Addiction & Health
Volume:9 Issue: 3, Summer 2017

The increase of hope and quality of life (QOL) can play a significant role in improving the mental health of drug addicts. Accordingly, the present study aimed to determine the effectiveness of positive thinking skills training on hope and QOL of drug-dependent people.
The present study is a quasi-experimental research with pre- and post-test design with the control group. The study population consisted of all men dependent on drugs who visited addiction treatment centers in Tehran, Iran, in 2016. Thirty subjects were selected using cluster sampling and were randomly assigned to control and experimental groups. The results were analyzed using SPSS.
Findings: The mean scores of pre-test and post-test for hope were 31.67 ± 6.47 and 49.68 ± 10.69, for physical fitness were 17.01 ± 4.21 and 22.84 ± 4.98, for psychological health were 15.36 ± 3.45 and 20.98 ± 3.32, for social relations were 7.80 ± 2.34 and 10.96 ± 2.64, and for environmental health were 20.47 ± 4.36 and 27.50 ± 4.80, respectively, in experimental group (P It is recommended that addiction treatment centers teach positive thinking skills to drug-dependent people in order to increase their hope and QOL.

Besides physical problems, cigarette smoking is associated with a high prevalence of comorbid depression and anxiety symptoms. One of the reasons behind high post-cessation smoking lapse and relapse rates is inattentiveness to these symptoms during the process of cessation. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) on male smokers’ comorbid depression and anxiety symptoms and smoking cessation.
This two-group pre-test-post-test randomized controlled trial was done on a random sample of seventy male smokers. Participants were randomly and evenly allocated to an intervention and a control group. Patients in these groups received either acceptance or commitment therapy or routine psychological counseling services include cognitive behavior therapy, respectively. Study data were collected through a demographic questionnaire, the Structural Clinical Interview (SCI) for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-4th edition (DSM-IV) disorders, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and Micro Smokerlyzer carbon monoxide monitor.The SPSS software was employed to analyze the data.
Findings: After the intervention, depression and anxiety scores and smoking cessation rate in the intervention group were respectively lower and higher than the control group (P ACT can significantly improve comorbid depression and anxiety symptoms and smoking cessation rate. Thus, it can be used to simultaneously manage depression, anxiety, and cigarette smoking.

Alcohol consumption is a potential risk factor with acute and chronic health consequences and social impacts, which is more prominent among men. There is no precise statistics on the scope of alcohol consumption in Iran; however, there is some evidences showing an increasing trend, particularly among young generation. In order to evaluate the scope of this issue in Kerman, a large city in the south-east of Iran, this exploratory study was designed to approach a group of people having an experience of alcohol use.
Samples were recruited to the study using a snowball sampling. 200 eligible subjects were questioned about the type of alcohol consumed, frequency of use, and other factors associated with alcohol consumption. In order to maximize the validity of responses, data were collected through self-administered questionnaires.
Findings: The main alcoholic drinks consumed by individuals were the homemade distillates (46%), wine (22%), beer (14%), distilled spirits (11%), and medical alcohol (7%), respectively. The majority of individuals participating in the study (73%) used mostly homemade drinks; moreover, 63%, 26%, 9%, and 2% of subjects took monthly or less, two to four times a month, two to three times a week, and at least four times a week, respectively. Only 2% of the subjects were heavy consumers of alcoholic beverages.
Due to the lack of control over homemade alcoholic beverages, its high levels can be a huge potential risk. Furthermore, it seems that both factors of access and price to be very effective in the amount of alcoholics taken by individuals. Therefore, further studies in this area will help to reduce the harm caused by alcohol consumption.

Addiction brings about severe and profound physical, psychological and social damages such as divorce, crime, and unemployment. The present study was to investigate the effectiveness of transactional analysis (TA) therapy on addiction intensity of woman patients treated with methadone.
The research design was quasi-experimental with a pretest-posttest and a control group. The statistical population consisted of all the addicted women who referred to any drug rehabilitation center of Tehran, Iran, in 2016. They were selected using available sampling. Forty addicted patients were placed randomly in both the experimental and control groups. Addiction severity index (ASI) and demographic questionnaires were used. Group therapy using TA approach was executed on the experimental group for 10 sessions, each session for 2 hours (one session per week).
Findings: The results of covariance analysis after controlling pretest showed that the difference between test and control group was significant for three subscales of psychological, drug abuse and alcohol consumption status (P Based on these findings, it seems that group therapy using TA approach is effective in reducing addiction intensity of woman patients treated with methadone. Therefore, it can be concluded that TA group interventions account for 76% of the changes in psychological status, 43% of the changes in drug abuse status, and 49% of the changes in alcohol consumption status in woman patients under methadone treatment.

