The Latest News from Our Field

The Drug Enforcement Administration crackdown on improper sales of prescription painkillers, which has been focused on CVS, has now spread to Walgreens, according to The Wall Street Journal.

People who engage in hazardous and harmful drinking are more likely to reduce their consumption of alcohol for at least one year if they receive just seven minutes of counseling from an emergency room physician, a new study finds.

A World Trade Organization appeals court this week upheld an earlier decision that a U.S. ban on clove cigarettes discriminates against Indonesia. The ban was designed to prevent youth from smoking.

Sales of oxycodone and hydrocodone are sharply rising in areas of the United States where these prescription painkillers were not as popular in the past, according to an analysis by the Associated Press. The rise in sales is driven by an aging population with pain issues, as well as an increase in addiction, experts say.

Health officials of 135 nations provisionally agreed this week to a deal to fight tobacco smuggling.

The club drug ketamine, known as “special K,” may increase the risk of developing urinary tract symptoms, according to a new study.

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed into law this week a bill that bans medical marijuana on state university and community college campuses.

Cars and trucks one day may have built-in blood alcohol detectors, The Wall Street Journal reports. Research on the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety is progressing more quickly than expected, and could be available within eight to 10 years, experts say.

Underage female drinkers are now as likely to die in an alcohol-related car crash as their male counterparts, a new study suggests. In 1996, underage males had a higher risk of a fatal car crash than underage females. By 2007, the gender gap had closed.

Veterans living in state-run centers in Oklahoma are worried they may have to move out because they smoke. A new order signed by the governor bans the use of tobacco products on any properties owned, leased or contracted for use by the state.

A measure advancing in the New Jersey legislature would expand the number of criminal offenders who are eligible for court-supervised drug and alcohol treatment.

In the first half of a two-part column, Sullivan Smith, MD, Medical Director of the Cookeville (Tennessee) Regional Medical Center, discusses the basics of “bath salts” and "plant food," and what substance abuse professionals need to know about these popular synthetic drugs.

A survey of more than 10,000 U.S. teenagers found that by late adolescence, 78 percent had consumed alcohol, and about 15 percent met the criteria for alcohol abuse.

A bill recently introduced in the Senate aims to direct federal resources to prevent fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, and to provide services for those living with them, and their families.

A new study suggests that girls are more likely than boys to be affected by exposure to secondhand smoke.

Having just one alcoholic drink daily can increase a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer by 5 percent, a review of studies concludes. Three or more daily drinks can raise a woman’s breast cancer risk between 40 to 50 percent, the researchers found.

The Food and Drug Administration says tobacco companies will have to report levels of 20 dangerous chemicals found in their products. The chemicals have been associated with cancer, lung disease and other health problems, the Associated Press reports.

A new government-sponsored ad campaign, which features former smokers who discuss the negative health consequences of smoking, has led to a doubling of calls to a toll-free telephone hotline designed to help people quit smoking.

A retail store that calls itself a one-stop shop for marijuana cultivators opened in Washington, D.C. last week. WeGrow is located about four miles from the White House.

A drug company says it has developed a formulation of the cold medicine pseudoephedrine that cannot be made into methamphetamine.

Addiction is a complex lifelong disease which, if unaddressed, commonly results in death of the patient. Dr. Stuart Gitlow of the American Society of Addiction Medicine asks, shouldn’t we have some research to determine to whom these patients should be referred?

A federal bill introduced Thursday would link states’ prescription drug monitoring programs. The proposed nationwide system would allow physicians to see if a new patient has a history of drug abuse in another state before writing a prescription.

Eight states raised cigarette taxes between 2010 and 2011, compared with 15 states in 2009, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). As cigarette prices go up, smoking rates decline, according to the CDC.

New York state has banned the sale of synthetic marijuana, which is sold under brand names such as “Spice,” “K2” and “Mr. Nice Guy,” the Associated Press reports.

A new thrill-seeking activity popular among teenagers called the “cinnamon challenge” can be risky, warns the American Association of Poison Control Centers. In the cinnamon challenge, teens are dared to swallow a spoonful of ground or powdered cinnamon, without drinking any water.