bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Opium Eating and the Working Class in the Nineteenth Century: The Public and Official Reaction
Authors: Berridge Virginia
Published: January 2006

The paper analyses the contemporary rumour and hysteria which overlay much discussion of working‐class opiate consumption. General middle‐class fears arising from social dislocation, the reaction to the temperance movement, the sensational presentation of opium eating by the Romantics, the Indo‐Chinese trade and the agitation against it; and the professional aspirations of pharmacists, all contributed to the irrationality with which much evidence was assessed.
Interpretive Procedures Entailed in Using the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test*
Authors: Skinner Thelma Jean , Charalampous K. D.
Published: January 2006

The authors examined the differences between a self‐administered and counselor‐administered Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test and the status accorded the score in determining diagnosis. It was found that interpretive work by counselors and clients led to a number of changed answers from first to second testing. It was further found that, since the counselors took into account supplementary information not provided by the test score alone, they frequently established a diagnosis that differed from the one indicated by the test they had administered. As a result of these two sets of changes, diagnostic classification by the self‐administered test was found to be a poor predictor of the ultimate diagnosis by the counselors.
Sedative‐Hypnotic and Alcohol Dependence among Psychiatric In‐Patients
Authors: Allgulander Christer , Borg Stefan
Published: January 2006

The frequency of dependence on sedative‐hypnotics and alcohol in psychiatric in‐patients from a region of Stockholm during one year was determined. One‐half of all males and one‐fourth of all females had dependency problems. Exclusive alcohol dependence was found in 24 per cent of all patients, exclusive sedative‐hypnotics dependence in 3 per cent and a combined alcohol/sedative‐hypnotic dependence in 9 per cent. Middle‐aged males dominated markedly the alcohol‐dependent group, while middle‐age females tended to be over‐represented in the sedative‐hypnotic dependents clientele. Among the dependent patients, 14 per cent were not officially diagnosed as such. The number of dependent females, as well as that of sedative‐hypnotic dependents, constitute significant increases in comparison with previous studies.
Alcoholic Marriages: A Longitudinal Empirical Assessment of Alternative Theories
Authors: Paolino Thomas J. , McCrady Barbara S. , Kogan Kathryn B.
Published: January 2006

This investigation is an empirical test of three conceptualizations of the alcoholic marriage: the Disturbed Personality Hypothesis (DPH), the Decompensation Hypothesis (DH), and their rival, the Stress Theory (S T). Fourteen spouses of hospitalized' alcoholics were given the Psychological Screening Inventory (PSI) and the Multiple Affect Adjective Checklist (MAACL) at admission, six weeks and six months after discharge. The alcoholic's drinking behaviour was assessed by the Quantity Frequency (QF) and Alcohol Impairment (AI) Indices.

One‐way repeated measures analyses of variance revealed no significant change in PSI scores, but significant (p < 0.05) decreases in QF, AI and two (Anxiety and Depression) out of the three MAACL scales. The results support the ST and contradict the DPH and DH, but the authors emphasize that the value of this report is mostly as a demonstration project to stimulate much needed large‐scale longitudinal investigations.
Toward a Theory of Drug Use
Authors: Lawson Thomas R. , Winstead Daniel K.
Published: January 2006

Previous research by the. author revealed quantative personality differences between users of various drugs. This discovery led the authors to develop a mode! of drug use. This mode! presents an analysis of the factors that lead to use: (1) Factor A Internal Stress and (2) Factor B External Stress, and proposes a formula to quantify Factor A using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. These factors determine a person's level of discomfort which subsequently determines his category of drug use or abuse. The literature it then briefly reviewed using the model to clarify the many divergent findings concerning drug use.
Respiratory Function in Heroin and Methadone Addicts
Authors: Aylett Pamela
Published: January 2006

PEF and minute volume have been studied in 68 male and 23 female addicts maintained on methadone, heroin, or both drugs and on 12 ex‐addicts. The findings have been compared with other authors for normal and tobacco cigarette smokers of the same age group. PEF was impaired in both users and ex‐users. In users PEF was no less impaired with methadone than with heroin, and with or without tobacco smoking. Minute volume was in the normal range, implying adaptation of the respiratory centre to chronic drug misuse as a part of tolerance. It seems likely that heroin/methadone depresses the cough reflex with risk of developing chronic bronchitis in dependent young people. Methadone was no better in this respect than heroin.
Voluntary versus Prescribed Termination of Methadone Maintenance
Authors: Berger Herbert , Smith Malcolm J.
Published: January 2006

This study was initiated to use a new criteria in determining the value of the methadone maintenance programs; to wit, a comparison of patients who stayed under therapy with those who dropped out. Those who left the program against advice, abused drugs while on the program and relapsed into drug use shortly after leaving. Fewer were gainfully employed; more were arrested for various crimes for the most part. Alcoholism was more common in this group during treatment and even more so after termination. Both groups stayed on the dole.

