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HRB National Drugs Library
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News
Silent epidemic of foetal alcohol spectrum disorder 'coming down the road at us fast and furiously'

[Irish Examiner] Murphy, Ann (31 Mar 2025)

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South American cartels using ‘narco subs’ to smuggle drugs into Europe, warns former garda

Irish Examiner] O'Keeffe, Cormac (28 Mar 2025)

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Teens presenting at EDs with psychosis from legal, semi-synthentic cannabis product, says leading psychiatrist

[Irish Times] Bowers, Shauna (26 Mar 2025)

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No timeline in place to activate new strict gambling regulations.

[thejournal.ie] O'Cearbhaill, Muiris (18 Mar 2025) 

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Garda Commissioner says drug investigations focused on dealers, not addicts

[RTE News] Reynolds, Paul (15 Mar 2025) 

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Only two addiction counsellors but 100 on waiting list for services at Cork Prison

[EchoLive.ie] Campbell, Amy (14 Mar 2025) 

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'Wild West of the drug market': calls for laws to deal with synthetic cannabinoids.

[Irish Examiner] Murphy, Ann (10 Mar 2025)

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The state of our liver health

[Medical Independent] Dillon, Pauline (10 Mar 2025)

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Fast boats and military-grade guns are new trends in Irish drugs trade, says assistant Garda chief

[Irish Times] Lally, Conor (08 Mar 2025)

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How new gambling rules will impact Irish punters

[Irish Times] Harrison, Bernice (07 Mar 2025) 

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Minister Carroll MacNeill requests that Government make Health (Delegation of functions) Order 2025 to the new Ministers of State.

[Department of Health] (05 Mar 2025) 

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Minister O'Callaghan establishes GRAI approves appointment of members as new licencing & regulatory framework for gambling begins

[Department of Justice] (04 Mar 2025) 

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Dail Debates
Oireachtas debates
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Welcome

Our newsletter includes links to Irish and international publications related to alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. To view our entire collection of research and access our resources visit our website, Ireland's comprehensive substance use research library. And follow us @HRBdrugslibrary

 

Also, take a look at the NDTRS treatment data tables, services map and alcohol dashboard, among other resources on our site.

Irish-related publications
Problem drug use in Cork City: a study on prevalence and harms

Muttucomaroe, Lauren et al (2025) Cork: University College Cork

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Early and risky adolescent alcohol use independently predict alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and other drug use in early adulthood in Ireland: a longitudinal analysis of a nationally representative cohort

Brennan, Margaret M et al (2025) BMC Public Health, 25. doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-22262-w

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The prevalence, risk and protective factors and service needs in relation to the co-morbidity of substance use and neurodiversity.

McDonagh, David et al (2025) Dublin: Trinity College Dublin

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Barriers and enablers of addiction recovery amongst people experiencing homelessness in Dublin, Ireland: a proposed conceptual framework adapted from the REC-CAP

Ingram, Carolyn et al (2025) Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment, 172. doi.org/10.1016/j.josat.2025.209669 

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An exploration of women and crack cocaine use in Ballymun: trajectories, experiences, and interventions

O'Reilly, Laura et al (2024) Dublin: Ballymun Local Drugs and Alcohol Task Force in partnership with Urrús/Ballymun Youth Action Project

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“Someone to talk to…” Learning to practice: implementation of Ballymun Infant Parent Support Project 2012-2022

O'Reilly, Laura and Lawless, Marie (2025) Dublin: Ballymun Infant Parent Support Project

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St Ann’s Secondary School - Planet Youth school report 2024

Planet Youth Ireland West. (2025) Galway: Planet Youth and Western Region Drug & Alcohol Task Force

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Commentary on Day et al.: Systemic solutions for recovery support services in Ireland's National Drug Strategy

Ivers, Jo-Hanna H (2025) Addiction, Early online. doi.org/10.1111/add.70029

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Faltering care: why mothers experiencing homelessness in Dublin, Ireland, miss their childcare visits

Lucey, Hannah (2025) Anthropology & Medicine, Early online. pp. 1-16. doi.org/10.1080/13648470.2025.2453363 

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An examination of the enforcement of Ireland’s Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018: a paper tiger

Houghton, Frank and Lombard, John (2024) The Turkish Journal on Addictions, 11, (3). DOI: 10.5152/ADDICTA.2024.24165 

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Alcohol Action Ireland submission to the Department of Health on the development of a new National drugs strategy.

