News and Notes
2007; Wiley; Volume: 102; Issue: 6 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1111/j.1360-0443.2007.01896.x
ISSN1360-0443
Autores Tópico(s)Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
ResumoThe Scottish Drugs Forum has produced a report on behalf of the Scottish Association of Alcohol and Drug Action Teams investigating links between poverty and drug-related problems 1. The report takes the form of a literature review of key areas: deprivation; the causes of problem drug use; communities; crime and social exclusion; employability and future policy implications. Findings from the literature review highlight the strong associations between poverty, deprivation, widening inequalities and problem drug use. The report points to complex links involving fragile family bonds, psychological discomfort, low job opportunities and poor community resources. The authors point out that not all marginalised people will develop a drug problem, but those at the edges of society, such as the homeless and those in care, are most at risk. The report also reminds us that the drugs/crime link is not straightforward and shows how the movements of the international drug trade can impact on local communities. Social welfare policies are also identified as having major impact, as are the negative effects of globalisation on local job opportunities. Conclusions point to the need for drug policy to be framed within the wider policy debates which include housing, employment and social welfare; as well as being able to differentiate between different types of drug use and developing a sophisticated understanding of the relationship between crime and drug use. Newsday.com 1 reports that the number of female smokers in New York has fallen by more than 120 000 over the past five years, since the city first put forward a ban on the use of tobacco. The city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's Community Health Survey randomly surveyed 10 000 residents by telephone. The number of female smokers over 18 dropped from 630 000 in 2002 to 507 000 in 2005. Young women are now about half as likely to smoke as young men and the drop in smoker numbers was greatest among young white women living in Manhattan. The Age newspaper in Australia features a report 1 on the Federal Parliamentary Joint Committee on the Australian Crime Commission. Their recent ‘Inquiry into the manufacture, importation and use of amphetamines and other synthetic drugs in Australia’2 has concluded that: ‘prohibition, while theoretically a logical and properly intentioned strategy, is not effective’. This conclusion didn't sit easy with the current Australian government and The Age suggests the sensationalised climate that politicians have to work within makes them fearful of entering a rational debate on drugs. The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and the International Harm Reduction Development Program, joined by former United Nations Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, Stephen Lewis, held a press conference in March this year to release ‘Closed to Reason: The International Narcotics Control Board and HIV/AIDS’. The new report details the ways in which the INCB, funded and staffed by the UN, has blocked effective HIV prevention for injecting drug users. The document focuses on errors of fact and omissions in International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) publications and statements, the ways in whichthe Board has ignored expert legal counsel and scientific evidence, and calls for greater accountability and transparency. The key finding of the report was that the role of drug policy has been transformed since the era in which the International Narcotics Control Board was founded. It concludes that the Board has become an obstacle to effective programs to prevent and treat HIV and chemical dependence. The authors found that INCB annual reports are rife with omissions and misrepresentations and lack both scientific documentation and justification for legal opinions. They criticise the reports for praising governments that violate human rights, such as Thailand and China. ‘Closed to Reason’ recommends improved accountability for the INCB and calls for the World Health Organization, the UN Economic and Social Council and UN member states to ensure that the Board includes persons with expertise in HIV/AIDS policy and international law. For the full report in English, please visit http://www.aidslaw.ca/drugpolicy or http://www.soros.org/harm-reduction. The website Medical News Today reports that despite repeated health warnings about the dangers of tanning from sunlight and artificial light sources, there are still those whose mantra ‘bronzed is beautiful’ remains unshaken 1. Dermatologists have long suspected that some people may be addicted to tanning—similar to addictions to drugs or alcohol—and refuse to alter their behaviour, despite knowing they have an increased risk of developing skin cancer. The report is entitled ‘UV light abuse and high-risk tanning behaviour among undergraduate college students’, and was published in the March 2007 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology2. The study team used a standardized testing tool (CAGE) on a total of 385 male and female college students to gauge the presence of a substance-related disorder (SRD) as a means to determine whether some of them could be hooked on tanning. When the responses were examined, 12% of the total sample of students, 18% of the students who reported regularly tanning in outdoor sunlight and 28% of indoor tanners scored positively on the CAGE questions—indicating SRD with regard to UV light. Of the students who reported purposely tanning their skin, 22% of female outdoor tanners had positive CAGE results, compared with only 8% of male outdoor tanners. Interestingly, students who reported using indoor tanning devices were much more likely to be identified as potentially having a UV light disorder than nonusers—28% vs. 12%, respectively. ICAA Jubilee Conference. 50th International ICAA Conference on Dependencies. Stockholm, Sweden, 10–15 June 2007. Contact: http://www.icaaconference.se CPPD 69th Annual Meeting of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence. 16–21 June 2007, Hilton Quebec, Quebec City, Canada. Contact: http://www.cpdd.vcu.edu/ Psychological Interventions in Illicit Drug Misuse: Translating Evidence into Practice. 6th National Conference of CARES, Centre for addiction Research & Education Scotland. Westpark Conference Centre, Dundee, 22 June 2007. Contact: Sally Townson, CARES, tel. +44 (0)1382 632414; email: sallytownson@yahoo.co.uk; website http://www.Dundee.ac.uk/psychiatry/cares/ The Way Forward. 20th Annual Conference, Australian Winter School. 2–4 July 2007, Brisbane, Australia. Organised by the Alcohol and Drug Foundation, Queensland. Contact: http://www.winterschool.info Research Society on Alcoholism Annual Conference. 7–12 July 2007, Chicago, IL, USA. Contact: Debra Sharp, Research Society on Alcoholism, 7801 North Lamar Blvd., Suite D-89, Austin, Texas 78752-1038 USA. Tel. +1 512 454 0022; fax +1 512 454 0812, email: DebbyRSA@sbcglobal.net; website: http://www.rsoa.org Congresso Latino-Americano da SRNT. With Conferencia Ibero-Americana sobre Controle do Tabaco. 5–7 September 2007, Hotel Glória, Rio de Janiero, Brazil. Contact: Método Eventos, tel. 21 2548 5141; fax 21 2545 7863; email: abead2007@abead2007.com.br; website: http://www.srntrio07.com.br Alcohol and Drugs: Taking Care of the Young. XIX ABEAD Congress. 5–8 September 2007, Hotel Glória, Rio de Janiero, Brazil. Contact: Método Eventos, tel. 21 2548 5141; fax 21 2545 7863; email:abead2007@abead2007.com.br; website: http://www.srntrio07.com.br EAAT 2007. 3rd Annual Conference of the European Association of Addiction Therapy, 10–12 September 2007, Vienna, Austria. Contact: EAAT Scientific Secretariat, Nottingham, UK. Tel. +44 (0) 115 969 2016; fax +44 (0) 115 969 2017; email: info@eaat.org; website: http://www.eaat.org Preventing Youngers from Smoking; Helping Smokers to Quit. 9th Annual Conference of SRNT Europe. 3–6 October 2007, Madrid, Spain. Contact: Conference Secretariat, Viajes y Congresos SA, tel. +91 547 3747; fax +91 559 5881; email: vycongremad@viajesycongresos.com; http://www.viajescongresos.com 4th European Conference on Tobacco or Health. 11–13 October 2007, Basel Switzerland. Contact: ECToH 07 Conference, c/o Organizers Switzerland Ltd., Obere Egg 2, CH-4312 Magden/Basel, Switzerland; tel. +41 (0) 61 836 98 76; fax +41 (0) 61 836 98 77; email: registration@ectoh07.org ISAM 2007. 9th Annual Meeting organised by the International Society of Addiction Medicine, 22–25 October 2007, Cairo, Egypt. Contact: http://www.isam2007cairo.com Meeting the Future – Innovative and Effective Policy and Practice. 4th Australasian Drug Strategy Conference. 22–25 October 2007, Conrad Jupiters, Gold Coast, Queensland. Organised by the Queensland Police Service. Contact: Sarah Jarman, tel. 07 3364 4605; email: ADSC2007@police.qld.gov.au; website: http://www.police.qld.gov.au/ADSC2007 Drugs, Alcohol and Healthcare: Systems, Scholarship and Solutions. 31st AMERSA Annual Conference. 8–10 November 2007, Hilton Embassy Row, Washington DC. Organised by the Association for Medical Education and Research in Substance Abuse. Contact: Doreen MacLane-Baeder, AMERSA, tel. +1 401 243-8460; email: Doreen@amersa.org; website: http://www.amersa.org Is Theory Necessary? Theory and Practice in Addictions: How are they related? Annual Symposium of the Society for the Study of Addiction. 15–16 November 2007, Park Inn Hotel, York, United Kingdom. Contact: Graham Hunt, SSA Executive Office, 19 Springfield Mount, Leeds LS2 9NG; tel./fax +44 (0) 113 295 1345; email: graham.hunt@leedsmh.nhs.uk; website: http://www.addiction-ssa.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; email p.miller@iop.kcl.ac.uk 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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