Thus non‐complying patients do badly after leaving a methadone maintenance program and every effort should be used to motivate them to continue under treatment until they are rehabilitated.
Rehabilitation of Drug Addicts in a Correctional Setting
Authors: Garner T. G. P.
Published: January 2006

Major social problems are always reflected within the prison community and programmes for the rehabilitation of offenders should include provision to tackle them. Drug addiction, particularly to narcotics, is one such problem, and intervention for treatment is appropriate at the time the offender is placed in the custody of the Prison Service. Based on the Hong Kong experience, the period required for treatment and the procedures by which treatment takes place is discussed; so too is the treatment programme and the necessity for after‐care. Statistics illustrating the success of the programme are included.
Thought‐stopping, Pocket Timers, and their Combination, in the Modification of Smoking Behaviour*
Authors: Lamontagne Yves , Gagon Marc‐André , Gaudette Gilles
Published: January 2006

One hundred and four woken wishing to reduce their cigarette smoking were randomly allocated to the following Join experimental conditions: thought‐slapping, pocket timer, a combination of thought‐stopping and packet timer, and a non‐treated control group. Treatment was of 12 weeks duration. At the one, three and six months follow‐ups, smoking rates were reassured.

The difference between the thought‐stopping and control group wax not statistically significant during treatment nor during follow‐up. On the other hand, the difference between the pocket timer and control group was highly significant from the second week of treatment until the twelfth: it remained significant at the three‐month follow‐up, but was no longer so at six months. Finally, the combined effect of thought‐stopping and pocket timer was not only less effective than the packet timer alone, but thought stopping appeared to interfere with the effect at the timer.
The Role of Blood Alcohol Level Estimation in Training Alcoholics to become Controlled Drinkers
Authors: Rowan D. C.
Published: January 2006

Studies training controlled drinking skills in alcoholics have assumed that0 blood alcohol level discrimination can be readily taught. The evidence for this is, at best, weak, and even if it can be done, it may not be necessary.
Alcohol Dependence: the Concept, its Utility and Measurement
Authors: Hodgson Ray , Stockwell Tim , Rankin Howard , Edwards Griffith
Published: January 2006

It is argued that severity of alcohol dependence should be routinely assessed in all process and treatment research. Evidence is presented which demonstrates that such assessments can influence, or even reverse, the conclusions which are drawn from experimental data.
Alcohol Tolerance and Dependence at the Cellular Level
Authors: Littleton John
Published: January 2006

An anaesthetic is not a special poison for the nervous system…. We can study elsewhere than in the central nerve cells the phenomenon which causes this stoppage of action…. It is permissible to assume that something similar happens in the nerve cell.

Claude Bernard Leç sur les anesthésiques et sur l'asphyxie, 1875
“In Vivo Veritas’: an Observational Study of Alcoholics' and Normal Drinkers' patterns of Consumption
Authors: Saunders Bill , Richard Glen
Published: January 2006

Previous observational studies, undertaken in artificial settings, have found differences in the drink preference, sip sine and rate of ingestion for alcoholics when compared to social drinkers. In this study data was collected blind from eleven alcoholics and eleven normal drinkers who were consuming their alcohol in a Clydeside bar. The subjects were unaware of their being observed. The previously found differences were not apparent in this study, and this disagreement questions the validity of using certain specific drinking behaviours as targets for the modification of alcoholics' drinking style.
Static Ataxia: A Predictor of Alcoholism?*
Authors: Lipscomb Thomas R. , Carpenter John A. , Nathan Peter E.
Published: January 2006

Non‐alcoholic college‐aged males with and without a family history of alcoholism were compared on a measure of static ataxia (body sway). In two separate studies, subjects with alcoholic biological relatives showed significantly greater body sway than those without such relatives. This effect was independent of alcohol influence and subjects' typical drinking pattern. To the extent that subjects with a family history of alcoholism are at risk to become alcoholic, these results suggest that the previously reported motor impairment of alcoholics may exist prior to chronic alcohol intake. This possibility should be considered cautiously, due to two methodological issues: (a) differences between the two studies in measurement procedures and (b) the use of subjects' self reports for family history classifications. Methodological improvements and future research directions were discussed.
A Critique of the Concept of the Alcohol Dependence Syndrome
Authors: Shaw Stan
Published: January 2006

The term ‘alcoholism’ has been dropped from the International Classification of Diseases and replaced by the concept of the ‘alcohol dependence syndrome’. Four justifications for the syndrome idea are examined. It has been claimed that (1) the syndrome's existence was supported by scientific evidence, but only psychobiological alterations were truly supported by evidence; (2) dependence was not considered as all or none, but other statements contradicted this; (3) the syndrome idea had clinical usefulness, but it can be argued that the concept would be superfluous within a thorough assessment, and would likely confuse rather than enlighten a patient; (4) the syndrome concept synthesised research findings which contradicted the alcoholism concept, but this might inhibit further research by concentrating on ‘impaired control’ and neglecting the process of the development of drinking problems. Since both the validity and the utility of the concept of the alcohol dependence syndrome are questionable, it is suggested that the WHO's formal support for it was partly a political decision, and that the assertion that dependence is an illness might be an attempt to rejuslify the role of medical expertise in this area.
Experimental Observations on the Relationship between Ethanol Tolerance and Physical Dependence
Authors: Rigby M. , Littleton J. M.
Published: January 2006

