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.

Sex education works for teenagers and delays sexual intercourse

According to the latest research sex education in schools is effective and makes it more likely that teenagers will delay having intercourse.

20 Dec 2007

No need for reduced alcohol consumption in later life

Provided they stick to the same guidelines about alcohol consumption as younger adults, regular moderate drinking poses no additional risks to the over 65s, and may even bring health benefits, according to two studies from the Peninsula Medical School in the South West of England.

20 Dec 2007

A new brain imaging study identifies 'brain signature' for cigarette cravings

A new brain imaging study by researchers in the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania shows that cigarette cravings in smokers who are deprived of nicotine are linked with increased activation in specific regions of the brain.

20 Dec 2007

Heartburn during pregnancy

Heartburn symptoms are one of the most commonly reported complaints among pregnant women.

10 Dec 2007

The true picture of AIDS in the U.S. yet to be revealed

Despite widespread reports in the U.S. media concerning the sharp rise in the number of annual infections from HIV/AIDS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is yet to confirm that is the case.

3 Dec 2007

Recovering alcoholics who abstain from drinking are least likely to relapse

However, although abstinence is the most reliable form of recovery to help middle-age and older adults avoid alcohol abuse and dependence problems, the study found that sustained recovery might be more elusive for young people, regardless of whether they avoid all alcohol or simply restrict their consumption.

27 Nov 2007

Ugandan President calls for public-private partnership to fight HIV/AIDS during U.S. meeting

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni last week during a meeting in Washington, D.C., with representatives from the African Diplomatic Corps, U.S. government officials and representatives from the health care industry called for a public-private partnership to fight HIV/AIDS in Uganda, Uganda's Monitor reports.

6 Nov 2007

Bupropion plus counseling appears to help adolescents quit cigarette smoking in the short term

Almost one-fourth of U.S. high school students currently smoke cigarettes, according to background information in the article. Many teen smokers want to quit, but studies estimate that only about 4 percent of those who try are successful each year.

6 Nov 2007

Substance abuse practitioners ask 'what is recovery?'

Abstinence from alcohol and drugs is just the starting point in defining "recovery" for people with substance abuse disorders, according to a paper in the October issue of the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment (JSAT).

2 Nov 2007

Cognitive performance in long-term abstinent elderly alcoholics

In a new study comparing elderly abstinent alcoholics with light- or nondrinking peers, the recovering alcoholics generally demonstrated equal or superior cognitive functioning to those who were not alcoholic.

24 Oct 2007

Traditional perception of alcoholism and impulsive behaviour may need to be reconsidered

Impulsivity is a problem common to many different personality and psychiatric disorders, including alcoholism.

24 Oct 2007

Smoking cessation programs should be tailored to age

A new study shows that obstacles to smoking cessation and motives for quitting smoking vary with age.

22 Oct 2007

Sex once a day... on doctors orders!

The latest research into male fertility has the news all men want to hear - the more sex a man has the more fertile he becomes - at least in some cases!

17 Oct 2007

To drink or not while pregnant? that is the question

Pregnant women are now being told that it is safe to drink a daily glass of wine adding more confusion to the advice metered out to women.

11 Oct 2007

The highs and lows of drug cravings

The anticipation of a cocaine fix and the actual craving to abuse the drug are two closely related phenomena, according to new evidence published in the online open access journal Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy.

11 Oct 2007

Migraine drug Topamax tested on alcoholics

Researchers in the United States say a drug used to prevent migraines has been effective in reducing the number of days alcoholics spend binge drinking.

10 Oct 2007

Mozambique Archbishop Chimoio's comments claiming European-made condoms, antiretrovirals deliberately tainted with HIV, baseless

Comments made last week by Archbishop Francisco Chimoio, head of the Roman Catholic Church in Mozambique, that two European countries make condoms deliberately tainted with HIV as part of a plan "to finish quickly the African people" are "lunatic theories" and "baseless allegations," a Los Angeles Times editorial says (Los Angeles Times, 9/29).

2 Oct 2007