📢 Do you want to help shape our future research? Join our Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) contact list and have your voice heard. We will contact you when opportunities arise and your time would be reimbursed. 👉 Sign up here: bit.ly/4raTve3 (or scan the QR code below)

Smartwatches are changing health research ⌚📊. Our new blog explores how wearable technology can detect behaviour in real time and deliver just-in-time support. Out today: targ.blogs.bristol.ac.uk @c-stone.bsky.social

Check out a new publication that TARG member @clairevgarnett.bsky.social contributed to, led by @sharoncox.bsky.social on exploring differences in gradual versus abrupt smoking cessation quit attempts and success by social grade: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

TARG has been at Cumberland Lodge for the last 3 days for our annual academic retreat. It's been a great few days discussing future plans and new grant ideas, as well as some competitive quizzing (thanks to Angela Attwood!) and games.

TARG researchers @oliviamaynard.bsky.social, Angela Attwood, @c-stone.bsky.social, Oliver Bastiani and @clairevgarnett.bsky.social were in Newcastle last week for the Society for the Study of Addiction annual conference.

Great news that the Society for the Study of Addiction @addiction-ssa.org are offering fully-funded PhD studentships and fellowships. Get in contact if you're interested in applying and working with us in TARG: www.addiction-ssa.org/news/advance...

We now have a new logo and new group name! We're still TARG, but this now stands for the Translational and Applied Research Group. This is to reflect the broader scope of our group since TARG was established in 2007.

The @addiction-ssa.org will soon begin advertising new PhD and Fellowship opportunities. The SSA’s Early Career Research Network has organised two webinars to support and provide tips for potential applicants... www.addiction-ssa.org/news/webinar...

🔊Did you read our latest blog yet? It’s about what happened after one of our field trials introducing a draught non-alcoholic beer in venues around the Bristol area. See quotes from venues and read the blog here: bit.ly/4mzFi7C

TARG researcher @c-stone.bsky.social interviewed by BBC Radio Coventry and Warwickshire for an item about alcohol units. Listen here: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

🔊Blog out today: How a simple swap led to lasting changes in pub and bars across South West England - What happened after the alcohol-free draught beer introduction study? bit.ly/4mzFi7C

Looking for a MRC-funded PhD opportunity with TARG? We have four projects being advertised with @gw4biomeddtp.bsky.social (who have up to 17 4-year PhD studentships available for home & international students). Applications close on 20 Oct 2025 at 5pm: gw4biomed.ac.uk

New paper! We used focus groups and arts-based methods to explore whether people ‘other’ when making judgements about harmful drinking and the drinking contexts and features of drinking contexts perceived as being indicative of harmful drinking. bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Read the full research paper by Alice Porter, Elin Cawley, @laura-ann-chapman.bsky.social, Charlotte Crisp, Ruth Wadman, Sally Barber, Ian Penton-Voak, Angela Attwood, Russ Jago and Helen Bould in @bmj.com Open: bit.ly/4nUUuhd

🏆Top researchers have joined @teamgbofficial.bsky.social hockey player and #SportsInclusivity trailblazer Tess Howard to help teenage girls feel more comfortable in their school PE uniforms – and own bodies bristolbrc.nihr.ac.uk/university-e... #PhysicalActivity #PEkit #InclusiveSportswear

Check out a new publication by TARG members @jasminekhouja.bsky.social and Benji Woolf that came out yesterday, exploring the impact of caffeine on sleep using Mendelian randomisation: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

New blog post by @holla-adam.bsky.social and Lucille Seppi on taking care in stigma reduction... www.antistigmanetwork.org.uk/blog/taking-...

Some TARG members contributed to a new study led by ‪‪@paniblanca.bsky.social investigating how public risk perceptions of nine hazards are interlinked and how these connections change with recent events @jasminekhouja.bsky.social www.cell.com/cell-reports...

TARG’s @laura-ann-chapman.bsky.social recently gave a brilliant interview on the Bodywhys podcast on her research on the experiences and support needs of mothers with eating disorders - well worth a listen! open.spotify.com/episode/0htT...

Looking for people aged 18-30 in the UK to take part in research about attitudes towards people who use drugs. For more information, and to sign up please see here: bristolexppsych.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

Some nice coverage of our new study from the BBC here www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

We've got another new study out. This one uses new modelling to estimate how two alternative approaches to increasing the uptake of the Drink Less app (a mass media campaign and promotion through primary care) might affect alcohol consumption, health and health inequalities in the longer term

TARG researchers have been working with teenagers in South West England to co-create a series of videos that provide young people with information about vaping and how to stop vaping. Check them out here: www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...

Read some exciting news about StopWatch and its recent media success :

A lovely way to end the year with a 3-day research group retreat to Cumberland Lodge! Alongside the work part of things, there was lots of walks, mushroom hunting, games and karaoke!

Dr Jasmine Khouja outlines findings of an e-cigarette policy decision aid. On balance, banning flavours is likely to have a negative overall impact on public health. Same for banning disposables. #EcigSummit @jasminekhouja.bsky.social

Great to see this published the first of the outputs from the iHOST Project. Great collaborative work with colleagues across the UK incl. @jscottuob.bsky.social @niamhrelease.bsky.social @danlewer.bsky.social

Some members of our group have been at the SSA conference in Newcastle this week presenting their work.

Hello Bluesky! 👋 We're the Tobacco and Alcohol Research Group at the University of Bristol. We carry out research into the psychological and biological factors underlying health behaviours. Follow us for updates on our work.