Feature Channels: Addiction

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On November 21, people from across the country will participate in this year’s Great American Smokeout, “Day 1” of their journey toward a smoke-free life. Deciding to quit is a major step forward, but research shows that it may take current smokers an average of 30 attempts before they successfully quit smoking for a year or more. To remain committed to the quit in the weeks and months following GASO, use the power of Mondays to stay on track.

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There is consistent evidence that having an alcohol use disorder is associated with abnormalities in the cerebellum, a structure attached to the bottom of the brain that is involved in coordinating posture and balance but also in supporting some cognitive functions. Cigarette smoking, which often co-occurs with alcohol use, has also been shown to impact brain structure and function, and co-use of these substances is purported to accelerate aging of the brain. A report published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research examines neuroimaging (MRI) data from 92 people in order to further investigate the impact of smoking and alcohol status on the volume of the cerebellum and related cognitive function.

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January 2020 issue of AJPH

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A new study by researchers at the University of Montreal shows close to 172,000 Canadians injected drugs in 2016, up from 130,000 just five years earlier, but support varies.

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The U.S. opioid epidemic is still raging – it’s particularly pronounced in low-income areas and in those where people lack access to health care services, which includes cities in Michigan and across the Rust Belt. But the effectiveness of efforts to provide treatment and recovery options to those who need it most – that is, in locations with the greatest number of deaths from opioid overdose – has been unclear.

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The University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine is the first in the nation to establish opioid-free pain management guidelines for the vast majority of procedures performed in all of its clinics.

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A new study from researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that in several cities and counties the proportion of high-schoolers who have ever used heroin or misused prescription opioids is much higher than the national average.

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Highlights about University Hospitals 2018 community benefit report.

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A new study from researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that in several cities and counties the proportion of high-schoolers who have ever used heroin or misused prescription opioids is much higher than the national average.

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“Nolan, breathe for me, buddy.” It’s been five years since Nolan Burch, a freshman at West Virginia University, was unable to respond to that plea as he lay on a board at the Kappa Sigma house where he had participated in a hazing event held by unsanctioned fraternity that included chugging a bottle of bourbon. A day later, the 18-year-old was taken off life support, and his organs donated to four other individuals – one of whom is now a WVU student.

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Lawmakers across the United States continue to debate the safety of kratom, an opioid-containing plant that has been listed as a "drug of concern" by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Kratom is sold over the counter in specialty stores and online.

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In States Where Recreational Marijuana is Legal, Adults Use More Frequently and Teens Report Increased Problematic Use

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After years of progress, the average life expectancy in the U.S. has been on the decline for three consecutive years. The second annual Bloomberg American Health Summit—taking place November 12 and 13, 2019, in Baltimore, Maryland—will bring together national leaders, policymakers, advocates, and innovators from across the country to share new knowledge and evidence-based practices around five focus areas implicated in reducing U.S. life expectancy: addiction and overdose, adolescent health, environmental challenges, obesity and the food system, and violence.

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A new study from researchers at the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai shows that electronic nicotine delivery systems, including devices such as e-cigarettes, may be just as harmful to the heart, if not more, than traditional cigarettes. Downloadable video is available.

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UChicago Medicine addiction expert Andrea King, PhD, explains vaping use and its effects on health.

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Science hasn’t yet caught up with electronic cigarettes, leaving health care providers and users with many unknowns. But a new review of the research so far finds growing evidence that vaping can harm the heart and blood vessels.

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A new study finds that there is not enough information to support the claim that violent video games lead to acts of violence.

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Cannabis may be helping Canadians cope with the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), new research suggests.

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Colleagues at the University of California at Irvine have developed an electronic prescription drug accountability program to keep track of prescribing among hospitalists, primary care physicians, and emergency department physicians within an institution.

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A new study published Nov. 4, 2019, in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine details the first comprehensive look across the scientific literature at the role of mind-body therapies in addressing opioid-treated pain. The researchers found that certain mind-body therapies can reduce pain, as well as reduce opioid use, among patients treated with prescription opioids.

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A new USC study shows that mint was the most popular flavor of e-cigarettes used by U.S. teens in 2019, a finding that could impact proposed federal regulations intended to rein in soaring e-cig use among youth.

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A popular U.S. brand of potato chips once promoted itself with the slogan, "betcha can't eat just one!"

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Experts at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center share tips for quitting smoking

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Excessive and harmful drinking is a key feature of an alcohol use disorder. The causes of substance use disorders are complex, but deficiences in certain aspects of self-control have been implicated. A tendency to react hastily and seek out risky situations has been linked to the process of addiction, and alterations in certain frontal regions of the brain have been associated both with impulsive and sensation-seeking behavior. In a study published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, researchers have used brain imaging to further assess the links between self control and alcohol dependence.

