Psychosocial risk and protective factors for youth problem behavior are associated with food addiction in the Generation Z.

Objective: Food Addiction (FA) and other well-known risk behavior as substance misuse tend to co-occur and may share similar risk and protective factors. The aim of this study was to assess the association between the diagnosis/severity of FA and psychosocial domains typically related to risk behavior syndrome in a large, nationally representative community sample of Generation Z underage Italian students. Method: The sample consisted of 8,755 students (3,623 from middle schools, 5,132 from high schools). A short version of the Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0 was administered to evaluate FA. Risk and protective factors related to demographic, personality, behavior, and family variables were examined. Stepwise multivariate logistic and linear regressions were conducted. Results: The prevalence of FA was 30.8%. Female gender, social anxiety and depression symptoms, social withdrawal risk, Internet gaming disorder, social media addiction, current substance use, social challenge engagement and experienced doxing boosted the chance of FA diagnosis, whereas eating fruit and vegetables, playing competitive sports and an average sleep duration of 7-8 h per night reduced these odds. FA severity was significantly and positively associated with trait impulsiveness, social anxiety and depressive symptoms, risk of social withdrawal, recent substance use, social media, and gaming addiction, doxing suffered and risky social challenges participation. Negative associations between the severity of FA and fruit and vegetable diet habits were found. Conclusion: Our findings confirm that FA is widespread among Italian adolescents. The associations between the diagnosis and severity of FA and psychosocial risk factors for health, including, addictive and deviant behaviors related to digital misuse, suggest its belonging to the risk behavior constellation. Health promotion schemes based on a multicomponent strategy of intervention should consider the inclusion of FA and its psychosocial correlates.

Smoking intensity changes during the COVID-19 pandemic waves in a cohort of smokers in Italy.

INTRODUCTION: COVID-19 lockdown in Italy resulted in increased smoking consumption, mainly associated with mental distress. This study aims to update previous findings investigating changes in smoking intensity during the whole COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: This analysis was carried out within the "LOST IN ITALY" ("LOckdown and lifeSTyle IN ITALY") and "LOST IN TOSCANA" studies on 880 smokers with information collected during main pandemic peaks. Changes in cigarettes/day were investigated in association with survey-periods, socio-demographic and psychological characteristics through a linear mixed-model. RESULTS: Net of psychological distress and socio-demographic variables, in comparison to pre-pandemic period cigarettes/day increased by 1.16 during lockdown, and remained over half higher subsequently. In the overall period, an increase of >1 cigarette/day was also associated to lower education, older age, male gender and psychotropics drugs use. CONCLUSIONS: After 2 years of pandemic, cigarettes/day have not yet returned to the pre-pandemic levels, mainly due to socio-demographic factors, but also to nicotine addiction, that tends to stabilize consumption.

An Item Response Theory-Based Scoring of the South Oaks Gambling Screen-Revised Adolescents.

The South Oaks Gambling Screen-Revised Adolescent (SOGS-RA) is one of the most widely used screening tools for problem gambling among adolescents. In this study, item response theory was used for computing measures of problem gambling severity that took into account how much information the endorsed items provided about the presence of problem gambling. A zero-inflated mixture two-parameter logistic model was estimated on the responses of 4,404 adolescents to the South Oaks Gambling Screen-Revised Adolescent to compute the difficulty and discrimination of each item, and the problem gambling severity level (θ score) of each respondent. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used to identify the cutoff on the θ scores that best distinguished daily and nondaily gamblers. This cutoff outperformed the common cutoff defined on the sum scores in identifying daily gamblers but fell behind it in identifying nondaily gamblers. When screening adolescents to be subjected to further investigations, the cutoff on the θ scores must be preferred to that on the sum scores.

