Alcohol and the pleasure of intoxication with James Nicholls

In this episode, Dr Elle Wadsworth talks to Dr James Nicholls from the University of Stirling about an opinion paper he co-authored with Professor Geoffrey Hunt on whether pleasure should receive more attention in public health-oriented alcohol research. They discuss what alcohol researchers and public health professionals can learn about ‘intoxication and pleasure’ from drug research, the different ways that the pleasure of drinking is made more socially acceptable, and what more research on pleasure could do for policy and practice.

· Why public health research has historically not explored the pleasure of alcohol intoxication [01:04]

· Why this is an important topic to raise with the public health research community now [02:58]

· Clarifying what type of pleasure is most neglected [04:55]

· Measuring intoxication as pleasure and recognising the limitations of our methodologies [06:50]

· Three broad reasons why additional attention should be paid to intoxication as pleasure [08:46]

· What learning more about the pleasure of intoxication means for policy and practice [12:06]

· The anticipation of publishing an opinion piece for debate [14:28]

About Elle Wadsworth: Elle is an academic fellow with the Society for the Study of Addiction. She is based at the University of Bath with the Addiction and Mental Health Group and her research interests include drug policy, cannabis legalisation, and public health. Elle is also a senior analyst at RAND Europe, working on projects focusing on national and international drug policies. She holds a PhD in public health and health systems from the University of Waterloo (Canada), an MSc in addiction studies from King's College London (UK), and a BSc in chemistry from the University of Bristol (UK).

About James Nicholls: James is a Senior Lecturer in Public Health at the University of Stirling, specialising in alcohol and drug policy research. Recent projects include leading a needs assessment for a safer drug consumption facility in Edinburgh, and a statutory review of the alcohol licensing system in Northern Ireland. He has also published recently on moral philosophy and drug policy advocacy. James was previously Director of Research and Policy at Alcohol Change UK, and Chief Executive Officer of Transform Drug Policy Foundation. James has no conflicts of interest to declare.

Original article: Taking pleasure seriously: Should alcohol research say more about fun? https://doi.org/10.1111/add.16747

The opinions expressed in this podcast reflect the views of the host and interviewees and do not necessarily represent the opinions or official positions of the SSA or Addiction journal. The SSA does not endorse or guarantee the accuracy of the information in external sources or links and accepts no responsibility or liability for any consequences arising from the use of such information.

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