Journal profile · Psychiatry
Substance Use & Misuse
ISSN 1082-6084 · eISSN 1532-2491 · Informa Healthcare · UNITED STATES · Monthly · Founded 1996
Substance Use & Misuse: CAS Zone 4 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.72; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,290; review about 65 days (first decision after review, publisher); community-reported acceptance: easy; 344 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE, SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Substance Use & Misuse is published by Informa Healthcare and is in Zone 4 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 43.6% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
For over 50 years, Substance Use & Misuse (formerly The International Journal of the Addictions) has provided a unique international multidisciplinary venue for the exchange of original research, theories, policy analyses, and unresolved issues concerning substance use and misuse (licit and illicit drugs, alcohol, nicotine, and eating disorders). Guest editors for special issues devoted to single topics of current concern are invited. Topics covered include: Clinical trials and clinical research (treatment and prevention of substance misuse and related infectious diseases) Epidemiology of substance misuse and related infectious diseases Social pharmacology Meta-analyses and systematic reviews Translation of scientific findings to real world clinical and other settings Adolescent and student-focused research State of the art quantitative and qualitative research Policy analyses Negative results and intervention failures that are instructive Validity studies of instruments, scales, and tests that are generalizable Critiques and essays on unresolved issues Authors can also choose to publish gold open access in this journal. Read the Instructions for Authors for more information on how to submit your article.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Psychiatry
Editor-in-chief Jennifer B. UngerPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 9, United Kingdom 1 (10 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Substance Abuse Treatment and OutcomesMedicine26.7%
- Opioid Use Disorder TreatmentMedicine8.5%
- HIV, Drug Use, Sexual RiskMedicine8.4%
- Smoking Behavior and CessationMedicine7.4%
- Homelessness and Social IssuesHealth Professions5.3%
- Cannabis and Cannabinoid ResearchMedicine5.2%
- Behavioral Health and InterventionsPsychology4.1%
- Alcohol Consumption and Health EffectsMedicine3.9%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Psychiatry | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Psychology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Substance Abuse | Zone 4 |
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 4 |
| Minor | Psychiatry | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Psychology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Psychiatry | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Psychology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Substance Abuse | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- CiteScore Q2 · 2025
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
SCIESSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
MEDLINEPubMedEmbaseCurrent ContentsPublisher website
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
- 1.72LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.7Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 2.9LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 2.9Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.69LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.69Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.72LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 0.72Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 71LetPub ·
- h-index
- 114OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 2,882OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.34OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 11.8%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 6.87%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 330LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 389,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 5,878 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 302 | 84 | 33 |
| 2025 | 344 | 143 | 397 |
| 2024 | 240 | 128 | 756 |
| 2023 | 265 | 144 | 1,547 |
| 2022 | 227 | 107 | 2,171 |
| 2021 | 284 | 116 | 3,100 |
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
Publisher-reported review time from the journal's website
65 daysfirst decision after review · community reports 4–8 weeks
The publisher's own definition applies; dates from this journal's articles in the last 24 months are not available yet, so the publisher's figure is used.
Figures by source
- Average review time (community reports)
- 4–8 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 45%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 24 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 65 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 17 daysPublisher website ·
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher website | USD 3,290 | — | — |
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)
Article types accepted2
- original researchOriginal ResearchLength not stated
- reviewReviewLength not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access
- Open access Open access
Substance Use & Misuse is a hybrid open access journal that is part of the Taylor & Francis Open Select publishing program, giving you the option to publish open access. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research. Why choose open access? Increase the discoverability and …
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
- Informa Healthcare
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Founded
- 1996
- ISSN
- 1082-6084
- Electronic ISSN
- 1532-2491
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 61, Issue 11 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Substance Use & Misuse
What CAS zone is Substance Use & Misuse in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Substance Use & Misuse is in Zone 4 of Medicine, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Psychiatry / Psychology / 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 Substance Use & Misuse?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.72; CiteScore 2.9, h-index 114.
How long does peer review take at Substance Use & Misuse?
The publisher reports about 65 days (first decision after review); authors report an average review time of 4–8 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 45%. 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.
Where are the editorial board members of Substance Use & Misuse based?
Of the 10 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (9) and United Kingdom (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Substance Use & Misuse?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Substance Use & Misuse is indexed in SCIE, SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists MEDLINE, PubMed, Embase and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Substance Use & Misuse open access, and what is the APC?
Substance Use & Misuse is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,290.
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: .