The impact of COVID-19 lockdown on gambling habit: A cross-sectional study from Italy.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Few preliminary studies have shown an impact of COVID-19 confinement on gambling habits. We aim to evaluate short-term effects of lockdown restrictions on gambling behaviors in Italy. METHODS: Within the project Lost in Italy, a web-based cross-sectional study was conducted on a representative sample of 6,003 Italians aged 18-74 years, enrolled during April 27-May 3 2020, and were asked to report gambling activity before the lockdown and at the time of interview. RESULTS: The prevalence of participants reporting any gambling decreased from 16.3% before lockdown to 9.7% during lockdown. Traditional gambling decreased from 9.9 to 2.4% and online gambling from 9.9 to 8.0%. Among gamblers, median time of gambling grew from 4.5 to 5.1 h/month. Among non-players before lockdown, 1.1% started playing. Among players before lockdown, 19.7% increased gambling activity. Multivariate analysis showed an increase in gambling activity in younger generations (p for trend = 0.001), current smokers (odds ratio, OR 1.48), users of electronic cigarettes (OR 1.63), heated tobacco products (OR 1.82), cannabis (OR 5.16), psychotropic drugs (OR 3.93), and subjects having hazardous alcohol drinking (OR 1.93). Self-reported low quality of life (OR 1.97), low sleep quantity (OR 2.00), depressive symptoms (OR 3.06) and anxiety symptoms (OR 2.93) were significantly related to an increase in total gambling activity during lockdown. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Although gambling substantially decreased during lockdown, time spent in gambling slightly increased. The strong relationship found between compromised mental health and addictive behaviors calls for urgent policies to prevent vulnerable populations from increasing and developing severe gambling addiction.

Stimulant substance use and gambling behaviour in adolescents. Gambling and stimulant use. / Uso de sustancias estimulantes y comportamiento de juego en adolescentes. Juego y uso de estimulantes.

Gambling is widely recognized as an important public health problem. Despite the rising use of stimulant substances among adolescents, there are still very few studies focusing on whether adolescents' use of stimulants is associated with their gambling behaviour. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the association between gambling habits and consumption of stimulants such as coffee, energy drinks, and new psychoactive substances in a sample of Italian adolescents. A survey was conducted in 2017 with a representative sample of Italians between the ages of 14-17 years, comprising 15,833 students attending 201 secondary schools. Logistic regression analyses were run to assess the association between at-risk/problem gambling (O1) and independent predictors: the model included independent variables (coffee, energy drinks and new psychoactive substance consumption) and covariates (demographic variables, social environment variables and risk-taking behaviour variables). A sensitivity analysis was also conducted to examine a second dependent variable regarding any experience of gambling behaviour (O2). Adolescents who were at-risk gamblers or problem gamblers were significantly more likely to consume energy drinks than non-gamblers or not-at-risk gamblers. A similar pattern was seen for consumption of new psychoactive substances. No significant association emerged with coffee consumption. The sensitivity analysis showed that, compared with non gamblers, the group of gamblers had higher odds for frequent coffee consumption, as well as for consumption of energy drinks and/or new psychoactive substances. Screening for gambling and stimulant use may provide important information, as it may be necessary to take action to reduce stimulant substance use as part of efforts to deal with unhealthy gambling habits.

El juego es un importante problema de salud pública ampliamente reconocido. A pesar del creciente uso de sustancias estimulantes entre los adolescentes, todavía son escasos los estudios centrados en verificar la existencia de una asociación entre el uso de estimulantes y los comportamientos relacionados con el juego en adolescentes. Por tanto, este estudio tuvo como objetivo investigar la asociación entre los hábitos relacionados con el juego y el consumo de sustancias estimulantes como el café, las bebidas energizantes y las nuevas sustancias psicoactivas en una muestra de adolescentes italianos. En 2017 se realizó una encuesta en una muestra representativa de jóvenes italianos de 14 a 17 años, constituida por 15 833 estudiantes provenientes de 201 escuelas de educación secundaria. Se realizó un análisis de regresión logística para evaluar la asociación entre juego de riesgo/juego problemático (R1) y factores predictivos independientes: el modelo incluyó variables independientes (café, bebida energética y consumo de nuevas sustancias psicoactivas) y otras covariables demográficas, del entorno social y de conductas de riesgo. También se realizó un análisis de sensibilidad para examinar una segunda variable dependiente con respecto a cualquier experiencia de conductas relacionadas con el juego (R2). Los adolescentes clasificados como jugadores de riesgo o jugadores con problemas tenían una probabilidad significativamente mayor de consumir bebidas energizantes que los no jugadores o los jugadores sin riesgo. Se observó un patrón similar en el consumo de nuevas sustancias psicoactivas. No se evidenció ninguna asociación significativa con el consumo de café. El análisis de sensibilidad mostró que, en comparación con los no jugadores, el grupo de jugadores tenía mayores probabilidades de consumo frecuente de café, bebidas energéticas y/o nuevas sustancias psicoactivas. La evaluación del juego y el uso de sustancias estimulantes puede proporcionar información importante. Por consiguiente, podría ser necesario tomar medidas para reducir el uso de sustancias estimulantes como parte de los esfuerzos dirigidos a lidiar con los hábitos de juego poco saludables.

