Feature Channels: Addiction

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A strong link between victimization experiences and substance abuse has been discovered by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

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The federal anti-drug campaign “Above the Influence” appears to have effectively reduced marijuana use by teenagers, new research shows.

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Bans on using credit cards to pay for cigarettes bought on Internet sites – combined with bans on commercial shippers delivering the products – appear to have effectively reduced the size and reach of the online cigarette sales industry, a new University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study shows.

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While alcohol problems and antisocial behavior tend to decrease in addiction-prone women as they age, depression increases, U-M study finds.

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A new study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) indicates that 5.9 percent of adolescents aged 12 to 14 drank alcohol in the past month and that the vast majority of them (93.4 percent) received their alcohol for free the last time they drank. About 317,000 (44.8 percent) 12 to14 year olds who drank in the past month received their alcohol for free from their family or at home. This includes 15.7 percent (or an estimated 111,000) who were provided alcohol for free by their parents or guardians.

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A common index for assessing adolescent drinking-related problems has been found to be effective at predicting adult alcoholism. An Indiana U. study also found the association to be stronger for adolescent female drinkers.

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While a new study finds that consumer interest in electronic cigarettes runs high, a companion study underscores that e-cigarettes' ability to help smokers cut down or quit is unknown, as is their safety.

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A new study finds that iPhone software applications designed to help people quit smoking fall short of the mark.

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The FDA, through the new Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, is considering banning outdoor tobacco product advertising at various distances from schools and playgrounds. The tobacco industry is challenging these rules on First Amendment grounds, arguing that they would lead to a near complete ban on tobacco advertising in dense urban areas. A new study by the Center for Tobacco Policy Research (CTPR) at Washington University in St. Louis found that a 1000-foot buffer would still allow for tobacco ads. Smaller buffer zones of 350 feet may result in almost no reduction of outdoor tobacco advertising.

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Cannabis use appears to be associated with an earlier onset of psychotic illness, according to a meta-analysis of previously published studies posted online today that will appear in the June print issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

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Illicit drugs like marijuana, cocaine and heroin have always been a parent’s nightmare. But perfectly legal and easily accessible prescription medications are now the recreational drugs of choice for many teenagers, prompting physicians at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center to urge pediatricians to screen specifically for their abuse during routine visits.

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UT Southwestern Medical Center psychiatry researchers are leading the Texas arm of a national network that conducts clinical trials aimed at finding effective treatments for drug addiction.

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New research could produce novel therapies that increase natural resistance to addiction to smoking.

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Participating in community service activities and helping others is not just good for the soul; it has a healing effect that helps alcoholics and other addicts become and stay sober, a researcher from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine reports.

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Retired NFL players use painkillers at four times the rate of the general population, according to new research conducted by investigators at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The researchers say the brutal collisions and bone-jarring injuries associated with football often cause long-term pain, which contributes to continued use and abuse of pain-killing medications.

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Highly-caffeinated energy drinks – even those without alcohol – may pose a significant threat to individuals and public health, say researchers at the University of Maryland School of Public Health and Wake Forest University School of Medicine. They recommend action by health providers, consumer, manufacturers and federal regulators.

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For the first time in alcohol addiction research, UVA investigators have successfully treated alcohol-dependent individuals with medication that is tailored specifically to match their genetic profile.

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Eight percent of fans who agreed to be tested after attending professional football and baseball games were too drunk to legally drive, a new study finds, and 40 percent had alcohol in their bodies.

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United States Drug Testing Laboratories (USDTL) launched two new tests for monitoring long-term alcohol exposure on Friday. Using fingernail and hair specimens, the new assay is the first and only test to report a donor’s alcohol exposure for the past 90 days reliably.

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Young people may crave boosts to their self-esteem a little too much, new research suggests.