(2025) Dublin: Alcohol Action Ireland

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The impact of secondhand smoke on pub workers: a 2002 consultation for the Irish Office of Tobacco Control

Repace, James L (2025) Tobacco Use Insights, 18. doi.org/10.1177/1179173x251319860 

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Drug-related and drug misuse deaths in Northern Ireland, 2023

(2025) Belfast: Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency

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Risk environment influences affecting cocaine market expansion within post-conflict Northern Ireland

Niblock, Tobias and Harris, Julie (2025) International Journal of Drug Policy, 138. doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2025.104760 

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Homelessness in - Northern Ireland. Comptroller and Auditor General

(2025) Belfast: Northern Ireland Audit Office

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Breaking the cycle: addressing mental health and homelessness through integrated care

(2025) Dublin: Depaul and Mental Health Ireland

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The School Completion Programme revisited

Smyth, Emer et al (2025) Dublin: Economic and Social Research Institute

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How the gambling industry captured sport [audio]

Farrell, Sinead and Cooney, Gavin (2025) Dublin: thejournal.ie. 

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A model of governance and management structures for child and adolescent mental health services in Ireland

(2025) Dublin: College of Psychiatrists of Ireland

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Review of the operation of Section 7A of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1993. As amended by part 4 of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017

(2025) Dublin: Department of Justice

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An Garda Síochána annual report 2023

(2025) Dublin: An Garda Siochana

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Office of the Inspector of Prisons annual report 2023

(2025) Longford: Irish Prison Service

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National Self-Harm Registry Ireland annual report 2022-2023

Joyce, Mary et al (2025) Cork: National Suicide Research Foundation

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Belong To LGBTQ+ Youth Ireland annual report 2023

(2025) Dublin: Belong To

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Western Region Drugs Task Force annual report 2024

(2025) Galway: Western Region Drug and Alcohol Task Force

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Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC): enforced deprivation 2024

(2025) Cork: Central Statistics Office

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International publications
Wastewater analysis and drugs — a European multi-city study

(2025) Lisbon: European Drugs Agency

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Wastewater analysis: measuring illicit drug consumption in 2023 and 2024

(2025) London: Home Office

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European drug checking trends 2018 - 2024

TEDI members. Jones, G et al (2025) Amsterdam: Correlation – European Harm Reduction Network

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EU drug market: MDMA

(2025) European Union Drugs Agency

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Data mining Wales: the annual profile for substance misuse 2023/24. Annual statistical report on alcohol and drug use from health, social care, education, and criminal justice services datasets in Wales

King, Savannah and Lines, Rick (2025) Cardiff: Public Health Wales

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For a renewed harm reduction model

Chappard, Pierre and Pourchon, Fabienne (2025) Harm Reduction Journal, 22. doi.org/10.1186/s12954-025-01165-4

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City-level drug policies in Portugal: the COVID-19 pandemic as an analyzer of harm reduction responsiveness in Porto and Lisbon

Vale Pires, Cristina et al (2025) Harm Reduction Journal, 22. doi.org/10.1186/s12954-025-01179-y 

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Does attentional bias predict relapse in addiction? A systematic review of longitudinal studies

Topbaş, Zehra Su et al (2025) Brain and Behavior, 15, (3). doi.org/10.1002/brb3.70300 

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Capability framework for the drug and alcohol treatment and recovery workforce

(2025) London: NHS England

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Health behaviour interventions to improve mental health outcomes for students in the university setting: a systematic review of randomised controlled trials

Streram, Sandya et al (2025) International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 22. doi.org/10.1186/s12966-025-01718-7 

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How effective are remote and/or digital interventions as part of alcohol and drug treatment and recovery support? A systematic review and meta-analysis

Kwan, Irene et al (2025) Addiction, Early online. doi.org/10.1111/add.70021

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Measuring recovery among people who have completed residential rehabilitation: Factor structure and scoring of the substance use recovery evaluator

Hatton, Emma L et al (2025) Drug and Alcohol Review, Early online. doi.org/10.1111/dar.14004 

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The feeding recovery handbook. A guide for local services to undertaking successful cooking and eating activities

(2025) London: Alcohol Change UK

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The relationship between patient-centred care for substance use disorders and patient outcomes: a scoping review

Myers, Bronwyn et al (2025) International Journal of Drug Policy, 139. doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2025.104770 

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Unmet treatment need: the size of the gap for alcohol and other drugs in Australia

Ritter, Alison and O'Reilly, Keelin (2025) Drug and Alcohol Review, Early online. doi.org/10.1111/dar.14008

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Prevalence and risk factors of frailty in people experiencing homelessness: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Cronin, Thomas et al (2025) The Journal of Frailty & Aging, 14, (2). doi.org/10.1016/j.tjfa.2025.100029 

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‘Why don’t we just build it in a square hole?’: developing a multi-component drug outreach service for young people aged 16–25 in England

Welch, Zoe et al (2025) Drugs: Education Prevention and Policy, Early online. doi.org/10.1080/09687637.2025.2470147 

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“Everything is fear based”: Mothers with experience of addiction, child removal and support services

Russell, Lynda et al (2025) Children and Youth Services Review, 170. doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2025.108161 

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National Mission on Drugs: annual monitoring report 2023-2024.