Uso de sustancias estimulantes y comportamiento de juego en adolescentes. Juego y uso de estimulantes / Stimulant substance use and gambling behaviour in adolescents. Gambling and stimulant use

El juego es un importante problema de salud pública ampliamente reconocido. A pesar del creciente uso de sustancias estimulantes entre los adolescentes, todavía son escasos los estudios centrados en verificar la existencia de una asociación entre el uso de estimulantes y los comportamientos relacionados con el juego en adolescentes. Por tanto, este estudio tuvo como objetivo investigar la asociación entre los hábitos relacionados con el juego y el consumo de sustancias estimulantes como el café, las bebidas energizantes y las nuevas sustancias psicoactivas en una muestra de adolescentes italianos. En 2017 se realizó una encuesta en una muestra representativa de jóvenes italianos de 14 a 17 años, constituida por 15 833 estudiantes provenientes de 201 escuelas de educación secundaria. Se realizó un análisis de regresión logística para evaluar la asociación entre juego de riesgo/juego problemático (R1) y factores predictivos independientes: el modelo incluyó variables independientes (café, bebida energética y consumo de nuevas sustancias psicoactivas) y otras covariables demográficas, del entorno social y de conductas de riesgo. También se realizó un análisis de sensibilidad para examinar una segunda variable dependiente con respecto a cualquier experiencia de conductas relacionadas con el juego (R2). Los adolescentes clasificados como jugadores de riesgo o jugadores con problemas tenían una probabilidad significativamente mayor de consumir bebidas energizantes que los no jugadores o los jugadores sin riesgo. Se observó un patrón similar en el consumo de nuevas sustancias psicoactivas. No se evidenció ninguna asociación significativa con el consumo de café. El análisis de sensibilidad mostró que, en comparación con los no jugadores, el grupo de jugadores tenía mayores probabilidades de consumo frecuente de café, bebidas energéticas y/o nuevas sustancias psicoactivas. La evaluación del juego y el uso de sustancias estimulantes puede proporcionar información importante. Por consiguiente, podría ser necesario tomar medidas para reducir el uso de sustancias estimulantes como parte de los esfuerzos dirigidos a lidiar con los hábitos de juego poco saludables

Gambling is widely recognized as an important public health problem. Despite the rising use of stimulant substances among adolescents, there are still very few studies focusing on whether adolescents' use of stimulants is associated with their gambling behaviour. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the association between gambling habits and consumption of stimulants such as coffee, energy drinks, and new psychoactive substances in a sample of Italian adolescents. A survey was conducted in 2017 with a representative sample of Italians between the ages of 14-17 years, comprising 15,833 students attending 201 secondary schools. Logistic regression analyses were run to assess the association between at-risk/problem gambling (O1) and independent predictors: the model included independent variables (coffee, energy drinks and new psychoactive substance consumption) and covariates (demographic variables, social environment variables and risk-taking behaviour variables). A sensitivity analysis was also conducted to examine a second dependent variable regarding any experience of gambling behaviour (O2). Adolescents who were at-risk gamblers or problem gamblers were significantly more likely to consume energy drinks than non-gamblers or not-at-risk gamblers. A similar pattern was seen for consumption of new psychoactive substances. No significant association emerged with coffee consumption. The sensitivity analysis showed that, compared with non gamblers, the group of gamblers had higher odds for frequent coffee consumption, as well as for consumption of energy drinks and/or new psychoactive substances. Screening for gambling and stimulant use may provide important information, as it may be necessary to take action to reduce stimulant substance use as part of efforts to deal with unhealthy gam-bling habits

