Recent publications

Quigley JM, Walsh C, Lee C, Long J, Kennelly H, McCarthy A and Kavanagh P (2021) Tobacco Prevention & Cessation, 7: 69.
https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/35203/ 

This systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluated the efficacy and safety of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes, ENDS) in helping people who smoke to achieve abstinence compared with electronic non-nicotine delivery systems (ENNDS, no nicotine) or any smoking cessation comparator treatment or combination of treatments at 24–26 weeks and at 52 weeks.

This systematic review and NMA [network meta-analysis] indicates that there is no clear evidence of a difference in effect between nicotine containing e-cigarettes and NRT [nicotine replacement therapy] on incidences of smoking cessation at 24–26 weeks, and substantial uncertainty remains.

Connolly J (2021) British Journal of Sociology, 72(5): 1246–1259.
https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/35034/

This paper examines the relationship between the gender power balance, changes in the consumption of alcohol and changing social interdependences. The empirical setting is Ireland circa 1900 up to the present. Drawing from the works of Norbert Elias, I explain how a lessening of the power inequality between men and women was more moderate and limited up to the 1960s. The effect of this was that emancipatory changes around drinking were mainly confined to women from specific social cohorts. As the reduction in gender power inequality accelerated post 1960 it initially increased tensions between the genders, reflected in new power struggles over the social spaces in which drinking occurred and in the type of glass one should drink from.

Mayock P, Parker S and Murphy A (2021) Child & Family Social Work, 26(3): 415-424.
https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/34787/

This paper examines the family ‘turning point’ experiences embedded in the life stories of homeless youth. The study, which was biographical and longitudinal, aimed to generate an in-depth understanding of the nature of homelessness, how it emerged and its impacts on the lives of young people. Conducted in Ireland, 40 youth aged 16–24 years were recruited at baseline, with all interviews commencing with an invitation to young people to tell their ‘life story’.

Analysis of participants’ life story narratives revealed three major family turning point experiences associated with parental absence and separation, bereavement and acute interruptions to family life. These turning points, the effects of which had a temporal character, reveal the rippling impact of family ruptures on the lives of young people who embarked on a path of leaving home and becoming homeless. The implications of the findings for enhancing engagement with the families of young people who experience homelessness are discussed.

Cadogan CA, Bradley CP and Bennett K (2021) European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology,  77(6): 903-912.
https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/35167/

This study aimed to examine the impact of new controlled drugs legislation introduced in May 2017 on benzodiazepine receptor agonist (BZRA) prescribing in Ireland.

This study indicates that introduction of new legislation had limited impact on BZRA prescribing on the main public health scheme in Ireland. Interventions targeting specific population subgroups may be required to achieve sustained reductions in prescribing.

Gilligan M and Widdess-Walsh P (2021) Prescribing patterns of medicinal cannabis for epilepsy. Irish Medical Journal, 114(10): 487.
https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/35376/

This project aims to survey prescribers of medicinal cannabis for epilepsy in Ireland in 2019. We sent an anonymous survey to all adult and paediatric consultant neurologists in the Republic of Ireland in 2019. The survey included questions regarding the product prescribed, indication, estimated efficacy, and adverse effects.

Our survey revealed a small number of medicinal cannabis prescribers for epilepsy in the Republic of Ireland, suggesting a limited clinical exposure in the country to date. Resurvey at future intervals is recommended as product availability and familiarity increases, to guide clinical use and prescription programs.

Vaughan E and Power M (2021) Health, Early online.
https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/34945/

This paper reports on a critical discourse analysis of news media coverage of HIV in the Republic of Ireland between 2006 and 2016.

The findings suggest that media discourses on HIV have the potential to other people living with HIV and generate stigma by invoking a dynamic of blame and shame frequently implicated in the stigma process.

Carolan C, O’Flynn A and Guerin S (2021) International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, Early online.
https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/34946/

This study explores the perceived model of service provided by an offender rehabilitation service and the perceived impact that this service has on the lives of its clients.

The findings suggest that participants perceive the organization to be operating a strengths-based approach and this is perceived as having the potential to have a range of positive effects for clients. Some contrasting views were also identified within the participant groups and these are discussed in this paper. The results of this study complement the existing research and have several implications for future research in this area.

Murray K, Murphy C, Herlihy A, McCaffrey J, Codd M and Murray FE (2021) Irish Journal of Medical Science, Early online.
https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/35019/

We aimed to assess alcohol consumption, harms and behaviours in an elite Irish sporting population (Gaelic footballers and hurlers).

Excess alcohol consumption, alcohol related harms and binge drinking are prevalent in an elite sporting population, particularly during the off-season. Specific strategies are required to reduce alcohol related harms, particularly amongst high-risk groups during the off-season.

Best D and Ivers J-H (2021) Addiction Research & Theory, Early online.
https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/34988/

This paper builds on [adding specificity and precision to recovery models] by suggesting that not only can recovery capital have a residual impact on the community but that our understanding of this approach can be significantly enhanced with reference to John Braithwaite’s model of macro-criminology and in particular the concept of ink spots to explain spread. The paper integrates the contagion ideas of recovery with the cascade effects Braithwaite describes to explain crime reductions and concludes with a discussion of the potential of concepts like collective efficacy and social contagion to be used to supplement public health approaches to the implementation of recovery-oriented interventions at a systems level. While there has been a huge growth in the ‘evidence base’ around recovery in recent years, there remain two primary gaps that this paper attempts to address.

