The Latest News from Our Field

A U.S. House committee is launching an inquiry into the federal government’s enforcement of a law designed to protect drug-dependent newborns.

Hookah smoking is growing increasingly popular among teens and young adults, but there are many questions still unanswered about its safety, according to an expert who is studying the issue.

Drug overdose deaths have increased in almost every U.S. county, The New York Times reports. Some of the biggest concentrations of overdose are in Appalachia and the Southwest.

Employers face a number of challenges in dealing with workers’ prescription drug abuse. Studies show people with addictions are much more likely to be sick, absent or use workers’ compensation benefits, according to NPR.

The Centers for Disease Control’s newest anti-smoking ads target current and former members of the military and people with mental health conditions, Bloomberg News reports. The ads will run in areas with the highest smoking rates.

The rising death rate of young white adults in the United States is being driven by drug overdoses, The New York Times reports.

Despite the rising rate of addiction to opioids, a relatively small number of doctors are authorized and willing to prescribe buprenorphine to treat opioid addiction, according to Stateline.

Two U.S. senators are calling on Congress to pass an emergency spending bill to combat the growing opioid epidemic, according to The Hill. Senators Angus King of Maine and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire are asking for $600 million in funding.

President Obama has named Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to lead a new effort to address the problem of heroin and prescription drug abuse in rural America.

A study of more than 100 video games finds 42 percent feature characters smoking cigarettes, e-cigarettes, cigars and other products, or make references to those products. Experts tell CNN they are concerned young people who play the games may be influenced to start smoking.

Young infants are just as likely as older children to be accidentally poisoned, a new study finds. Babies younger than six months old are most likely to be accidentally poisoned by acetaminophen, according to HealthDay.

Some types of e-cigarettes contain enough alcohol to affect motor skills, a new study concludes. E-cigarettes deliver nicotine by vaporizing liquids, which may contain alcohol and other chemicals.

The Office of National Drug Control Policy will host a webinar, “Community Benefit and Local Substance Use Prevention,” on January 21.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, January 8- Thursday, January 14, 2016.

Do school nurses REALLY need naloxone? The answer is YES. The data about drug overdose is alarming. Our youth are at risk and school nurses recognize the danger.

High prescribing rates of opioid painkillers are likely a factor in the increase in neonatal abstinence syndrome, according to the head of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

More children are being sent into foster care as a result of the abuse of heroin and opioid painkillers, The Wall Street Journal reports. Officials say opioid abuse is straining child welfare agencies.

An advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration recommended Tuesday that the agency approve the buprenorphine implant Probuphine as a treatment for opioid addiction.

Only 10 percent of Medicaid patients who smoke receive smoking cessation medication, according to a new study. One-third of Medicaid patients smoke, compared with 17 percent of the general population.

Teens are likely to try alcohol before they try either tobacco or marijuana, a new study concludes. The findings come from a study of 2,835 U.S. high school seniors, The Washington Post reports.

Researchers have identified more than 400 diseases that can co-occur in people with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. The findings reinforce that alcohol can affect any organ or system in the developing fetus, the researchers note.

Economic downturns can lead to greater rates of drinking even among people who hold onto their jobs, a new study suggests. Previous research has shown people who lose their jobs during a recession are more likely to drink.

Billionaire Sean Parker, the former president of Facebook, has donated $500,000 to promote an initiative to legalize recreational marijuana for adults in California, Forbes reports.

Medicaid would cover 15 days of inpatient addiction treatment per month under a new proposed plan by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which runs the program.

A new study finds 90 percent of people who overdose on prescription opioids continue to receive prescriptions for the drugs.