Alcohol use disorders are among the mental disorders with the lowest treatment rates. Increasing the treatment rates requires insight on the reasons why patients do not seek treatment. This study examined self-reported reasons for not seeking treatment and their association with alcohol use disorder severity among primary health care patients diagnosed with an alcohol use disorder. Alcohol use disorders, health service utilization, and reasons for not seeking treatment were assessed via interviews on regionally representative samples of primary care patients from 6 European countries (Italy, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Poland and Spain, total N = 9,098). Additionally, general practitioners had to fill in a questionnaire assessing their patients’ alcohol use and alcohol use disorders. A multinomial logistic regression was performed to investigate the association between reasons for not seeking treatment and alcohol use disorder severity. Of 1,008 patients diagnosed with an alcohol use disorder (via general practitioner or patient interview) in the past 12 months, the majority (N = 810) did not receive treatment and 251 of those gave a reason for not seeking treatment. The most frequent reason was ‘lack of problem awareness’ (55.3 % of those who responded), the second most common response was ‘stigma or shame’ (28.6 %), followed by ‘encounter barriers’ (22.8 %) and ‘cope alone’ (20.9 %). The results indicated lower probabilities of reporting ‘denial’ and higher probabilities to report ‘encounter barriers’ as alcohol use disorders severity increases. However, both trends were discontinued for patients with severe alcohol use disorders. Particularly at lower levels of alcohol use disorder severity, a lack of problem awareness prevents patients from seeking treatment. Routinely alcohol consumption monitoring in primary care practices could help primary and secondary prevention of alcohol use disorders and increase treatment coverage.

Background: We summarize research on the public stigmatization of persons with alcohol use disorder (AUD) in comparison with other mental health conditions and embed the results into a conceptual framework of the stigma process.Methods: We conducted a systematic search using Embase, MEDLINE, PubMed and PsycINFO (via Ovid), and Web of Science for population‐based studies on the public stigma in AUD and at least 1 other mental health condition, published between October 1, 2010 and December 20, 2020, thus including all studies published since the last systematic review on this topic. The study is registered with PROSPERO (registration number: CRD42020173054).Results: We identified 20,561 records, of which 24 met the inclusion criteria, reporting results from 16 unique studies conducted in 9 different countries. Compared to substance‐unrelated mental disorders, persons with AUD were generally less likely to be considered mentally ill, while they were perceived as being more dangerous and responsible for their condition. Further, the public desire for social distance was consistently higher for people with AUD. We found no consistent differences in the public stigma toward persons with AUD in comparison with other substance use disorders.Conclusion: The stigmatization of persons with AUD remains comparatively high and is distinct from that of other substance‐unrelated disorders.

Cannabis is one of the most widely used substances worldwide. Heavy use is associated with an increased risk of cannabis use disorders, psychotic disorders, acute cognitive impairment, traffic injuries, respiratory problems, worse pregnancy outcomes, and there are indications for genotoxic and epigenotoxic adverse effects. International regulation of medical and non-medical cannabis use is changing rapidly and substantially, highlighting the importance of robust public health monitoring. This study aimed to describe the trends of key public health indicators in European Union (27 member states + UK, Norway and Turkey) for the period 2010 to 2019, their public health implications, and to identify the steps required to improve current practice in monitoring of cannabis use and harm in Europe. Data on four key cannabis indicators (prevalence of use, prevalence of cannabis use disorder [CUD], treatment rates, and potency of cannabis products) in Europe were extracted from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction and the Global Burden of Disease study. For prevalence of use and CUD, the first and last available estimate in each country were compared. For treatment rates and cannabis potency, linear regression models were conducted. Between 2010 and 2019, past-month prevalence of cannabis use increased by 27% in European adults (from 3·1 to 3·9%), with most pronounced relative increases observed among 35-64 year-olds. In 13 out of 26 countries, over 20% of all past-month users reported high-risk use patterns. The rate of treatment entry for cannabis problems per 100,000 adults increased from 27·0 (95% CI: 17·2 to 36·8) to 35·1 (95% CI: 23·6 to 46·7) and has mostly plateaued since 2015. Modest increases in potency were found in herbal cannabis (from 6·9% to 10·6% THC) while median THC values tripled in cannabis resin (from 7·6% to 24·1% THC). In the past decade, cannabis use, treatment rates and potency levels have increased in Europe highlighting major concerns about the public health impact of cannabis use. Continued monitoring and efforts to improve data quality and reporting, including indicators of high-risk use and cannabis-attributable harm, will be necessary to evaluate the health impact of international changes in cannabis regulation. This study received no specific funding.

Background Alcohol-attributable costs to society are captured by cost-of-illness studies, however estimates are often not comparable, e.g. due to the omission of relevant cost components. In this contribution we (1) summarize the societal costs attributable to alcohol use, and (2) estimate the total costs under the assumption that all cost components are considered. Methods A systematic review and meta-analyses were conducted for studies reporting costs from alcohol consumption for the years 2000 and later, using the EMBASE and MEDLINE databases. Cost estimates were converted into 2019 international dollars (Int$) per adult and into percentage of gross domestic product (GDP). For each study, weights were calculated to correct for the exclusion of cost indicators. Results Of 1708 studies identified, 29 were included, and the mean costs of alcohol use amounted to 817.6 Int$ per adult (95% confidence interval [CI] 601.8–1033.4), equivalent to 1.5% of the GDP (95% CI 1.2–1.7%). Adjusting for omission of cost components, the economic costs of alcohol consumption were estimated to amount to 1306 Int$ per adult (95% CI 873–1738), or 2.6% (95% CI 2.0–3.1%) of the GDP. About one-third of costs (38.8%) were incurred through direct costs, while the majority of costs were due to losses in productivity (61.2%). Discussion The identified cost studies were mainly conducted in high-income settings, with high heterogeneity in the employed methodology. Accounting for some methodological variations, our findings demonstrate that alcohol use continues to incur a high level of cost to many societies. Registration PROSPERO #CRD42020139594.