The Latest News from Our Field

Lawmakers in a growing number of states are considering banning powdered alcohol, a product that has not yet arrived in stores, according to the Associated Press.

A new study finds that when teens host parties where alcohol is available, their parents are often aware of the underage drinking.

Faces & Voices of Recovery announced the organization’s new Executive Director is Patty McCarthy Metcalf, MS, a longtime board member.

An anti-smoking campaign called “Tips From Former Smokers” cost just $480 per smoker who quit and $393 per year of life saved, according to a new report. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which ran the campaign, called it successful and highly cost-effective.

Young adults who do not attend college are more likely than their peers who are enrolled in school to abuse prescription painkillers, according to new research.

Reducing the number of bars, restaurants, liquor stores and other locations where alcohol is sold in a community may help reduce domestic violence, a new study suggests.

A new report that ranks mental illness and mental health services at the state level reveals some surprises, The Washington Post reports. Some states with the lowest rates of mental illness and substance abuse are in the South, even though southern states also score low on measures of physical health.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, December 5- Thursday, December 11, 2014.

Despite predictions that healthcare reform would greatly increase the number of people seeking drug and alcohol treatment, a new study conducted in Oregon suggests so far, no big changes are occurring in that state.

Cigarette smoking causes about three in 10 cancer deaths in the United States, according to a new study by researchers at the American Cancer Society. The estimate does not include deaths from secondhand smoke.

Although the federal government began a campaign in 2012 to get nursing homes to reduce their use of antipsychotic drugs, it rarely penalizes institutions that continue to use the drugs at high rates, NPR reports.

Smoking in federal prisons, which has been banned in practice since 2006, has been officially outlawed, according to U.S. News & World Report. Prison guards will still be allowed to possess tobacco.

One-fifth of parents with children under age 18 have blacked out after drinking too much at a party, according to a new survey. One-third of adults who drink at parties admit to driving after consuming too much alcohol, according to the survey by Caron Treatment Centers.

Approximately one-third of “doctor shoppers” cross state lines to obtain prescriptions, according to a new study. These people search for multiple physicians who will prescribe them narcotic painkillers and other prescription drugs.

Almost 60 percent of patients who take narcotic painkillers to treat long-term conditions are also being prescribed other drugs, such as anti-anxiety medication or muscle relaxants, which could cause dangerous interactions, a new study finds.

A survey of primary care doctors nationwide finds almost half say they are less likely to prescribe narcotic painkillers compared with a year ago. Ninety percent of those surveyed say they are concerned about prescription drug abuse in their communities.

Operators of rehab centers are seeing an influx of funding from investors as more Americans receive health care coverage for addiction treatment under the Affordable Care Act, Reuters reports.

A federal appeals court has struck down a Florida law that required welfare applicants to undergo drug tests. The court ruled the law was an “unreasonable search.”

Researchers at Washington State University are developing a breath test for THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. The test could be used to determine if a person is driving under the influence of marijuana, according to The Seattle Times.

A month-long residential treatment program may be more effective than standard outpatient programs for young adults who are dependent on opioids, a new study suggests.

An estimated 7.6 percent of Americans ages 12 and up are moderately to severely depressed, according to a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of those with severe symptoms, only 35 percent reported having contact with a mental health professional in the past year.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, November 21- Thursday, December 4, 2014.

For pharmacies, stocking meth-resistant cold medications is a simple way to provide customers with the medicine they have always relied on without requiring them to visit the doctor every time they have a cold. And this switch keeps meth producers looking elsewhere.

Overdose deaths involving heroin nearly tripled from 1999 to 2012, a new government report concludes. Overall, drug overdose deaths more than doubled.

Doctors at a medical clinic in Vancouver, British Columbia will prescribe heroin to a group of 120 adults severely addicted to heroin, according to The Atlantic. Canada’s Health Secretary opposes the policy.