The effect of housing and gender on preference for morphine-sucrose solutions in rats.

To determine whether opiate consumption is affected by laboratory housing, individually caged and colony rats were given a choice between water and progressively more palatable morphine-sucrose solutions. The isolated rats drank significantly more of the opiate solution, and females drank significantly more than males. In the experimental phase during which morphine-sucrose solution consumption was greatest, the isolated females drank five times as much, and the isolated males sixteen times as much morphine (mg/kg) as the colony females and males respectively.

The effect of housing and gender on morphine self-administration in rats.

To determine the effect of housing conditions on morphine self-administration, rats isolated in standard laboratory cages and rats living socially in a large open box (8.8 m2) were given morphine in solution (0.5 mg/ml) as their only source of fluid for 57 days. They were then exposed to a series of 3-day cycles previously shown by Nichols et al. (1956) to increase self-administration of morphine in caged rats. On morphine/water choice days late in the period of forced consumption, between the Nichols cycles, and during a subsequent period of abstinence, the isolated rats drank significantly more morphine solution than the social rats, and the females drank significantly more morphine solution than the males. During the four choice days in the Nichols Cycle Period the isolated rats increased their consumption, but the socially housed animals decreased theirs.

A drug dispenser to measure individual drinking in rat colonies.

This article describes an automated device which substantially facilitates the measurement of oral drug consumption by individual rats housed in a colony with a common drinking source. To drink, each animal enters a Plexiglas runway, triggering a video system which records the rat's identifying dye mark, and its consumption of each of two liquids. Rats learn to operate the device easily and rapidly. Data for 24 hours can be collected on a one-hour videotape.

Effect of early and later colony housing on oral ingestion of morphine in rats.

Male and female rats were raised from weaning either in isolation or in a large colony. At 65 days of age, half the rats in each environment were moved to the other. At 80 days, the animals were given continuous access to water and to a sequence of 7 solutions: 3 sweet or bitter-sweet control solutions and 4 different concentrations of morphine hydrochloride (MHCl) in 10% sucrose solution. Rats housed in the colony at the time of testing drank less MHCl solution than isolated rats, but no less of the control solutions. Colony-dwelling rats previously housed in isolation tended to drink more MHCl solution than those housed in the colony since weaning, but this effect reached statistical significance only at the lowest concentration of MHCl. These data were related to the hypothesis that colony rats avoid morphine because it interferes with complex, species-specific behavior.

Preventing smoking and other drug use: let the buyers beware and the interventions be apt.

Those concerned with smoking prevention programs in the schools may be misled by a recent report that "we know what works; now let's make it happen." The advocated "social influences" programs appear to have no reliable effects on regular (greater than or equal to weekly) smoking and only short-term and small effects (5-8 percentage points) on "experimental" (less than weekly) smoking. To prevent smoking and other drug abuse among the children most at risk, it may be crucial to use broad-based, multidisciplinary interventions that go well beyond the health education classroom.

The relative autonomy of schools and educational interventions for substance abuse prevention, sex education, and gender stereotyping.

This paper evaluates intervention programs in schools using the theoretical framework of the critical sociology of education, and most specifically, the extent to which schools are autonomous from the larger society. Three different types of intervention programs are reviewed: drug abuse prevention, sex education, and programs to change gender stereotypes, all of which were found to have limited effectiveness. Schools appear unable to change behaviors which are prevalent in a culture because they themselves are strongly influenced by that culture, and because adolescents are influenced by forces outside school. To be effective, such interventions would seem to require governmental agencies, community groups, and the media to work with the schools in order to influence the culture and thus produce behavioral changes in individuals.

Health and behavioral predictors of success in an intensive smoking cessation program for women.

