Cochrane

Background Most smokers start smoking before they are 18 years old. Starting smoking earlier in life means a smoker will smoke for more years than someone who starts smoking later, which increases the health risks of smoking. Given the high amount of tobacco use among young people and the poor health outcomes that may result, finding ways to prevent ...

Background Smoking is a modern-day epidemic, and preventing young people from taking up smoking remains a key health priority, since experimentation with smoking starts at an early age. One possible method of achieving this goal is through mass media, which have the potential to reach and modify the attitudes, knowledge and behaviour of a large proportion ...

Review question We reviewed the evidence about the effect of buprenorphine for managing withdrawal in people who are dependent on opioid drugs (for example, heroin or pharmaceutical opiates). Background Managed withdrawal, or detoxification, is a required first step for long-term treatment of opioid dependence. The combination of uncomfortable symptoms ...

Background Smoking is a cause of many health problems, including cancers, heart and lung diseases. Health professionals (e.g. doctors, nurses, pharmacists, dentists, etc.) may be able to reduce this harm by helping smokers to quit during a clinic visit. However, it may be difficult for health care providers to recognize smokers. They may also feel ...

Review question We reviewed the evidence about the effect of motivational interviewing (MI), a way of counselling to bring out and strengthen reasons for changing behaviour, for preventingalcohol misuse in young people. Background Alcohol misuse results in about 3.3 million deaths each year worldwide. Around 9% of deaths that occur in people aged ...

Since the first national legislation banning indoor smoking in all public places was introduced in 2004, there has been an increase in the number of countries, states and regions adopting similar smoke-free legislation banning smoking in public places and work places since this review was first published. The main reason is to protect nonsmokers from ...

Review question: We reviewed evidence on the effects of brief school-based interventions for substance use and substance-related problem behaviours among adolescents. We found six studies. Background: Adolescents worldwide are known to use both legal and illegal substances, which can lead to other problems. These high rates of substance use are concerning, ...

Review question We reviewed the evidence to establish by how much the amounts of food, alcohol or tobacco adults and children select or consume change in response to being presented with larger or smaller-sized (or differently shaped) portions or packages of these products, or of items of tableware (such as plates or glasses) used to consume them. Study ...

Background Waterpipe smoking is a traditional method of tobacco use, especially in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, but its use is now spreading worldwide. It is smoked socially and often shared between friends or family at home, or in bars and cafes that provide waterpipes to patrons. In the absence of relevant data, many waterpipe tobacco smokers ...

Background A number of policy directives are aimed at enabling people with drug problems to live healthy, crime-free lives. Drug-using offenders with co-occurring mental health problems represent a group who access treatment for a variety of different reasons. The complexity of the two problems makes the treatment and rehabilitation of this group ...