Findings bulletins: nalmefene questions analysed, licensing policy intensity impacts harm, mental health & more

Recent bulletins from the drug and alcohol bank:

Nalmefene: marketing ploy or alcohol treatment breakthrough?

‘A pill for every ill’ is the gist of attacks levelled at the approval of nalmefene under the trade name Selincro. Market positioning as a breakthrough which extends the benefits of pharmacotherapy to non-physically dependent drinkers has been criticised as medicalising psychological dependence. Controversy is heated: is Selincro just a clever marketing ploy, or are there real benefits? We conducted an in-depth assessment.

Intense licensing policies help to curb alcohol-related harm

For the first time, a study in England has shown that the more strongly a local government area regulates the licensing of alcohol outlets, the greater the reduction in alcohol-related harm within the population, as reflected in the number of hospital admissions.

Recognising mental health needs in a substance use treatment setting

Updated guidelines funded by the Australian government recommend universal mental health screening for people accessing substance use services, and say that mental health issues do not pose an “insurmountable barrier” to effective substance use treatment.

The shared essence of effective therapies

Effectiveness Bank collections – customised mini-libraries on selected topics. Across mental health and behavioural problems, ‘Dodo bird’ findings that bona fide therapies have similar effects have turned attention to the ‘common factors’ they share rather than how they differ. Find out more by browsing this collection of analyses indexed on common factors.

See also the Findings Alcohol Matrix to drill into all things alcohol interventions and treatment.