Scottish Government. Population Health Directorate. (2025) Edinburgh: Scottish Government

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Explainer: What is the Commission on Narcotic Drugs? [Webpage]

(2025) United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. 

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Opiates and methamphetamine trafficking on the Balkan route: drug flows, illicit incomes and illicit financial flows.

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. (2025) Vienna: United Nations

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The death penalty for drug offences: global overview 2024

Girelli, Giada et al (2025) London: Harm Reduction International

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The impact of drug-related law enforcement activity on serious violence and homicide: a systematic review

RAND Europe. Wadsworth, Elle et al (2025) London: Home Office

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Cocaine perturbs neurodevelopment and increases neuroinflammation in a prenatal cerebral organoid model

Davis, Jessica L et al (2025) Translational Psychiatry, 15, (1). doi.org/10.1038/s41398-025-03315-5

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Field-portable device for detection of controlled and psychoactive substances from e-cigarettes

Gardner, Matthew et al (2025) ACS Omega, 10, (8), pp. 7839-7847. doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.4c08614

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Cerebral venous thrombosis and nitrous oxide intoxication: report of two cases and review of the literature

Doukhi, Diana et al (2025) Brain and Behavior, 15, (3). doi.org/10.1002/brb3.70394 

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Early identification of the use of potent benzylbenzimidazoles (nitazenes) through wastewater analysis: two years of data from 22 countries

Bade, Richard et al (2025) Addiction, Early online. doi.org/10.1111/add.70027 

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Explaining the high mortality among opioid-cocaine co-users compared to opioid-only users. a systematic review

van Amsterdam, Jan and van den Brink, Wim (2025) Journal of Addictive Diseases, 43, (2), pp. 121-131. doi.org/10.1080/10550887.2024.2331522

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Law enforcement drug seizures and opioid-involved overdose mortality

Kral, Alex H et al (2025) JAMA Network Open, 8, (3). doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.1158

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Estimated prevalence of opioid dependence in Scotland 2014/15 to 2022/23

(2025) Edinburgh: Public Health Scotland

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Empowering primary care nurse practitioners: a multilevel approach to combating the opioid crisis

Coffee, Zhanette et al (2024) Journal of Advanced Nursing, Early online. doi.org/10.1111/jan.16694

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Initiating buprenorphine to treat opioid use disorder without prerequisite withdrawal: an updated systematic review

Adams, Kathleen K et al (2025) Addiction Science & Clinical Practice, 20. doi.org/10.1186/s13722-025-00548-z 

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Prolonged-release opioids: removal of indication for relief of post-operative pain

Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. (2025) MHRA Safety Update, 18, (8).

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Bridging the evidence and the politics: implementation trial of supervised injectable opioid treatment (SIOT) in Australia

Ritter, Alison et al (2025) International Journal of Drug Policy, 138. doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2025.104749 

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Effectiveness of cannabis use and cannabis use disorder interventions: a European and international data synthesis

European Connor, Jason P et al (2025) Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, 275, (2), pp. 327-339. doi.org/10.1007/s00406-024-01829-5

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Cannabis involvement in posttraumatic stress disorder emergency department visits after cannabis legalization

Perrault-Sequeira, Laurent et al (2025) The American Journal on Addictions, Early online. doi.org/10.1111/ajad.70014 

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Does cannabis use contribute to schizophrenia? A causation analysis based on epidemiological evidence

Pourebrahim, Sepehr et al (2025) Biomolecules, 15, (3). doi.org/10.3390/biom15030368

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Patient perspectives on medications for alcohol use disorder: a systematic scoping review

Tomlinson, Devin C et al (2025) Alcohol, Clinical & Experimental Research, Early online. doi.org/10.1111/acer.70022

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A systematic review of adolescent alcohol-related harm trends in high-income countries with declines in adolescent consumption

Vieira, Emma et al (2025) Addiction, Early online. doi.org/10.1111/add.70026 

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Scottish burden of disease. Future prevalence and burden of chronic liver disease

