Abstinence News and Research

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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.

Sleep quality linked to cannabis lapses

Poor sleep quality is associated with an increased risk for early lapses in cannabis-dependent individuals who are attempting to quit the drug, researchers report.

1 Mar 2013

Youths addicted to alcohol and drugs can increase their chances of recovery by helping others

A Case Western Reserve University professor has found that young people addicted to alcohol and drugs can increase their chances of recovery by helping others.

28 Feb 2013

Blog profiles ranking Republican on Senate HHS Appropriations subcommittee

The Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog profiles Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), the ranking Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee's subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies. Moran is an advocate of funding for the National Institutes of Health, the blog notes, adding that during his seven terms as

21 Feb 2013

Problem drinkers’ depression often related to heavy alcohol intake

For problem drinkers, bouts of depressive symptoms are often the direct result of their heavy alcohol intake, according to a study in the March issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

12 Feb 2013

Researchers investigate e-cigarettes awareness, use and perceptions among smokers

Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), or e-cigarettes, debuted in China in 2003 and have since become available globally, particularly through the Internet. While they resemble traditional tobacco cigarettes, they produce fewer toxins in the vapor for the smoker. Still, these novel products have unknown long-term health and addiction consequences, are of varying nicotine content and delivery, and may appeal to nonusers and youth. ENDS have been banned by health authorities in Canada and Australia.

5 Feb 2013

Substance abuse negatively affects sexual performance in men even after years of abstinence

Researchers at the University of Granada, Spain, and Santo Tomas University in Colombia have found that drug abuse negatively affects sexual performance in men even after years of abstinence. This finding contradicts other studies reporting that men spontaneously recovered their normal sexual performance at three weeks after quitting substance abuse.

19 Jan 2013

Contingency management benefits drug-dependent mental health patients

Contingency management significantly reduces stimulant drug use in dependent patients with serious mental illnesses, researchers report.

8 Jan 2013

Cannabis use linked to poorer cognition in dependent schizophrenia patients

Cumulative cannabis use is negatively associated with cognition in men with schizophrenia who are currently dependent on the drug, report researchers.

20 Dec 2012

Alcoholics Anonymous helps men and women maintain sobriety in different ways

A new study finds differences in the ways that participation in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) helps men and women maintain sobriety. Two Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators found that, while many factors are helpful to all AA participants, some were stronger in men and some in women.

6 Dec 2012

Combination of mixed amphetamine salts and topiramate shows promise for cocaine dependence

Medication development efforts for cocaine dependence have yet to result in an FDA approved treatment. The powerful rewarding effects of cocaine, the profound disruptive impact of cocaine dependence on one's lifestyle, and the tendency of cocaine to attract people who make poor life choices and then exacerbate impulsive behavior all make cocaine a vexing clinical condition.

28 Nov 2012

Behavioural support programme to make TB patients quit smoking receives BUPA Foundation prize

The BUPA Foundation has awarded a high commendation prize for research led by the University of York into effective ways of helping tuberculosis patients in Pakistan to give up smoking.

23 Nov 2012

Addiction counselors tolerate moderate substance abuse in patients

Nearly half of alcohol and drug addiction counselors now find it acceptable for their patients to drink or take drugs occasionally, a survey has found.

9 Nov 2012

Twelve Step-based residential treatment benefits young adults with addiction

Young adults undergoing addiction treatment benefit from regular participation in Twelve Step-based self-help groups after discharge, according to a naturalistic study published electronically and in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

9 Nov 2012

Most therapists still require abstinence for clients with substance dependence

Compared to a survey conducted nearly 20 years ago, about twice the proportion of addiction counselors now find it acceptable for at least some of their patients to have a drink occasionally - either as an intermediate goal or as their final treatment goal, according to a new study published by the American Psychological Association.

3 Nov 2012

Physically active men produce better semen quality

A new study conducted by researchers at the University of Cordoba links moderate physical activity in males with better hormone levels and sperm characteristics that favour reproduction compared to sedentary men.

1 Nov 2012

Research roundup: Financial impact of reducing surgical complications; Pay for performance to doctors, hospitals yields mixed results

The authors write: "We found that if a hospital's surgical inpatient volume is not growing, such a program results in negative cash flow. We also found that if a hospital's surgical volume is growing, and if the hospital can sufficiently reduce the average length-of-stay for surgical patients without complications, the cash flow could be positive. We recommend that hospitals with limited growth prospects that are nonetheless contemplating a surgical complication reduction program establish agreements with payers to share in any savings generated by the program."

20 Oct 2012

Smoking cessation programs must be made available for current active-duty war fighters

In a new study published in Frontiers, Dr Timothy Durazzo and colleagues from the San Francisco VA Medical Center and University of California, San Francisco, expand upon their decade of research showing that smoking while kicking the alcohol habit impairs memory, learning and other cognitive skills--ultimately making it more difficult to weather the long storm of sobriety.

15 Oct 2012

Alcohol problems may be influenced by neighborhood

Disadvantaged groups living in poor neighborhoods are much more likely to suffer alcohol problems than their wealthier counterparts, research shows.

12 Oct 2012

Activists propose new model to fight HIV/AIDS in Kenya

"Twenty-eight years since the first HIV/AIDS case was reported in Kenya, organizations are proposing a new model to fight the epidemic," Sabahi reports. "The model, called 'SAVE,' an acronym for 'Safer practices, Access to treatment, Voluntary counseling and testing, and Empowerment,' hopes to improve the traditional ABC model, which focused on 'Abstinence, Being faithful, and using Condoms,'" the news service adds.

11 Oct 2012

SRR intervention decreases unintended pregnancies, unprotected sex in adolescent girls

Adolescent girls participating in a sexual risk reduction (SRR) intervention study were more likely to practice abstinence and, if sexually active, showed substantial decreases in unprotected sex, number of partners, and unintended pregnancies, reports a research team led by principal investigator Dianne Morrison-Beedy, PhD, RN, WHNP-BC, FNAP, FAANP, FAAN, Senior Associate Vice President of USF Health and Dean of the College of Nursing at the University of South Florida.

10 Oct 2012