Impulsivity is one of the causes of relapse that can affect treatment outcomes. Studies have shown that addiction treatments can reduce impulsivity in drug-dependent individuals. Studies also have suggested that mindfulness is associated with impulsivity. However, no study has investigated the effectiveness of the mindfulness-based intervention on impulsivity in opioid-dependent individuals. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of mindfulness-based relapse prevention (MBRP) with treatment as usual (TAU) in terms of impulsivity and relapse for methadone-treated patients.
The present randomized controlled clinical trial was performed in Kashan, Iran, in 2015. The study population was opioid-dependent patients referred to Maintenance Treatment Centers. Seventy patients were selected by random sampling and were assigned in two groups (MBRP and TAU) randomly. The participants of two groups filled out Barratt impulsivity scale (BIS-11) as a pre-test and 8 weeks later as post-test and 2 months later as a follow-up. Both groups received methadone-therapy. The MBRP group received 8 sessions of group therapy, while the control group did not receive any group psychotherapy session. Finally, data from 60 patients were analyzed statistically.
Findings: The MBRP group had decreased impulsivity significantly (P This study showed that MBRP compared to TAU can decrease the mean impulsivity score in opioid-dependent and reduce relapse probability. These findings suggest that MBRP is useful for opioid-dependent individuals with high-level impulsivity, and relapse prevention.

Drug abuse is a severe and chronic disorder that leaves morbidity, disability and premature mortality in the society. The study of death due to substance abuse provides useful information for local, national and international administrators. Thus, by identifying the factors that have an impact on overdose-related mortality we can provide suitable intervention for vulnerable groups. The aim of this study was an investigation of mortality rate caused by consumption of narcotic and psychoactive substances in Iran.
In this cross-sectional study, demographic and epidemiological data about all people whose cause of death was substance abuse in March 2014 to February 2015 were collected from Legal Medicine Organization (LMO). Finally, the information that was extracted from two checklists was analyzed by descriptive statistics.
Findings: In this study, 2986 cases died from substances abuse were evaluated. Most deaths have befallen in unmarried young men with mean age of 36.9 ± 12.3, in the private locations. The mortality rate of drug abuse in the whole country was 38.4 per 1000000 population. The proportion of mortality was higher in Iranian nationality and in people who had a diploma and less education. History of overdose, suicide, hospitalization in a psychiatric hospital, staying in prison and substance abuse in the family were investigated in the study population.
The present study revealed that mortality rate from substance abuse is more among unmarried young men aged 30-39 years with low education level and also in the self-employed group. We suggest that policies should be taken to prevent these people from accessing and using the drug.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of the harm reduction group therapy based on Bandura's self-efficacy theory on risky behaviors of sex workers in Kerman, Iran.
A quasi-experimental two-group design (a random selection with pre-test and post-test) was used. A risky behaviors questionnaire was used to collect. The sample was selected among sex workers referring to drop-in centers in Kerman. Subjects were allocated to two groups and were randomly classified into two experimental and control groups. The sample group consisted of 56 subjects. The experimental design was carried out during 12 sessions, and the post-test was performed one month and two weeks after the completion of the sessions. The results were analyzed statistically.
Findings: By reducing harm based on Bandura's self-efficacy theory, the risky behaviors of the experimental group, including injection behavior, sexual behavior, violence, and damage to the skin, were significantly reduced in the pre-test compared to the post-test (P The harm reduction group therapy based on Bandura's self-efficacy theory can reduce the risky behaviors of sex workers.

Smoking is the largest preventable cause of death in the world, killing nearly 6 million people annually. This article is an investigation of measures implemented laws in the Iran to study the proposed strategy of control and reduce tobacco use based on the monitor, protect, offer, warn, enforce and raise (MPOWER) policy.
All laws approved by the Parliament along with the instructions on tobacco control prepared by the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade were collected and studied. Moreover, practical steps of Ministry of Health and other organizations were examined in this regard.
Findings: Iranian Parliament after the adoption of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) acts to create a comprehensive and systematic program for tobacco control legislation as a first step towards comprehensive national tobacco control and combat. In this law and its implementing guidelines and based on the strategy of MPOWER, specific implement is done to monitor tobacco use and prevention policies, protect people from tobacco smoke, offer help to quit tobacco use, warn about the dangers of tobacco, enforce bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship and raise taxes on tobacco. However, the full objectives of the legislation have not achieved yet.
According to Iran’s membership in the FCTC and executive producer of tobacco control laws and regulations, necessary infrastructure is ready for a serious fight with tobacco use. In Iran, in comparison with developed countries, there is a huge gap between ratified laws and performing of laws.