Digital geographies of care: Telehealth landscapes of addiction treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created new digital health care landscapes for the management of substance use and misuse. While telehealth was prohibited for addiction treatment prior to the pandemic, the severity of COVID-19 precipitated telehealth expansion for the delivery of individual and group-based treatment. Research has highlighted benefits and challenges of telehealth; however, little is known about the impacts of telehealth on the quality, use, and effectiveness of treatment.

Changes in perceived harms of tobacco and cannabis and their correlations with use: A panel study of young adults 2014-2020.

Purpose: Perceived harm is associated with substance use. Changes in product and policy landscapes may impact perceived harms of tobacco and cannabis. This study aimed to examine changes in young adults' perceived harms of tobacco and cannabis and their associations with use behavior during a period including both before and after legalization of cannabis.

Impacts of Tax and Flavor Tobacco Policies on San Francisco Bay Area Tobacco Prices.

California Proposition 56 increased the state tobacco tax by $2 per cigarette pack effective April 1, 2017. Between 2015-2020 San Francisco (SF) and some cities in Alameda County enacted local flavored tobacco sales restrictions. SF also increased its Cigarette Litter Abatement Fee, from $0.

Open access and predatory publishing: a survey of the publishing practices of academic pharmacists and nurses in the United States.

Objective: Academics are under great pressure to publish their research, the rewards for which are well known (tenure, promotion, grant funding, professional prestige). As open access publishing gains acceptance as a publishing option, researchers may choose a "predatory publisher." The purpose of this study is to investigate the motivations and rationale of pharmacy and nursing academics in the United States to publish in open access journals that may be considered "predatory.

Geographic variations in opioid overdose patterns in Pennsylvania during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The convergence of the opioid epidemic and the COVID-19 pandemic has created new health challenges throughout the United States. Since the onset of the pandemic, media attention and scholarly research have drawn attention to the intersections of addiction and COVID-19. However, there remain few empirical studies that examine the direct impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic for opioid overdose patterns.

Policies restricting flavors and non-cigarette tobacco product availability: A study of vape shops in San Francisco and Alameda Counties, California, USA.

We examined flavored non-cigarette tobacco availability in brick-and-mortar vape shops in San Francisco (SF) and Alameda Counties, California (USA), comparing cities organized by flavored tobacco sales restriction policy. A total of 22 brick-and-mortar vape shops were identified and audited in October-November 2019; shops were located in SF City-County and nine cities in Alameda County. Fisher Exact Tests were used to assess differences in the availability of products between vape shops in cities versus comprehensive or partial flavored tobacco sales restrictions enacted before November 21, 2019 (n = 15 shops in six cities policies vs n = 7 shops in four cities policies).

Disparities in opioid overdose survival and naloxone administration in Pennsylvania.

Background: Pennsylvania has one of the highest opioid overdose rates in the US; however, since 2018 approximately 80% of people who experienced an opioid overdose in the state survived. More attention has been paid to opioid overdose mortality despite notable individual and geographic differences in overdose survival. Naloxone is an essential tool in increasing chances of survival after opioid overdose, but its availability and the rate at which it is administered differs by county in Pennsylvania and nationally.

"The Perfect Formula:" Evaluating Health Claims, Products and Pricing on Cannabis Dispensary Websites in Two Recently Legalized States.

: Many cannabis dispensaries market and sell their products online through websites designed to attract and maintain customers; often, these websites incorporate a variety of product claims and other marketing tactics. This study evaluated website content, product pricing and discounts on dispensary websites in California and Nevada, states that legalized recreational cannabis in 2016. : We content coded product availability, marketing claims and discounts on cannabis dispensary websites in the San Francisco Bay Area (N = 34) and Reno (N = 15) from March to June 2020 using a web crawler to scrape pricing information for four product types.

Cannabis dispensary online marketing practices in response to COVID-19 lockdowns.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been accompanied by increases in cannabis consumption, which might relate to dispensary marketing activities. As part of an ongoing project monitoring cannabis dispensary websites in Northern California and Reno, Nevada, we noticed many websites added announcements and "pop-up" communications in response to lockdowns. This brief report describes the cannabis dispensary website communications related to COVID-19 with the aim to provide insight into emerging marketing messages that may increase cannabis consumption in times of crisis.

Flavored Tobacco Sales Restrictions Reduce Tobacco Product Availability and Retailer Advertising.

Objective: This study examined differences in the availability and advertising of flavored tobacco products before and after flavored tobacco sales restrictions were enacted in Alameda and San Francisco Counties in California.

Main Outcome Measures: Data were collected from a sample of tobacco retailers in Alameda and San Francisco Counties at two time points: 2015, before flavored tobacco policies were enacted, and in 2019-2020, after some cities had enacted policies. Retailers were separated by city into Category 1 ( = 442)-retailers in cities that enacted a flavored tobacco policy between the two data collection periods, and Category 2 ( = 89), those that had not.

Piloting a spatial mixed method for understanding neighborhood tobacco use disparities.

The tobacco retail environment is where most advertising dollars are spent. However, most research on the retail environment has not methodologically situated tobacco retailers as part of a larger community, and few studies have incorporated community member perspectives of their own tobacco use in relation to their local environments. The purpose of this study is to describe and evaluate a multilevel, multimodal, mixed methods approach for understanding tobacco use in context.

Local variation in cannabis use patterns among young adults in the San Francisco Bay Area.

This study evaluated whether neighborhood-level disorder, social cohesion, and perceived safety, were associated with days of cannabis use in the prior month in a representative sample of young adults in Alameda and San Francisco Counties in California (N = 1272). We used multiscale geographically weighted regression, modeled by county, to measure associations between cannabis use days and neighborhood attributes, adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics and self-rated health. Positive associations were found between number of cannabis use days and neighborhood disorder, and greater perceived safety.

