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Analysis reveals drop in long-term opioid use among military veterans

A new study in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, published by Springer, shows that opioid prescribing has dropped after a peak in 2012. Lead author Katherine Hadlandsmyth of the Iowa City VA Healthcare System and the University of Iowa in the US further noted that the decline was mostly due to decreases in long-term opioid prescribing, which carries much greater risk for harmful side effects, addiction and overdose, relative to short-term prescribing.

30 Jan 2018

New study shows decline in benefits from smoking cessation medications over time

A new Tel Aviv University study published in Addiction finds that only eight out of 100 smokers who take smoking cessation medications will have benefited from taking smoking medications after one year's time.

30 Jan 2018

Death in the family: An uncle’s overdose spurs Medicaid official to change course

Andrey Ostrovsky's family did not discuss what killed his uncle. He was young, not quite two weeks past his 45th birthday, when he died, and he had lost touch with loved ones in his final months. Ostrovsky speculated he had committed suicide.

29 Jan 2018

Research highlights benefits from enhanced recovery after surgery program

Colorectal and bariatric surgery patients benefited from an enhanced recovery after surgery program, leaving the hospital sooner and requiring fewer opioids to control pain, according to new research presented at the American Society of Anesthesiologists PRACTICE MANAGEMENT 2018 meeting.

27 Jan 2018

In battleground races, health care lags as hot-button issue, poll finds

As the midterm elections approach, health care ranks as the top issue, mentioned more frequently among voters nationwide than among those living in areas with competitive races, a new poll finds.

27 Jan 2018

Managing tobacco smoking leads to reductions in opioid use, study shows

In a six-month study recently concluded, a research unit affiliated with two hospital institutions and a university in Ottawa found that a reduction in the number of cigarettes smoked daily also reduced a smoker's dependence on opioids.

25 Jan 2018

International study estimates treatment gap in anxiety disorders

The director of the Epidemiology and Public Health programme at the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute and CIBER Epidemiology and Public Health researcher, Jordi Alonso, was commissioned by the World Mental Health to lead an international study into the adequacy of anxiety disorder treatment across the globe.

23 Jan 2018

New study to use social media for exploring blunt use among African-American young adults

The use of blunts--tobacco cigar shells filled with marijuana--has increased steadily since they first became popular in the 1990s, especially among young adults.

23 Jan 2018

Cocaine de-addiction breakthrough shows promise

Researchers have successfully created a way by which cocaine craving could be reduced. This could help in the de-addiction of thousands of users feel experts. The team of researchers neutralized a protein molecule that is commonly seen among cocaine users in their blood and brain.

16 Jan 2018

Expert discusses how to identify, support individuals with drug or alcohol addiction in workplace

As businesses in the UK become more aware of the impact that alcohol and drugs have on safety and productivity in the workplace, many have implemented professional procedures for testing employees for both substances.

16 Jan 2018

Australian kids are drinking and smoking far less than before

According to a new study, Australian school aged children are drinking less than what their parents did two decades ago. The study also finds that these kids are less likely to indulge in tobacco smoking and use of cannabis than their peers 20 years before. This study comes from the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, and the Alcohol and Drug Foundation. It has been published in the latest issue of the journal Drug and Alcohol Review.

11 Jan 2018

Alcohol related ER visits on the rise especially among women, finds study

According to a recent study, there is a steady rise in the number of individuals visiting the emergency rooms due to complications and problems associated with alcohol consumption over the last few years. The results of the new study appeared in the latest issue of the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

11 Jan 2018

Efforts to reverse opioid epidemic remain beset by stigma

Efforts to reverse the nation's opioid epidemic remain beset by the stigma associated with drug use, a group of OHSU researchers write in a year-end review.

10 Jan 2018

HHS nominee vows to tackle high drug costs, despite his ties to industry

Senate Democrats on Tuesday pressed President Donald Trump's nominee for the top health post to explain how he would fight skyrocketing drug prices — demanding to know why they should trust him to lower costs since he did not do so while running a major pharmaceutical company.

9 Jan 2018

Grateful disposition linked to lesser drug use, study finds

People who feel a sense of gratitude tend to be happier, healthier and better in dealing with stress. Two psychologists from the National University of Singapore conducted a study on male drug abusers and they discovered that having a grateful disposition was associated with lesser drug use.

9 Jan 2018

An opioid remedy that works: Treat pain and addiction at the same time

Seven years ago, Robert Kerley, who makes his living as a truck driver, was loading drywall when a gust of wind knocked him off the trailer. Kerley fell 14 feet and hurt his back.

8 Jan 2018

Drug overdose deaths soar nationally but plateau in some Western states

The opioid crisis on the East Coast and in the Midwest has fueled a national surge in drug deaths, even as fatal overdoses have decreased or remained stable in parts of the West, new federal data show.

8 Jan 2018

RTI-led study seeks to improve retention rates, outcomes of patients in addiction treatment

From 2000 to 2015, more than a half million people died from drug overdoses. Many of these individuals tried to recover from their addiction by seeking treatment at specialty addiction programs.

5 Jan 2018

Wake Forest Baptist receives NIH grant for alcohol addiction research center

The National Institutes of Health has awarded Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center a grant worth an estimated $8 million over five years for the establishment of a new center for research into alcohol addiction.

3 Jan 2018

Study shows e-cigarette use may increase quit attempts and reduce smoking

As e-cigarettes become more popular, fewer people are taking up smoking traditional cigarettes. But can e-cigarettes, an electronic nicotine delivery system, help people quit smoking altogether? That was the focus of a recent study led by a Hollings Cancer Center researcher.

29 Dec 2017