A new study shows the same gene variations that make it difficult to stop smoking also increase the likelihood that heavy smokers will respond to nicotine-replacement therapy and drugs that thwart cravings. The finding suggests it may one day be possible to predict which patients are most likely to benefit from drug treatments for nicotine addiction.
Health care professionals do a better job helping people quit smoking when they are trained in smoking cessation techniques, a new Cochrane Library review finds.
A new report shows that while a significant segment of minors and young adults are still current smokers, there was a decrease in the rate of cigarette use among these populations between 2004 and 2010 (the year with the latest available data). The report, based on the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), shows that the rate of current cigarette use (having smoked at least once in the past month) among adolescents decreased from 11.9 percent in 2004 to 8.3 percent in 2010. Similarly, the level of current cigarette users among young adults decreased from 39.5 percent in 2004 to 34.2 percent in 2010.
Tanning has captured center stage in the American consciousness with the reports of a New Jersey woman charged with second-degree child endangerment for allegedly taking her child to a tanning bed where she was burned.
Steve Feldman, M.D., dermatology, conducted the ground-breaking research that found tanning could be addictive because of the endorphins that are released.
A popular smoking cessation medication has been under a cloud of suspicion ever since the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) published a study July 2011 reporting “risk of serious adverse cardiovascular events associated with varenicline.” Varenicline, also known as Chantix, blocks the pleasant effects of nicotine on the smoker’s brain and lessens nicotine withdrawal symptoms.
The smoking cessation drug varenicline significantly reduced alcohol consumption in a group of heavy-drinking smokers, in a study carried out by researchers at the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center at the University of California, San Francisco.
Women who smoke and carry specific variations in the genes that impact their metabolism are at higher risk of developing hot flashes in comparison with smokers who do not carry these gene variants, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (JCEM).
More mothers using drugs like OxyContin, Vicodin, giving birth to babies in drug withdrawal, results of study published in JAMA.
In the largest imaging study of the human brain ever conducted—involving 1,896 14-year-olds—scientists have discovered networks that go a long way toward explaining why some teenagers start experimenting with drugs and alcohol.
New research from Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York reveals that repeated exposure to cocaine decreases the activity of a protein necessary for normal functioning of the brain’s reward system, thus enhancing the reward for cocaine use, which leads to addiction. Investigators were also able to block the ability of repeated cocaine exposure, to induce addiction. The findings, published online April 22 in the journal Nature Neuroscience, provide the first evidence of how cocaine changes the shape and size of neuron rewards in a mouse model.
Patients with addictive disorders who take methadone or other opioid medications for pain will experience heightened sensitivity to pain, known as hyperalgesia, and new research published in The Journal of Pain shows that the condition does not improve over the course of treatment.
Anti-tobacco television advertising helps reduce adult smoking, according to a study by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago's Institute for Health Research and Policy -- but some ads may be more effective than others.
Substance use is considerably more stigmatized than smoking or obesity, according to a new study by Albright College.
To curb employees’ on-the-job substance use and intoxication, bosses need to do more than just be around their employees all day, according to a new study from the University at Buffalo Research Institute on Addictions (RIA).
Youth with parental separation anxiety also at decreased risk.
Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., have found that when they deplete a smoker’s self control, smoking a cigarette may restore self-control.
Participating in an online March Madness bracket or fantasy sport league is harmless fun for most people, but for someone with a gambling addiction, it can be a dangerous temptation. “Now, with states entertaining the possibility of increasing revenue through legalizing internet gambling, it is even more important to pay attention to groups that may be vulnerable to problem gambling, particularly youth,” says Renee Cunningham-Williams, PhD, gambling addictions expert and associate professor at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. “Internet gambling provides youth with increased opportunities to gamble, which is particularly concerning because this generation is arguably the most technologically savvy of any generation in history.”
Now a group of scientists at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) has discovered that a tiny molecule in the fly’s brain called neuropeptide F governs this behavior—as the levels of the molecule change in their brains, the flies’ behavior changes as well.
A single injection of cocaine or methamphetamine in mice caused their brains to put the brakes on neurons that generate sensations of pleasure, and these cellular changes lasted for at least a week, according to research by scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.
The risk of abusing drugs is greater – even for adopted children – if the family environment in which they are raised is dysfunctional, according to a new study conducted by a collaborative team from Virginia Commonwealth University and Lund University in Sweden.
Middle- and high-school students who bully their classmates are more likely than others to use substances such as cigarettes, alcohol and marijuana, a new study found.
RTI International has added a collection of substance abuse and addiction-related measures to an online toolkit aimed at helping researchers better understand the relationships between genetics, health, disease and environment.
New Johns Hopkins research suggests that providing housing contingent on drug abstinence to inner-city opioid abusers leaving a detoxification program significantly increases their chances of remaining drug free six months later.
