Recent Findings

Press Release Findings from the first-ever study of marijuana’s secondhand harms show that fewer harms were attributed to someone else’s marijuana use than from secondhand drinking. The new research from the Alcohol Research Group, a program of the Public Health Institute, and RTI International, a nonprofit research institute, was conducted using 2014 to 2016 data from Washington State where recreational marijuana use has been legal since 2012. The study was published today in the Journal of … [Read more...]

New research shows an increased rate of hospitalizations for accidental injuries in urban areas after Washington State privatized their liquor sales. The study found an additional 17,498 hospitalizations in metropolitan-urban counties in the 2.5 years after Initiative 1183 was passed compared to neighboring Oregon. Non-metropolitan-urban and rural counties did not see their hospitalization rates change. Initiative 1183 called for closing state-run liquor stores and allowing state licensing of … [Read more...]

A new study looks at clustered risk behaviors across racial/ethnic groups In the first study to identify clustered risk health behaviors among whites, Blacks, and Hispanics, ARG Scientist Won Kim Cook and colleagues illustrate the need to develop tailored multi-behavioral interventions to address racial disparities in health outcomes. The research team focused on the "big four" risk behaviors that contribute to chronic conditions and morbidity: risky drinking, cigarette smoking, poor diet, … [Read more...]

A new study looks at the shifts in voters' opinions since privatization in Washington State A new study shows that voters in Washington State would likely reject privatization of liquor sales if the vote was held today. The study from the Alcohol Research Group, a program of the Public Health Institute, found that Washington residents who voted in favor of ending state controls on liquor sales in 2011 were 2.59 times more likely to want to change their vote than residents who voted against it. … [Read more...]

Alcohol problems cost Baltimore city more than $2 per drink A new study from researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Boston University estimates that health and safety problems attributable to alcohol use cost $582.3 million in Baltimore City in 2013 — the equivalent of approximately $2.04 per drink. The study included costs from lost productivity; health care costs for chronic diseases such as liver cirrhosis, pancreatitis, hypertension and stroke, as well as … [Read more...]