Abstinence News and Research

RSS

Abstinence is a voluntary restraint from indulging a desire or appetite for certain bodily activities that are widely experienced as giving pleasure. Most frequently, the term refers to abstention from sexual intercourse, alcohol or food. The practice can arise from religious prohibitions or practical considerations.

Postdischarge intervention helps smokers quit smoking

Among hospitalized adult smokers who wanted to quit, a postdischarge intervention that included automated telephone calls and free medication resulted in higher sustained smoking cessation rates at six months than standard postdischarge advice to use smoking cessation medication and counseling, according to a study in the August 20 issue of JAMA.

20 Aug 2014

Potential health concerns, but limited data on electronic cigarettes safety

Electronic cigarettes (ECIGs) are booming in popularity-but there's still only limited evidence on their potential health risks, or their advertised benefits in helping people to quit smoking, according to a research review in the July/August Journal of Addiction Medicine, the official journal of the American Society of Addiction Medicine.

6 Aug 2014

States grapple with mental illness issues; Oregon moves closer to limiting Medicaid patients' access to new hepatitis C drugs

The numbers, posted daily on the Cook County sheriff's website, would be alarming at an urgent care clinic, let alone a jail: On a Wednesday, 36 percent of all new arrivals report having a mental illness. On a Friday, it's 54 percent. But inside the razor wire framing the 96-acre compound, the faces and voices of the newly arrested confirm its accidental role as Chicago's treatment center of last resort for people with serious mental illnesses (Geller, 7/14).

16 Jul 2014

Kaleo announces U.S. availability of EVZIO for emergency treatment of opioid overdose

Kaleo, a privately-held pharmaceutical company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, today announced the United States (U.S.) commercial availability of EVZIO for the emergency treatment of known or suspected opioid overdose, as manifested by respiratory and/or central nervous system depression.

10 Jul 2014

Combining NRT with varenicline improves smoking abstinence

Combining the smoking cessation medication varenicline with nicotine replacement therapy was more effective than varenicline alone at achieving tobacco abstinence at 6 months, according to a study in the July 9 issue of JAMA.

8 Jul 2014

Alcoholic liver disease: an interview with Dr Vinood Patel, University of Westminster

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is one of the leading causes of death worldwide and also in the UK. As its name indicates this disease arises due to consuming excessive amounts of alcohol (80 g/day) over an extended period, normally 10-20 years.

24 Jun 2014

State highlights: Ohio managed care plans launch; Bluecross Blueshield plan faces Ore. lawsuit; N.Y. policy on unvaccinated children upheld

A selection of health policy stories from Ohio, Oregon, New York, Colorado, Iowa, New Jersey, North Carolina, Georgia, California and Minnesota.

24 Jun 2014

XenoPort initiates XP23829 Phase 2 clinical trial in patients with psoriasis

XenoPort, Inc. announced today that it has initiated a Phase 2 clinical trial of XP23829, its proprietary investigational next-generation fumaric acid product candidate. The trial is a multi-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study designed to assess the efficacy and safety of XP23829 as a potential treatment of patients with moderate-to-severe chronic plaque-type psoriasis.

23 Jun 2014

Special issue explores trends related to unmet need for contraception

Studies in Family Planning, a leading journal published by the Population Council, released "Unmet Need for Family Planning"-a special issue featuring ten articles, including a comprehensive introduction to the topic of unmet need.

18 Jun 2014

Text messages to smokers' mobile phones help quit smoking

Sending smokers individualized text messages to their mobile phones was found to be twice as effective at helping them quit smoking compared to simply providing self-help materials, according to a study in American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

11 Jun 2014

Study: Mobile phone program doubles the chances that smokers will quit

More than 11 percent of smokers who used a text- messaging program to help them quit did so and remained smoke free at the end of a six- month study as compared to just 5 percent of controls, according to a new report by researchers at Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University (Milken Institute SPH.)

6 Jun 2014

Cannabis use affects size and shape of sperm in young men

Young men who use cannabis may be putting their fertility at risk by inadvertently affecting the size and shape of their sperm according to research published today (Thursday 5 June 2014).

5 Jun 2014

Family planning linked to better child and maternal health, says study

Nearly half of all pregnancies in the United States are unintended, and unplanned pregnancies are associated with poorer health and lower rates of educational and economic achievement for women and their children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

29 May 2014

New intervention program may benefit chronically homeless, alcohol-dependent individuals

Chronically homeless, alcohol-dependent individuals might benefit from a new intervention that does not require them to stop or even reduce drinking, according to the results of a preliminary study in Seattle.

16 May 2014

Several medications can help people with alcohol use disorders quit drinking

Several medications can help people with alcohol use disorders maintain abstinence or reduce drinking, according to research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

14 May 2014

Drinking alcohol before pregnancy linked to intestinal birth defect

Women should refrain from drinking alcohol before they try to become pregnant, according to maternal-fetal medicine specialists at Loyola University Health System.

1 May 2014

UTMB awarded $6.6 million grant to establish Translational Addiction Sciences Center

The National Institute on Drug Abuse has awarded a five-year, $6.6 million grant to the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston to establish the Translational Addiction Sciences Center. The center will investigate the mechanisms underlying addiction with the goal of discovering and validating novel treatment options.

26 Apr 2014

Researchers develop effective behavioral economic approach that offers women financial incentives to quit smoking

Smoking during pregnancy - particularly among economically-disadvantaged women - leads to a host of poor pregnancy outcomes, including miscarriage, preterm birth, SIDS, and additional adverse effects later in life. Without a formal treatment intervention, women in this population continue to smoke, and their babies suffer.

22 Apr 2014

Researchers receive $3.7M NIH grant to develop anti-smoking program for HIV-infected smoker

Montefiore Medical Center researchers have received a $3.7 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop an anti-smoking program for HIV-infected smokers.

21 Apr 2014

Research findings have important implications for personalized treatment of alcohol abuse

Heavy drinking is common in the United States and takes a personal and societal toll, with an annual estimated cost of $223.5 billion due to losses in workplace productivity, health care and criminal justice expenses.

16 Feb 2014