The Latest News from Our Field

A new study finds cigarettes are linked to the cause of death in more than 60 percent of smokers. Smoking shortens the life of an average smoker by 10 years, Australian researchers found.

The sports supplement “Craze,” popular in the United States and other countries, contains a meth-like chemical, USA Today reports.

The Drug Enforcement Administration says it has not seen evidence of the flesh-eating drug krokodil surfacing in the United States, despite reports in Arizona and Illinois of people using the drug.

The number of babies born dependent on drugs their mothers took during pregnancy is predicted to exceed 800 in Tennessee this year, more than even before, according to a new report.

A national group of anesthesiologists is launching a card to identify and treat people suspected of an opioid overdose. The American Society of Anesthesiologists’ Opioid Overdose Resuscitation card lists symptoms and instructions for helping a person suspected of an overdose.

With his new documentary, “Out of Reach,” filmmaker Cyrus Stowe, a senior at a Dallas high school, set out to uncover the growing problem of friends sharing and abusing prescription medications in his hometown.

States are trying a variety of strategies to fight prescription drug abuse, from tightening regulations on pain management clinics to increasing access to prescription monitoring program databases, USA Today reports.

A growing number of people are smoking marijuana out of e-cigarettes, NBC New York reports.

Marijuana legalization advocates are seeking signatures of registered voters in California, Arizona, Oregon and Alaska, Bloomberg reports. The advocates are hoping to put legalization measures on the ballot in those states in 2014.

Deaths due to heroin increased in Maryland and Virginia between 2011 and 2012, according to NBC Washington. Health officials in those states also report an increase in the use of LSD and methadone, including among high school students.

Doctors at a suburban Chicago hospital report they are treating three people who used a caustic, homemade heroin-like drug called “krokodil” that can rot flesh and bone, CBS Chicago reports. Last month, Arizona health officials reported two cases of people who used the drug.

A new survey of teens finds those who start puberty early are more likely to try cigarettes, alcohol and marijuana, compared with those who begin on time or late.

Four new synthetic drugs, including one called “Crazy Clown,” were outlawed in Florida this week under an emergency rule filed by state Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Several colleges in Vermont are engaging parents in their effort to reduce binge drinking, according to the Associated Press. Students tend to drink less when their parents are aware of what they are doing, says Vermont Health Commissioner Dr. Harry Chen.

An analysis of drug prices on the recently shuttered website Silk Road reveals cocaine and marijuana sell for less in the United States than in many other countries, CNN Money reports.

Members of the European Parliament on Tuesday voted against tight regulations for e-cigarettes, according to The New York Times. The vote comes as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration prepares to issue regulations for the devices.

The United States Supreme Court this week rejected the tobacco industry’s appeal of a Florida court ruling. The decision could make it easier for ill smokers or their survivors to sue cigarette makers, Bloomberg reports.

New York State’s highest court this week heard arguments from lawyers of three drivers who claimed they were too drunk to understand what they were doing or the threat they posed to others. The judges will decide whether drivers can be considered too drunk to be found guilty.

The legacy of substance abuse is a combination of BOTH nature AND nurture. No one can change their DNA, so that leaves us examining the environment provided by parents in recovery to their children, says Phyllis Gardner of IC&RC.

A new report finds many states do not have effective strategies in place to fight prescription drug abuse, CNN reports. The report found 28 states and Washington, D.C. scored six or less out of 10 possible indicators of promising strategies.

Transportation Safety Administration security officers are not searching airline passengers’ luggage for marijuana, the Daily News reports.

A new study of mice helps explain why binge drinking may interfere with bone healing. The study shows how alcohol slows healing on the cellular and molecular levels.

Ohio Governor John Kasich on Monday announced the state is adopting new opioid prescribing guidelines for treating patients with chronic non-terminal pain. The guidelines are designed to curb prescription drug abuse, the Associated Press reports.

Makes of e-cigarettes are lobbying the Food and Drug Administration to regulate their products less strictly than traditional cigarettes, The Washington Post reports. The agency has said it will start regulating the e-cigarette industry later this month.

Doctors who self-medicate with prescription drugs often do so to relieve physical or emotional pain, or to relieve stress, according to a survey of doctors in recovery.