Tobacco signs are more common in less affluent communities -- and Latino and African-American populations are particularly affected -- the Boston Globe reported August 30.
But all that could change, now that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) can regulate tobacco companies.
Journalist, consultant and drug policy expert Jim Gogek -- whose background includes stints as an editorial writer, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation fellow, and communications chief for PIRE and the University of California at San Diego -- has launched ATODBlog, featuring discussions on tobacco-control policy, marijuana legalization, and dangerous drinking.
Faye J. Calhoun has been named the board chairman of the National Association of Children of Alcoholics (NACoA), stepping up from her role as a board member since 2006. She replaces Carol B. Cisco, Ph.D., who will remain on the NACoA board.
Impaired driving by people using legal prescription drugs is hard to detect and prosecute, experts say ... Most doctors say they don’t report colleagues they know are impaired by alcohol or other drugs ... A U.S. ban on sales of clove cigarettes could be undone by international trade agreements ...
As new laws against labeling cigarettes as "light" and "mild" go into effect, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is enlisting the support of prevention groups and others in getting the word out that there’s no such thing as a "safe" or "safer" cigarette.
Diana Sylvestre, M.D., an Oakland, Calif., physician and Harvard Medical School grad, has devoted her practice to treating drug addicts, former addicts and others who have been infected with Hepatitis C.
You can lead colleges to evidence-based programs, but you can’t make them adopt measures that stop kids from drinking ... Virginia’s governor wants the state out of the alcohol retail business ... Four big farms could legally supply Oakland’s medical-marijuana users, the city says ... Despite declining smoking rates and ongoing litigation, the tobacco industry continues to pull in big profits ...
Mitchell S. Rosenthal, M.D., the founder and former president and CEO of the Phoenix House chain of addiction treatment centers, has been named to the board of directors of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America (PDFA).
The expanded use of electronic health records -- intended to improve and streamline healthcare services -- has become a bone of contention in the addiction community, where unique privacy concerns could hamper integration with the rest of healthcare. Squabbles aside, however, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is pressing forward with regulations (and incentives) to promote wider adoption of electronic health records across the healthcare system.
Methadone maintenance is on the budgetary chopping block in California, but supporters -- including some prominent law-enforcement officials -- are trying to get $53 million in funding restored to the state budget.
A plan to eliminate Medi-Cal funding for methadone maintenance is "tantamount to destroying the lives of 35,000 people, as well as having them return to addiction," according to a column by Lee Baca and Charlie Beck -- the sheriff of Los Angeles County and L.A.’s police chief, respectively. The pair note that cutting the funding will actually result in a double loss as federal matching funds will be forfeited.
Will federal privacy regulations stand in the way of integrating behavioral and mainstream healthcare? ... New Mexico can’t grow enough marijuana to meet the demands of medical users ... Kansas is balking on enforcing a law that would require drink prices to be set according to alcohol content ... Unhappy hour: Your risk of stroke spikes during the hour after you drink alcohol, researchers say ... Teens who binge-drink may be more likely to suffer osteoporosis later in life ...
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