The Latest News from Our Field

A new study finds teens who often use e-cigarettes are more likely to become regular smokers and to smoke many cigarettes a day.

Young men with alcohol dependence are more likely to have health problems later in life, compared with their peers who do not drink, a new study suggests.

Requiring cigarette labels that graphically depict the health consequences of smoking could save more than 650,000 lives in the United States in the next 50 years, according to a new study. The labels also could prevent tens of thousands of preterm births and low birth-weight babies, the researchers said.

Almost two dozen people were treated for synthetic drug overdoses in downtown St. Louis on Monday and Tuesday, KTVI reports. Most of the overdoses were linked to K2.

A new study finds the number of young children and teens hospitalized for opioid painkiller overdoses has almost tripled in recent years.

A presidential task force has made recommendations to ensure people with addiction and mental illness do not face discrimination in treatment, according to NPR.

A synthetic opioid known as “pink” is legal in most states, even though it is almost eight times stronger than morphine, CNN reports.

Some state Medicaid programs are beginning to pay addiction treatment centers for as much counseling and related medical services as are needed for patients. The move is intended to encourage centers to offer more counseling, according to Stateline.

Sales of e-cigarettes have slowed, in part due to warnings by public health experts that the devices may be dangerous. The New York Times reports a growing number of scientists and policy makers say 40 million American smokers could benefit from the devices.

A new program in Pennsylvania called “warm handoff” directly transfers overdose survivors from the hospital emergency department to a drug treatment provider. The program, developed by the state’s Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP), is designed to avoid merely giving survivors a phone number to call or setting up a subsequent appointment a day or two later.

A growing number of states are investing in peer recovery coaches to help fight drug addiction, CNN reports. These coaches, who have struggled with addiction themselves, meet with patients regularly to help them navigate recovery, and to tackle issues including housing and employment.

The health insurance company Cigna will no longer require doctors to get preauthorization before prescribing opioid addiction medications, USA Today reports. Until now, Cigna has required doctors to submit a preauthorization form when requesting medication-assisted treatment with buprenorphine.

Thirteen drug distribution companies knew or should have known that hundreds of millions of prescription narcotic pills were ending up on the black market, according to an investigation by The Washington Post.

A new survey finds 73 percent of U.S. teens think e-cigarettes are less harmful than regular cigarettes. The researchers say teens who use e-cigarettes are more likely, than those who do not, to go on to use traditional cigarettes.

Five states will vote next month whether to legalize recreational marijuana. If the states vote to legalize the drug, the federal government’s ban on marijuana will face a stronger challenge, The New York Times reports.

We lose nearly 130 people a day to drug overdoses. It is the leading cause of accidental death in the United States, and the loss is felt most acutely by the families left behind. By doing a better job of helping families and their addicted children, we can most effectively reduce these deaths and the accompanying pain and suffering, explains Tom Hedrick, founding member of the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids.

The United States has asked the United Nations to classify two chemicals used to make fentanyl as controlled substances, The Wall Street Journal reports.

An increasingly popular synthetic opioid known as Pink is being sold online, according to NBC News. Only four states—Florida, Ohio, Wyoming and Georgia—have banned the drug, also known as U-47700.

A new study suggests opioids may blunt natural parenting instincts. The findings may help explain why some parents who are addicted to opioids put their children at risk, The New York Times reports.

Some high schools are teaching teens about the dangers of heroin and prescription opioids. One school in West Virginia has a drug-free club, which meets to learn about drug use and addiction.

A new Gallup poll finds 60 percent of American adults believe marijuana should be legal. Last week a study released by the Pew Research Center found 57 percent of U.S. adults say they support legalizing marijuana.

Researchers looking at the relationship between bullying and substance use in teens are coming up with some surprising findings. This is especially true in the area of bullying victimization and substance use, according to Amanda Nickerson, PhD, Professor and Director of the Alberti Center for Bullying Abuse Prevention, Graduate School of Education at the University of Buffalo in New York.

The Drug Enforcement Administration said this week it will reverse its decision to temporarily make kratom a Schedule I drug, NPR reports. The reversal comes in the wake of protests by advocates, scientists and kratom vendors.

Drug cartels are selling lethal doses of fentanyl disguised as street heroin and counterfeit OxyContin pills, two U.S. government agencies are warning.

A new study by the Pew Research Center finds 57 percent of U.S. adults say they support legalizing marijuana. A decade ago, only 32 percent of adults said they favored legalization.