Finnish Foundation for Alcohol Studies

BackgroundAlthough past research has shown a strong association between gambling participation and harms, relatively few studies have attempted to quantify the cost of these harms to society. The need to quantify costs has been identified in several countries, however, no consensus exists in the field of gambling studies on how one should estimate them.MethodsThree methods were selected for costs calculations: Causality adjustment factors (with two variations: CAF 80%/ CAF 50%), Excess costs, and a method based on Bayes theorem. Our purpose was not to examine the overall costs of gambling, but rather to evaluate different approaches for one specific outcome. Our focus was on indirect costs relating to productivity losses associated with long-term work disability in those aged 18–64 years who had experienced gambling problems before long-term work disability had started. Work disability was operationalized as the net days of sickness absence and disability pension. The study used population-based Gambling Harms survey and the survey data were linked with the register data.ResultsThese three methods gave very different estimates on costs relating to productivity losses associated past problem gambling. The Excess cost method gave the highest estimate of 127.04 (59.26 Int$/adult) followed by the Causality adjustment method (CAF80%) of 123.61 (57.66 Int$/adult) and CAF 50% with 77.26 (36.04 Int$/adult). The method based on Bayes theorem gave the lowest estimate of the cost at 18.28 million euros (8.52 Int$/adult).ConclusionsMethods commonly used in gambling cost studies yield higher estimates of gambling costs when arbitrary causality adjustment methods are used. Bayes theorem allows leveraging data on temporal patterns of gambling problems to estimate the plausible proportion where gambling is the precipitating factor for the experienced harm, rather than the other way around. Additionally, costs could be presented as Int$ per adult using the PPP exchange rate to facilitate the comparison of gambling costs between countries.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-025-24043-x.

South Africa has the highest reported prevalence of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) globally. The most recent study reported a weighted, estimated FASD prevalence of 310 per 1000 in a community in the Western Cape Province. Because there is as yet no reliable estimate of the national burden of FASD in South Africa, further epidemiological studies are needed in diverse settings. This paper reports on a multiyear, multisite FASD epidemiological study that took place from 2015 to 2022 at eight study sites in four provinces. The cross-sectional epidemiological study used an active case-ascertainment method, specifically in primary schools. All children were recruited when they were enrolled in Grade 1 at a participating school. All consented participants progressed through a tiered-screening recruitment and diagnostic process. Overall, 3033 children were included in the study. A total of 3001 children were screened for FASD in the first tier, with 1086 progressing to the second and 495 to the third tier. Of the 495 children referred, 475 were discussed during the final case conference. A total of 309 participants were diagnosed with FAS across the eight study sites. The highest reported prevalence was in the Northern Cape Province, with a rate of 199.3/1000 (95% CI, 147.6-251) using all eligible participants as the denominator. The lowest prevalence was in the Eastern Cape Province, with a rate of 57.4/1000 (95% CI, 36.5-78.3). The pooled FAS prevalence for the eight study sites was 80.2/1000 (95% CI, 70.4-89.9). As with previous studies, we found a concerningly high prevalence of FASD in South Africa. Given the scope of the problem it should be a high priority for health and welfare services to address.

The consumption of non-alcoholic beer and other non-alcoholic and low-alcohol beverages has grown significantly in recent years. Due to a lack of suitable datasets, there have been few studies conducted on the forerunners of the non-alcoholic beer consumption trend. This study examined the associations of sociodemographic characteristics with non-alcoholic beer purchase, and of non-alcoholic beer purchases with regular beer purchases. The data consisted of longitudinal individual purchases of non-alcoholic and regular beer from grocery stores in 2017 and 2018. The study participants were loyalty cardholders from the largest food retailer in Finland (n=47,066). The level of education, household income and occupational status were analyzed as determinants of non-alcoholic beer purchase using logistic regression models. The changes in the regular and non-alcoholic beer purchases from 2017 to 2018 and the distributions of non-alcoholic beer purchase by regular beer purchase, by gender and by age were described. Between 2017 and 2018, the total volume of non-alcoholic beer purchases increased from 2.3% to 3.7% of the total volume of all beer purchases. Men and older people purchased non-alcoholic beer more often than women and younger people did. Non-alcoholic beer purchases were most common among the highly educated and high-income consumers. Non-alcoholic beer purchases were most prevalent in the groups with the highest volumes of regular beer purchase. Educated and affluent consumers have been the forerunners of non-alcoholic beer consumption in Finland. In order to promote the substitution of regular beer with non-alcoholic beer the shift towards lower-strength beverages should be facilitated across social strata.

Abstract Background In January 2018, the legal limit for alcoholic beverages in grocery stores changed from 4.7 to 5.5 % alcohol. The increased availability of stronger beer, cider and ready-to-drink beverages was expected to increase the total amount of 100% alcohol bought. The study aimed to examine how the change in alcohol legislation affected the purchasing of 100% alcohol from grocery stores by comparing the years 2017 and 2018. Methods The study data consisted of 47,066 loyalty card holders of Finland's largest retail chain, who gave their consent and provided background information by an online questionnaire. The data contained the type, volume and alcoholic content of the purchases, from which we calculated the amount of 100% alcohol bought. The mean individual alcohol purchases in the years 2017 and 2018 were compared by age, gender, level of education and household income using repeated measurements ANOVA models. Results There was only a small, non-significant change in the total amount of 100% alcohol between 2017 and 2018 (mean 1.9 l and 2.0 l, respectively, p = 0.220). Lower income was associated with a decrease in total 100% alcohol purchased, whereas higher income groups showed an increase. Increase in 100% alcohol bought as ready-to-drink beverages was seen in all population groups. Conclusions The availability of stronger alcoholic beverages in grocery stores did not result in a notable overall increase in total purchases of 100% alcohol. The increased purchases of alcohol as ready-to-drink beverages were, on the average, compensated for by decreased purchases of alcohol as other beverages. The association of income with total alcohol purchases may indicate the effect of price in consumer behavior. Key messages The raise in the legal limit of alcohol content raised did not result in a significant increase in the total amount of 100% alcohol bought from grocery stores. Alcohol purchased as ready-to-drink beverages increased in all population groups.

