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...
Within as little as twenty minutes after your last cigarette your body begins to feel the effects of quitting. Health benefits from stopping smoking include, amongst other things, a decrease in heart rate and blood pressure, better...
Recently sixteen people were hospitalised on the Gold Coast, Australia, after taking a new synthetic drug known as Flakka. One of those taken ill is said to be in a critical condition. Flakka takes the form of a white/pink crystal-like...
This photo story documents the lives of children at a rehabilitation centre in Delhi. The majority of young drug users in India's capital city are addicted to marijuana and heroin. Rajesh Kumar, Executive Director of the Society for...
The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) defines contingency management as “a general behavioural intervention technique used in the treatment of drug dependence … designed to weaken drug use and strengthen...
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...
This contest aims to create public awareness, especially among young people, and promote the direct involvement of the wider society in addressing addictions through the use of humour. The main topic of the contest is "Away from addictions...
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...
Substance abuse entails a whole host of social, physical and mental health problems. A recent overview published in the Journal of Adolescent Health evaluates the effectiveness of interventions focused on smoking, alcohol or combined drug...
Around 88,000 Americans die from alcohol-related harm each year. The physical effects of alcohol abuse, including certain cancers, heart disease and liver disease, are well-known. There is also much evidence that suggests alcohol can have a...
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...
E-cigarettes are becoming more and more popular. As such, many in the field of drug prevention and treatment are eager to uncover how they affect our health. E-cigarettes do not contain tobacco. However, it has been found by researchers at...
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...
Have you been affected by someone else's drug or alcohol use? Would you like to be able to tell your story? Adfam's Family Voices Competition allows friends and family members who have lived through someone else’s substance use to express...
This month saw the release of the findings from the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD). The publication shows the country-by-country results for the use of various legal and illegal drugs. Thirty-five European...
Are the poor smoking more? An article published recently in the journal Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy sets out to answer just that. It explores the link between teenage marijuana use and income inequality in the national contexts...
If you were asked to provide a list of things we most associate with French cultural identity, wine and cigarettes would probably feature. A recent survey, however, suggests that, as is generally the case across Europe, alcohol and tobacco...
The results are in. The 2014 – 15 Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol, and Drugs Survey shows that, on the one hand, smoking rates are generally down, while on the other, experimentation with synthetic and prescription drugs is increasing...