking in bars and restaurants in 29 European countries – a conflictual issue which does not fit easily traditional party ideologies. Indeed, the comparative empirical analyses demonstrate that government ideological positions are not associated with the strictness and the timing of adoption of the smoking bans. On the other hand, economic factors like the scale of tobacco production in a country, smoking prevalence in society and public support for tough anti-smoking policy are all significantly related to the time it takes for a country to adopt smoking bans, and to the comprehensiveness and enforcement of these restrictions.

Author: European Union

The new EU drug strategy for 2013–20 was adopted on 7 December 2012.  The framework, aim and objectives of the Strategy will serve as a basis for two consecutive four-year EU Drugs Action plans. The strategy directs and requires collective EU action in international forums, such as the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs and the UN General Assembly, and the strategy will have an important role in EC funding priorities. The strategy sets out the need for evaluation of outcomes achieved in supply side enforcement as well as demand reduction. “Risk and harm reduction” is a notable feature of the strategy and the strategy has a focus on HIV, HCV, and overdose. The strategy has more emphasis on human rights than the previous strategy and seeks to encourage civil society participation in policy, including the involvement of young people and people who use drugs.

Authors: Sunita Bava, Joanna Jacobus, Rachel E. Thayer (San Diego Healthcare System) and Susan F. Tapert (University of Colorado Boulder)

The influence of repeated substance use during adolescent neurodevelopment remains unclear as there have been few prospective investigations. The aims of this study were to identify longitudinal changes in fiber tract integrity associated with alcohol- and marijuana-use severity over the course of 1.5 years.

Smoking is a recently established risk factor for colon cancer. This study wants to explore the hypothesis that women may be more susceptible to smoking-attributed colon cancer than men as one of the possible explanations for the high colon cancer risk of Norwegian women.