The use of psychoactive drugs is regarded by many as a basic human drive, but it is one that induces a variety of societal responses to curb it. The present review examines two aspects of government policy on drugs: first, the influence of social movements on drug policy; and secondly, the choices for constraining drug use as an alternative to total prohibition. Addiction is essentially a repeated behaviour which is viewed as excessive or harmful. As such, it has many similarities with a wide range of human behaviours. With the concept of addiction becoming progressively banalized, there is the possibility of a more natural debate about decriminalization and legalization of drugs in terms of a balance between harm and benefits. The current public debate may create a climate for serious political consideration of the strategies.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09595239100185051 | DOI Listing |
Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse
January 2025
School of Nursing and Health Sciences, Hong Kong Metropolitan University, Hong Kong, China.
Drug use among men is a significant public health concern in China, with compulsory drug treatment centers being the primary approach. Police officers in these centers play a crucial role in shaping the interactions and experiences of men who use drugs (MWUD). However, little research exists on the attitudes of police officers toward MWUD in China.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Med Virol
February 2025
Xiangya School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha, China.
Patients with diabetes are at increased risk of HBV infection; however, the effects of HBV infection and anti-HBV therapy on the management of type 1 diabetes (T1D), type 2 diabetes (T2D), and latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA) remain unclear. From 2016 to 2023, we recruited a multicenter cohort of 355 HBV-infected inpatients, including 136 with T1D, 140 with T2D, and 79 with LADA. The control group included 525 HBV-uninfected inpatients, comparing 171 with T1D, 204 with T2D and 150 with LADA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Intern Med
January 2025
School of Pharmacy, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, South Korea.
Background: Evolving evidence suggests that patients undergoing treatment with Janus kinase inhibitors (JAKi) may face an increased risk of cardiovascular events, malignancies, and serious infections.
Objectives: We assessed cardiovascular, malignancy, and serious infection risks associated with JAKi use compared to tumor necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi) use, which served as the active comparator, in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or ulcerative colitis (UC).
Methods: This study emulated a target trial using South Korea's nationwide claims database (2013-2023).
J Viral Hepat
February 2025
Center for Global Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) on hepatitis C virus (HCV) hospitalisation trends in Italy, the country with not only the highest burden of HCV-related disease but also the highest number of patients treated for chronic HCV infection in Europe. Incident hospital discharge records in Italy from 2012 to 2019 that included a liver cirrhosis diagnosis without mention of alcohol, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), HCV and liver cirrhosis without mention of alcohol and/or HCC, cirrhosis with mention of alcohol, as defined by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-9-CM) were reviewed. An interrupted time series analysis compared the incidence of cirrhosis and HCC before and after the introduction of DAAs (Year 2015).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInfect Drug Resist
January 2025
Center for Infectious Diseases Research (CIDR) and WHO Collaborating Center for Reference and Research on Bacterial Pathogens, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
Introduction: Multidrug resistant (MDR) Gram-negative bacterial infections are considered a major public health threat. The objectives of this study were to describe the epidemiology, potential contributing factors, and antimicrobial resistance patterns associated with infections caused by MDR Gram-negative bacteria (GNB) in non-immunocompromised children and adolescents.
Methods: This was a retrospective observational study conducted at the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC) from 2009 to 2017.
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