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PHI Research Assesses Lifetime Prevalence of Secondhand Harms from Alcohol and Drugs

Research from PHI’s Alcohol Research Group and partners, published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, found that secondhand harms from others’ alcohol use were more prevalent than those from others’ use of any drug.

  • Miami's Community News
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“Data published last week in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs finds that adults are more than six times more likely to acknowledge having experienced secondhand harms because of someone else’s drinking than they are to report having faced similar harms as a result of other people’s cannabis use.

Researchers affiliated with the Alcohol Research Group and RTI International assessed the lifetime prevalence of secondhand harms from alcohol, cannabis, opioids, and other drugs in a nationally representative sample of 7,799 Americans aged 18 and older. Secondhand harms included family/marriage difficulties, traffic accidents, vandalism, physical harm, and financial difficulties.

Respondents were most likely (34.2 percent) to report having experienced secondhand harms from others’ use of alcohol. They were least likely (5.5 percent) to report secondhand harms from someone else’s use of cannabis.”

This study provided a first look at the national prevalence of secondhand harms from others’ use of alcohol, cannabis, opioids, and other drugs among U.S. adults... Secondhand harms from others’ alcohol use were substantially more prevalent than those from others’ use of any other drug. … Our estimates for secondhand drug harms were lower than anticipated given … the trend toward recreational cannabis legalization. Alcohol Research Group Study Authors, Public Health Institute

Click on the link below to read the full article.

Originally published by Miami's Community News


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