Drug use and addiction: evolutionary perspective.

Drug use creates a significant amount of harm in modern societies. From an evolutionary perspective, the pervasive use of drugs and the ongoing risk of drug addiction can be explained in terms of the action of drugs on evolved motivational-emotional systems. Addiction arises through interaction of these evolutionarily ancient systems, designed to promote the pursuit of natural rewards, and contemporary environments where purified and potent forms of drugs are readily available. This evolutionary analysis is extended to account for developmental patterns in problem drug use, and to explain the existence of behavioural addictions, such as problem gambling. The paper concludes by considering some of the clinical and public policy implications of the evolutionary perspective presented.

Effects of exposure of youths at risk for smoking to television advertising for nicotine replacement therapy and Zyban: an experimental study.

Television advertising for nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and Zyban exposes the entire population, including adolescents, to persuasive messages about these smoking-cessation products. There is a risk that adolescents exposed to the advertising might underestimate addictiveness or perceive an unintended message that it is easy to quit smoking. This is of concern because optimism about quitting is a major predictor of trial and progression to heavier smoking among youths. We randomly allocated 492 youths age 12 to 14 years to one of three viewing conditions in which they viewed either (a) 4 NRT ads, (b) 4 Zyban ads, or (c) 4 ads promoting nonpharmacologic cessation services, such as telephone quitlines. After viewing each ad twice, participants completed a 1-page rating form. After all ads had been viewed, youths completed a questionnaire that measured intentions to smoke in the future, perceived addictiveness of smoking, perceived risks and benefits of smoking, and perceived need for pharmaceutical products and services. There were no differences in the composition of groups by age, gender, or smoking uptake. Youths were more likely to agree that the NRT and Zyban ads, compared with the quitline ads, made it seem easy to quit smoking (p < .001). However, there were no systematic differences between groups in perceived addictiveness of smoking, intentions to smoke, or other outcomes. This study suggests that although ads for NRT and Zyban may create "face value" impressions that it is easier to quit, at least in an experimental context in which exposure to ads for telephone quitlines is equal, such appraisals do not undermine more enduring perceptions about smoking. Field research taking into account the relatively high volume of pharmaceutical cessation product advertising is needed.

Media advocacy and newspaper coverage of tobacco issues: a comparative analysis of 1 year's print news in the United States and Australia.

Tobacco control advocates now recognize the value of influencing news coverage of tobacco; news coverage influences attitudes and behavior as well as policy progression. It is, however, difficult to assess the progress of such efforts within a single national and temporal context. Our data represent the first systematic international comparison of press coverage of tobacco issues. Tobacco articles from major daily newspapers in Australia (12 newspapers; 1,188 articles) and the United States (30 newspapers; 1,317 articles) were collected over 1 year (2001). The analysis shows that coverage in the two countries was similarly apportioned between hard news (>70%) and opinion pieces. Similarly, stories in both countries were most likely to recount positive events. The substantive focus of coverage, however, differed, as did the expression of hostile opinion toward tobacco control efforts (United States, 4%; Australia, 7.1%). Although secondhand smoke and education, cessation, and prevention efforts were covered widely in both settings, these topics dominated coverage in Australia (29.2%) more than in the United States (17.6%), where a more diffuse set of tobacco topics gained relative prominence. The difference in policy conditions seems to offer contrasting opportunities for advocates in the two countries to use newspapers to promote helpful tobacco control messages for both behavior and policy change.