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...
This new report analyses treatment services provided to youth with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders across Australia. Awareness of the complex relationship between mental health problems and substance abuse can help...
New research investigates the complex relationship between bullying and substance use among adolescents. The study, published in the journal Addictive Behaviors, identifies a number of processes involved with bullying that take into account...
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...
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...
