Journal profile · SUBSTANCE ABUSE
Drug and Alcohol Review
ISSN 0959-5236 · eISSN 1465-3362 · Wiley-Blackwell
Drug and Alcohol Review: CAS Zone 3 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.83; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,430; median 202 days to acceptance (101 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 37% (journal website); 213 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Drug and Alcohol Review is published by Wiley-Blackwell and is in Zone 3 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes, Opioid Use Disorder Treatment and HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk, together about 48.9% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Drug and Alcohol Review is an international meeting ground for the views, expertise and experience of all those involved in studying alcohol, tobacco and drug problems. Contributors to the journal examine and report on alcohol and drug use from a wide range of clinical, epidemiological, psychological and sociological perspectives. Drug and Alcohol Review particularly encourages the submission of papers which have a harm reduction perspective. However, all philosophies will find a place in the journal: the principal criterion for publication of papers is their quality.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): SUBSTANCE ABUSE
Editor-in-chief Paul DietzePublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named Australia 54, United Kingdom 5, United States 4, Canada 3, New Zealand 2 (69 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Substance Abuse Treatment and OutcomesMedicine29.1%
- Opioid Use Disorder TreatmentMedicine10.9%
- HIV, Drug Use, Sexual RiskMedicine8.9%
- Alcohol Consumption and Health EffectsMedicine8.2%
- Smoking Behavior and CessationMedicine4.5%
- Forensic Toxicology and Drug AnalysisPharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics4.4%
- Homelessness and Social IssuesHealth Professions4.1%
- Cannabis and Cannabinoid ResearchMedicine3.8%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Substance Abuse | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Substance Abuse | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Substance Abuse | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of ScienceMEDLINEPubMedEmbasePsycINFOCAB AbstractsCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: EBSCO, ProQuest
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 2.83LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 2.9Publisher website ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.9Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 5Publisher website ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 5Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.03LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.09LetPub ·
- h-index
- 113OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 2,008OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.47OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 13.8%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 75.76%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 172LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 187Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 769,108Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 4,417 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 179 | 153 | 62 |
| 2025 | 213 | 168 | 488 |
| 2024 | 200 | 170 | 913 |
| 2023 | 219 | 198 | 1,518 |
| 2022 | 174 | 115 | 1,712 |
| 2021 | 206 | 107 | 3,003 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
202 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 138 days – 259 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 18 days (102 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 223 days
- Sample
- 101 articles with submission and acceptance dates (418 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 37%Publisher website ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 37%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 28 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 28 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 190 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 20 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Single-anonymous peer reviewPublisher website · model-extracted
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 4,430 / EUR 3,730 / GBP 2,970 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare3 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Reference style
- Vancouver
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted5, with length limits
- commentaryaim to have no more than 40 references. Commentaries and For Discussion – evidence-based opinion pieces involving areas of broad interest (guideline of 1500 wor…main text ≤ 1,500 words
- editorialWord, Table/Figure and Reference LimitsOur editorial approach is centred on accuracy and effective communication, and thus we encourage authors to take particul…Length not stated
- letters to the editorOffice before submitting this material. Letters to the Editor – are welcomed and will be summarily reviewed (guideline of 1000 words). Critiques – reviews of bo…main text ≤ 1,000 words
- narrative reviewith a brief proposal for consideration. Narrative reviews (guideline of 5000 words). Narrative reviews should summarise literature comprehensimain text ≤ 5,000 words
- reviewditional guidance for specific types of reviews: Systematic reviews of quantitative data with or without meta-analysis (guideline of 5000 words). Systematic rev…main text ≤ 5,000 words
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Data availability, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Preprints, Trial registration / reporting guidelines
- AI use Artificial Intelligence Generated Content
In accordance with COPE’s position statement on AI tools, Artificial Intelligence Generated Content (AIGC) tools – such as ChatGPT and others based on large language models (LLM) – cannot fulfill the role of, nor be listed as, an author of an article.If an author has used this kind of tool to develop any portion of a manuscript, its use must be described, transparently and in detail, in the Method…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Authorship
All listed authors should have contributed to the manuscript substantially and have agreed to the final submitted version. Review Wiley’s Best Practice Guidelines on Research Integrity and Publishing Ethics and scroll down for a description of authorship criteria. Further information is also available under ‘Author contribution statement’ in the Title Page section.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data Sharing and Data Accessibility
The journal encourages authors to share the data and other artefacts supporting the results in the paper by archiving it in an appropriate public repository. Authors should include a data accessibility statement at the end of their paper, including a link to the repository they have used, in order that this statement can be published alongside their paper.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Publication Ethics
International Society of Addiction Journal Editors (ISAJE) Ethical Practice Guidelines provide guidance to authors ‘regarding ethical and procedural issues that affect the integrity of scientific publishing’. We ask that authors read and observe these guidelines, especially in regard to study design and ethical approval, consent, authorship, conflict of interests, plagiarism and redundant publicat…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Reproduction of Copyright Material
If excerpts from copyrighted works owned by third parties are included (e.g. figures), credit must be shown in the contribution. It is the corresponding author’s responsibility to also obtain written permission for reproduction from the copyright owners. For more information visit Wiley’s Copyright Terms & Conditions FAQ.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access 7. COPYRIGHT, LICENSING AND OPEN ACCESS
Authors may choose to publish under the terms of the journal’s standard copyright transfer agreement at no charge, or pay to have the paper published under open access terms made available via Wiley Open Access.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprint Policy
This journal accepts articles previously published on preprint servers. You will be asked to update any pre-publication versions with a link to the final published article. You may also post the submitted version of a manuscript to a preprint server at any time. You can review Preprints Policy | Wiley to learn more.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Trial registration / reporting guidelines Reporting Guidelines
RCTs: The CONSORT Statement provides evidence-based recommendations for reporting RCTs. All RCTs must follow the CONSORT Guidelines including the checklist and flow diagram. Reviews: The PRISMA Statement encourages transparent reporting of meta-analyses and systematic reviews. Where appropriate, the PRISMA checklist and flow diagram should be included. To view the PRISMA Statement and Guidelines c…
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell
- ISSN
- 0959-5236
- Electronic ISSN
- 1465-3362
- Society / sponsor
- Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Drug and Alcohol Review
What CAS zone is Drug and Alcohol Review in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Drug and Alcohol Review is in Zone 3 of Medicine, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Substance Abuse. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Drug and Alcohol Review?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.83; CiteScore 5, h-index 113.
How long does peer review take at Drug and Alcohol Review?
Based on the dates recorded on 101 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 202 days (interquartile range 138–259 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 37% (2025). Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Drug and Alcohol Review?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Reference style: Vancouver; Cover letter: Required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Drug and Alcohol Review based?
Of the 69 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Australia (54), United Kingdom (5) and United States (4). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Drug and Alcohol Review?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Drug and Alcohol Review is indexed in SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists Web of Science, MEDLINE, PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, CAB Abstracts and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Drug and Alcohol Review open access, and what is the APC?
Drug and Alcohol Review is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,430.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .