New Determinants of Addictions’ Creation and Development in Changed Social Conditions

EDITORIAL

Dear readers,

This issue of the journal Addictology offers you many interesting articles on addiction, while each article’s research area is very specific. Authors examine various aspects of addiction in connection with marketing processes and media communications, community treatment. The research also focuses on demographic characteristics, examination of behavioural changes, and also preferences of selected communities. Wide range of research themes in this journal’s issue proves a possible solution of addiction in different public and social spheres. However, there is an evident need for a multidisciplinary approach in the published articles. It is also important to examine a quality of educational processes except of the target groups of addicts. Current pandemic crisis and its destructive impact on economy, and also on societal development and globalisation processes show that an examination of determinants of population addictions will be more difficult in the future. High quality data systems, which would be created from high quality primary research and comparative analyses, will be necessary for their examination. However, insufficient sharing of research results and their transfer into policies, action plans, prevention programs represent an ongoing issue. At present, the most active and the fastest way of communication of research findings and their application in practice is dissemination of national, and also international research results via scientific journals. The results of research studies in the scientific journals may help to identify research level of a particular country, innovation rate, and also insufficient government support in research areas. COVID-19 pandemic points to considerable social changes in countries, and also to a sensitivity in society to resolve acute health and economic topics, polarisation rate in society, and political stability index. Social isolation has been a new life experience for a majority of countries. As time has passed by and health and social situation have worsened, people have feared of further development of entire situation, possible impact on economy, and their own living. These factors have a strong influence on changes of population ‘s addictive behaviour, in- creasing rate of mental illnesses, especially depressions, in- crease of domestic violence, etc. Consequently, research teams may examine new topics, such as examination of changes in addictive behaviour of population in new social and public conditions, research of a stability of changes in addictive behaviour, their development and impact on a population.

Published research studies in this journal’s issue bring many new perspectives on research. Authors of the first study focused on the following topic: Biographic Burden and Initiation into the Use of Amphetamine-Type Stimulants. Authors emphasise a long tradition of amphetamine use in the Czech Republic. However, less is known about the circumstances of initiation into its use. Authors refer to an existence of differences between groups of users and their life stories. This study provides many interest- ing findings and reasons for subsequent research in this field. Tobacco industry uses various forms of marketing and media communications to support selling its tobacco products even

there is a continuous pressure of government institutions on elimination of addictions. Authors of the second study analyse marketing processes and media communications of tobacco industry that has had to cope with menthol cigarette ban in the Czech Republic since 2020. Authors provide interesting findings in the area of marketing campaigns of tobacco industry. Authors of the third study refer to a significant community treatment and its availability for various groups of population. In the study, there are examined those factors which influence availability of community treatment in relation to examined determinants and profiles of user. The form of obtaining user’s profile may significantly impact a content of this profile. Subsequently, this content may have an impact on access to treatment or support programs for addicts. As it was already mentioned, the COVID-19 pandemic has also impacted addictive behaviour of population. Authors of next study examined Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Behaviour and Preference Changes in Relation to Selected Anabolic Androgenic Substances and Steroids. Authors provide interesting findings: the most common reason for the change in behaviour and in preferences associated with selected anabolic androgens and steroids before and after the COVID-19 pandemic was a rapid muscle mass growth and an increase in muscle strength. Next form of addiction is presented in the study which focuses on prevalence of obesity in the Czech Republic. Authors critically point to the highest prevalence levels of obesity in the Czech Republic in comparison to other European and world countries. Authors recommend to use proven methods, suitable even for the Czech environment, when researching food addiction. Education in addictology of students of general medicine is a very significant research area. Study Protocol of a Pilot Research Study in the Czech and Slovak Republics clarifies reason, aims and progress of important re- search in both countries. Its results should improve processes of medical education, and also increase of physicians’ competencies in the area of addiction. Similarly, it will support international cooperation in the area of education.

As the above-mentioned research topics and research results presented by authors prove, addiction will always have multiple dimensions for research and its solution will require more difficult methodology, and knowledge in the given area. More complex social situation caused by continuous pandemic crisis opens a new unknown space for research and for discovery of new determinants of creation and development of addiction. Research cooperation of national and international research teams and its results will have a significant place in the process of solving addiction problem, and these teams should have stronger institutional and government support.