Pathways connecting socioeconomic variables, substance abuse and gambling behaviour: a cross-sectional study on a sample of Italian high-school students.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to elucidate the pathway of associations linking gambling, alcohol intake, smoking habit, cannabis consumption between each other and with demographic and socioeconomic variables. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: A survey was conducted in 2017 on a representative sample of 15 602 Italian 14-year-olds to 17-year-olds attending 201 secondary schools. OUTCOME MEASURES: Structural Equation Models analysis was used to assess the pathway between gambling, alcohol intake, smoking, cannabis consumption, demographics and socioeconomic factors. RESULTS: Irrespective of socioeconomic or demographic variables, gambling is positively associated with alcohol and cannabis consumption, while cannabis consumption is predicted by smoking and by alcohol intake, smoking is predicted by alcohol intake. Adolescents with a higher weekly income are more at risk of gambling, drinking alcohol and smoking, while the degree of economic dissatisfaction was positively associated with alcohol intake, cannabis consumption and smoking. Maternal employment appeared to be positively associated with adolescents' smoking, alcohol intake and cannabis consumption. CONCLUSIONS: This is one of the first studies to shed light on the pathways of associations connecting various health-risk behaviours among adolescents with demographic and socioeconomic factors.

Improvement of hair testing for Ethylglucuronide by supported liquid extraction and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.

To improve the reproducibility, suitability and speed of hair testing for Ethylglucuronide (EtG), an ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) method was developed and validated together with a supported liquid extraction (SLE) EtG from the keratin matrix. EtG was analyzed using reversed phase chromatography with gradient elution and detection with tandem mass spectrometry operated in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode via negative electrospray ionization (ESI). The method showed good linearity from limit of quantification (LOQ) to 100 pg/mg hair (r2 0.996 ±â€¯0.004). Recovery of the analyte was always higher than 80%, whereas intra- and inter-assay precision were always better than 15%. The developed method was applied to the analysis of more than 200 samples with medico-legal and epidemiological purposes ranging from non-detection of the analyte to 88.1 pg/mg and its robustness was proved by reanalysis of six different proficiency testing samples from the Society of hair testing obtaining a Z-score always less than 2.

Development and validation of a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method for opiates and cocaine in human bone.

A method based on gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) is described for the determination of opioids (6-monoacetylmorphine, morphine, methadone and tramadol) and cocaine and its major metabolite in human bone. After the addition of nalorphine as internal standard, pulverized samples were incubated in acetonitrile for 1 h under ultrasounds. After adjusting the pH of the samples to 6, they were subjected to solid phase extraction and the analytes were eluted using 2 ml of dichloromethane/isopropanol/ammonia (78:20:2). Chromatography was performed on a fused silica capillary column and analytes were determined in the selected-ion-monitoring (SIM) mode. The assay was validated in the range 0.3-1 ng/mg (depending on the drug) to 150 ng/mg, the mean absolute recoveries ranging from 66% to 110%, the matrix effect from 62% to 121% and process efficiency from 61% to 89% depending on the analyte. The intra- and inter-assay accuracy values were always better than 20%. The validated method was then successfully applied to real bone samples from forensic cases in which toxicological analysis for these drugs in blood was positive. Drugs were detected in bone in 12 of the 15 blood positive results. The approximate concentration range was 3-5 ng/g for 6-monoacetylmorphine, 3-7 ng/g for morphine, 14-28 ng/g for methadone and 6 ng/g and 11 ng/g for tramadol and benzoylecgonine.

Maternal hair testing to disclose self-misreporting in drinking and smoking behavior during pregnancy.

This study aimed to objectively verify smoking and drinking behavior during pregnancy and to disclose self-misreporting through maternal hair analysis. A total of 153 women attending a university hospital in Barcelona (Spain) were selected and interviewed after delivery, on their smoking and drinking habits during pregnancy. A 9-cm hair strand was collected and analyzed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry for the presence of nicotine (NIC) and ethyl glucuronide (EtG) as biomarkers of tobacco and alcohol consumption, respectively. Concentrations of EtG <7 pg/mg hair and ≥30 pg/mg hair in the 0-3-cm hair segment have been used to assess, respectively, total abstinence and chronic excessive consumption in the previous 3 months, with repetitive moderate drinking lying in the interval 7-30 pg EtG per mg hair. Hair NIC less than 1 ng/mg hair indicates non-exposure to tobacco smoke while hair NIC indicates daily active smoking. In the interview, 28.1% of women declared to have smoked occasionally during gestation, while only 2.6% stated to have consumed alcohol on more than one occasion during pregnancy. Hair testing of smoking biomarkers disclosed that 7.2% of women remained active smokers during the whole pregnancy (hair NIC: 3.21-56.98 ng/mg hair), 16.3% were passive non-smokers or occasional smokers (hair NIC: 1.04-2.99 ng/mg hair), while 76.5% were not exposed to any cigarette smoke (hair NIC < limit of quantification - 0.91 ng/mg hair). Conversely, alcohol hair biomarkers showed that only 35.3% of women were totally abstinent during gestation (hair EtG: 3.89-6.73 pg/mg hair), while 62.7% drank a non-negligible amount of alcohol during pregnancy (hair EtG: 7.06-26.57 pg/mg hair), and 2% were chronic excessive drinkers (hair EtG: 35.33-47.52 pg/mg hair). Maternal hair analysis has shown to be significantly more sensitive than interviews in revealing an alarming misreported prevalence of alcohol use during pregnancy. These findings stress the need to use objective measures to assess alcohol exposure and to consider the inclusion of targeted actions to reduce alcohol consumption in maternal-child health policies.

