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IntroductionWe conducted a pilot assessment of the feasibility of implementing the International Alcohol Control (IAC) Study in Ontario, Canada, to allow for future comparisons on the impacts of alcohol control policies with a number of countries. MethodsThe IAC Study questionnaire was adapted for use in the province of Ontario, and a split-sample approach was used to collect data. Data were collected by computer-assisted telephone interviewing of 500 participants, with half the sample each answering a subset of the adapted IAC Study survey. ResultsJust over half of the sample (53.6%) reported high frequency drinking (once a week or more frequently), while 6.5% reported heavy typical occasion drinking (8 drinks or more per session). Self-reported rates of alcohol-related harms from one's own and others' drinking were relatively low. Attitudes towards alcohol control varied. A substantial majority supported more police spot checks to detect drinking and driving, while restrictions on the number of alcohol outlets and increases in the price of alcohol were generally opposed. ConclusionThis pilot study demonstrated that the IAC Study survey can be implemented in Canada with some modifications. Future research should assess how to improve participation rates and the feasibility of implementing the longitudinal aspect of the IAC Study. This survey provides additional insight into alcohol-related behaviours and attitudes towards alcohol control policies, which can be used to develop appropriate public health responses in the Canadian context.

IntroductionNous avons mené une évaluation pilote sur la faisabilité de la mise en œuvre de l’étude internationale sur le contrôle de l’alcool (IAC, pour International Alcohol Control) en Ontario (Canada) afin de pouvoir comparer les répercussions des politiques sur le contrôle de l’alcool dans différents pays. MéthodologieLe questionnaire de l’étude IAC a été adapté pour la province de l’Ontario. Les données ont été recueillies selon une approche par échantillon fractionné, au moyend’entrevues téléphoniques assistées par ordinateur réalisées auprès de 500 participants, chaque moitié de l’échantillon répondant à un sous­ensemble de l’enquête adaptée de l’étude IAC. RésultatsUn peu plus de la moitié de l’échantillon (53,6 %) a fait état d’une consommation fréquente d’alcool (une fois par semaine ou plus fréquemment) et 6,5 % des répondants ont fait état d’une consommation excessive occasionelle d’alcool élevée (8 consommations ou plus par occasion). Les taux de méfaits liés à l’alcool dont ont fait état les répondants, qu’il s’agisse de leur propre consommation ou de celle des autres, sont demeurés relativement faibles. Les attitudes à l’égard du contrôle de l’alcool étaient variées. La grande majorité des répondants s’est prononcée en faveur d’une augmentation du nombre de contrôles policiers d’alcoolémie pour détecter les cas de conduite avec facultés affaiblies, alors que les restrictions sur le nombre de points de vente d’alcool et l’augmentation du prix de l’alcool ont été généralement rejetées. ConclusionCette étude pilote a démontré que l’enquête IAC peut être mise en œuvre au Canada après quelques modifications. Les futurs travaux de recherche auront à explorer des moyens d’améliorer les taux de participation et la faisabilité de la mise en œuvre de l’aspect longitudinal de l’étude IAC. Cette enquête fournit des renseignements supplémentaires sur les comportements liés à l’alcool et sur les attitudes à l’égard des politiques de contrôle de l’alcool utilisables pour élaborer des interventions de santé publique propres au contexte canadien.

The prevalence of problem gambling in the correctional system is about 10 times higher than in the general population, but programming for gambling problems in the correctional system is scarce. Examined barriers to treatment for problem gamblers in the correctional system, sex or gender differences, and options for program design. We conducted interviews with 16 experts who had worked with problem gamblers in the correctional system and analyzed the data in terms of themes. For barriers, the experts discussed a lack of awareness about problem gambling, as well as stigmatization and lockdowns. Experts described the content of current programs as equally applicable to both men and women, but that emotional components were more important for women. Finally, the experts had mixed views on whether programming should be integrated with other programs such as substance abuse. Programming implications for this population are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lottery is the most widely available form of legal gambling in the US. However, there is relatively little work in promoting responsible gambling strategies by lottery providers. The current study applies five evidence-based responsible gambling strategies, to the responsible gambling information made available on 46 state lottery websites. The study employed a content analysis of the public-facing websites. The study found that a minority of the state lottery sites provided readily available information to the public for each of five strategies. Responsible gambling information was limited in most cases with several notable and informative exceptions. Findings are discussed in the context of public health education and harm reduction approaches in the provision of gambling products. The responsible gambling framework is premised on the notion of well-informed participants. Poor integration of responsible gambling strategies for the most widely available form of gambling points to the shortcomings of this framework in practice. Lottery operators should strive to increase their adoption of a greater range of responsible gambling approaches and increase the visibility of relevant information for potential participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As new types of problematic behaviors and new forms of online risk-taking emerge, forming collaborative relationships while understanding complexities of motivations may help to promote harm reduction and intervention. While it may be too early to form a stakeholder framework without first conceptually understanding the problematic behaviors involved, we attempt to build upon a proposed multidisciplinary stakeholder framework to minimize harms for problematic risk-taking involving emerging technologies. We propose an expansion of roles for individual stakeholders and an expansion of proposed roles for family stakeholders to include partner/spouses, others living in the household, and/or those with close relationships with individuals who are experiencing problems. Empowering individuals who use emerging technologies through participatory action research and knowledge translation/dissemination may lead to improvements in the quality of research and a greater impact on policy and practice. Also, we discuss benefits of industry self-regulation and collaboration on datasharing practices. We recommend approaches to promote global collaboration with a larger group of relevant stakeholders (including but not limited to individual consumers of technology, families, communities, treatment and welfare providers, researchers, industries, and governments) to address protection of vulnerable populations and reduce harms for users of rapidly advancing technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gambling is a popular leisure activity for older adults (55+), and existing research suggests that overall older adults are less prone to problem gambling compared to younger cohorts. People born after World War II are now beginning to reach retirement age. The purpose of this article was to explore age-related cohort differences between people born from 1943 to 1960 compared to those born from 1925 to 1942 in their attitudes and behaviours related to gambling. This study employs a large sample (2103) of older adults collected at gambling locations across Southern Ontario, Canada in 2013. Comparisons were made using Pearson's chi-squared tests for categorical variables and independent samples t-tests for continuous variables with logarithmic transformations for highly-skewed variables. Those of the 1943 to 1960 cohort showed significantly higher problem gambling scores and per visit spending, but lower numbers of visits per year. There was no discernible pattern between cohorts in terms of attitudes toward gambling. Assumptions of lower risk of problem gambling among older adults will have to be re-evaluated as the post-war generation becomes an ever greater proportion of older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]