Addiction Audio

In this episode, Dr Elle Wadsworth speaks to Professor Owen Bowden-Jones from Central North-West London NHS Foundation and Mr Arun Sahai from Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospitals NHS Trust, both in the UK. The interview covers an editorial they wrote with Professor Paul Dargan on responses to non-medical and medical ketamine use, including concerns about the increasing harms from illicit ketamine and excitement about the potential therapeutic value of ketamine.  We apologise for the sound quality at points during this episode, but we promise its worth the listen! ·      Ketamine and its uses [01:15]·      Why ketamine is listed as an essential medicine by the World Health Organisation [01:59]·      The differing uses of ketamine: an essential medicine, a novel therapeutic drug, and a recreational drug [3:00]·      Ketamine’s damage to the urinary tract and the liver [04:30]·      Available treatments for the physical harms of ketamine [07:45]·      Whether substance use treatment services in the UK are fit-for-purpose when it comes to ketamine [11:06] ·      Some of the reasons why is ketamine a popular drug now [15:38]·      The potential therapeutic value of ketamine for many disorders [17:29]·      The importance of communicating information to people who use ketamine [19:19]About Arun Sahai: Mr Arun Sahai, PhD, FRCS (Urol), BSc (Hons.), is a Consultant Urological Surgeon in Functional urology (bladder dysfunction, incontinence, uro-neurology and urinary tract reconstruction) at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospitals NHS Trust and an Honorary Reader within King’s College London. He is the current chair of the section of functional and reconstructive urology at the British Association of Urological Surgeons (BAUS). He is the lead for undergraduate education in surgery for King's College London. His research interests include various aspects of benign bladder dysfunction and prostate cancer survivorship. He is active in both commercial and non-commercial clinical trials and has published more than 100 peer reviewed international papers and more than 15 book chapters. About Owen Bowden-Jones: Professor Owen Bowden-Jones CBE is a Consultant in Addiction Psychiatry at the CNWL Club Drug Clinic, London and an Honorary Professor at University College London. In 2010, Owen founded the CNWL Club Drug Clinic, an innovative service offering treatment for emerging drug problems, including novel psychoactive substances and club drugs. National roles include President of the Society for the Study of Addiction, Chair of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, Policy Fellow at the University of Cambridge, trustee at the charity Student Minds and Registrar at the Royal College of Psychiatrists. Owen is the past-Chair of the Faculty of Addictions at the Royal College of Psychiatrists and was previously a national clinical adviser to Public Health England. Original editorial: Responding to medicinal and non-medicinal ketamine use https://doi.org/10.1111/add.70075The opinions expressed in this podcast reflect the views of the host and interviewees and do not necessarily represent the opinions or official positions of the SSA or Addiction journal. The SSA does not endorse or guarantee the accuracy of the information in external sources or links and accepts no responsibility or liability for any consequences arising from the use of such information.

In this episode, Dr Tsen Vei Lim talks to Dr Katie East, an Associate Professor in Public Health within the Department of Primary Care and Public Health at Brighton and Sussex Medical School in the UK. The interview covers her and her co-authors research report on a randomised online experiment evaluating the impact of vaping fact films on vaping harm perceptions among UK young adults, as well as discussing the broader misconceptions around vaping and the importance of expert-led health messaging. ·      How vapes differ from conventional tobacco smoking [1:31]·      Some misconceptions around vaping [02:07]·      What do people know about nicotine? [03:20]·      The vaping fact films and addressing the common myths around vaping [04:20]·      The key findings of the study [06:06]·      The importance of expert messaging in correcting perceptions on vaping [07:27]·      Where can we find the vaping fact films? [08:22]·      How can we combat misconceptions in vaping? [09:30]·      Whether governments have a role in addressing vaping misconceptions [10:52]·      The strategies to help people quit smoking that include vapes [12:13]·      The evidence on these strategies [13:10]·      How the collaborators found the experience in creating the videos [14:14]About Tsen Vei Lim: Tsen Vei is an academic fellow supported by the Society for the Study of Addiction, currently based at the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge. His research integrates computational modelling, experimental psychology, and neuroimaging to understand the neuropsychological basis of addictive behaviours. He holds a PhD in Psychiatry from the University of Cambridge (UK) and a BSc in Psychology from the University of Bath (UK). About Katie East: Katie is an Associate Professor in Public Health within the Department of Primary Care and Public Health at Brighton and Sussex Medical School. She also has a visiting appointment at King's College London (KCL), where she recently completed her SSA Fellowship on the topic of vaping harm perceptions. In 2024, she was awarded the SSA's Fred Yates Prize for significant contributions to work in the field of addiction. Her research focuses on nicotine and tobacco product use, perceptions, and policies.The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose. Original article: Evaluating the impact of vaping facts films on vaping harm perceptions among young adults in the UK: A randomized on-line experiment - https://doi.org/10.1111/add.70119 The opinions expressed in this podcast reflect the views of the host and interviewees and do not necessarily represent the opinions or official positions of the SSA or Addiction journal.The SSA does not endorse or guarantee the accuracy of the information in external sources or links and accepts no responsibility or liability for any consequences arising from the use of such information.