Perceived reward from using cigarettes with alcohol or cannabis and concurrent use: A smartphone-based daily diary study.

Introduction: Smoking cigarettes under the influence of alcohol or cannabis is associated with perceived pleasure. However, it is unclear whether these changes in perceived reward impact the extent of concurrent use of cigarettes with alcohol or cannabis. The current study investigated if self-reported changes in perceived reward from concurrent use of cigarettes with alcohol or cannabis are related to the extent of concurrent use in real-world contexts using a smartphone-based Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) study.

Using Peer Crowd Affiliation to Address Dual Use of Cigarettes and E-Cigarettes among San Francisco Bay Area Young Adults: A Cross Sectional Study.

Given the emerging tobacco landscape, dual use of cigarettes and e-cigarettes has increased among young adults, but little is known about its associated factors. Peer crowds, defined as macro-level connections between individuals with similar core values (e.g.

Same-day use of cigarettes, alcohol, and cannabis among sexual minority and heterosexual young adult smokers.

Objective: Sexual minority (SM) young adults have higher rates of substance use than heterosexuals, but little is known about daily use of multiple substances, which confer numerous health risks for this population. Using daily diary data from a smartphone-based study, we examined the associations between sexual identity (i.e.

Neighborhood Social Cohesion and Serious Psychological Distress Among Brazilian Immigrants in Boston.

Recent migrants to the United States face various stressors, including adjustment to new community norms and practices. To ease this transition, migrant groups have traditionally formed enclaves where they might live in close proximity and access institutions designed to serve their cultural interests. For newer migrant groups, such as Brazilians residing in New England, neighborhood social cohesion may therefore be particularly important for buffering against serious psychological distress.

Drifting Tobacco Smoke Exposure among Young Adults in Multiunit Housing.

This study evaluated young adults' exposure to drifting secondhand smoke in San Francisco County housing units using the 2014 Bay Area Young Adult Health Survey (N = 1363). Logistic and geographically weighted regression models were used to determine whether residing in multiunit housing or in areas with greater neighborhood disorder were risk factors for exposure, and how drifting smoke exposure varied spatially within San Francisco County. Residing in buildings with five or more units significantly increased the odds of reporting drifting smoke exposure [OR (3.

Does Experienced Discrimination Explain Patterns of Menthol Use Among Young Adults? Evidence from the 2014 San Francisco Bay Area Young Adult Health Survey.

Background: Young adults are at high risk for using flavored tobacco, including menthol and underrepresented populations, such as Latino and African American young adults, are at particular risk.

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to identify sociodemographic correlates of menthol use among young adult smokers and examine the potential role of experienced discrimination in explaining any associations.

Methods: We conducted a probabilistic multimode household survey of young adults (aged 18-26) residing in Alameda and San Francisco Counties in California in 2014 (n = 1,350).

Real-time predictors of smoking among sexual minority and heterosexual young adults: An ecological momentary assessment study.

Background: Sexual minority young adults have higher smoking rates than the general young adult population, but reasons for this disparity are poorly understood. The current study aimed to: 1) identify real-time predictors of smoking among sexual minority and heterosexual smokers and 2) examine between-group differences in these predictors.

Methods: We conducted an ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study in the San Francisco Bay Area, California in 2016-2017.

Bars, Nightclubs, and Cancer Prevention: New Approaches to Reduce Young Adult Cigarette Smoking.

Introduction: Tobacco contributes to multiple cancers, and it is largely preventable. As overall smoking prevalence in California declines, smoking has become concentrated among high-risk groups. Targeting social/cultural groups (i.

Psychometric evaluation of an abbreviated version of the intragroup marginalization inventory.

Tobacco and marijuana use among U.S. young adults is a top public health concern, and racial/ethnic minorities may be at particular risk.

Workplace secondhand smoke exposure: a lingering hazard for young adults in California.

Objective: To examine occupational differences in workplace exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) among young adults in California.

Methods: Data are taken from the 2014 Bay Area Young Adult Health Survey, a probabilistic multimode cross-sectional household survey of young adults, aged 18-26, in Alameda and San Francisco Counties. Respondents were asked whether they had been exposed to SHS 'indoors' or 'outdoors' at their workplace in the previous 7 days and also reported their current employment status, industry and occupation.

State of transition: Marijuana use among young adults in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Background: California may vote on marijuana legalization in 2016. Young adults have the highest rates of marijuana use, but little is known about the correlates of use in this age group, including factors that may be affected by policy change. We investigated whether there are differences in marijuana use by sociodemographic characteristics, psychological distress, loneliness and social support, controlling for risk factors such as alcohol and cigarette use as well as perceived harm of marijuana.

The Social Prioritization Index and Tobacco Use Among Young Adult Bar Patrons.

Social benefits likely play a role in young adult tobacco use. The Social Prioritization Index (SPI) was developed to measure the degree to which young adults place a great importance on their social lives. We examined the usefulness of this measure as a potential predictor of tobacco use controlling for demographics and tobacco-related attitudes.

Neighborhood social cohesion and smoking among legal and unauthorized Brazilian migrants in metropolitan Boston.

Tobacco smoking is estimated to be the largest preventable cause of mortality in the USA, but little is known about the relationship between neighborhood social environment and current smoking behavior or how this may differ by population and geography. We investigate how neighborhood social cohesion and disorder are associated with smoking behavior among legal and unauthorized Brazilian migrant adults using data from the 2007 Harvard-UMASS Boston Metropolitan Immigrant Health and Legal Status Survey (BM-IHLSS), a probabilistic household survey of adult Brazilian migrants. We employ logistic regression to estimate associations between neighborhood social cohesion, neighborhood disorder, and current smoking.