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.

Combining cognitive behavioral therapy with medication bupropion helps women quit smoking

For women smokers worried about their weight, combining cognitive behavioral therapy addressing weight concerns with the medication bupropion appears more effective than counseling alone to help them quit smoking, according to a report in the March 22 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

23 Mar 2010

Catholics for Choice comments on healthcare reform promises

At the outset of the debate over healthcare reform, leaders in the Democratic Party made a number of promises to the American people.

22 Mar 2010

Southern California’s Sexual Recovery Institute introduces additional Intensive Outpatient Programs

Southern California’s Sexual Recovery Institute (SRI), the leading outpatient treatment center for sex addiction, has announced additional Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOP). The expansion is a result of increased awareness of sex addiction issues as the mainstream media begins to shed light on high profile scandals and subsequent treatment methods.

18 Mar 2010

Nabi Biopharmaceuticals commences second Phase III study of NicVAX for treating nicotine addiction

Nabi Biopharmaceuticals announced that it has initiated the second of two pivotal Phase III clinical trials for NicVAX® (Nicotine Conjugate Vaccine), the company's innovative and proprietary vaccine to treat nicotine addiction and prevent smoking relapse. The FDA has agreed with Nabi on the study design, protocol and end points through a Special Protocol Assessment (SPA). The SPA forms a basic foundation to support approval of a New Drug Application. The Company also received scientific advice from the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) that confirms and supports the trial protocol.

17 Mar 2010

Study uncovers mechanism facilitating motivation for alcohol after extended abstinence

New research provides exciting insight into the molecular mechanisms associated with addiction and relapse. The study, published by Cell Press in the March 11 issue of the journal Neuron, uncovers a crucial mechanism that facilitates motivation for alcohol after extended abstinence and opens new avenues for potential therapeutic intervention.

11 Mar 2010

Residential recovery program to aid women struggling with substance abuse

On Tuesday, March 9, 2010 at 3:30 pm, The W. Garfield Weston Foundation will present The Salvation Army Homestead (78 Admiral Rd, Toronto) a residential recovery program for women struggling with substance abuse, with a donation of $1.5 million for urgently needed building renovations.

8 Mar 2010

Neurogenesis linked to drug addiction and relapse

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center hope they have begun paving a new pathway in the fight against drug dependence. Their hypothesis - that increasing the normally occurring process of making nerve cells might prevent addiction - is based on a rodent study demonstrating that blocking new growth of specific brain nerve cells increases vulnerability for cocaine addiction and relapse.

27 Feb 2010

News outlets examine use of ART, microbicide development presented at conference

News outlets continue to report on the science discussed at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI), which ended Friday in San Francisco.

23 Feb 2010

Spanish-language media campaign increases number of QuitLine callers

It pays to advertise. It especially pays to advertise in Spanish if you want Spanish speakers to use a telephone helpline to quit smoking.

12 Feb 2010

Public policy implications in abstinence-only programs

Study focused on young African American preteens in an urban area: This is a legitimate public health study and it did show that a certain type of abstinence only program can help some very young adolescents (average age 12) delay sexual initiation for up to 24 months.

3 Feb 2010

Abstinence-only program shows success in reducing teen sex

"An experimental abstinence-only program without a moralistic tone can delay teens from having sex, a provocative study found," The Associated Press reports. "Billed as the first rigorous research to show long-term success with an abstinence-only approach, the study differed from traditional programs that have lost federal and state support in recent years." The classes did not focus on a message of saving sex until marriage or "disparage condom use." Instead, the classes "involved assignments to help sixth- and seventh graders see the drawbacks to sexual activity at their age."

2 Feb 2010

Novelty may help prevent relapse in drug addicts

The brain's innate interest in the new and different may help trump the power of addictive drugs, according to research published by the American Psychological Association. In controlled experiments, novelty drew cocaine-treated rats away from the place they got cocaine.

2 Feb 2010

Extended nicotine patch therapy benefits relapsing smokers trying to quit

New research from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine may help more smokers keep their New Year's resolution by helping them quit smoking. Extended use of a nicotine patch - 24 weeks versus the standard eight weeks recommended by manufacturers - boosts the number of smokers who maintain their cigarette abstinence and helps more of those who backslide into the habit while wearing the patch, according to a study which will be published in the February 2 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine.

2 Feb 2010

AA attendance may alleviate depression

One of many reasons that attendance at Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings helps people with alcohol use disorders stay sober appears to be alleviation of depression.

29 Jan 2010

Blocking CRF may prevent excessive alcohol consumption

A team of scientists from The Scripps Research Institute has found that a specific stress hormone, the corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), is key to the development and maintenance of alcohol dependence in animal models.

28 Jan 2010

Exercise can aid in smoking cessation; improve physical fitness in women smokers

It's been 18 excruciating hours since you last had one. You're irritable, stressed out, and the cravings are intense. There is only one thing you can think about firing up - and it isn't your treadmill. But that's exactly what University of Western Ontario researchers have been hard at work trying to convince smokers to do.

20 Jan 2010

Motivational interviewing may help people to quit smoking

Addressing tobacco use without judging the user appears to help people quit, especially if a primary care physician uses a form of supportive counseling called "motivational interviewing," according to a new review of studies.

20 Jan 2010

Caffeine abstinence: An ineffective and potentially distressing tinnitus therapy

New research has found giving up caffeine does not relieve tinnitus and acute caffeine withdrawal might add to the problem. This is the first study of its kind to look at the effect of caffeine consumption on tinnitus.

13 Jan 2010

Congress lifts federal ban on needle exchange programs

The Minnesota Independent: "An appropriations bill passed by Congress last weekend is being hailed by public health advocates for ending funding for abstinence-until-marriage sex education and eliminating the ban on federal funding for needle exchange programs" (Birkey, 12/17).

18 Dec 2009

PEPFAR decisions to be grounded in scientific evidence, Goosby says

U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Eric Goosby "said future programmes to prevent HIV infection would be those supported by the best scientific evidence," reports the Financial Times. Goosby told the Financial Times in an interview: "I will always wrap myself in the science as the justification of decision-making. I will not factor in an ideological rationale."

17 Dec 2009