BackgroundWhile treatment satisfaction has been associated with better outcomes in substance abuse treatment, there is an obvious need for a more profound understanding of what predicts client’s satisfaction with treatment. This study elucidates factors relevant to treatment outcome measured at follow-up in terms of satisfaction with the treatment received.MethodsThe research was implemented as a multisite study in outpatient clinics (N = 7) in southern and western Finland. Data consists of therapists (N = 33) and their clients (N = 327). Each consenting client beginning a treatment period was accepted as a research subject and all therapists at the clinics in question participated. The study was conducted as part of the clinic’s normal activity. Clients were allocated to therapists according to a randomization list drawn up in advance. Apart from the randomisation and the completion of questionnaires, it did not interfere with the progress of treatment. Follow-up lasted 6 months. Multiple Classification Analysis (MCA) was used through combinations of variables organized by content, e.g. client demographics, previous substance use, therapist’s characteristics and client’s expectations. The analyses were based in part on conventional statistical testing (t -test, χ2-test, ANOVA).ResultsAmong 37 independent variables few were statistically significant in the final model. The results suggest that high treatment expectations at baseline are a strong predictor of satisfaction at follow-up. Also, previous substance use predicted treatment satisfaction; people using multiple substances were less satisfied than those taking only one substance. Stronger predictors reduced the statistical significance of those independent variables that were statistically significant in the first analyses. Therefore, therapist’s role in recovery and readiness to change should be also seen as antecedents to treatment satisfaction.ConclusionsIt seems that treatment expectations are fulfilled among those participating in follow-up. Yet many are lost during treatment and by follow-up. Service users have experiential knowledge that differs from professionals’ and policymakers’ knowledge. It is clinically relevant to understand what factors affect client’s satisfaction. Hence, it is possible to identify the population whose treatment should receive the most attention, how the client’s experience, their commitment to treatment, and treatment effectiveness could be improved.

Background:This report is an overview of results from the 2016 Finnish Gambling Harms Survey covering the population and clinical perspectives. It summarises the main findings on gambling participation, gambling habits, gambling-related harm, and opinions on gambling advertising.Methods:The population sample (n = 7186) was collected from three regions and the clinical sample (n = 119) in a gambling help clinic.Results:Frequency of gambling in the population sample was characteristically once a week, while in the clinical sample it was daily. Men gambled more often than women only in the population sample. The most common gambling environments were kiosks, grocery stores or supermarkets, and home. The most typical gambling-related harms were financial or emotional/psychological harms; the amount of experienced harm was considerable among the clinical sample. The clinical sample also perceived gambling advertising as obtrusive and as a driving force for gambling.Conclusions:The results of the clinical sample imply that when gambling gets out of hand, the distinctions between gamblers’ habits diminish and become more streamlined, focusing on gambling per se – doing it often, and in greater varieties (different game types). There is a heightened need to monitor gambling and gambling-related harm at the population level, especially amongst heavy consumers, in order to understand what type of external factors pertaining to policy and governance may contribute to the shift from recreational to problem gambling.

creates for medication adherence. However, further interventions are needed to increase MST adherence among homeless adults experiencing mental illness.

Substance abuse is viewed as one of the main factors (criminogenic needs) to be assessed and targeted in prison. Prison assessments of risk and needs are known to validly predict reoffending. However, there seems to be lacking research in how reliably the individual prisoner’s problems, such as substance abuse, are represented in the assessments. In this study, we compare an independent medical health study (N = 510) with in-prison assessments for the same persons to see whether some of the inmates’ substance abuse disorders were overlooked in prison. We found that sentence plans (257) were in poor agreement with the health study (Kappa 0.315); they recognized only 65 % of all diagnoses. The risk and needs assessments (178) were in closer agreement with the health study, however, alcoholism diagnoses were recognized less accurately (Kappa 0.519) and less frequently (78 %) than drug diagnoses (Kappa 0.627, 87 %). The main factors predicting an assessment of substance abuse risks in prison, analysed through logistic regression were: longer stay in prison and one or more dependence diagnoses. We conclude that, a number of potentially criminogenic dependence problems remain unrecognized since some groups of prisoners are either completely left out from the more thorough instrument, the risk-and-needs assessment, or are not assessed thoroughly enough. This puts prisoners in unequal positions, since all interventions in prison are based on assessments. The study alerts us of the selectiveness of prisoner assessments in practical settings; the unrecognition of problems of shorter sentenced prisoners and prisoners with alcohol dependence.

Background Seasonal changes in mood and behavior have been reported among the population and among adolescents in the Northern hemisphere. Pupils’ state of well-being during the school year could give valuable information when planning adjustments to teaching and learning environments. It could also provide information for the school health personnel and parents. The aim of the analysis was to study if seasonal effects exist in the level of school well-being during the …