The Latest News from Our Field

The Treatment Research Institute announced that A. Thomas McLellan, PhD, has returned to continue his leadership role as CEO of the nonprofit organization.

Exposure to secondhand smoke increases the risk of wheezing and asthma in children and teens by at least 20 percent, according to a review of previous studies.

A recently passed Senate bill would close a loophole that currently lets stores that provide “roll-your-own” cigarette machines avoid taxes and fees levied on cigarette manufacturers.

Medical marijuana dispensaries are set to open in Washington, D.C. this summer, according to the San Jose Mercury News.

Fifty million people worldwide have died from tobacco-related causes over the past decade, according to a new report by the World Lung Foundation and the American Cancer Society. The groups estimate that if current trends continue, a billion people will die from tobacco use and exposure in this century.

Blackouts that result from binge drinking among college students cost the average large university about a half million dollars per year, a new study suggests.

Despite a study published last year that found screening heavy smokers with early CT scans reduces deaths from lung cancer, health care experts continue to debate whether the tests should be widely used, according to USA Today.

Florida Governor Rick Scott is delaying implementation of a new law to test state workers for drugs, in response to legal challenges, the Associated Press reports.

As the cost of health care continues to skyrocket, HR professionals and their employers are constantly searching for new ways to keep costs under control and as manageable as possible. An employer- sponsored wellness program is one way to do this, explains Anna Spriggs of Legacy.

The journal Addiction Science & Clinical Practice is now being published by BioMed Central, the company announced.

A federal appeals court on Monday upheld most of a law allowing the U.S. government to regulate tobacco products, including requiring graphic warning labels on cigarette packages.

A new campaign, “Safe Storage, Safe Dosing, Safe Kids,” aims to reduce accidental poisonings of children from medications.

American soldiers can find ways to get their hands on alcohol in Afghanistan, despite a ban by the U.S. military, according to the Associated Press.

Many emergency room physicians are not familiar with symptoms caused by synthetic marijuana such as “K2” and “Spice,” which are sending a growing number of teenagers to the hospital, according to USA Today.

A new study suggests that young children whose mothers used methamphetamine in pregnancy are at higher risk of behavior problems compared with children whose mothers didn’t use the drug.

Some insurance companies deny coverage for opioid abuse treatment, according to an Oklahoma addiction specialist.

Drivers who use medical marijuana are posing a challenge to law enforcement officers trying to enforce driving under the influence laws, according to the Associated Press.

While experimenting with drugs and alcohol was once considered a rite of passage into early adulthood, the average age of onset of alcohol or other substance use of adolescents entering addiction treatment is now below the age of 13, explains Susan Broderick of Georgetown University's Public Policy Institute.

Huffing helium is not safe, and adults must stop encouraging children to do it, according to the National Inhalant Prevention Coalition, a group that promotes awareness and recognition of inhalant use.

A new study finds a high rate of childhood trauma in adult alcoholic inpatients.

Male fruit flies spurned by females are more likely to turn to food soaked in alcohol than their male counterparts who successfully mate, according to a study that may provide clues about human alcohol dependence.

Florida is making significant gains in its war against “pill mill” clinics that sell oxycodone and other widely abused painkillers, state officials said this week.

The federal government has unveiled a nationwide anti-smoking campaign, with a series of ads that feature former smokers who discuss the negative health consequences of smoking.

Tobacco control efforts, such as increases in cigarette taxes and bans on smoking in public places, prevented almost 800,000 deaths from lung cancer in the United States between 1975 and 2000, according to a new study.

An appeals court ruled Wednesday that CVS can continue to sell controlled drugs at two pharmacies in Florida. The ruling blocks an order by the Drug Enforcement Administration to suspend shipments of the drugs.