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headshots of Sarah Kowitt (left) and Leah Ranney (right)

HPDP planning grant recipients awarded R01 grant to continue cannabis warning label research

July 11, 2024

The National Institute on Drug Abuse awarded Sarah Kowitt, PhD, MPH, and Leah Ranney, PhD, MA a five-year, R01 grant to continue their research on best practices for cannabis warning labels. Their res … Read more


Two cannabis packaging images that include warning labels about how cannabis can cause serious car crashes if driving under the influence.

HPDP planning grant awardees propose more effective cannabis warning labels

February 29, 2024

Sarah Kowitt, PhD, MPH, and Leah Ranney, PhD, MA have found that U.S. cannabis warning labels are largely ineffective in educating consumers about health risks. Through a content analysis and focus gr … Read more


HPDP awards $5,000 planning grant to UNC faculty studying cannabis prevention research

July 19, 2022

The UNC Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention has awarded Sarah Kowitt, PhD, MPH, and Leah Ranney, PhD, MA, a planning grant of $5,000 for their research project on cannabis warning label … Read more


Woman with glass of wine shops for alcohol on phone

HPDP researcher to study the impact of online and delivery alcohol sales on excessive alcohol consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic

January 5, 2022

Rebecca Williams, PhD, MHS Rebecca Williams, PhD, MHS, has received approximately $600,000 in funding to study changes in alcohol consumption and related harms in relation to the wider availability of … Read more


Minors able to buy alcohol on eBay, new study finds

April 25, 2013

Rebecca Williams, PhD EBay.com, the world’s most visited website that sells alcohol, has allowed minors to successfully purchase alcohol on their website, according to research from the University of … Read more


Online retailers, shipping companies give minors access to alcohol, study finds

May 7, 2012

Minors can easily purchase alcohol online as a result of poor age verification by Internet alcohol vendors and shipping companies such as FedEx and UPS, according to a new study from University of Nor … Read more


New federal tobacco regulation cites HPDP research

March 31, 2010

The U.S. Senate cited UNC HPDP’s Internet Cigarette Vendors (ICV) study in its unanimous decision to pass the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act, which acts to curtail the growing sales of t … Read more


Groundbreaking HPDP research to study online alcohol sales

January 14, 2009

HPDP researchers will be the first to investigate if alcohol can be purchased by minors via the Internet in a new study. Co-investigators Rebecca Williams and Kurt Ribisl have studied online cigarette … Read more