Examine prevention strategies and treatments for substance abuse and addictive behaviour (22 marks)
Command term "EXAMINE" - consider an argument or concept in a way that uncovers the assumptions and interrelationships of the issue.
INTRODUCTION
DEFINITIONS
Substance: anything ingested that alters mood / cognition / behaviour; e.g. alcohol, drugs, nicotine
Substance abuse: continued use of a substance despite knowing problems associated with it / unsuccessful efforts to control use
Addictive behaviour: being physically dependent on a substance because of repeated use over time
Psychological addiction: craving, strong desire to smoke / drink / take drugs
Situations associated with smoking / smoker’s mood and psychological state triggers craving
Physiological addiction: display symptoms such as tolerance
Person needs more of the substance to achieve the same effect
Withdrawal symptoms if substance not taken - nausea, irritability, anxiety
Prevention strategies - preventing people from beginning the addictive behaviour
Treatments - therapies to help someone stop
MAIN BODY
PREVENTION
Part of primary prevention.
Most European countries have put bans / restrictions on advertising. The WHO (World Health Organisation) wants to put a complete ban on tobacco advertising / promoting / sponsorship
Tobacco companies always market products for youths
They now target youths in developing countries - too difficult to market in most Western countries
Have a campaign called MPOWER:
Monitor tobacco use / prevention policies (build strategies)
Protect people from tobacco smoke (smoke-free areas)
Offer help to quit (counselling, national services)
Warn about dangers of tobacco use
Enforce ban on tobacco in ads, promotions, sponsorships
Raise taxes on tobacco
STUDY: Hanewinkel and Wiborg (2002)
AIM: to investigate the effectiveness of a school-based campaign in Germany
PROCEDURE - Longitudinal study - Participants were German students with a mean age of 13 - Classes had to decide to be a "smoke-free" class or not with the chance to win prizes - Control groups weren't in the competition - Smoking status assessed before and after
FINDINGS - After the competition, control pupils had a higher prevalence of smoking than experimental students
CONCLUSION - Competition delayed the onset of smoking as they had knowledge about it - Aimed to maximise the difference between them and the outgroup (smokers)
EVALUATION - May have been social desirability effect - Bias - teenagers, one culture - Couldn't stop smokers, just prevented potential start
TREATMENT
Part of secondary prevention
Nicotine Replacement Therapy
Products like gum, patches, spray can help to some extent
Helps prevent short-term relapse
Not large enough doses to get the pleasure feeling, but enough to make smoking less addictive
Some people may become dependent on the gum
Electronic cigarettes may be used so that people can inhale nicotine vapour and not the other harmful toxins in cigarettes
STUDY: Bullen et al. (2010)
AIM: To examine the short-term effectiveness of e-cigarettes on desire to smoke and withdrawal symptoms vs. a nicotine inhaler
PROCEDURE - Single-blinded (they did not know which they were being given) controlled experiment - Participants were smokers who had not smoked overnight - Given either cigarettes, e-cigarettes or a nicotine inhaler
FINDINGS - E-cigarette had fewer side-effects than inhaler - Both produced a low desirability to smoke
CONCLUSION - The e-cigarette stimulated the smoking behaviour - Positive associations achieved without the addiction
EVALUATION - Bias of self-report - Reductionist - Ethnocentric
Drug Treatment
Zyban is a drug used in the 1990s to help people give up smoking
Originally an antidepressant, works on the sites in the brain affected by nicotine
Helps people quit by relieving withdrawal symptoms
Blocks effects of nicotine if people resume
STUDY: Pisinger (2008)
DESCRIPTION - Analysed different methods of treatment - Found that the following were most effective:
Individual / group smoking cessation intervention
Professional consultations
Drug / nicotine replacement treatments
- The least effective were:
Leaflets / brochures / internet sites
STUDY: Jorenby et al. (1999)
AIM: to examine the effectiveness of nicotine patches and Zyban
PROCEDURE - Double-blind experiment - Participants either had nicotine patch, nicotine patch and zyban, or a placebo
FINDINGS - 16% of placebo groups did not smoke after 1 year - 30% in the 2 other groups didn't smoke after a year
CONCLUSION - Zyban altered neurochemistry