Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research

CIHR program funding July 2026 - University of Victoria - University of Victoria More than $8.4 million awarded to UVic researchers through federal CIHR programs

“It's a pretty potentially dangerous combination, giving you the energy to do crazy, daft things,” Stockwell said, “and something that takes away the fear of the consequences.”

Is it safe to drink Red Bull and vodka? Dubious research tied to the company has shaped energy drink policy. The company paid scientists whose studies largely found that mixing energy drinks and alcohol isn’t harmful, contrary to most research.

CISUR Director Tim Naimi spoke with CBC P.E.I. about the province's new alcohol strategy.
Read more: https://bsky.app/profile/uviccisur.bsky.social/post/3mr3ulmyhps22

📝Applications for the Samit and Reshma Sharma Scholarship in Mental Health and Addiction are now open!📝
UVic Graduate students can apply by September 1: https://www.uvic.ca/graduatestudies/finances/search-funding/award-pages/samit-and-reshma-sharma-scholarship-in-mental-health-and-addiction.php

📝New study strengthens alcohol's link to deadly pancreatic cancer📝

Read on for details on a CISUR-led study, published in the International Journal of Alcohol and Drug Research, that found a dose-response relationship between drinking and pancreatic cancer, a particularly deadly form of the disease. Read the news release: https://news.uvic.ca/media-release/alcohols-link-to-deadly-pancreatic-cancer/

Does alcohol increase the risk of pancreatic cancer?

The World Health Organization (WHO) currently links seven types of cancer including breast, colon, and mouth cancer with alcohol consumption. Pancreatic cancer is currently not on that list.

However, a new study out of UVic’s Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research (CISUR) contributes to mounting evidence of alcohol’s link to this particularly deadly form of cancer. After controlling for “former drinker” bias in an analysis of multiple previous studies, researchers found that drinking more than 24 grams of alcohol per day (a little under two standard Canadian drinks) was associated with a 10-30 percent increase in risk of developing pancreatic cancer.

💬 “After rigorously analyzing the existing evidence, we strongly believe it’s time to add pancreatic cancer to the list of alcohol-related cancers.” - Tim Naimi, CISUR director and an author of the study.

🔗 Learn more: https://ow.ly/CX6850ZcmYW

📸 Photo: Tim Naimi, Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research (CISUR) director.

Coming up next week!

Join us June 17 to learn about Canada’s healthcare impacts and costs related to substance use!

We’ll be releasing the latest Canadian Substance Use Costs and Harms (CSUCH) – Healthcare report very soon. Join us for a webinar exploring the data and discover how it can help policymakers, healthcare system planners and public health professionals make more informed decisions to reduce harms and improve responses.

Register now! https://ow.ly/E8hi50Z9134

A new practice brief from CISUR/CoLab: "Policing, Overdose Prevention Services and Drug Policy."https://www.uvic.ca/research/centres/cisur/assets/docs/colab/policing-harm-reduction-services_brief.pdf

Read on to learn what provincial guidelines say about policing at overdose prevention services, and what the evidence says about how police presence can impact these services.

Alcohol Intake and Health Study: No Protective Effect at Low Levels, With Mortality Increasing to 1 in 25 at 14 Drinks Per Week: Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs: Vol 87, No 4 Objective: The purpose of this study was to estimate the lifetime risk of alcohol-attributable mortality and morbidity in the United States based on a person’s average lifetime weekly alcohol consumption to assess the impact of per-occasion alcohol consumption on health. Method: Lifetime risks wer...

When Aaron Bailey was working on his master's thesis on the history of alcohol policy in Vancouver's downtown eastside, he encountered several references to involuntary treatment in the archives.

Now, he will be using his Pierre Elliot Trudeau Foundation scholarship to explore the history of involuntary substance-use treatment in BC, alongside people who use drugs.

“Folks who use drugs are doing amazing advocacy in multiple regions of British Columbia. Coincidentally, there are also extremely valuable archives in multiple regions of British Columbia, so I'm extremely excited also for the Foundation's support to allow my work to be province-wide."

Read more: https://www.uvic.ca/health/stories/health/trudeau-scholar-examines-involuntary-treatment.php

Photo by Jackie Dives.