Round up
Article Type: Round up From: Drugs and Alcohol Today, Volume 13, Issue 1
Round up for this issue is focusing on Scandinavian organisations, journals, reports that are in English, including links to European wide web sites/projects that provide country data about drugs, alcohol, and tobacco.
Key organisations
Denmark
The Danish National Institute of Public Health is responsible for raising public health concerns through research, knowledge and education. It is based at the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Southern Denmark, in Copenhagen. Its web site lists new publication in English including reports on alcohol and undertakes research into morbidity and mortality related to alcohol, evaluation of treatments, alcohol culture and habits of the Danes (www.si-folkesundhed.dk/).
Danish Health and Medicines Authority main area of responsibility is to create a coherent healthcare sector with integrated care pathways for patients. It works to ensure and develop the quality of healthcare services in Denmark. Health promotion activities include drugs, alcohol, and tobacco with links to resources on these topics (www.sst.dk/English/Health_promotion.aspx).
Centre for Alcohol and Drug Research located at the University of Aarhus conducts interdisciplinary research, specifically in the alcohol and drug area,maintains a research and teaching profile, which includes activities in the areas of control, treatment, prevention, and use. The web site provides links to research publications and projects (http://pure.au.dk/portal/en/persons/torsten-kolind%2806d3fddd-d91e-4bcf-af47-7bae4ea7a01c%29/cv.html?id=32505026).
Finland
National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) is a research and development institute under the Finnish Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. THL seeks to serve the broader society in addition to the scientific community, actors in the field and decision makers in central government and municipalities. The aim is to promote health and welfare in Finland. Has sub sites including one on alcohol and drugs intervention which has information and tools for planning,implementing and assessing of alcohol and drugs intervention (www.thl.fi/en_US/web/en/aboutus).
The Finnish Foundation for Alcohol Studies founded in 1950, is funded mainly by the state of Finland and the Alko retail alcohol monopoly. The role of the Foundation is to promote and support scientific research on alcohol use in general and on alcohol drinking as an individual and social problem. In addition, temperance studies as well as research on narcotics and other addictive drugs in relation to alcohol use also fall within the scope of the foundation’s work. It supports social, behavioural, biological and medical research by funding scientific research and travel, publishing scholarly books,and by organising seminars. Web site includes a list of publications in English(www.thl.fi/en_US/web/en/aboutus/co_operation/finnish_foundation_for_alcohol_studies).
Iceland
Iceland Directorate of Public Health the Institute’s mission is to improve public knowledge of the determinants of health – social and environmental determinants, and lifestyle factors – and to seek to ensure that such knowledge is reflected in the attitudes and work of government, employers and other parties who influence the standard of living, health, and well-being of the people of Iceland. The institute researches alcohol and drug abuse prevention, nutrition, accident prevention, mental health and physical activity,dental health, and tobacco use prevention (www.landlaeknir.is/english/).
Norway
The Norwegian Institute for Alcohol and Drug Research – SIRUS –conducts social scientific research, compiles documentation and provides information on substance use and abuse. Work is divided into three areas, each with a dedicated research team, alcohol research; drugs research; and tobacco research. The institute maintains a national library containing alcohol and drug-related literature. SIRUS is also responsible for maintaining the statistics database RusStat, which contains updated statistics on alcohol,drugs, and tobacco. It is also the Norwegian Focal Point for the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA). The web site is available in English. Recent publications are listed on the site: www.sirus.no/eng/Publications/All_publications/2012/
The Norwegian Institute of Public Health is the national centre charged with improving public health through the promotion of good health and the prevention of disease. It works in the areas of epidemiology, mental health, infectious disease control, environmental medicine, forensic toxicology, and drug abuse. Research is conducted on drug effects, mechanisms of addiction, intoxication and traffic, and the effects of substance abuse on mental health. Current research highlighted on their web site includes findings from a recent study on the dangers of drivers combining alcohol with hypnotic or sedative medicines; how long-term methadone treatment can affect the brain; and other topics such as changes in alcohol and drugs legislation. The site also includes useful factsheets such as Alcohol Consumption in Norway and Drug Consumption in Norway(www.fhi.no/eway/?pid=238).
Sweden
The Swedish Council for Information on Alcohol and Other Drugs (CAN) is a non-governmental organisation, founded in 1901. Its main task is to monitor drug and alcohol trends in Sweden and to provide information for professionals and the public. CAN undertake research and publish national reports and surveys, run web sites for a range of users, and runs training courses and conferences. The web site is in Swedish and English. CAN is also responsible for running the pan European School Survey Project on Alcohol and other Drugs title="www.espad.org/en/Reports–Documents/ESPAD-Reports/.">www.espad.org/en/Reports–Documents/ESPAD-Reports/,which collects comparable data on substance use among 15-16-year-old students in as many European countries as possible (www.can.se/).
Swedish National Institute of Public Health (SNIPH) is a state agency under the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs. The institute works to promote health and prevent ill health and injury, especially for population groups most vulnerable to health risks. The three main functions of the institute are to monitor and coordinate implementation of the national public health policy, operate as a national centre of knowledge for the development and dissemination of information and research on public health, and oversee work in the areas of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs. SNIPH is designated National Focal Point for the EMCDDA and reports national data on drugs and drug addiction to the EMCDDA (www.fhi.se/).