In this episode, Dr Zoe Swithenbank speaks to Dr June Leung, a senior researcher at the SHORE and Whariki Research Centre at Massey University in New Zealand. The interview covers June’s systematic review and meta-analysis on the association of parental or caregiver alcohol use with child maltreatment.·      An overview of the review and the definition and forms of child maltreatment [01:00]·      Why it is important to look at all forms of child maltreatment [03:48]·      Quantifying the harms of alcohol and identifying preventable risk factors [05:00]·      The take home messages of the study [06:23]·      What June’s findings do and do not suggest for the wider alcohol literature [07:28]·      What the implications of the findings are for policy and practice [08:29]·      The challenges in conducting the review [11:02]·      The limitations of the study [13:08]·      The surprising aspects of conducting this review [15:12]About June Leung: Dr Leung is Senior Research Officer at SHORE & Whariki Research Centre, Massey University, based in Auckland, New Zealand. Her research focuses on global alcohol policy, alcohol industry influence, and the epidemiology of chronic diseases. She is also a public health physician by training and a fellow of the New Zealand College of Public Health Medicine and the Hong Kong College of Community Medicine. She completed her undergraduate medical degree (MBBS), Master of Public Health (MPH) and Doctor of Medicine (MD) at The University of Hong Kong. Dr Leung has no conflicts of interest to declare.About Zoe Swithenbank: Dr Zoe Swithenbank is a senior research associate at Lancaster University, currently working on a National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funded research project exploring treatment pathways for co-occurring alcohol and mental health problems. She recently completed her SSA funded PhD at Liverpool John Moores University on behavioural interventions for smoking cessation in substance use treatment services. Prior to starting her academic career, Zoe worked in health services including substance use, mental health, and homeless services, and these experiences shaped her research interests, as well as her commitment to the inclusion of people with lived experience in research.Original review: The association of parental or caregiver alcohol use with child maltreatment: A systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies https://doi.org/10.1111/add.70055The opinions expressed in this podcast reflect the views of the host and interviewees and do not necessarily represent the opinions or official positions of the SSA or Addiction journal.The SSA does not endorse or guarantee the accuracy of the information in external sources or links and accepts no responsibility or liability for any consequences arising from the use of such information.

In this episode, Dr Tsen Vei Lim talks to Dr Lavinia Baltes, Head of Research at the Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychiatric Services Aargau, Switzerland. The interview covers her research report on a randomised control trial of public health-oriented recreational cannabis access compared to illegal market access in Basel-Stadt, Switzerland. ·      The current legal landscape in Switzerland with respect to cannabis [01:12]·      The difference between cannabis obtained legally and illegally [02:30]·      The potential benefits of legal cannabis compared to illegal cannabis [03:25]·      The key findings of the study [04:20]·      Speculations about why the people who used drugs other than cannabis were more likely to reduce their cannabis use [05:31]·      The findings that surprised the author [06:52]·      How the findings contribute to policy or practice [07:37]·      Could access to legal cannabis increase initiation among those who have never used cannabis? [08:32]·      The importance of harm reduction strategies for cannabis [10:50]·      The difficulties in conducting a randomised control trial [11:35]About Tsen Vei Lim: Tsen Vei is an academic fellow supported by the Society for the Study of Addiction, currently based at the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge. His research integrates computational modelling, experimental psychology, and neuroimaging to understand the neuropsychological basis of addictive behaviours. He holds a PhD in Psychiatry from the University of Cambridge (UK) and a BSc in Psychology from the University of Bath (UK). About Lavinia Baltes: Dr Baltes studied psychology at the University of Basel, Switzerland, and completed her PhD in health psychology at the University of Basel and at the Max Planck Institute in Berlin in 2015. She then worked at the University of Mannheim and later as deputy head of the Addiction Department of the Canton Basel-Stadt, contributing significantly to the ‘Weed Care’ study on regulated cannabis sales in Basel. Since 2022, she has been Head of Research at the Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychiatric Services Aargau, and continues as deputy study head of ‘Weed Care’.The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose. Original article: Effects of legal access versus illegal market cannabis on use and mental health: A randomized controlled trial - https://doi.org/10.1111/add.70080The opinions expressed in this podcast reflect the views of the host and interviewees and do not necessarily represent the opinions or official positions of the SSA or Addiction journal.The SSA does not endorse or guarantee the accuracy of the information in external sources or links and accepts no responsibility or liability for any consequences arising from the use of such information.