Stability of Drugs of Abuse in Urine Samples at Room Temperature by Use of a Salts Mixture.

BACKGROUND: It has long been recognized that ensuring analyte stability is of crucial importance in the use of any quantitative bioanalytical method. As analyses are usually not performed directly after collection of the biological samples, but after these have been processed and stored, it is essential that analyte stability can be maintained at storage conditions to ensure that the obtained concentration results adequately reflect those directly after sampling. The conservation of urine samples in refrigerated/ frozen conditions is strongly recommended; but not always feasible. The aim of this study was to assess the stability of some well-known drugs of abuse methamphetamine (MA), 11-nor-9-carboxy-Δ9- tetrahydrocannabinol (THC-COOH), benzoylecgonine (BE), and morphine (MOR) in urine samples kept at room temperature by adding a salt mixture (sodium citrate, sodium ascorbate, borax). METHODS: Two different urine samples were prepared with and without salt mixture, stored at room temperature and then analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry at 0, 1, 7, 15, and 30 days after collection/preparation to look for eventual analyte degradation. RESULTS: Methamphetamine showed no significant changes with respect to the time of collection/ preparation (T0) up to 7 days later (T7), with or without salt mixture addiction. Then a significant degradation occurred in both salted and non salted urine. BE decrease was observed starting from day 1 after sample collection in salted and not salted samples, respectively. Salt addition seemed to reduce at least the initial BE degradation, with a significant difference (p<0.001) at 7 and 15 days of storage. However, the degradation was not more prevented in salted samples at 30 days of storage. A 20% decrease of MOR concentration was observed starting from day 1 after collection/preparation, both in salted and not salted samples with no subsequent decrease. With regard to THCCOOH, a significant decrease was observed starting from 7 days after collection/preparation, with of without adding the salt mixture. However, when comparing salted versus non salted samples at each time point, a statistically significant difference was observed at 7 and 30 days of storage. CONCLUSION: The results obtained indicate that the degradation of MA, THC-COOH and BE in urine samples kept at room temperature can be slowed by the addition of the salt mixture, whereas it seems to be ineffective in samples containing MOR. This evidence has to be taken into account, in the eventuality of using salted urine to prevent in a certain extent abuse of above-reported drugs of abuse.

General Practitioners and Dentists: A Call for Action Against Tobacco.

INTRODUCTION: To investigate the frequency of advice to quit smoking received by the Italian population from general practitioners (GP) and dentists, we analyzed a cross-sectional study. METHODS: A face-to-face survey was conducted in 2014 on 3052 individuals, representative of the general Italian population aged 15 years or more. RESULTS: During the previous year, 89% of individuals (82% of smokers) reported that they had visited a GP while 71% (67% of smokers) had visited a dentist. Among smokers, 25% reported that they had received advice to quit smoking from their GP, and 26% from their dentist. Advice by GPs was less frequently received by smokers with higher education (multivariate odds ratios (OR) were 0.48 for intermediate and 0.38 for high as compared to low education), and more frequently by heavy smokers (≥15 cigarettes/day; OR = 1.78), those with intention to quit (OR = 2.59), with previous quit attempts (OR = 2.09), and those aware of the existence of smoking cessation services (OR = 1.59). Advice by dentists was more frequently received by smokers aged 25-44 years (OR = 3.55 compared to those aged 15-24) and those with an intention to quit (OR = 2.46). Among Italian current smokers, 32% reported that their GP and 17% that their dentist was a current smoker. The corresponding figures among young smokers were 40% and 26%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Healthcare providers have the potential to become a key reference point in the fight against smoking. However, before acting, GPs and dentists should set a good example: those who smoke should urgently quit or at least refrain from smoking during working hours. IMPLICATIONS: GPs and dentists, reaching the large majority of Italian smokers, can make a major contribution in the fight against tobacco. Future studies are needed to investigate possible reasons of the apparently high smoking prevalence among GPs, in order to develop tailored smoking cessation interventions for healthcare providers.

