The Latest News from Our Field

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has issued a call for all pregnant women to be screened for smoking, from the first office visit to term.

Amid the recent buzz about Four Loko tragedies, the efforts of Pennsylvania, Michigan (and now Oklahoma) regulators have taken center stage. It turns out another state, Utah, had already banned alcoholic energy drinks -- by not permitting distribution of the products in the first place.

The onslaught of national attention to Alcohol Energy Drinks (AEDs), dubbed "blackout in a can" by many, continues to pick up steam. Here’s a quick overview of what’s going on, with links to some of the most interesting news coverage and advocacy efforts this week.

The Michigan Liquor Control Commission (LCC) has banned the sale of alcoholic energy drinks, becoming the second state in the nation to do so.

Good deeds and good work weren’t enough to keep the Historic Triangle Substance Abuse Coalition’s (HTSAC) doors open. The Virginia-based coalition ran out of grant funds last week and had to shut down.

Election night is over, and most of the results are in: it’s a mixed bag for the alcohol and other drug initiatives on state ballots. California’s efforts to legalize marijuana -- a.k.a. Proposition 19 -- fell short with 56 percent of voters rejecting the measure. Initiatives related to medical marijuana in South Dakota and Oregon also failed, while Arizona narrowly approved a medical-marijuana measure.

Massachusetts voted to repealed a 6.25 percent alcohol tax, and Washington chose to block at least one measure seeking to privatize liquor distribution. Meanwhile, California approved Prop. 26, possibly negating efforts to require the alcohol industry, among others, to pay for the harm caused by their products.

Turns out that researchers looking to help tobacco farmers have found a new use for tobacco and nicotine -- as a pesticide.

The S.F. Giants have won the World Series, but the Texas Rangers have won our respect.