Increasing taxes on specific types of alcohol and implementing policies that reduce its availability have differing effects on specific subgroups according to a new study from ARG biostatistician Meenakshi Sabina Subbaraman and colleagues. The study, published in Addiction, is the first to address gaps in alcohol policy research by examining how such broad-based initiatives aimed at reducing drinking and its related consequences vary across sex and racial/ethnic groups. Results showed that … [Read more...]
Recent Findings
Drinking High Levels of Alcohol Increases the Chance of Developing Hypertension
A new lifecourse study looks at how drinking affects health over a 30-year period Press Release: People who consume high-levels of alcohol may be at an increased risk of developing high blood pressure according to a new lifecourse study from the Alcohol Research Group (ARG), a program of the Public Health Institute. The study, published today in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine, confirms previous research that demonstrated a significant link between hypertension and heavy drinking … [Read more...]
Liquor Prices Continue to Grow in Washington State after Privatization
Press Release Emeryville, CA (December 18, 2019): New follow-up research on Washington State’s privatization of alcohol and its effect on pricing and consumption found liquor prices continued to increase compared to previous analyses conducted in 2014. However, increases varied by brand, container size, and store type. The study, conducted by the Alcohol Research Group (ARG), a program of the Public Health Institute, found that, between 2014 and 2016, prices grew by 3.9% for a 750 mL … [Read more...]
Policy Brief: Is Federal Parity Effective?
State Parity Laws May Explain Why Federal Policy Aimed at Increasing Access to Alcohol Treatment Services Shows Modest Effect N. Mulia, C.K. Lui, Y. Ye, M.S. Subbaraman, W.C. Kerr, T.K. Greenfield Summary The purpose of this policy brief is to assess the effectiveness of the 2008 Federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) on treatment admissions for people with substance use issues. This is the first assessment to consider the moderating effect of pre-existing … [Read more...]
US Drinking Norms Updated
As a practitioner, one way to assess your clients' drinking habits is to have them compare their current consumption level to how much the rest of the nation is drinking. ARG senior scientist, Thomas K. Greenfield and biostatistician Yu Ye took data from the 2015 National Alcohol Survey (NAS) consisting of individuals residing in 50 states and Washington DC, and looked at the number of drinks both women and men said they consumed per week on average in the previous 12 months. Ask your … [Read more...]
New treatment program helps women significantly reduce how much they drink even after treatment ends
A new clinical trial shows that intensive motivational interviewing (IMI), an intervention that was first used to treat methamphetamine dependence, is highly effective in curbing how much women with alcohol problems drank two months after the program ended with consumption levels sustained at the six-month follow-up. Women who were heavy drinkers experienced the greatest effect. Heavy drinking was defined as drinking 14 or more days to the point of intoxication over the past 30 days. The study … [Read more...]
Alcohol causes significant harm to those other than the drinker
Each year, one in five U.S. adults -- an estimated 53 million people -- experience harm because of someone else’s drinking, according to new research in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. Similar to how policymakers have addressed the effects of secondhand smoke over the last two decades, society needs to combat the secondhand effects of drinking, the authors state, calling alcohol’s harm to others “a significant public health issue.” According to the study -- an analysis of U.S. … [Read more...]
Stricter Policies Lower the Risk of Being Hurt by Someone Who’s Been Drinking
In the US, adults under age forty living in states with more restrictive alcohol policies experience fewer aggression- and drink-driving-related harms from someone else’s drinking than those in states with weaker policies, a new NIAAA-supported study from the Alcohol Research Group, Public Health Institute, found. Results showed that for a 10-point increase in restrictiveness of an alcohol policy scale, including for instance alcohol availability, taxation and drink-driving laws, the odds of … [Read more...]
Alcohol policies aimed at stopping pregnant women from drinking cause worse birth outcomes, increase public health costs
State-level alcohol/drug pregnancy policies lead to increased low birthweight and preterm births, costing millions of dollars per year A new study finds that several state-level policies targeting alcohol and drug use during pregnancy lead to greater numbers of low birthweight (LBW) and preterm births (PTB), resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars more in public health spending each year. The study—a collaboration between the Alcohol Research Group (ARG), a program of the Public Health … [Read more...]
Dried Blood Spot Sampling Finds Return Rates Differ by Race/Ethnicity and Education
New research is first to assess the use of dried blood spot collection in a large national study In the first study to assess the feasibility of obtaining a mail-in, dried blood spot (DBS) sample from large national surveys in the U.S., results showed return rates differed across racial/ethnic groups and educational attainment. Specifically, Blacks and Latinos, and people with a high school education or below were less likely to return a DBS sample than Whites and those with a college education … [Read more...]
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