The Latest News from Our Field

The World Health Organization (WHO) says that tobacco will kill nearly 6 million people in 2011, including 600,000 nonsmokers. According to the WHO, governments are not doing enough to help people quit smoking or to protect nonsmokers from secondhand smoke.

Prices for prescription painkillers sold illegally are sky-high, according to data from federal law enforcement agencies. These prices are creating a fast-growing street market for prescription painkillers.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a significant risk factor for developing substance use disorders and cigarette smoking in both boys and girls, new research indicates.

Robert Morrison, Executive Director of the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors, discusses key issues impacting substance abuse prevention, treatment, recovery and policy.

Although many college students believe that smoking tobacco through a hookah is safer than cigarettes, a growing number of legislators, college administrators and health groups are pushing to ban or limit hookah bars because of health concerns.

Teenagers who are involved in sports or exercising are less likely to use drugs and smoke cigarettes compared with teens who are not as active, a new study suggests. However, Reuters reports that the study found high school athletes on teams drank more alcohol than their classmates who weren’t on a team.

Tobacco companies, which can no longer use words such as ‘light’ ‘mild,’ or ‘low’ to attract smokers in the United States, are using package design elements to lure smokers, new studies suggest.

Prison officials throughout the country are finding that Suboxone, a drug used to treat opioid addiction, is being smuggled in through ingenious means, including greeting cards, children’s artwork and under stamps.

Illicit drug use cost the U.S. economy more than $193 billion in 2007, according to estimates from a study by the National Drug Intelligence Center.

The Food and Drug Administration has sent warning letters to online retailers for illegally marketing tobacco products using misleading health claims. The letter said the 11 retailers had illegally marketed tobacco products using words such as ‘light,’ ‘less toxic,’ ‘mild,’ ‘safer’ or ‘low.’

Some college campuses are seeing an increase in ‘drunkorexia,’ the act of restricting calories by day so students can drink alcohol at night without gaining weight.

A new law signed this week by Governor Sam Brownback of Kansas will require people arrested for the first time for drunk driving offenses to use ignition interlock devices on their cars. The law also requires the state to set up a central database of cases involving driving under the influence.

The skyrocketing growth in the number of Americans addicted to prescription drugs is due to easy accessibility and the diminished perception of risk, the Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy told a Senate subcommittee on Tuesday.

New ‘dissolvable’ tobacco products that look like Tic Tacs, toothpicks and breath strips are being test-marketed in Denver. Public health officials are concerned that the products look like candy, making them attractive to young people.

The maker of the popular Tilt malt beverage is lowering the drink’s alcohol content from 12 percent to 8 percent for a 24-ounce container. Anheuser-Busch announced that the new drinks will be sold starting this summer.

More than $100 million in funding is available for up to 75 Community Transformation Grants that aim to reduce chronic diseases through strategies including tobacco-free living.

West Huddleston of the National Association of Drug Court Professionals explains that National Drug Court Month is a powerful demonstration of what has become our most successful justice program. More than a decade of research has established that drug courts significantly reduce substance abuse and drug-related crime and produce greater cost benefits than any other criminal justice strategy.

Methadone, long used to treat heroin addiction, is now becoming a popular tool in the fight against prescription drug abuse in Florida. A state review last year concluded that more methadone clinics and satellite offices will be needed to deal with the growing number of patients addicted to prescription drugs.

New York is the latest state to ban bath salts. New York State’s Health Commissioner has banned the sale of bath salts, effective immediately, the Associated Press reports.

A new survey finds many New Jersey parents recognize that the main source for alcohol and prescription drugs may be their own home. More than 45 percent of parents surveyed said their children are getting alcohol from home, and three-quarters of parents said children get prescription and over-the-counter drugs from their own home or from a friend’s home.

Two leading substance abuse experts from Columbia University and The Partnership at Drugfree.org will offer professionals and parents the opportunity to learn more about teen mental health as it relates to risky teen behaviors, like substance use, and the proper methods to identify the most prevalent risk factors in teens.

A new ad campaign for the smokeless tobacco brand Camel Snus starts as expanded antismoking laws take effect Monday in New York City. Tobacco maker Reynolds American Inc. is taking out full-page ads for the brand in newspapers including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and the New York Daily News.

Many drugs sold as ‘legal highs’ online do not contain the ingredients advertised, a new study finds. A British chemist purchased products marketed as research chemicals, bath salts and plant food that were clearly marketed toward recreational drug users. He found that most didn’t contain the supposed active ingredient that was advertised.

A bill introduced in the Wisconsin Senate would make it illegal for an adult to purchase any tobacco product with the intention of giving it to a child. Current state laws prohibit adults from buying cigarettes for children, but allow adults to buy and give other tobacco products to children including dissolvable pellets, sticks and strips, as well as roll-your-own forms. Many of these products come in candy flavors, wrapped in brightly colored packaging.

Long-term smoking raises the risk of invasive lung and colon cancer in women who are already at increased risk of breast cancer due to family history of other factors, according to a new study. Smoking also raises the risk of breast cancer for these women to levels even higher than for nonsmoking women with a family history of breast cancer, the study found.