The development of functional tolerance In ethanol has been studied in control mice and in mice which are physically dependent an ethanol. Physical dependence is associated with a state of submaximal functional tolerance. which can neither be increased nor reduced rapidly in response to altered tissue concentrations of the drug.
Naikan and Danshukai for the Treatment of Japanese Alcoholic Patients
Authors: Suwaki Hiroshi
Published: January 2006

The author uses two important therapies, Naikan Therapy (Self‐observation Psychotherapy) and Danshukai (Alcohol Abstinence Society), in treating Japanese alcoholics. Naikan Therapy is a method which is administered mainly in hospitals and is most suitable for patients to reflect on their past lives, retrieve the bonds of affection of their families and make up their minds to abstain from alcohol. Danshukai is an important method, particularly as after‐care following discharge in the sense that patients continue sticking to the resolution to give up drinking they made in the hospital, while keeping in touch with their fellow members for encouragement. These two methods were born in the Japanese Buddhist climate and are much alike in their basic principles. Particularly, regarding the family as important and making efforts with the family are outstanding features common to these two methods, and they can be administered one after the other to provide a synthetical effect.
Ethanol‐Induced Hepatic Triglyceride Accumulation in Mice and Genetic Differences in the Ethanol Physical Withdrawal Syndrome
Authors: Griffiths P. J. , Murad C. Abu , Littleton J. M.
Published: January 2006

Three strains of mice (DBA, TO and C5T) were exposed to ethanol vapour in separate inhalation chambers for 10 days. The concentration of ethanol in inspired air was carefully controlled so that similar concentrations of ethanol in blood (c. 2 mg ml‐1) were produced in each strain. No significant differences between strains mere observed, in ethanol or acetaldehyde concentrations in blood or in liver after administration of ethanol for 10 days. On withdrawal of ethanol some mice of each strain were assessed for the ethanol withdrawal syndrome (convulsions, tremor, piloerection, and tail erection) using a subjective scoring system. The remainder were killed for measurement of hepatic triglyceride concentration. The DBA strain of mice showed a very severe ethanol withdrawal syndrome. Hepatic triglyceride concentration in this strain showed an increase of 892 per cent compared to controls. The C57 strain in contrast showed little evidence of a physical withdrawal syndrome, and triglyceride concentrations in liver were increased only 235 per cent above control concentrations. TO mice were intermediate both in withdrawal syndrome severity and in accumulation of triglycerides in liver (365 per cent above control). The results suggest an association between genetic differences in ethanol‐induced changes in hepatic lipid metabolism and the seventy of the ethanol physical withdrawal syndrome.
Heroin Addiction and Cognitive Style: Disembedding Performance in the Male Heroin Addict
Authors: Ross Lloyd
Published: January 2006

Field dependent individuals, who are characterized primitive, find it difficult to separate the figure‐ground relationship and consequently do poorly on embedded figure tests. Heroin addicts have also been described as being fixated at an early level of psychosexual development, using the more primitive avoidance defences. It was therefore hypothesized that addicts would be more field dependent on a perceptual disembedding task than non‐addicts. Also, although both groups should learn from practice on this task, non‐addicts will exhibit greater improvement than addicts. Thirty male addicts between the ages of 18 to 28 and an equated group of non‐addicts were administered Part 1 and Part 2 of the Hidden Figure Test cf‐1 with a 120 s interval between the parts. Both hypotheses were supported at the 0.001 level. However, these differences are not enough to distinguish addicts from other highly field dependent nosological groups. Also, additional research must be undertaken in order to understand the connection between this type of cognitive functioning and current low addict rehabilitation rates.
A Method for Describing Variability in Alcohol Consumption Levels
Authors: Taylor Colin
Published: January 2006

Discussions of the varying levels of alcohol consumption within a population usually focus on the alcohol consumption distribution curve. An alternative way of looking at this information is introduced by defining a ‘consumption containment rate ‘, which is interpretable as a population's tendency to contain its drinking within any given level. Parallels with the concept of age specific mortality rates are drawn. It is argued that the CCR is a useful concept in analysing data and in comparing populations, and two examples are given. Some of Ledermann's data and his use of the log‐normal distribution curve are re‐appraised through the use of the CCR.
An Allergic Reaction to Disulfiram Implant
Authors: Black Dorothy
Published: January 2006

An allergic response to Esperal (Disulfiram) implant is reported, in a man who had previous implants without apparent severe reactions. Suggestions are made about the pre‐operative regime to avoid the possibility of such a reaction.
Recent Developments in International Drug Control *
Authors: Pan Lynn , Bruun Kettil
Published: January 2006

This paper follows up an earlier study, published under the title The Gentlemen's Club, of the system of drug and alcohol control operating through multilateral treaties and United Nations organs. It reviews some changes which have occurred in the period 1973–78 in drug use patterns, illicit trafficking, control machinery, sources of national influence on international policy‐making and the approach adopted towards drug abuse. It discusses four major issues in international drug control: the new goal of demand reduction, opium crop substitution projects, channelling development aid into the UN Fund for Drug Abuse Control and the control of psychotropic substances.
Prognosis of Alcoholic Patients: Comparisons of Abstainers and Moderate Drinkers *
Authors: Bromet Evelyn J. , Moos Rudolph
Published: January 2006

The issue of whether alcoholics can become moderate drinkers has recently been debated on empirical and ideological grounds. The present study compared residentially treated alcoholics who subsequently abstained with those who became moderate drinkers.

