Alcohol accounted for an estimated 3668 deaths and 95 917 hospital separations in Australia in the 1996–97 financial year.1 Alcohol-related deaths in Australia declined from 460 per million population in 1990 to 369 per million in 1997.2 The net economic cost of alcohol to the economy in 1992 was estimated to be $4.5 billion (this estimate includes increased healthcare expenditure and costs to industry from impaired productivity, increased accidents and absenteeism).3
The full article is accessible to AMA members and paid subscribers. Login to read more or purchase a subscription now.
Please note: institutional and Research4Life access to the MJA is now provided through Wiley Online Library.
- 1 St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, NSW.
- 2 Department of Drug and Alcohol Studies, St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, VIC.
Correspondence: awodak@stvincents.com.au
- 1. Higgins K, Cooper-Stanbury M, Williams P. Statistics on drug use in Australia 1998. Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2000: (AIHW Cat. No. PHE 16; Drug Statistics Series). <http://www.aihw.gov.au/publications/index.cfm/title/5460>.
- 2. Chikitzhs T, Jonas H, Heale P, et al. Alcohol caused deaths and hospitalisations in Australia, 1990-1997. National Alcohol Indicators Bulletin No. 1, December 1999.
- 3. Collins D, Lapsley H. The social costs of drug abuse in Australia in 1988 and 1992. Canberra: AGPS, 1996.
- 4. Sobell MB, Sobell LC. Controlled drinking research. Addiction 1994; 89: 483-484.
- 5. McLellan AT, Lewis DC, O'Brien CP, Kleber HD. Drug dependence, a chronic medical illness: implications for treatment, insurance, and outcomes evaluation. JAMA 2000; 284: 1689-1695.
- 6. Holder HD, Cisler RA, Longabaugh R, et al. Alcoholism treatment and medical care costs from Project MATCH. Addiction 2000; 95: 999-1013.
- 7. Hunt WA. Neuroscience research: how has it contributed to our understanding of alcohol abuse and alcoholism? A review. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 1993; 17: 1055-1065.
- 8. Littleton J. Acamprosate in alcohol dependence: how does it work? Addiction 1995; 90: 1179-1188.
- 9. Herz A. Endogenous opioid systems and alcohol addiction. Psychopharmacology 1997; 129: 99-111.
- 10. Rubio G, Jimenez-Arriero MA, Ponce G, Palomo T. Naltrexone versus acamprosate: one year follow-up of alcohol dependence treatment. Alcohol Alcohol 2001; 36: 419-425.
- 11. Mason BJ, Ownby RL. Acamprosate for the treatment of alcohol dependence: a review of double-blind, placebo-controlled trials. CNS Spectrums 2000; 5: 58-69.
- 12. Mason BJ. Treatment of alcohol-dependent outpatients with acamprosate: a clinical review. J Clin Psychiatr 2001; 62 Suppl 20: 42-48.
- 13. Annemans L, Vanoverbeke N, Tecco J, D'Hooghe D. Economic evaluation of campral (acamprosate) compared with placebo in maintaining abstinence in alcohol-dependent patients. Eur Addict Res 2000; 6: 71-78.
- 14. National Health and Medical Research Council. A guide to the development, implementation and evaluation of clinical practice guidelines. Canberra: NHMRC, AusInfo, 1999.
- 15. Chick J, Howlett H, Morgan MY, Ritson B. United Kingdom Multicentre Acamprosate Study (UKMAS): a 6-month prospective study of acamprosate versus placebo in preventing relapse after withdrawal from alcohol. Alcohol Alcohol 2000; 35: 176-187.
- 16. Streeton C, Whelan G. Naltrexone, a relapse prevention maintenance treatment of alcohol dependence: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Alcohol Alcohol 2001; 36: 544-552.
- 17. Srisurapanont M, Jarusuraisin N. Opioid antagonists for alcohol dependence (Cochrane Review). In: The Cochrane Library, Issue 1, 2002. Oxford: Update Software.
- 18. Krystal JH, Cramer JA, Krol WF, et al. Veterans Affairs Naltrexone Cooperative Study 425 Group. Naltrexone in the treatment of alcohol dependence. N Engl J Med 2001; 345: 1734-1739.
- 19. Chick J, Anton R, Checinski K, et al. A multicentre, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of naltrexone in the treatment of alcohol dependence or abuse. Alcohol Alcohol 2000; 35: 587-593.
- 20. Morris PL, Hopwood M, Whelan G, et al. Naltrexone for alcohol dependence: a randomized controlled trial. Addiction 2001; 96: 1565-1573.
- 21. Latt NC, Jurd S, Houseman J, Wutzke SE. Naltrexone in alcohol dependence: a randomised controlled trial of effectiveness in a standard clinical setting. Med J Aust 2002; 176: 530-534. <eMJA full text>
- 22. Kranzler HR, Van Kirk J. Efficacy of naltrexone and acamprosate for alcoholism treatment: a meta-analysis. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2001; 25: 1335-1341.
- 23. Melchior JA, Hoes JM. Relapse prevention in alcoholics: a review of acamprosate versus naltrexone. Clin Drug Invest 1999; 17: 211-216.
- 24. Garbutt J, West S, Carey T, et al. Pharmacological treatment of alcohol dependence: a review of the evidence. JAMA 1999; 281: 1318-1325.
- 25. Fuller RK, Gordis E. Naltrexone treatment for alcohol dependence. N Engl J Med 2001; 345: 1770-1771.
- 26. Mason BJ, Salvato FR, Williams LD, et al. A double-blind, placebo-controlled study of oral nalmefene for alcohol dependence. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1999; 56: 719-724.
- 27. Johnson BA, Roache JD, Javors MA , et al. Ondansetron for reduction of drinking among biologically predisposed alcoholic patients: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA 2000; 284: 963-971.
Online responses are no longer available. Please refer to our instructions for authors page for more information.