Centre for Social Research on Alcohol and Drugs is an interdisciplinary research centre at Stockholm University. The centre conducts research within the field of social alcohol and drug research. It publishes research some of which is in English (www.sorad.su.se/english/about-us).
Pan Scandinavia
Nordic Centre for Welfare and Social Issues facilitates inter-Nordic exchange of experience and knowledge in order to be better able to meet the challenges in society and welfare policy. The key work areas cover alcohol and drug research;labour inclusion; disability issues; Nordic welfare model, and welfare technology. An example of a recent project is Adolescents’ and alcohol use. All projects involve practitioners, researchers, user organisations, and politicians. The centre also arranges conferences and publishes thematic booklets on welfare issues (www.nordicwelfare.org/Ovrigt/About-us/).
DRUID – a European project about alcohol, medicines, illegal drugs, and road safety. A total of 37 institutions in 19 countries were involved; including Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Sweden. The aim of the project was to conduct reference studies about the impact on fitness to drive under the influence of alcohol, illicit drugs, and medicines and to provide data on impairment caused by psychoactive substances and impact on road safety. The results are being used to assess and calculate the risk of being involved in traffic accident following the use of alcohol or drugs, and the final report provides data on the nature and incidents of road traffic accidents for all participating countries (www.druid-project.eu/nn_107548/Druid/EN/about-DRUID/about-DRUID-node.html?__nnn=true).
WHO tobacco control country profiles – provides information about tobacco prevalence, preventive measures, cessation, and tobacco economics for Finland,Denmark, Norway, Iceland, and Sweden. This data are from the “WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic, 2011: warning about the dangers of tobacco”(www.who.int/tobacco/surveillance/policy/country_profile/en/index.html).
Recent reports/publications
Nordic Studies on Alcohol and Drugs is a journal for social science research on alcohol and drugs and their related policies. The journal has an emphasis on alcohol and illicit drugs but covers also tobacco and gambling. The journal is published in both English and Scandinavian languages (www.nordicwelfare.org/Om-oss/Alkohol-och-narkotika/NAD/).
Scandinavian Journal of Public Health – an international peer reviewed journal that publishes high quality research on all aspects of global public health. It is the official journal of the Associations of Public Health in the Nordic countries. Recent issues include articles on smoking, alcohol, and drugs (http://sjp.sagepub.com/content/current).
Alcohol statistics 2010 – from the SNIPH reports on figures pertaining to sales, production, import/export of alcoholic beverages in Sweden as well as statistics on market players (wholesalers, restaurants, etc.). It provides a general picture of the scope and development of the alcohol market in Sweden over time (www.fhi.se/en/Publications/All-publications-in-english/Alcohol-Statistics-2010/).
Drugs – How Do They Work and What Do They Look Like published in English by the Danish National Board of Health this guide provides information about drugs and their effects, what they look like and what you can do to take care of yourself (www.sst.dk/publ/Publ2008/CFF/Narkotika/Stof-Fakta-08-SST-UK-low.pdf).
The drug situation in Norway – a description of the drug situation in Norway, the report covers two special topics; “Drug-related health policies and services in prison” and “Drug users with children”(www.sirus.no/The+Drug+Situation+in+Norway+2011.E2x322-8_Bp77BFv3TR9D6CJ1K1zUgBVPL28nMhPLZB9MtlY05hRHUXy.ips).
The drug situation in Finland – discusses the latest developments and research data from recent years, mainly focusing on 2010 and early 2011. The drug situation is described from the perspectives of legislation, policies, use,harm, treatment and other interventions, and the drug issue is approached from the health, social and criminal points of view. Special issues considered are“Health correlates and consequences in prison” and “Problem drug use by parents of underage children and by pregnant women” (www.thl.fi/thl-client/pdfs/20bb4ac2-9418-4ec4-a8ec-2f6bb36befb9).
Sweden – 2011 report to EMCDDA describes the current drug situation in Sweden. The special topics considered are “Residential treatment for drug users in Europe” and “Drug policies of large European cities” (www.emcdda.europa.eu/html.cfm/index191600EN.html).
National Report Denmark 2011 provides an overview of the drug situation in Denmark. It is based on the most recent statistical and epidemiological data as well as current information on projects, activities and strategies within drug prevention, harm reduction, and treatment of drug abuse (www.thl.fi/thl-client/pdfs/20bb4ac2-9418-4ec4-a8ec-2f6bb36befb9).
Country profiles – the EMCDDA hosts profiles describing key statistics and summaries of the drug situation for countries across Europe including Denmark,Finland, Norway, and Sweden (www.emcdda.europa.eu/countries/denmark; www.emcdda.europa.eu/countries/finland; www.emcdda.europa.eu/countries/norway; www.emcdda.europa.eu/countries/sweden).
EMCDDA cocaine-related deaths in special and general mortality registries (2012)– this report describes the trend in numbers of cocaine related deaths over 15 years in some European countries. It includes data for Denmark (www.emcdda.europa.eu/themes/key-indicators/drd).
Christine GoodairCompiled by Christine Goodair, who is Chair-Elect of SALIS, The International Organisation for Substance Abuse Librarians and Information Specialists.