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In a study of six adults, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers report evidence that a single vaping episode of cannabis that is similar in chemical composition to that found in legal hemp products could possibly result in positive results on urine drug screening tests commonly used by many employers and criminal justice or school systems.

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The second annual Bloomberg American Health Summit—taking place November 12 and 13, 2019, in Baltimore, Maryland—will bring together national leaders, policymakers, advocates, and innovators from across the country to share new knowledge and evidence-based practices around five focus areas implicated in reducing U.S. life expectancy.

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Heavy smoking may have a causal effect on facial ageing, according to new research led by the University of Bristol.

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Increasing the number of providers who receive specialized training to provide medication-assisted treatment for opioid addiction can help save lives.

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Findings from Kellogg Eye Center suggest ophthalmic surgeons are prescribing more opioids than needed after eye surgery. The study in JAMA Ophthalmology showed prescriptions can be reduced without compromising pain control.

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Opioid use disorder and overdose deaths are a major public health crisis in the United States. While medication-assisted treatments for opioid use disorder exist, these treatments remain inadequate for many patients, resulting in a high rate of relapse following detoxification.

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Physicians who received gifts from pharmaceutical companies related to opioid medications were more likely to prescribe opioids to their patients in the following year, according to a new analysis.

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Construction workers are more likely to use drugs than workers in other professions, finds a study by the Center for Drug Use and HIV/HCV Research (CDUHR) at NYU College of Global Public Health.

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A state-mandated policy restricting opioid prescriptions along with increased public awareness and education about the opioid epidemic preceded drastic reductions in opioid prescribing and use for surgical patients at the University of Vermont Medical Center.

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A new online course about opioids aims to help all types of health professionals understand the roots of the opioid epidemic, how it's affecting patients and society, and what's being done to address it.

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A new study by the University of Washington’s Social Development Research Group shows how a parent’s use of marijuana, past or present, can influence their child's substance use and well-being.

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A large analysis of personality studies has found that people with obesity behave somewhat like people with addictions to alcohol or drugs. But obesity is also a complex condition that cannot be fully explained by the addiction model.

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A rash of vaping-related deaths and injuries has alarmed physicians and public health officials. Scientists and physicians are still discerning what may be multiple causes to the deaths and injuries. Dr. Vin Gupta explains the situation.

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University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill researchers found that non-menthol flavored e-cigarettes attract youth and adults to vape and that the use of flavored e-cigarettes contributes to multiple pathways linked to higher vaping rates among youth.

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Study of mouse models provides clear implications for new targets to treat alcohol use disorder and fetal alcohol syndrome

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A new study, led by researchers at Penn Medicine, revealed a surprising pathway that shows alcohol byproducts travel to the brain to promote addiction memory. The findings are published in Nature.

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The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), awarded a $3.58 million grant to Sanford Burnham Prebys scientist Anthony Pinkerton, Ph.D., to advance a potential treatment for opioid-use disorders, called SBI-553.

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A seven-year project monitoring illicit drug use in 37 countries via wastewater samples shows that cocaine use was skyrocketing in Europe in 2017 and Australia had a serious problem with methamphetamine.

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As the opioid epidemic continues to devastate the United States, ketamine use has grown as a pain management alternative, yet more than one in three patients may experience side effects such as hallucinations and visual disturbances, suggests new research presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY® 2019 annual meeting.

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Nearly one-third of children who had surgery to remove their tonsils did not need opioids to get adequate pain relief during and after surgery, according to a study presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY® 2019 annual meeting.

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Medical marijuana shows early promise to lessen opioid use and potential abuse, suggests a systematic review of published studies being presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY® 2019 annual meeting.

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While most women of childbearing age understand drinking alcohol while pregnant is harmful, they may be less skeptical about the safety of cannabidiol (CBD), even though there is no evidence to support that belief, suggests a study being presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY® 2019 annual meeting.

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In recent weeks, presidential candidates pledged billions of dollars to bring broadband and internet access to rural America. That’s a good start, but the issue that the candidates need to address goes far beyond technology. It’s troubling that no candidate has begun to identify a strategy to concentrate on a more sweeping problem: More and more young people in our nation’s rural communities look at their hometowns and realize those places simply can’t support their dreams.

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U.S. Surgeon General Jerome M. Adams, M.D., M.P.H. will speak to attendees of ANESTHESIOLOGY® 2019, the annual meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, about major public health issues affecting the U.S. and how physician anesthesiologists can help solve them and improve patient health through better advocacy and community engagement.