In this episode, Dr Tsen Vei Lim talks to Dr Danilo Romero, a licensed clinical psychologist at the Stockholm Centre for Dependency Disorders in Sweden. The interview covers his research report on the questionable generalisability of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test – Consumption (AUDIT-C) when used as an outcome measure in clinical trials than as a primary care screening tool, highlighting the need for researchers and clinicians to reconsider their application of the AUDIT-C. ·      What is the AUDIT-C and why it is widely used in primary care and research? [01:13]·      What made the authors question the generalisability of the AUDIT-C in clinical trials? [02:02]·      The risks of using the AUDIT-C in clinical settings [03:03]·      The reason for the ‘ceiling effect’ of the AUDIT-C [04:21]·      How the authors tested whether the AUDIT-C is useful in measuring treatment progress [05:15]·      The key findings of the study [06:06]·      What ‘collider bias’ is and how it could manifest in studies that use the AUDIT-C [06:59]·      What the findings mean for studies that have used AUDIT-C in the past [09:23]·      How the findings contribute to policy or practice [10:30]·      Whether the authors, as clinical psychologists, personally use the AUDIT-C [11:28]·      Birds eye view of psychiatric screening measures [12:40]About Tsen Vei Lim: Tsen Vei is an academic fellow supported by the Society for the Study of Addiction, currently based at the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge. His research integrates computational modelling, experimental psychology, and neuroimaging to understand the neuropsychological basis of addictive behaviours. He holds a PhD in Psychiatry from the University of Cambridge (UK) and a BSc in Psychology from the University of Bath (UK). About Danilo Romero: Dr Romero, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist at the Stockholm Centre for Dependency Disorders in Sweden. He recently completed his doctorate at Karolinska Institutet, conducting a multimethod project to improve treatment engagement for substance use disorders after acute-care episodes. More broadly, his research covers digital psychiatry, mental health informatics, psychometrics, and novel psychological interventions for substance use disorders.The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose. Original article: Questionable generalizability of Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Consumption scoring warrants caution when used for outcome monitoring: Evidence from simulated and real-world trial data - https://doi.org/10.1111/add.70074The opinions expressed in this podcast reflect the views of the host and interviewees and do not necessarily represent the opinions or official positions of the SSA or Addiction journal.The SSA does not endorse or guarantee the accuracy of the information in external sources or links and accepts no responsibility or liability for any consequences arising from the use of such information.