Data were analysed separately for two groups of patients: 262 patients who were low in socio‐economic status and related variables and who had been discharged from one of three programmes ‐ Salvation Army, public hospital‐based setting, or a half‐way house that functioned as a therapeutic community; and 167 patients who were relatively high in socio‐economic status and related variables and who had been treated at either an aversion conditioning programme or a milieu oriented programme. Three sets of variables were studied: socio‐demographic and pre‐morbid psycho‐social and drinking factors; post‐hospital treatment experiences; and post‐hospital psycho‐social and drinking factors.

Six to eight months after discharge, 22 per cent of ‘low‐bottom’ alcoholics and 29 per cent of ‘high‐bottom’ alcoholics were drinking moderately; 15 per cent of ‘low‐bottom’ alcoholics and 46 per cent of ‘high‐bottom’ alcoholics were abstinent. Few predictive or concurrent differences between abstaining and moderate drinking alcoholics were found. In light of the absence of controlled studies which incorporate biological and psycho‐social data, the authors cautioned against drawing clinical and theoretical conclusions from existing research.
Experience with Carbamazepine in the Treatment of Withdrawal Symptoms in Alcohol Abusers
Authors: Poutanen Pauli
Published: January 2006

The use of carbamazepine in the treatment of chronic alcohol abusers has been described by Brune and Busch (1971), Löfgren (1972), Roaldsnes (1972) and Gammer (1976), among others. Ritola (1975) compared the effects of clomethiazole and carbamazepine in the treatment of alcoholics using double‐blind techniques at Törnävä Hospital in 1974. Björkqvist and co‐workers (1976) carried out a comparative multi‐centre trial with carbamazepine and placebo. The positive results obtained in these clinical trials encouraged us to study carbamazepine in the treatment of alcohol abusers in a withdrawal unit for alcoholics.
The Behavioural Measurement of Dependence
Authors: Rankin Howard , Hodgson Ray , Stockwell Tim
Published: January 2006

Two groups of 11 alcoholics, differentiated as to their degree of dependence, were observed drinking a specified amount of alcohol in an open‐ended situation. The severely dependent group drank the alcohol significantly faster than their less dependent counterparts.
Does Sobriety and Self‐Fulfilment Always Necessitate Total and Permanent Abstinence?*
Authors: Carroll Jerome F. X.
Published: January 2006

Since many treated substance abusers are unable or unwilling to totally and permanently abstain from all substances after being treated, and since some treated substance abusers are able to drink and/or take drugs without abusing them, both total and permanent abstinence and controlled use should be discussed as potentially viable treatment outcomes while substance abusers are in treatment. The complexities of controlled use are articulated to the increasing problem of multiple substance abuse. Guidelines are suggested for determining who, what substance(s), under what conditions controlled use could be attempted, and how to evaluate the psychobiosocial consequences of this treatment outcome.
Consumption of Cigarettes of Reduced Tar and Nicotine Delivery
Authors: Stepney R.
Published: January 2006

The results of 16 published experiments which have investigated the effect of reduced tar and nicotine delivery on cigarette consumption were analysed. Smokers switched to brands of lower delivery were found to have significantly increased consumption, the greatest increases in consumption occurring after the largest reductions in delivery. A linear regression of the data shows the consumption increase predicted for different levels of delivery reduction. The relevance of this data to changes in cigarette consumption taking place in the general smoking population is discussed.
Increase in Alcohol‐Related Hospitalizations in Finland 1969–1975
Authors: Poikolainen Kari
Published: January 2006

Alcohol consumption increased 2.2‐fold in Finland in 1968‐1974. Have alcohol‐related diseases become at the same time more common? This was studied by scrutinizing hospitalizations with alcoholism, alcohol psychosis, alcohol poisoning, liver cirrhosis and pancreatitis as the principal diagnosis. During the years 1969–1975, the male admission rate for alcohol psychosis increased 2.1‐fold, the rate for pancreatitis increased 2‐fold, that for alcoholism increased 1.7‐fold and that for liver cirrhosis increased 1.2‐fold. At the same time, the increases in female admission rates were 2.4‐fold for alcoholism, 2.3‐fold for alcohol psychosis, 1.9‐fold for alcohol poisoning and 1.4‐foldfor pancreatitis. The increase in admission rates seemed to be closely associated with the increase in alcohol consumption.
A Further Investigation into the Personality of Drug Addicts in Treatment
Authors: Gossop M. R. , Eysenck S. B. G.
Published: January 2006