(2025) Edinburgh: Public Health Scotland

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Key terms and concepts in alcohol use and problems: a critical evaluation

Morris, James et al (2025) Substance Use: Research and Treatment, 19. doi.org/10.1177/29768357241312555

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A network analysis of alcohol-related harms: an exploratory study in United Kingdom adolescents

Percy, Andrew et al (2025) Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 271. doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2025.112658 

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Alcohol advertising in disguise: exposure to zero-alcohol products prompts adolescents to think of alcohol-Reaction time experimental study

Bartram, Ashlea et al (2025) International Journal of Drug Policy, 139. doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2025.104753 

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Current and future trends in the consumption, sale and purchasing of alcohol-free and low-alcohol products in Great Britain, 2014 to 2023

Wilson, Luke B et al (2025) Addiction, Early online, doi.org/10.1111/add.70041

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Identifying family environment profiles in families of children with prenatal alcohol exposure

Felicicchia, Riley J et al (2025) Alcohol, Clinical & Experimental Research, Early online. doi.org/10.1111/acer.70016 

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Do internalising or externalising behaviours in adolescence mediate the child maltreatment-alcohol substance use relationship?

Trott, Mike et al (2025) Addiction, Early online. doi.org/10.1111/add.70016 

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Examining gender in alcohol research: a systematic review of gender differences in how men and women are studied in alcohol research

Cook, Megan et al (2025) International Journal of Drug Policy, 138. doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2025.104763 

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Combined pharmacological and psychosocial interventions for alcohol use disorder

Minozzi, Silvia et al (2025) Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 3, (CD015673). doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD015673.pub2  

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Alcohol and alcoholism associated neurological disorders: current updates in a global perspective and recent recommendations

Sahu, Prashanti et al (2025) World Journal of Experimental Medicine, 15, (1). doi: 10.5493/wjem.v15.i1.100402 

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Infrahealth politics: leveraging bartenders' expertise in alcohol management - an ethnography

Boirot, Alix et al (2025) Social Science & Medicine, 370. doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2025.117731

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Alcohol availability at Scottish football. Insights from the ‘Football and Alcohol Scoping Study (FASST)’ project

Purves, Richard and Martin, Jack (2025) Stirling: University of Stirling

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Recommendations for future research exploring e-cigarette use and later cigarette smoking in young people: results from a consultation exercise

Conde, Monserrat et al (2025) Addiction, Early online. doi.org/10.1111/add.70038 

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Alcohol treatment in Australia: client characteristics and patterns of service use, 2013–14 to 2022–23

(2025) Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

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The impacts of e-cigarette flavours: an overview of systematic reviews

Livingstone-Banks, Jonathan et al (2025) Addiction, Early online. doi.org/10.1111/add.70017 

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Trends in smoking prevalence and socio-economic inequalities across regions in England: a population study, 2006 to 2024

Jackson, Sarah E et al (2025) Addiction, Early online. doi.org/10.1111/add.70032 

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Vaping cessation interventions: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Heshmati, Javad et al (2025) Tobacco Control, Early online. doi.org/10.1136/tc-2024-058798

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Patterns of use of e-cigarettes and their respiratory effects: a critical umbrella review

La Rosa, Giusy Rita Maria et al (2025) Tobacco Use Insights, 18. doi.org/10.1177/1179173x251325421

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Associations between vaping and self-reported respiratory symptoms in young people in Canada, England and the US

Brose, Leonie S et al (2024) BMC Medicine, 22. doi.org/10.1186/s12916-024-03428-6

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Respiratory effects of electronic cigarette use in individuals who never smoked: a systematic review

Caci, Grazia et al (2025) Clinical Medicine, Early online. doi.org/10.1016/j.clinme.2025.100295

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Neurophysiological correlates of near-wins in gambling: a systematic literature review

Dores, Artemisa Rocha et al (2025) Journal of Gambling Studies, 41. pp. 5-35. doi.org/10.1007/s10899-024-10327-1

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Emotional intelligence and behavioural addictions: a systematic review

Biolcati, Roberta et al (2025) Journal of Clinical Medicine, 14, (4). doi.org/10.3390/jcm14041125

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Recent advances in understanding how compulsivity is related to behavioural addictions over their timecourse

Solly, Jeremy E et al (2025) Current Addiction Reports, 12. doi.org/10.1007/s40429-025-00621-2 

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The association between internet addiction and adolescents' mental health: a meta-analytic review

Soriano-Molina, Elena et al (2025) Behavioral Sciences, 15, (2). doi.org/10.3390/bs15020116

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