AIMTo examine whether in Europe perceptions of 'alcoholism' differ in a discrete manner according to geographical area.METHODSecondary analysis of a data set from a European project carried out in 2013-2014 among 1767 patients treated in alcohol addiction units of nine countries/regions across Europe. The experience of all 11 DSM-4 criteria used for diagnosing 'alcohol dependence' and 'alcohol abuse' were assessed in patient interviews. The analysis was performed through Multiple Correspondence Analysis.RESULTSThe symptoms of 'alcohol dependence' and 'alcohol abuse', posited by DSM-IV, were distributed according to three discrete geographical patterns: a macro-area mainly centered on drinking beer and spirit, a culture traditionally oriented toward wine and a mixed intermediate alcoholic beverage situation.CONCLUSIONThese patterns of perception seem to parallel the diverse drinking cultures of Europe.

Providing one set of policy measures for all countries as if they were a single, homogeneous entity does not appear to be evidence-based, according to recent research on the effectiveness of alcoholic beverage control policies.Contextual and cultural determinants-social, economic, demographic, cultural and political-appear to be major factors of influencing change in drinking trends, drinking patterns and drinking-related harms.The variable interplay between contextual determinants and alcohol control policy measures implies diverse impacts on consumption and harm according to time, and to the different countries and groups of countries.In addition, epidemiology research manifests some limitations when applied to alcohol drinking and results are transferred from one culture to another.The conditions of individual cultures and countries should be considered when planning and evaluating alcohol control policies.

“Mindfulness”—(focused attention)—in substance use intervention is explored as a concept, process, tool, and a Way, as a narrative, considering selected unresolved critical issues.

This point-of-view commentary explores a selected range of issues relevant to alcoholic beverage drinking and nondrinking patterns documented by the AMPHORA European study which, with hind-sight, limits its generalizability, with fore-sight are generally inadequately considered and documented and, with ordinary insight, are not likely to affect the ongoing and future behaviors of policy making and sustaining stakeholders whatever their sources of influence and whatever the levels and quality of evidence-informed data, information, and derived knowledge.

Substance use intervention, both in the private and public sectors, continues to be associated with failure. This paper makes the assumption that: 1) there is a need to systematically consider and explore FAILURE in its various parameters (definitions, characteristics, forms, shapes, potencies, densities, directions, tempos, levels, phases, meanings, and adhesiveness), sources, and "demands" in the broad area of substance use intervention; 2) we can learn from failure (categorizing its processes and outcomes, selecting foci for intervention, and failure's "veracity," status, transmittability and potential/actual usability over time); and 3) we should continue to repeat this process until there is little need to do so. As times and definitions change, there will never be an end to failure or the need to learn from failure. Failure is considered as a value, and having value, on a multidimensional, dynamic gradient (minimal to maximal), being describable, discernable, catagorizable, understandable, while being-culture-site-ideologically bound/influenced. Exploring FAILURE offers us-in our various substance use intervention roles-the opportunity to learn from what we have done and to more appropiately plan, implement, and assess what we may want and/or need to know and to do. Examples are given of ongoing sources of built-in substance use intervention failure.

(1987). Early Case Finding/Early Identification. International Journal of the Addictions: Vol. 22, No. 1, pp. iii-iv.

Continued confusion regarding the actual and potential interface between technical issues (techniques/therapies) and ideological-theoretical considerations (treatment as a planned change process) results in built-in failure in the treatment of drug users. Only a limited number of currently available "therapies" are generally used for planned treatment intervention or for institutionalized reflexive reactions. Limited consideration has been given to the planning and implementation "demands" of a selected number of critical variables which affect the "therapies" currently in use and/or which can be chosen to be used. This note is designed as a catalytic cognitive resource to facilitate changing this situation by exploring some of the factors associated with this self-defeating, self-fulfilling prophecy.

Men seldom fail to perceive the folly of their ways simply because they lack eyes. The tendency of applied social scientists and practitioners to overlook the broad pattern of regression might also be due to one or a combination of the following biases: the paternalistic bias, whereby benevolent efforts to foster the good life are automatically discounted as a source of the bad life; the elite bias, whereby those in control are viewed as too cleverly prudent to be self-defeating; the rationalistic bias, whereby enlightened thought is believed to be more powerful than all the forces of sentiment, self-interest and contingency; or the activist bias, whereby doing almost anything is regarded as a better thing than doing nothing. —Sam D. Sieber, Fatal Remedies, p. 53

A schema is presented designed to help intervention agents and agencies plan and carry out programs to facilitate individual and group adaptation to and within a world of an increasing variety of types of chemicals through selected value foci.

The first part of this note (Vol. 20, No. 5, pp. 771-782) introduced the view that an important area of concern for intervention agents and policy makers-the implications of the interface of drugs, genetics, and man-has almost totally been overlooked to date. Instead much emphasis has been given to efforts best categorized as the genetic aspects of drugs/drug use.This series is designed to explore the implications upon a number of intervention areas when drugs, genetics, and man “meet” and interact. The current note focuses upon treatment, education, training, and policies.

A catalytic conceptual tool is presented to facilitate the concerned reader's decision making with regard to personally developing and/or participating in more effective drug misuse/abuse intervention efforts. The reader is asked to consider and select the interface between 16 areas of potential intervention, 4 sources of drug abuse typologies, and 6 foci for intervention which is most suitable to his/her roles, skills, interests, and concerns.

A schema has been designed to enable intervention planners to more reasonably and effectively integrate the concept of special populations, its varied meanings and their implications, and to better meet the special/unique needs of individuals and systems in drug use/misuse intervention programs.