Determination of different recreational drugs in sweat by headspace solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography mass spectrometry (HS-SPME GC/MS): Application to drugged drivers.

A procedure based on headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) coupled with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) has been developed for the determination of most commonly used drugs of abuse in sweat of drivers stopped during roadside controls. DrugWipe 5A sweat screening device was used to collect sweat by a specific pad rubbed gently over forehead skin surface. The procedure involved an acid hydrolysis, a HS-SPME extraction for drugs of abuse but Δ(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol, which was directly extracted in alkaline medium HS-SPME conditions, a GC separation of analytes by a capillary column and MS detection by electron impact ionisation. The method was linear from the limit of quantification (LOQ) to 50ng drug per pad (r(2)≥0.99), with an intra- and inter-assay precision and accuracy always less than 15% and an analytical recovery between 95.1% and 102.8%, depending on the considered analyte. Using the validated method, sweat from 60 apparently intoxicated drivers were found positive to one or more drugs of abuse, showing sweat patches testing as a viable economic and simple alternative to conventional (blood and/or urine) and non conventional (oral fluid) testing of drugs of abuse in drugged drivers.

Gender disparity in addiction: an Italian epidemiological sketch.

INTRODUCTION: Gender disparity in different fields of addiction such as tobacco smoking, alcohol use, drugs of abuse consumption and doping practice has been investigated in Italian population. METHODS: We used the surveys and studies carried out for the above reported issues in recent years as revised by the "National Observatory on Tobacco smoke, Drugs of abuse, Alcohol and Doping" at Istituto Superiore di Sanità. RESULTS: Concerning tobacco habit, the trend of smoking women has been in constant decrease from a 19.7% in 2010 to a 16.9% in 2015, differently from men who passed from a 23.9% in 2010 to a 25.1% in 2015 with a slight increase in the habit. With respect to alcohol, in the last five years an increasing trend of consumption has been observed in 18-24 years old women, with 53% drinking women in the age range of 18-19 years overcoming the 50.4% general female population. Generally speaking, a one to four ratio can be underlined in the percentage of elderly women with a risky alcohol consumption with respect to men, while in case of adolescents and young adults gender disparity is not so pronounced. Drug abuse still remains a prevalent male phenomenon. However, an increase in cannabis users for both genders has been reported with a prevalence of "once in the life" around 20%, although more pronounced in females (+2.66 percentage points for females vs +0.93 percentage points in male). With respect to cocaine, the second most consumed drug, a reduction in consumption has been recently observed mainly in female population (-42.1%) than in men one (-27.5%). Finally, there are significant gender differences in doping attitude and/or in doping profiling. First of all, males seem to be more exposed to doping than females The prohibited substances most frequently used by females athletes are "Diuretics and Masking Agents" (38.3% positive female vs 14% males) compared to males athletes who use mostly anabolic agents (20.1% males vs 11.2% females). CONCLUSIONS: Results presented for the different fields of addiction show that a gender disparity is apparent and that females are less prone in having an addiction behaviour, although the young generation seems to increase that tendency.

Emerging trends in consuming behaviours for non-controlled substances by Italian urban youth: a cross sectional study.

INTRODUCTION: We investigated emerging trends in consuming behaviours for non-controlled substances in a cross sectional study on urban Italian adolescents and young adults, the reasons for consumption and risk perception as function of age, the relation with lifestyles and finally risk factors associated. METHODS: The survey methodology involved the administration of an anonymous questionnaire. It consisted of 68 questions, divided into five sections: personal details, socioeconomic characteristics, family and peer group, free time and lifestyles, and substances use. RESULTS: A total of 2621 adolescents and young adults (14-35 years old) from seven different Italian cities answered the questionnaire. The substances examined were mainly used recreationally (alcohol, energy drinks and smart-drugs) or to improve physical and sexual performance (physical performance-enhancing drugs, anabolic steroids and male sexual enhancement). The knowledge of the health related harm arising from the use of these products was very high for alcohol (> 90%), high for smart-drugs (> 70%), but significantly lower for anabolic steroids, drugs for sexual enhancement (~ 60%), physical performance-enhancing drugs or energy drinks (~ 55%). The principal risks factors for consumption were: the influence of friends (OR: 8.8), attending recreational places (OR: 5.4) aged between 25-35 years (OR: 3.0), be male (OR: 2.5) and having a bad relationship with the mother (OR: 2.1). CONCLUSIONS: These results have implication for prevention and early intervention programs of "physically and psychologically enhancing" non controlled substances use, which similarly to what is frequently advised for classical illicit drugs should focus on information campaigns and awareness initiatives especially addressed to young male adults who go clubbing, live outside the family and showed closed links with peers.