Cigarette smoking is the major addiction of women, the leading cause of women's death, and maternal smoking has substantial negative health effects on children. The majority of smokers quit on their own, but women are more likely than men to seek help, and some prefer women-only programs. Multi-component programs combining cessation techniques with counselling, skills training, and emotional support show the highest quit rates. In this clinical study of a multi-component, eight week cessation program for women, sixty-two percent completed the program and stopped smoking. Over half of these were abstinent six months later, which compares favorably with other women's-only programs in Canada. Based on the literature, we hypothesized that factors related to personal health status, family drug history, current lifestyle and social environment would be the best predictors of program outcome: dropping out of the program, completing the program and quitting smoking, and being abstinent at six months. Over 400 measures of personal and family history, health status, health behavior and social environment were gathered. A multiple regression model using four variables with additive variance and stable parameters explained 48% of the variance in program outcome. These were client's history of asthma, smoking status of the mother when the client was a child, weekly consumption of chocolate and candy, and the number of children the client had. These results identify issues that need to be taken into account when assisting women to quit smoking.

Age interacts with heaviness of smoking in predicting success in cessation of smoking.

There is conflicting evidence regarding the relation between heaviness of smoking and the likelihood of quitting smoking. We investigated this issue using the data set of the 1986 Adult Use of Tobacco Survey, a telephone survey of the smoking behavior of noninstitutionalized, civilian, US adults aged greater than 16 years. Analyses were based on a subsample of 4,383 individuals who had made a serious attempt to stop smoking 1-10 years before the survey. Among younger smokers, the lighter smokers (less than 25 cigarettes/day) were the most likely to stop, whereas among older smokers, the heavier smokers (greater than or equal to 25 cigarettes/day) were the most likely to stop. These results indicate that age is an important factor in the relation between heaviness of smoking and success in quitting smoking.

Weight gain after smoking cessation in women: the impact of dieting status.

OBJECTIVE: The fear of weight gain appears to be a barrier to quitting in some smokers, particularly in women. However, not all female smokers have the same concerns about weight, and not all quitters are equally susceptible to gaining weight after cessation. We hypothesized that among females, dieters, compared to nondieters, would report more weight gain after smoking cessation and would tend to smoke more for weight control purpose. METHOD: Undergraduate college students were surveyed to assess their smoking status, dieting status, postcessation weight gain, and their motivations to smoke. RESULTS: Among former smokers, dieters reported considerably more weight gain than nondieters. Dieters were more likely to have started, and to have continued smoking in order to control their weight, and among current smokers, dieters reported having had shorter quit attempts. DISCUSSION: The dieters/former smokers' comparatively high weight gain after smoking cessation is discussed in terms of possible changes in dietary intake, metabolic rate, and physical activity.

Smoking cessation, physicians, and medical office staff. Clinical tobacco intervention in Prince Edward Island.

OBJECTIVE: To assess attitudes and self-reported behaviours of physicians and medical office staff in Prince Edward Island concerning clinical tobacco intervention (CTI). DESIGN: Mail survey of PEI primary care physicians and their medical office staff. Most surveys were not mailed back but picked up in person by research staff. SETTING: Primary care settings in PEI. PARTICIPANTS: All active primary care physicians in PEI identified in the Canadian Medical Association database and medical office staff. Respondents included 63/88 (71.6%) physicians and 59/88 (67.0%) medical office staff. Fifty-seven physicians and medical office staff surveys overlapped. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Attitudes and self-reported behaviours in CTI. RESULTS: More than 70% of the time, 68.3% of physicians reported asking new patients about their smoking behaviour and 66.7% reported that they listen to and acknowledge patients' feelings and fears about stopping smoking. Close to half (43.3%) of physicians reported thinking about or planning to do more CTI. Physicians and medical office staff reported that staff had limited involvement in methods to cue smoking interventions. Only half (50.8%) of physicians reported that their offices are well set up to identify smokers and to help them quit smoking. Offices were well set up for CTI if physicians perceived that office staff had an active role in CTI and if follow-up visits were frequently arranged. CONCLUSIONS: This study identified apparent opportunities for improving CIT, particularly in the areas of physician training, involvement of medical office staff, and awareness of billing codes. This could improve the quality of preventive care for patients in PEI.