Epidemiology and Etiology
Synthetic cannabinoids in Europe – a review
This report provides a technical review of the current body of knowledge regarding synthetic cannabinoids that are monitored by the the EU Early Warning System. The aim of this report is to strengthen situational awareness of synthetic...
UNODC launches new webpage to expand access to essential HIV health and social services
The UNODC Regional Programme Office for Eastern Europe (Kyiv, Ukraine), in cooperation with the Charitable Fund “Humanitarian Action” (Saint Petersburg, Russia), launches a new website on New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) (https://nps-info...
Trends in use of e-cigarette device types and heated tobacco products from 2016 to 2020 in England
During the past decade, heated aerosolized nicotine delivery systems (HANDS) —mainly e-cigarettes—have surpassed nicotine replacement therapy as the most utilized aids for stopping smoking in England. It is therefore important to explore...
Global burden of cancer in 2020 attributable to alcohol consumption
Each year there are 3 million deaths as a result of the harmful use of alcohol. As alcohol gets broken down, chemicals affect the way our body sends signals and communicates and increase the chances of developing cancer. In this...
Adolescent drug use before and during U.S. national COVID-19 social distancing policies
During the COVID-19 pandemic, countries around the world have introduced lockdown restrictions and social distancing measures to reduce the spread of the virus. Researchers are keen to understand how these policies and new measures have...
Lower regional grey matter in alcohol use disorders: evidence from a voxel-based meta-analysis
Background: Previous research using whole-brain neuroimaging techniques has revealed structural differences of grey matter (GM) in alcohol use disorder (AUD) patients. However, some of the findings diverge from other neuroimaging studies...
Association of genetic liability to smoking initiation with e-cigarette use in young adults: A cohort study
Background: Tobacco smoking and e-cigarette use are strongly associated, but it is currently unclear whether this association is causal, or due to shared factors that influence both behaviours such as a shared genetic liability. The aim of...
Disentangling substance use and related problems: urgency predicts substance-related problems beyond the degree of use
Background: Substance use disorders are reliably associated with high impulsivity and sensation seeking. Importantly, both precede problematic substance use, implicating them as risk factors. Individuals with substance use disorders show...
World Drug Report 2021
Consisting of five separate booklets, the World Drug Report 2021 provides an in-depth analysis of the global drug markets and paints a comprehensive picture of the measurable effects and potential impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the world drug problem.
A randomised, double-blind study investigating the relationship between early childhood trauma and the rewarding effects of morphine
Experiences of childhood trauma (abuse and neglect) are disproportionately higher in those with opioid use disorder (OUD). Childhood trauma may affect the reinforcing and rewarding properties of opioid drugs and responses to pain, potentially via developmental changes to the endogenous opioid system.