Quali-quantitative analysis of best selling drugs from pharmacy, street market and traditional herbal medicine: a pilot study of market surveillance in Senegal.

A pilot study of market surveillance in Senegal has been performed analyzing best selling drugs from an official pharmacy and a street market in two principal cities of Senegal and some traditional preparations from herbal medicine from the same market. A simple and rapid gas chromatography method with mass spectrometry detection has been applied after a liquid-liquid extraction of pharmaceutical products and traditional preparations at acidic, neutral and basic pH with chloroform-isopropanol (9:1, v/v). The assay was validated in the range from 10mg to 250 mg/g powder preparations with good determination coefficients (r(2)≥ 0.99) for the calibration curves. At three concentrations spanning the linear dynamic ranges of the calibration curves, mean recoveries of substances under investigation were always higher than 90% and intra-assay and inter-assay precision and accuracy were always better than 15%. The four best selling drugs purchased from a Dakar local pharmacy exactly contained the amount of active principles reported in the respective labels while the best selling drugs freely purchased from Kaolack market contained an amount of active ingredients lower than that declared on the label. No pharmacological active compound, but salicylic acid was found in one of the traditional herbal preparations. This pilot study showed that whereas official drugs sold in pharmacies at prices accessible for a very few portion of the population contained the amount of active principles as reported in the labels, those from street market bought by the majority of population contained an amount of active ingredients lower than that declared on the label and finally traditional herbal preparations seldom contain pharmacological active principles.

The NASOROSSO (Rednose) project: an Italian study on alcohol consumption in recreational places.

The Nasorosso project of the Italian Youth Department and the National Institute of Health, aimed to raise awareness about drinking and driving under the influence of alcohol among club goers with a series of initiatives. Within the framework of the project, blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was measured on 106,406 individuals before and after clubbing in 66 different recreational sites from 11 Italian provinces, over 16 months. Participating individuals were interviewed regarding sociodemographic and environmental characteristics and alcohol intoxicated people were offered to be taken home. The BAC median at the club entry was 0.26 g/L with 65.3% subjects showing a BAC value under the driving legal limit of 0.5 g/L. At the exit from clubs, BAC median value rose to 0.44 g/L and subjects with BAC value under the legal limit decreased to 54.9%. Being male, aged between 18 and 34 years with a diploma, being a drinker and entering the disco with a BAC already beyond the legal limit predicted a BAC value beyond 0.5 g/L at exit from the recreational place. Conversely, being a driver, being a student and exiting from the disco before 4 a.m. reduced the probability of having a BAC higher than 0.5 g/L at the end of the night. Health policies to prevent harmful use of alcohol in young people should continue to offer targeted information/ prevention; in order to steadily increase the awareness of the dangers and the damages of excessive use of alcohol.

A helpline telephone service for tobacco related issues: the Italian experience.

Antismoking helplines have become an integral part of tobacco control efforts in many countries, including Italy. The demonstrated efficacy and the convenience of telephone based counselling have led to the fast adoption of antismoking helplines. However, information on how these helplines operate in actual practice is not often readily available. This paper provides an overview of the Italian Antismoking Helpline, an increasingly popular telephone service for tobacco problems operating in Italy since 2000. As many states, regions and nations are contemplating various telephone programs as part of large scale anti-tobacco campaigns, this paper briefly discusses the reasons the helpline is well suited to lead the cessation component of a comprehensive tobacco control program, how it operates and how it can be used in conjunction with other tobacco control activities. The Italian Antismoking Helpline provides Italians with free services that include counselling, cessation related information, self help quit kits and current legislation information. The helpline is promoted statewide by media campaigns, health care providers, local tobacco control programs and public school system. The Helpline is centrally operated through the Istituto Superiore di Sanità and it has served over 17.000 tobacco users and others.