Several previous studies have reported personality differences between addicts and normal subjects. In the present investigation, the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire was administered to 221 addicts at three London treatment centres, and to 310 normal subjects. An item analysis showed that a large number of items discriminated between the two groups. An ‘Addiction Scale’ was constructed from the 32 items on which the groups differed most, (all at p<0.001). Most of the A‐Scale items were drawn from the Neuroticism Scale and identified feelings of anxiety and depression. It is suggested that this neurotic component may be artificially inflated. Addicts may have learned to present neurotic problems through such symptoms being rewarded in therapeutic institutions. The neurotic component seems to play a lesser role in distinguishing female addicts from controls. These and other findings are discussed.
Detoxication of the Female Alcoholic: A Follow‐up Study
Authors: Annis H. M. , Liban C. B.
Published: January 2006

Over the six‐month period following discharge from a detoxication centre, one‐fifth of the 98 women studied were arrested, one‐fifth were readmitted to the detoxication centre, one‐quarter were admitted to outpatient programmes and over one‐quarter entered residential treatment. The results are discussed in relation to previously reported follow‐up findings on male detoxication residents.
Total Alcohol Consumption and Rates of Excessive Use: A Rejoinder to Duffy and Cohen
Authors: Skog Ole‐Jørgen
Published: January 2006

Duffy and Cohen's review of the literature on the distribution of alcohol consumption as well as two studies by Duffy on the same topic, are considered, and several errors and misinterpretations are pointed out.
Is Alcohol Consumption Lognormally Distributed?
Authors: Skog Ole‐Jørgen
Published: January 2006

The empirical evidence for the hypothesis of lognormality is reviewed. A theoretical, argument suggesting systematic deviations from lognormality is outlined, and some ‘new’ data are presented.
The Manchester Detoxification Centre
Authors: Hore B. D.
Published: January 2006

The development of the first purpose built hospital‐based detoxification centre (the Manchester Detoxification Centre) in England and Wales is described. The centre opened in 1977 taking police referrals only; however police referrals have been insufficient to fill the centre. There appear to have been two principal reasons for this, the lack of police resources including transport and an unwillingness on the part of the majority of drunken offenders to enter the centre (admission being voluntary).

During the first year of operation there was an over‐representation of Irish and Scottish males amongst patients who were predominantly middle‐aged and male. Apart from the period 6 a.m.‐12 midday patients were admitted throughout a 24‐hour period. The majority of patients demonstrated minimal withdrawal symptoms, 40 per cent co‐operated with plans for after‐care and approximately 25 per cent of these were referred for specialist alcoholism treatment; homeless patients were more likely to stay as required compared with those who had a known address. During the year following the opening of the centre there was a fall in the annual rate of drunken arrests not accountable by the number of patients entering the centre.
The Influence of Much Increased Alcohol Consumption on Mortality Rates: The Netherlands Between 1950 and 1975
Authors: de Lint J.
Published: January 2006

It has often been suggested that a higher rate of alcohol consumption will eventually lead to a higher rate of death from traumata and diseases typically observed in alcoholics and other excessive drinkers. In the Netherlands alcohol consumption has much increased in recent years. However, an examination of mortality by cause and age over a 25–year period has indicated that it is very difficult indeed to render the presumed effects of much increased alcohol consumption on public health statistically visible. Some of these effects may well have been obscured by more significant developments in mortality such as the higher rates of death from cardiovascular diseases and from neoplasm of the lung. Other effects may not have happened at all. In the case of liver cirrhosis mortality ‐ which doubled while alcohol consumption quadrupled during the period of study ‐ it was noted that the rate of death from all liver diseases (including liver cirrhosis) has been declining. In the case of several other alcohol‐related (?) causes of death it was found that mortality rates were not responsive to recent trends in alcohol consumption in the Netherlands.
Expectations and Therapeutic Practices in Outpatient Clinics for Alcohol Problems
Authors: Davies Phil
Published: January 2006

This paper examines the interaction and therapeutic practices that therapists and patients engage in during initial consultations for alcohol problems in outpatient clinics. Therapists are seen to work with elicitation strategies which allocate responsibility to patients and require patients both to identify the nature of their problem(s) and suggest possible solutions. This is seen as part of a general psychiatric approach wherein little is offered by therapists in terms of giving direct advice and guidance. Patients, however, respond to therapists' elicitations in ways which actively seek an explanation, advice or guidance from therapists concerning their alcohol problems. For patients, the provision of such guidance and direction is seen as falling within the professional expertise of therapists. This divergence between patients' and therapists' models and expectations of treatment is examined. The role of advice giving and guidance in inducing patients' motivation is also considered in this paper.
Alcoholic Psychoses and Alcoholism in a Malaysian Population*
Authors: Dass Deva
Published: January 2006

This paper reports on 80 consecutive cases of alcoholic psychoses and alcoholism admitted to the University Hospital, Kuala Lumpur, Malaya, during a two year period.
The Use of Drugs in the Islamic World
Authors: Baasher Taha
Published: January 2006

