Substance use
Addictive substances such as alcohol, drugs and tobacco have an impact on our health and wellbeing, those around us and wider society.
Our research is increasing understanding of the impact of substance use and we are developing interventions to help.
What are the headlines?
- Parental alcohol and drug use is a safeguarding concern, which results in poor outcomes for families
- Tobacco industry discounting linked to higher cigarette consumption in Europe
- Smokers quitting tobacco also drink less alcohol
- Problem drinking linked to increased risk of suicide and self-harm
- Reducing alcohol consumption isn’t easy
- Poor oral health is related to consuming foods high in sugar, poor oral hygiene, smoking and alcohol
How is our research making a difference?
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Twinkle, Twinkle Arti children’s story book – Creation of a children’s story book to help children and families affected by substance use.
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Smoking during pregnancy – Helping mums-to-be quit smoking in the North East.
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Evaluating the effect of individual alcohol licensing decisions on local health and crime – We established how using licensing authority control of alcohol availability can have a positive impact on health and crime in a local vicinity.
What research are we currently doing?
Supporting tobacco and vaping policymaking by including youth voices in local authority responses to new national legislation (STAR)
Introduction The UK Government is introducing significant new legislation to reduce smoking and youth vaping, including a ban on single-use vapes and measures to create a ‘smoke-free generation’. Local councils now face the crucial task of implementing these national policies effectively within their communities. The STAR project aims to ensure…
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What research are we currently doing?
‘Smoke, Pregnancy and Poverty’: a qualitative exploration of the reasons why pregnant women living on low incomes and their partners are not engaging with incentive-led smoking cessation services
Background Smoking tobacco during pregnancy can lead to poor birth outcomes for mother and baby, including low birth weight of the baby, premature birth and ill health. Around 80% of women in the UK will be pregnant in their lifetime, therefore pregnancy offers an opportunity to help pregnant women/people who…
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What research are we currently doing?
Support for parents and children through family breakdown and care proceedings – developing integrated, trauma-informed approaches
Supporting families at risk of having children taken into care Insights to better support families at risk of having children taken into care are part of a newly published report. Taking children into care has important consequences for children and their families. Children who spend time in care have…
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What have we already provided evidence on?
- Safeguarding children affected by parental substance misuse – Looked at parenting interventions which may be adapted for non-substance misusing parents and caregivers within families where one parent misuses substances.
- Co-producing an intervention to promote social and emotional resilience in children and young people affected by parental substance misuse – Explored the perspectives of young people whose parents misuse substances.
- Co-development of a culturally appropriate alcohol screening toolkit – Developed a toolkit to support professionals and organisations when talking to people from minoritised ethnic backgrounds about alcohol.
- Stop smoking support services for people with recognised mental health problems – Evaluated smoking cessation in people who smoke and have depression or severe mental illness such as schizophrenia, compared with the general population.
- Evaluating the babyClear© programme – Examined the effectiveness of intervention, looking both at numbers of women quitting smoking before delivery, but also at the impact on health indicators such as low birth weight.
- Exploring and understanding access to community-based mental health and addiction services in Newcastle and Gateshead – Learned that experiences of access (or in many cases lack of access) greatly varied during the pandemic.
- Retention, completion and recovery in opioid substitution treatment – Added to our understanding on how to better inform the development of targeted interventions to improve outcomes.
Where can I find out more?
Evaluating the impact of minimum unit pricing for alcohol in Scotland
Evaluating the impact of minimum unit pricing for alcohol in Scotland: an overview of the quantitative evidence and a look to the future The next SPHR Network for the use of Natural Experiments in Public Health online seminar is scheduled for Friday 10th May from 12–1pm. Jim…
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Where can I find out more?
From cradle to career: Early-life determinants of being not in education, employment, or training (NEET) in the UK
Blog by Dr Hanna Creese Intelligence for public health action to improve outcomes and address inequalities in children and young people’s health is a collaborative SPHR project to develop a more compelling, equity-focused, multi-sectoral evidence base for prevention and early intervention strategies to reduce inequalities and improve health outcomes.
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Where can I find out more?
The green effect: can street greenness help reduce alcohol-related harm in UK cities?
In this blog, SPHR intern Ben Burgess tells us about the research he did while at the SPHR. Awareness of the symbiotic relationship between our environment and our health is not new. Urban green spaces, long celebrated as pockets of serenity in bustling cities, have been associated with…
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Where can I find out more?
The effectiveness of school-based peer education interventions – a global systematic review
In new research in BMC Public Health, SPHR researchers have reviewed the effectiveness of peer education interventions, whereby students teach their peers about various aspects of health. Just over half of the papers showed evidence of effectiveness, suggesting peer education may be a promising strategy for health…
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Where can I find out more?
From adversity into action, using your experience to help others
NIHR Three Schools The Adversity into Action Film Steering Group is pleased to share their film about patient and public involvement in health research. In the film, they share their reasons for getting involved in research and what impact it has had on their lives. Tash, John, Sharon and Amy…
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