Sexually abused children are almost five times more likely to use drugs intravenously during adulthood, a new study released by the American Public Health Association (APHA) has found. The report also suggests that those who witness...
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy released a seven-chapter report covering all forms of drug and alcohol addiction, including public policy recommendations for prevention and treatment. The Surgeon General's Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and...
A new study conducted in the United States and subsequently published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs suggests that those who suffered from symptoms of alcohol dependence during their youth may still experience the mental and...
The November 2016 data chart of overdoses in Massachusetts shows a climbing blue line labeled “fentanyl”. Boston's National Public Radio station reports via article and audio clip on some of the challenges faced by law enforcement and...
Smoking has for a long time been known to be a significant cause of cancer. A new article published by JAMA Internal Medicine suggests that the proportion of cancer deaths caused by smoking in the United States is highest in the South of...
Almost 3 out of 4 teenagers in the United States think that e-cigarettes are less harmful or addictive than smoking tobacco, a new study has found. The researchers also found that increases in the perceived safety of what has become known...
Research has shown that people tend to drink more when they consume alcohol combined with energy drinks. Mixing energy drinks and alcohol is known to reduce the feeling of drunkenness as the stimulants in energy drinks dampen the sedative...
Research conducted at the University of Edinburgh has found a link between cannabis use and bone mass density. More specifically, the findings, recently published in the American Journal of Medicine, report that frequent cannabis users are...
Almost 20% of American adults smoke cigarettes. Those diagnosed as having a moderate mental health problem are approximately twice as likely to smoke, whereas for those diagnosed as severely ill the risks are roughly three times greater...
This article describes the easy access to carfentanil, a powerful synthetic opioid where a dose smaller than the size of a poppy seed can result in death. Chinese vendors are selling this drug online, making it easily accessible around the...
This article summarizes the work of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection agency (CBP) in the area of counternarcotics. The CBP describes the challenges to addressing substance use when molecular...
The ‘second hand effects’ of alcohol use can be defined as the negative consequences of drinking experienced by people other than the drinker. They can include, for example, serious acts of sexual and physical violence as well as more...
A recent review of studies focusing on excessive drinkers identified and counselled in primary care settings has found that, when combined with screenings and assessments, brief, regular intervention sessions lead to greater reductions in...
The ‘self-medication hypothesis’ is commonly known to refer to a human behaviour which sees people with depression turn to alcohol as a way of coping. New research published in the journal Nature Communications has now discovered a...
Four US states currently allow r
ecreational marijuana use and twenty-four allow medical marijuana. However, little research has been carried out to uncover the drug’s effect on the development of human embryos if smoked or consumed in...
New research published in the journal Addictive Behaviors has found the likelihood of 18- to 34-year-old nonmedical prescription opioid users having a prescription opioid use disorder has increased between 2002 – 2014. More specifically...
A new substance abuse prevention programme called Preventure uses personality tests to identify children most at risk of indulging in harmful drug-taking behaviour. The traits it has identified amongst at-risk children include: sensation...
A new study carried out by researchers at Ohio State University and subsequently published in the Journal of Health and Social Behaviour shows how smoking bans in the United States have led to a decrease in social or light smoking amongst...
Smoking, and the desire to smoke, cigarettes amongst high school students in the United States is currently at an all-time low, according to a recent article published in Preventing Chronic Disease. The study found that between 2012 – 2014...
Prescription drug abuse has become a major public health and safety concern. Research has shown that legal drugs, such as OxyContin, now kill more people than illegal drugs, such as heroin and cocaine. Nowadays, people are constantly being...