The paper describes the development of the early Islamic community and the control of alcoholism within the context of overall socio‐cultural changes. The Islamic approach and the technique of the step‐by‐step methods which were applied to attain acceptance of prohibition are discussed. The origin and use of opium, cannabis, khat and synthetic psychoactive substances in the Islamic World are also reviewed. Finally the role of Islam in the prevention and treatment of drug abuse is outlined.
Ten‐year Follow‐up of a Representative Sample of London Heroin Addicts: Clinic Attendance, Abstinence and Mortality
Authors: Wille Rolf
Published: January 2006

Home Office records were used to trace the current status of a representative sample of 128 of the patients who in 1969 attended London out‐patient Drug Dependence Clinics (DDCs) and received daily prescriptions for heroin. The mean age of the patients at follow‐up was 35.2 years and a mean period of 15.4years had elapsed since they first admitted to using heroin. By July 1979, 49 (38%) were still attending the DDCs and almost half (24 people) of them were still being prescribed heroin, the rest (25 people) receiving methadone only. Nineteen people (15%) had died and 60 (47 %) had stopped attending the DDCs. A comparison with the sample in earlier follow‐ups continued to show an increase in the number of people who had stopped attending the DDCs. Only one of the forty people found to be abstinent at personal follow‐up 1976/77, attended a DDC again in 1979. The extent to which the original intentions of treatment policy have been realized since the setting up of DDCs is discussed.
Population Consumption of Alcohol and Proportion Drinking
Authors: McIntosh I. D.
Published: January 2006

Data on the relationship between population average alcohol consumption and the proportion of the population that drinks alcohol is limited. Nevertheless a quite large and statistically significant positive correlation between them is demonstrated with the six data sets presented here. Part of this relationship is probably the result of confounding variables, but evidence is presented that it could also be of a direct cause and effect nature whose directionality could lie both ways. The importance of a direct relationship lies in the possibilities for prevention of alcohol related problems that might derive from a policy of abstention.
A Simulation Model of Drinking Behaviour
Authors: Golüke Ulrich , Landeen Robert , Meadows Dennis
Published: January 2006

In this article we present the outline of an integrative model of individual drinking behaviour.
Acetaldehyde: Its Role in Alcoholic Toxicity and Dependence
Authors: Thomas M. , Peters T. J.
Published: January 2006

The role of acetaldehyde in the pathogenisis of alcohol‐induced tissue damage and of alcoholism is discussed. Although there are technical difficulties in the measurement of plasma acetaldehyde, the levels appear to be elevated in chronic alcoholics and this may reflect the reduced hepatic activity of acetaldehyde dehydrogenase in these patients. Even though acetaldehyde can form morphine‐like adducts with certain CNS biogenic amines, it remains to be demonstrated that these phenomena are important in alcoholics. The role of acetaldehyde toxicity in alcoholism remains at present not proven.
Long‐Term Outcome in Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Among Males in the Lundby General Population, Sweden
Authors: Öjesjö Leif
Published: January 2006

The report presents some prospective base‐lines for assessing prognosis in alcoholism of various gradations in the gene ml population, each variable measured at the beginning (Time I) and at the end (Time 2) of a 15 year longitudinal study. It shows an inverse relation between the degree of involvement with alcohol and the time course of the syndrome. Alcoholism as a dependency‐syndrome is confirmed to be a valid working model for medical and epidemiological use. The findings also give evidence that future problems can be anticipated on the basis of a few general items.
Alcohol Consumption and Ischemic Heart Disease: Some Evidence from Population Studies*
Authors: Schmidt Wolf , Popham Robert E.
Published: January 2006

Spatial correlations for a series of countries in each of three years, and for the states of the U.S.A. in one year, confirmed previous reports of a negative association between mortality from ischemic heart disease (IHD) and per capita alcohol consumption, and of a positive association between the latter and liver cirrhosis mortality. A temporal analysis of the same variable for each of 19 countries gave results consistent with the well‐established consumption‐cirrhosis relationship but inconsistent with the postulated ‘protective’ effect of alcohol consumption on IHD. For consumption and cirrhosis there were 18 highly significant positive coefficients, while for IHD and consumption, 13 were positive and 6 negative, and 8 out of 19 were not significant. These results did not appear to be attributable either to the absence of adjustment for the effect of the 8th revision of the International Classification of Diseases or to the lack of a time lag in the consumption data. The difference in the findings of the spatial and temporal analyses suggests that the association between IHD mortality and alcohol consumption in general populations is dependent upon variation in a third as yet unidentified factor. Such a factor would be expected to correlate with alcohol consumption cross‐nationally but remain more or less constant through time in any given country. Certain food habits appear to have this characteristic.
Teaching Coping Skills to Chronic Alcoholics in a Coeducational Halfway House: II. Assessment of Outcome and Identification of Outcome Predictors
Authors: Walker K. , Sanchez‐Craig M. , Bornet A.
Published: January 2006