Mongan D, Carew AM, O’Neill D, Millar SR, Lyons S, Galvin B and Smyth BP (2022) European Addiction Research, 28: 103–112.
https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/34957/

This study aimed to estimate the size of the potential population in Ireland that may be in need of cannabis treatment and the percentage of people with cannabis use disorder (CUD) who actually access treatment. We also compared the profile of those with CUD in the general population to those who receive treatment for their cannabis use to explore whether certain subgroups are more or less likely to enter treatment.

Our findings suggest that earlier users and those with more complex or disadvantaged lives are more likely to seek treatment. A broad population health approach that engages multiple sectors such as health, social welfare, and education is recommended to ensure that there is increased opportunity for people with CUD to be identified and signposted towards treatment.

Carew AM, O’Neill D, Lyons S and Smyth BP (2021) Irish Journal of Medical Science.
https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/34924/

This study analyses routine national surveillance data on alcohol treatment to measure how treatment need is being met.

Despite high rates of alcohol consumption and dependence, the rate of treatment entry nationally is sub-optimal, although there are wide geographic variations. There is a need to better understand the reasons for low treatment entry rates in Ireland for people with alcohol dependence. Monitoring and surveillance play a key role in measuring the successful efforts to reduce the harm of alcohol.

Millar SR, Mongan D, O’Dwyer C, Smyth BP, Perry IJ and Galvin B (2021) PLoS ONE, 16(8): e0255745.
https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/34684/

In this research we determined relationships between patterns of cannabis use and recent stimulant use, drawing on data from two large nationally representative surveys. We also explored how frequency of cannabis use relates to stimulant use and whether subjects with a cannabis use disorder (CUD) – defined as cannabis abuse or dependence – are more likely to be recent users of cocaine or ecstasy.

Findings from this study suggest a relationship between patterns and frequency of cannabis use and recent use of stimulants and an association between CUD and stimulant use. As the use of cannabis with stimulants may increase the risk of negative health consequences, education in community and medical settings about polydrug use and its increased risks may be warranted.

Carroll Á, O’Brien S, Harrington D, Ní Cheallaigh C, Lawlee A-M and Sukumar P (2021) International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(15): 7917.
https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/34735/

People who become homeless have higher morbidity and mortality, use a disproportionate amount of healthcare resources, and generate a large volume of potentially preventable healthcare and other costs compared to more privileged individuals. Although access to rehabilitation is a human right under Article 26 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the rehabilitation needs of individuals with homelessness have not been explored, and this project’s purpose was to establish a baseline of need for this cohort.

The results of this study show that the rehabilitative needs of this cohort are significant and are not being met through traditional models of care. We are currently exploring innovative ways to provide appropriate services to these individuals.

Norris BA, Smith A, Doran S and Barry M (2021) Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety, 30(8): 1003–1011.
https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/34688/

This study investigated strong opioid prescribing in Irish General Medical Services (GMS) patients over a 10-year period.

This study found an overall increase in strong opioid prescribing in Ireland between 2010 and 2019, particularly in older adults. Tramadol was the most frequently prescribed product, with oxycodone and tapentadol prescribing increasing markedly over the study period.

Saris AJ (2021) Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine, Early online.
https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/34759/

In this paper, I reflect on two of my intertwined research interests. The first is my professional engagement with researching drug use and abuse in Ireland, especially heroin addiction, in applied ethnographic projects, generally answering a specific set of questions on how services for ‘drug addiction’ work. My second interest is the historical construction of ‘addiction’ and the discursive intersections that produce various kinds of power, subjects, and techniques around this concept.

I find the dialectical relationship between heroin and methadone in Ireland, especially the emergence of heroin ‘injecting rooms’, as a window into how drugs are social things. Drugs and the bodies who take them live in complex moral worlds, not as inert objects surrounded by abstract human creations. These worlds are an integral part of how ‘addiction’ works and how drugs treating addiction are actually used. Without a deeper understanding of such complexities we will continue to miss key issues in the lives of people we hope to help.

Warner N and Murphy M (2022) Drug and Alcohol Review,
41(2): 501–516.
https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/34686/

Dialectical behaviour therapy skills training (DBT-ST) is currently being implemented as a standalone intervention for substance use disorders (SUD), despite limited empirical evidence to support its efficacy in this context. This review aimed to investigate the feasibility, acceptability and efficacy of DBT-ST for SUD.

Despite offering preliminary support for DBT-ST for SUD, the lack of controls, small samples and inconsistent adaptations of DBT-ST across studies limits capacity to draw causal conclusions or make specific recommendations.

O’Ralaigh C and Morton S (2021) Drugs and Alcohol Today, Early online.
https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/35298/

This study aims to explore policymaker’s attitudes towards the decriminalisation and legal regulation of cannabis for recreational use in the midst of an unfolding policy process, examining the degree which a ’policy window‘ might be open for the implementation of cannabis policy change.

Irish policymakers indicated broad support for the decriminalisation of cannabis. The legal regulation of cannabis received more qualified support. Existing policy was heavily criticised with criminalisation identified as a clear failure. Of particular interest was the willingness of policymakers to offer opinions which contrasted with the policy positions of their organisations. While a policy window did open – and close – subsequent governmental commitments to examine the issue of drugs policy in a more deliberative process in the near future highlight the incremental nature of policy change.

Drugnet Ireland is the quarterly newsletter of Ireland’s focal
point for the EMCDDA and is produced in collaboration with the HRB National Drugs Library. Drugnet Ireland is published by the Health Research Board.

Managing editor: Brian Galvin
Copy-editing: O’Hanlon Media

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