In this episode, Dr Tsen Vei Lim talks to: Dr Marilyn Piccirillo from the Department of Psychiatry at Rutgers University-New Brunswick and Drs Katherine Walukevich-Dienst and Elizabeth Lehinger from the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington School of Medicine. The interview covers their research report on the longer-term efficacy of brief, alcohol-focused personalised feedback interventions among young adults in two universities on the West coast of the US. Note for listeners: The acronym PFI is used throughout this episode, which stands for ‘personalised feedback intervention’.·      What is an alcohol-focused personalised feedback intervention? [01:48]·      An example of how one of these interventions would work in practice [03:03]·      The importance of considering distress [03:46]·      The key findings of the study [07:24]·      Why ‘less is more’ when it comes to alcohol interventions [12:19]·      How the findings contribute to policy or practice [14:46]·      The pioneers of personalised feedback interventions [17:41]About Marilyn Piccirillo: Dr Piccirillo is a licensed psychologist and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. She is also a Core Faculty member of the Rutgers Brain Health Institute and a member of the Rutgers Addiction Research Center. Dr Piccirillo uses person-centered frameworks to study motivating and maintenance factors for substance use problems, particularly for those experiencing co-occurring anxiety, trauma, and stress. She also examines how digital tools can be used to support treatment and recovery and optimise the design and delivery of treatments for substance use problems and addiction. About Katherine Walukevich-Dienst: Dr Walukevich-Dienst is a clinical psychologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington. Her research focuses on developing and testing digital interventions to reduce substance use and improve mental health among young adults. She uses methods such as ecological momentary assessment to examine real-time behavior and intervention engagement. Dr Walukevich-Dienst has authored over 50 peer-reviewed publications and leads National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded projects aimed at improving outcomes for cannabis and alcohol use through scalable, evidence-based approaches. About Elizabeth Lehinger: Dr Lehinger is an Acting Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington School of Medicine. She has two primary areas of research: 1) college student alcohol prevention, and 2) trauma recovery for individuals with co-occurring substance use disorders. Her research focuses on reward processes underlying these research areas. The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose. Original article: Examining the longer-term efficacy of brief, alcohol-focused personalized feedback interventions for individuals with internalizing distress: Secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial. https://doi.org/10.1111/add.70044 The opinions expressed in this podcast reflect the views of the host and interviewees and do not necessarily represent the opinions or official positions of the SSA or Addiction journal. The SSA does not endorse or guarantee the accuracy of the information in external sources or links and accepts no responsibility or liability for any consequences arising from the use of such information.

In this episode, Dr Tsen Vei Lim speaks to Dr Emma Beard, a lecturer in statistics and quantitative methods at University College London. The interview covers Emma’s research report titled, ‘How much does the absence of the ‘hidden population’ from United Kingdom household surveys underestimate smoking prevalence?’·      How we normally estimate the smoking prevalence reported in official statistics [01:28]·      Why it is important to consider the hidden population [01:55]·      The consequences of not taking into account the hidden population when estimating smoking prevalence [02:35]·      The ‘workbook method’: how we estimate the hidden population [02:55]·      The key findings and implications of these findings [03:30]·      The size of the hidden population in the UK [04:42]·      The huge undertaking of this research project to find these data [05:25]·      The consideration of adolescent populations within smoking prevalence statistics [06:44]·      What can be done within research to be more inclusive of hidden populations [07:52]·      How Emma’s research can contribute to policy and practice [08:44]·      The argument for more and better data to include hidden populations [10:00]In Emma’s paper, the hidden population for household surveys was defined as people from or living in communal establishments (e.g. care homes, student residence, prison), immigration detention centres, Gypsy, Roma and Travelling Communities, short-term accommodation, and those experiencing homelessness, including sofa surfing. About Emma Beard: Dr Beard is a Lecturer in Statistics and Quantitative Methods at University College London. She has over 130 publications on a variety of topics, with a key focus on tobacco harm reduction, high-risk alcohol consumption, and statistical methodology. Her research focuses on evaluating smoking cessation interventions and policies. She is a Deputy Methodological and Statistical Editor for the journal Addiction.About Tsen Vei Lim: Dr Tsen Vei Lim is an academic fellow supported by the Society for the Study of Addiction, currently based at the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge. His research integrates computational modelling, experimental psychology, and neuroimaging to understand the neuropsychological basis of addictive behaviours. He holds a PhD in Psychiatry from the University of Cambridge (UK) and a BSc in Psychology from the University of Bath (UK).Original editorial: How much does the absence of the ‘hidden population’ from United Kingdom household surveys underestimate smoking prevalence? https://doi.org/10.1111/add.70071 The opinions expressed in this podcast reflect the views of the host and interviewees and do not necessarily represent the opinions or official positions of the SSA or Addiction journal.The SSA does not endorse or guarantee the accuracy of the information in external sources or links and accepts no responsibility or liability for any consequences arising from the use of such information.