An outcome study was conducted with 104 male and 56 female residents of an alcoholism halfway house. Generally poor outcomes were observed for both sexes on measures of drinking, employment, and social stability at 6, 12, and 18 month postdischarge periods. Although a number of differences were found between men and women at follow‐up, sex was found to predict little of the variance when adjusted for the effects of other pretreatment characteristics. In predictive analyses, intake characteristics were found to be relatively strong predictors (19 to 21%) of drinking and employment outcomes. Status variables at the time of discharge were only modestly predictive of outcome when adjusted for intake characteristics. Implications for halfway houses are discussed.
Alcohol Taxes as a Public Health Measure
Authors: Cook Philip J.
Published: January 2006

Prices of alcoholic beverages in the U.S. have declined sharply over the last two decades relative to the overall rate of price inflation, in part because federal alcohol excise taxes have not been increased since 1951. There is strong evidence that an increase in alcohol taxes would reduce the prevalence of chronic heavy drinking; this evidence, summarized here, is based on an analysis of the effect of changes in state liquor taxes rates on cirrhosis mortality. Thus alcohol taxation is an effective public health policy investment. Alcohol taxes are also fairly well targeted, in the sense that a large fraction of tax revenues are collected from those whose alcohol consumption level places them at risk for health problems and other alcohol‐related problems.
Alcohol and the Cardiovascular System
Authors: Wodak A. , Richardson Peter J.
Published: January 2006

Cardiovascular damage associated with alcohol abuse is predominantly seen with persistent heavy drinking. Occasionally nutritional deficiencies or congeners in alcoholic beverages may cause cardiac disease. Alcohol use is associated with other changes in lifestyle, especially smoking, which may also contribute to the associations between heavy drinking and cardiovascular disease. Alcohol excess is associated with hypertension, heart muscle disease and arrhythmias. Moderate drinking may reduce cardiovascular mortality compared to heavy drinking or abstension, but this is still controversial. Consumption of small amounts of alcohol in patients with angina causes temporary impairment of heart function. Diagnostic awareness of alcohol excess in cardiovascular disease needs to be increased and improvements in screening may be of assistance. The foetal alcohol syndrome includes cardiac malformations and requires greater efforts in prevention.
Cues for Drinking and Degrees of Alcohol Dependence
Authors: Rankin Howard , Stockwell Tim , Hodgson Ray
Published: January 2006

In this study, alcoholic subjects were divided as to their degree of dependence by an independent rater and were given a questionnaire designed to elicit information on which a variety of cues influenced drinking behaviour. Overall, the study supported other findings in suggesting that ‐high arousal states symptomatic of withdrawal and negative mood states were seen by those suffering from alcohol dependence as important and influential situations. The severely dependent group not only endorsed withdrawal items more, as would be expected, but also those items suggesting a priming effect and loss of control phenonema.
The Validity of Self‐Reported Alcohol Consumption and Alcohol Problems: A Literature Review
Authors: Midanik Lorraine
Published: January 2006

The literature on the validity of self‐reported alcohol consumption and alcohol problems was reviewed. Studies done in this area were analyzed by type of sample, by specific behaviour which was validated and by criterion chosen as the standard to which the behaviour would be compared. Despite the usual conclusion of validity studies that self‐reports are basically valid, variation exists depending upon what is being validated and how its accuracy is measured. Recent reports of consumption are validated more easily than drinking patterns measured in drinking practices surveys (as evidenced by coverage rates of surveys to sales statistics ranging from 40‐60%). In addition, collateral reports by significant others do not necessarily yield better information on consumption. In the area of alcohol problems, only a few, highly‘visible’problems can realistically be validated. Thus, the reporting of drinking driving arrests can be better validated than tremors or other physical manifestations. It is concluded that more emphasis should be placed on developing new ways to validate alcohol consumption and alcohol problems so that researchers can continue to refine their data collection techniques in order to maintain confidence in their findings.
Teaching Coping Skills to Chronic Alcoholics in a Coeducational Halfway House: I. Assessment of Programme Effects
Authors: Sanchez‐Craig M. , Walker K.
Published: January 2006

A study of 104 male and 56 female residents of an alcoholism halfway house investigated the feasibility of programmes for teaching coping skills. In a developmental phase, programmes were created for teaching goal‐setting, interpersonal problem‐solving, and control of drinking tendencies. In a subsequent experimental phase, the problem‐solving strategies were compared to covert sensitization and a discussion control. While most subjects could recite the strategies during programmes, marked decrements in recall were noted within one month of programme completion. No differences were found among the three programmes on any outcome variables at discharge or at 6, 12 or 18 month follow‐ups.
Crossing the Threshold: Factors in Self‐identification as an Alcoholic*
Authors: Skinner Harvey A. , Glaser Frederick B. , Annis Helen M.
Published: January 2006

