Adolescent Alcohol And Tobacco Use/abuse: The Efficacy Of A Brief Motivational Interviewing And Skills Training Program
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$153,610.00
Summary
Alcohol abuse (regular and episodic heavy drinking) and tobacco use are common and increasing amongst young Australians. Around 49% of adolescents are regular drinkers, and 15.5% of females and 33% of males are occasional binge drinkers. Between 17.5% and 35.5% of adolescents smoke and this has increased from 1987. While the majority of young Australians moderate their drinking and smoking over time, about 5% will become heavy drinkers and 20% will become regular smokers. The public health conse ....Alcohol abuse (regular and episodic heavy drinking) and tobacco use are common and increasing amongst young Australians. Around 49% of adolescents are regular drinkers, and 15.5% of females and 33% of males are occasional binge drinkers. Between 17.5% and 35.5% of adolescents smoke and this has increased from 1987. While the majority of young Australians moderate their drinking and smoking over time, about 5% will become heavy drinkers and 20% will become regular smokers. The public health consequences of heavy drinking and smoking are now well documented. There are many studies exploring the effectiveness of universal prevention programs designed to reduce the chance of alcohol and tobacco problems in high school students. These are associated with short term reductions in the chance of smoking and heavy drinking, however it is unclear whether these programs work for adolescents who are at high risk of alcohol problems and sustained smoking. We know a lot about the sorts of risk factors associated with these problems. They include early onset of use, parental involvement and use, particular personality traits, poor marks, peer use, and poor social skills. There is no research that clearly evaluates prevention programs for adolescents who show these risk factors. In this research, a program tailored for high-risk adolescents will be compared to an educational program similar to what is often received in Australian high schools. It is expected that high-risk students will not show changes in the educational program, but will show long-term improvements after completing the enhanced program. If these results hold, the research will have very important implications for detecting high-risk students and modifying the ways in which these adolescents are treated so that we minimise the chance of further development of alcohol and tobacco problems. This could result in large health cost savings in the future.Read moreRead less
SOLUTIONS For Present And Future Emerging Pollutants In Land And Water Resources Management
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$259,784.00
Summary
The European Union project SOLUTIONS will develop a novel conceptual framework to prioritise chemical contaminants for ecological and human health risk assessment of water resources and fish for human consumption. The Australian partner will implement health-relevant bioanalytical endpoints to inform cumulative risk assessment. The developed concepts and tools will be validated using European river case studies, with the knowledge generated to be transferred to the Australian context.
Unintended Adverse Effects Of Advertising For Nicotine Replacement Therapies
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$133,250.00
Summary
Advertising for certain pharmaceutical products (nicotine replacement therapy( NRT)) to help people quit smoking has been permitted in Australia since 1997. Zyban, an antidepressant drug, has been found to be helpful in quitting smoking, but advertising has not yet been permitted in Australia although it is allowed overseas. Because such advertising will reach more than the primary target group of heavy smokers ready to quit, it is important to consider the responses of other smokers who are not ....Advertising for certain pharmaceutical products (nicotine replacement therapy( NRT)) to help people quit smoking has been permitted in Australia since 1997. Zyban, an antidepressant drug, has been found to be helpful in quitting smoking, but advertising has not yet been permitted in Australia although it is allowed overseas. Because such advertising will reach more than the primary target group of heavy smokers ready to quit, it is important to consider the responses of other smokers who are not ready to quit and those at risk of taking up smoking. There is concern that there may be 'boomerang' effects, albeit unintended, on these population groups, because they may feel reassured that there is an effective method to quit and so be in no rush to quit soon, they may try to quit using these products before they are really ready, and in the case of teenagers, they may think that these products make it easy to quit, so there is less problem with starting to smoke. In order to assess if this is so, we will randomly allocate smokers not yet ready to quit and teenagers to either (a) a group where they view 3 ads promoting non-drug methods of quitting, such as the Quitline, (b) a group where they view 3 ads promoting the NRT gum or patch, or (c) a group where they view 3 ads promoting Zyban as a method for quitting. The study will use questionnaires to assess whether, compared with those viewing the non-drug anti-smoking ads, those viewing the NRT or Zyban ads think smoking is less addictive and have less intention to quit, or in the case of teenagers, have more intention to take up smoking. This project will be the first formal study to assess whether there may be adverse effects of NRT and Zyban advertising on smokers not yet ready to quit and teenagers who are not already regular smokers. For this reason, the study will help an assessment of the risks of such advertising compared with the established benefits for smokers who are ready to quit.Read moreRead less
Intervention For Tobacco Dependence Among People With A Psychotic Illness
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$387,625.00
Summary
The prevalence of smoking among people with a psychiatric illness, especially schizophrenia, is greater than that in the general population. Exposure to tobacco smoke has been identified as a cause of 32 different diseases as well as a cause of fire injuries. Tobacco smoke is known to contain carcinogens, as well as nicotine and numerous other poisonous substances. An extensive body of scientific evidence shows that active cigarette smoking increases the risk of many different cancers. Smoking r ....The prevalence of smoking among people with a psychiatric illness, especially schizophrenia, is greater than that in the general population. Exposure to tobacco smoke has been identified as a cause of 32 different diseases as well as a cause of fire injuries. Tobacco smoke is known to contain carcinogens, as well as nicotine and numerous other poisonous substances. An extensive body of scientific evidence shows that active cigarette smoking increases the risk of many different cancers. Smoking related diseases rate second in frequency to suicide as the greatest contributor to early mortality in schizophrenia. Popular opinion holds that people with mental illness are lacking in motivation to change their behaviour due to the effects of their mental illness. However, a recent survey of inpatients in a psychiatric hospital in Newcastle, NSW, revealed that over a quarter of smokers were either preparing to quit or cut down on their smoking or already had taken action to reduce their smoking. The present research proposal represents the first large randomised controlled trial of an intervention for tobacco dependence among people with a mental illness. This project will compare the effectiveness of nicotine replacement therapy combined with counselling with a self-help booklet on smoking. The proposed research follows a small clinical study of the feasibility of the intervention and a small randomised controlled trial supported by the Australian Rotary Health Research Fund. The proposed study brings together the expertise of several people across Australia who have experience in treating people with mental illness and drug dependence, including tobacco dependence. The results will inform future clinical interventions for smokers with a mental illness.Read moreRead less
Food And Water For Life: Co-creation And Evaluation Of Sustainable Innovations To Strengthen Food And Water Security
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,169,419.00
Summary
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples suffer a disproportionate burden of non-communicable diseases. Poor diets, exacerbated by low quality water supplies, are one of the biggest contributors to this. Through our existing long-standing partnership, his project will establish a framework and use regulatory analysis to support the Aboriginal community in Walgett to develop a transformative community-led food and water security action plan to improve the long-term health and well-being.