Patients taking opioid analgesics for chronic pain who are not substance-dependent or addicted can frequently experience cravings to take more medication, but this behavior is not associated with pain levels or spikes in pain intensity, according to research reported in The Journal of Pain, the peer-review journal of the American Pain Society
A Journal of Addiction Medicine (JAM) study was cited in a recent Center for Substance Abuse Research (CESAR) series highlighting an emerging problem in addiction therapy: the diversion and misuse of the medication buprenorphine. The official journal of the American Society of Addiction Medicine, JAM is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.
Cigarette smoke has long been considered the main risk factor for heart disease. But new research, to be presented at the 56th Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society, shows that nicotine itself can contribute to the disease process.
A new report shows 7.5 million children under age 18 (10.5 percent of this population) lived with a parent who has experienced an alcohol use disorder in the past year. According to the report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), 6.1 million of these children live with two parents—with either one or both parents experiencing an alcohol use disorder in the past year.
A new book, "Tobacco Capitalism", by Washington University in St. Louis anthropologist Peter Benson, PhD, examines the impact of the transformation of the U.S. tobacco industry on farmers, workers and the American public. The book reveals public health threats, the impact of off-shoring, and the immigration issues related to tobacco production, specifically in rural North Carolina.
Adolescents who are "internet addicts" may also be at increased risk of substance abuse, suggests a study in the March issue of Journal of Addiction Medicine, the official journal of the American Society of Addiction Medicine. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.
Data could lead to better advice for primary-care doctors struggling with a rising tide of older adult patients still in throes of youthful bad habits.
A study of a controversial housing project that allows chronically homeless people with severe alcohol problems to drink in their apartments found that during their first two years in the building residents cut their heavy drinking by 35 percent.
An outpatient clinic founded on evidence-based treatments has opened at the Center for Neurobehavioral Research on Addictions (CNRA) at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).
Drinking alcohol leads to the release of endorphins in areas of the brain that produce feelings of pleasure and reward, according to a study led by researchers at the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center at the University of California, San Francisco.
UCLA researchers have identified how a component of an ancient Chinese herbal anti-hangover medicine called dihydromyricetin, isolated from the plant Hovenia, counteracts acute alcohol intoxication and withdrawal symptoms.The research team determined that dihydromyricetin may provide a molecular target and cellular mechanism to counteract alcohol intoxication and dependence, leading to new therapeutic treatments.
Smokers planning to kick the habit may have more success if they begin using a cessation medication several weeks before they actually try to quit.
Romantic partners are a powerful influence. But a new study conducted by Dalhousie University researchers has revealed that dating couples may have more influence over each other than you think – especially when it comes to binge drinking.
New study provides support for a bi-directional pathway between non-medical prescription opioid use and opioid-use disorder due to non-medical use and several mood anxiety disorders
Admission rates for the treatment of alcohol, heroin, and cocaine abuse have decreased—rates for marijuana abuse treatment have increased during the same time frame.
An attentive, nurturing mother may be able to help her children better resist the temptations of drug use later in life, according to a study involving the University of Adelaide.
The National Association of Psychiatric Health Systems (NAPHS) has published a 2012 Membership Directory to help those who must quickly identify sources of help for individuals with psychiatric and addictive disorders.
Approximately half of all energy drink-related emergency department visits by patients aged 18 to 25 involved the additional use of alcohol or other drugs.
Discovering when and why students smoke might lead to the development of better intervention methods, according to researchers at the University of Missouri. In an article published in the journal Substance Use & Misuse, the researchers showed that partying, drinking and work prompted college students to recall their smoking experience, and that smoking occurred most often at the start of the semester and on weekends.
A new study of teens undergoing substance abuse treatment finds helping others helps the adolescent helper by reducing cravings for alcohol and drugs, a major precipitator of relapse.
Substance use is widespread among adolescents in the United States, particularly among those of Native American, white, Hispanic and multiple race/ethnicity, and these groups are also disproportionally affected by substance-related disorders, according to a report in the November issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
College students who have served in the U.S. conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan are more likely than their non-veteran peers to use tobacco, drink in excess and engage in other behaviors that endanger their health and safety, according to a study that appeared in the latest issue of American Journal of Health Promotion.
A nationally honored University of Cincinnati doctoral student’s research is published this month by the American Psychological Association.
A study by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine suggests that differences in brain activation in individuals with a low level of response to alcohol may contribute to their inability to recognize modest levels of alcohol intoxication. Their findings could provide the potential to identify individuals who are at risk for developing an alcohol-use disorder before it develops – in essence, providing a marker for this vulnerability.
A new publication, Strategizer 55—Regulating Alcohol Outlet Density: An Action Guide, outlines available evidence-based community prevention strategies shown to decrease the consequences associated with alcohol outlet density, the concentration of bars, restaurants serving alcohol, and liquor and package stores in a given geographic area.
A new study that examined responses to stimulants is the first to demonstrate that caffeine reinforcement prospectively predicts the positive effects of another drug.
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