This study compared individuals who identified themselves as ‘alcoholic’ versus ‘non‐alcoholic’ in a clinical sample (N=225) referred for alcohol related problems. The self‐identified alcoholics were more likely to have attended Alcoholics Anonymous and to agree with the A.A. philosophy that abstinence is necessary for improvement. Furthermore, the alcoholics reported a wider range of problems related to alcohol, and both their current and life‐time alcohol consumption were greater than the non‐alcoholics. Nevertheless, the differences would appear to be of degree rather than differences of kind. As the level of alcohol abuse increased beyond a certain threshold there was an increased probability that individuals would consider themselves alcoholic. On the other hand, the self–identified alcoholics and non‐alcoholics were not significantly different with respect to age, sex, intellectual abilities, personality characteristics and measures of psychopathology. This study calls into question the meaningfulness and practical utility of the distinction between ‘alcoholic’ and ‘non‐alcoholic’ with individuals having alcohol related problems.
Controlling Alcohol Abuse in Australia: from Treatment to Prevention
Authors: Grichting Wolfgang L.
Published: January 2006

This article rests on the assumption that effective intervention into alcohol abuse and alcoholism in Australia (and elsewhere) requires greater emphasis on prevention through balanced social policy measures rather than on individual treatment through medically oriented programmes. By means of a household survey of the 12th largest city in Australia (the country with the highest per capita alcohol consumption among all English speaking countries) the pattern of support for various intervention alternatives is analysed. Next, groups which provide or withhold support for these strategies are identified. Finally the support for such hypothetical controls is compared with actual support for existing control measures in other realms of social life. On this basis specific action recommendations are offered.
A Comparative Study of the Amount of Smoke Absorbed From Low Yield (‘Less Hazardous’) Cigarettes Part 2: Invasive Measures
Authors: Robinson J. C. , Young J. C. , Rickert W. S. , Fey G. , Kozlowski L. T.
Published: January 2006

A group of 22 volunteers who smoked daily more than 20‘high’nicotine (0.8 to 1.1 mg) Canadian cigarettes were switched to lower yield brands in two stages aver an eight‐week period. The control group (six subjects) switched brands with nicotine yields within ± 0.1 mg of their usual brand while the treatment group smoked reduced yield brands (first stage, 33% reduction; second stage 61% reduction).

all averages for levels of blood carboxyhemoglobin, plasma thiocyanate and serum cotinine were found to change significantly from week to week but there was no discernible difference between the treatment and the control group in week to week pattern. Although the majority of smokers in this study did not increase their exposure to cigarette smoke by smoking low yield cigarettes, it can not be said that the switch resulted in ‘safer’ smoking.
Development of a Questionnaire to Measure Alcohol Dependence
Authors: Raistrick Duncan , Dunbar Geoff , Davidson Robin
Published: January 2006

This paper is an interim report describing the development of a 15‐item, self‐completion questionnaire designed to measure Alcohol Dependence. Some measures of reliability are also presented.
Why is Abstinence Necessary for the Recovery of Some Problem Drinkers?
Authors: Heather Nick , Robertson Ian
Published: January 2006

Given a paradigm change in the alcoholism field from an irreversible disease to a reversible behavioural disorder, a new theoretical foundation for the abstinence requirement in treatment is needed. Such a foundation might consist of two classes of exceptional circumstances where abstinence is justified, one for permanent and the other for temporary abstinence.
Describing Relationships in Families with Alcohol Problems. The Family Relations Index: 1 Graphic Representation
Authors: Wilson Clare , Mulhall David J.
Published: January 2006

The Family Relations Index is a technique for describing family interaction which can provide insight for the family and the investigator into the dynamics of family behaviour and can guide intervention. The technique goes some way towards addressing the issues of complexity, subjectivity, privacy and the management of change over time which are challenges in devising methods of research with families in ‘sensitive areas’, such as alcohol abuse. The nature and requirements of the technique itself make it most suitable for clinical work and process research with small samples.
Family Problems Related to the Treatment and Outcome of Alcoholic Patients
Authors: Vannicelli Marsha , Gingerich Susan , Ryback Ralph
Published: January 2006

One hundred alcoholic patients participated in a study to investigate the family problems that patients present upon entry into treatment and the implications of family problems for later recovery. Correlation analyses relating family problems to outcome and aftercare participation showed that family problems are significantly related to outcome and to a lesser extent to treatment involvement beyond the inpatient phase.
Alcohol Dependence and Responsivity to an Ethanol Stimulus as Predictors of Alcohol Consumption*
Authors: Kaplan Richard F. , Meyer Roger E. , Stroebel Charles F.
Published: January 2006

Withdrawal symptoms during the previous 30 days were examined in relation to psychophysiological arousal, desire to drink, and operant behavior associated with alcohol consumption. The subjects were 16 male alcoholic patients and 16 control subjects that had been randomly assigned to either an alcohol or placebo condition. Alcoholics showed a greater desire to drink than their respective controls. There was also a significant correlation between autonomic arousal and desire to drink among alcoholics but not controls. There was some evidence that arousal was related to alcohol dependence among alcoholics. Placebo responding among alcoholics was also related to alcohol dependence. Of particular significance was that desire to drink, withdrawal symptomatology, and heart rate accounted for over 57% of the variance in predicting which alcoholics would choose the drink reward following the operant task. These results support the notion that disposition to drink in alcoholics should be examined in a multivariate context.