2. Virtual Course on Public Health Policy for Alcohol and Other Substance Use
Welcome to the Virtual Course on Public Health Policy for Alcohol and Other Substance Misuse.
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3. Psychoactive substances, their use and the problems they engender have been familiar fixtures in human societies since the beginning of recorded history. This virtual course on alcohol and other substance-use policy reviews recent advances in epidemiology and addiction science in two areas: alcohol policy and drug policy. Using a public health-oriented approach, the modules devoted to each topic area review the epidemiology of substance use and substance-related diseases and disorders; the role of psychoactive substances in health and illness; the role of different actors (professionals, stakeholders, civil society) in the development, implementation and evaluation of public policies; and the effectiveness of different strategies and interventions that can serve as a scientific basis for alcohol and drug policies in the Americas.
INTRODUCTION
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4. Acknowledgements
The Virtual Course on Public Health Policy for Alcohol and Other Substance Use was made possible by the contributions of…
Thomas Babor, Maristela Monteiro, Blake Andrea Smith, Telmo Ronzani, Michaela Bitarello, Iliana Garcia, Jurgen Rehm, Robert Mann and Benedickt Fisher.
Financial support was received through a grant from Health Canada
The Virtual Course on Public Health Policy for Alcohol and Other Substance Use was made possible by the contributions of … Thomas Babor, Maristela Monteiro, Blake Smith, Janice Vendetti, Bonnie Mcree, Telmo Ronzani, Michaela Bitarello, Iliana Garcia, Jurgen Rehm, Robert Mann, Benedickt Fisher, Luis Alfonzo, and Charles Parry.
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5. Course Outline
Part One- Alcohol Policy and Public Health Part Two- Drug Policy and Public Health
This course is divided into 2 parts. Part one is related to alcohol policy and Part two to drug policy. Each part consists of several modules. At the end of each module there is a review of knowledge, as well as a final review and assignment. A certificate is given for successful completion of each part.
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6. PART ONE: ALCOHOL POLICY
Course Outline
Module 1: Alcohol and Society
Module 2: Epidemiology of Alcohol Use
Module 3: Health Effects of Alcohol
Module 4: The Alcohol Industry
Module 5: The Policy Arena
Module 6: Controlling the Affordability of Alcohol
Module 7: Regulating the Physical Availability of Alcohol
Module 8: Modifying the Drinking Context
Module 9: Drinking and Driving Countermeasures
Module 10: Restrictions of Alcohol Marketing
Module 11: Education and Persuasion Strategies
Module 12: Treatment & Early Intervention Services
Module 13: The Global Alcohol Strategy and Regional Plan of Action
Module 14: Summary and Conclusions
From a public health perspective, alcohol plays a major role in the causation of disability, disease and death on a global scale. With the increasing globalization of alcohol production, trade, and marketing, alcohol control policy needs to be understood not only from a national perspective but also from an international purview. The same is true of alcohol science, particularly policy research. In the past 50 years considerable progress has been made in the scientific understanding of the relationship between alcohol and health. Not only are the causal mechanisms and determinants for alcohol’s health effects better known today, we also have a much better scientific understanding of which policies advance public health and which do not. Ideally, the cumulative research evidence should provide a scientific basis for public debate and governmental policymaking. The purpose of this, the first part of the Virtual Course, is to describe the scientific basis for alcohol policy from a public health perspective.
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7. PART TWO: DRUG POLICY Course Outline
Module 1: Drugs and their Effects on the Brain, Body and Behavior
Module 2: Epidemiology of Drug Use
Module 3: Drug-Related Harms, Vulnerability and Burden of Disease
Module 4: Introduction to Drug Policy
Module 5: Demand Reduction – Preventing Drug Use
Module 6: Demand Reduction – Treatment, Harm Reduction and Rehabilitation
Module 7: Supply Control
Module 8: Criminalization and De-Criminalization of Drug Use
Module 9: Prescription Regimes
Module 10: Toward a Public Health Approach to Drug Control Policy – Rationale and Resources
Module 11: Reducing Harms From Substance Use
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