In this episode, Dr Elle Wadsworth speaks to Professor Joanne Neale from the Addictions Department at King’s College London and Professor Brian Kelly from the Department of Sociology at Indiana University. The interview covers their editorial titled, ‘Over a decade later and Addiction journal is still committed to publishing qualitative research’.  ·      The origins of the editorial and why it is needed [01:01]·      The goal of the changes Addiction is implementing for qualitative submissions [01:44]·      The importance of increasing the word limit to 6,000 words [02:49]·      Whether similar journals in the addiction field struggle with low numbers of qualitative submissions [04:19]·      The increase in qualitative editors at the Addiction journal since 2013 [05:52]·      Finding consensus among a diversity of disciplines on the editorial board [07:21]·      Semi-quantification over quantification in qualitative research [08:30]·      What the authors hope to achieve with this editorial [09:36]·      The take-home messages for qualitative researchers [11:04]About Professor Joanne Neale: Jo is Professor of Addictions Qualitative Research based within the National Addiction Centre at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, UK. She is also Conjoint Professor in the Centre for Social Research in Health at UNSW Sydney, Australia. Joanne trained in social work and is the Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement Lead for the UK NIHR Addictions Policy Research Unit. Her current research focuses largely on patient perceptions of treatments and interventions for alcohol and other drug use. In the last three years, Joanne Neale has received, through her university, research funding from Mundipharma Research Ltd and Camurus AB and honoraria from Camurus AB and Indivior for presentations.About Professor Brian Kelly: Brian is a Professor of Sociology at Indiana University and also Senior Research Program Leader at the Irsay Institute. His research examines social contextual influences on health, mainly focusing on substance use. His current research projects include the influence of policy contexts on youth substance use trajectories, sibling socialisation processes of adolescent substance use, and the impact of disasters on community drug-related outcomes.Original editorial: Over a decade later and Addiction journal is still committed to publishing qualitative research https://doi.org/10.1111/add.70047 Qualitative guidelines for Addiction: (1) https://doi.org/10.1111/add.12408 and (2) https://doi.org/10.1111/add.12857The opinions expressed in this podcast reflect the views of the host and interviewees and do not necessarily represent the opinions or official positions of the SSA or Addiction journal.The SSA does not endorse or guarantee the accuracy of the information in external sources or links and accepts no responsibility or liability for any consequences arising from the use of such information.

In this episode, Dr Tsen Vei Lim talks to Dr James MacKillop, a clinical psychologist and professor at McMaster University in Canada, and director for both the Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research and the Michael G DeGroote Centre for Medicinal Cannabis Research. The interview covers his research report on the diagnostic validity of drinking behaviour for identifying alcohol use disorder (AUD) with findings from a representative sample of community adults and an inpatient clinical sample. ·      What alcohol use disorder is and how it is currently diagnosed [01:41]·      The surprising exclusion of drinking behaviour in AUD diagnosis [03:03]·      Unpacking ‘receiver operating characteristic curves’ [04:42]·      The key findings of the study [05:45]·      Whether James’ findings will change how we think about diagnosing AUD [07:35]·      Why clinicians would benefit collecting how much people are drinking in one session [09:32]·      Whether an indicator of heavy drinking would be helpful in treatment settings [10:35]·      Bringing objective data into clinical application [12:09]·      Whether we can use a similar metric to other drugs, such as cannabis [13:09]·      What we can learn for policy and further research [15:56]·      The barrier of the lack of biomarkers in alcohol use disorder [18:00]·      The take-home message of the paper [19:40]About Tsen Vei Lim: Tsen Vei is an academic fellow supported by the SSA, currently based at the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge. His research integrates computational modelling, experimental psychology, and neuroimaging to understand the neuropsychological basis of addictive behaviours. He holds a PhD in Psychiatry from the University of Cambridge (UK) and a BSc in Psychology from the University of Bath (UK). About James MacKillop PhD, CPsych, FCAHS: Dr. MacKillop holds the Peter Boris Chair in Addictions Research and a Canada Research Chair in Translational Addiction Research at McMaster University and St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton. There, Dr. MacKillop directs both the Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research and the DeGroote Centre for Medicinal Cannabis Research. Dr. MacKillop trained as a clinical psychologist at Binghamton University and Brown University and studies addiction using a multidisciplinary approach, integrating psychology, economics, neuroscience, and genetics. James receives unrestricted research funding from Canadian Institutes on Health Research, the National Institutes of Health, and Correctional Services of Canada and am a senior scientist and principal in Beam Diagnostics, Inc., a technology transfer start-up company. The latter had no relationship to the publication in Addiction.Original article: Diagnostic validity of drinking behaviour for identifying alcohol use disorder: Findings from a representative sample of community adults and an inpatient clinical sample. https://doi.org/10.1111/add.70037The opinions expressed in this podcast reflect the views of the host and interviewees and do not necessarily represent the opinions or official positions of the SSA or Addiction journal. The SSA does not endorse or guarantee the accuracy of the information in external sources or links and accepts no responsibility or liability for any consequences arising from the use of such information.