The Latest News from Our Field

Young teens appear to be susceptible to the persuasive messages in television alcohol ads, a new study suggests. The ads influence some young teens to drink more and experience drinking-related problems later in adolescence, the researchers found.

The United States is not on track to meet the government’s goal of reducing cigarette smoking prevalence to 12 percent by 2020, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). An estimated 443,000 people die from cigarette smoking each year, the CDC report states.

The California Supreme Court will soon decide whether local governments can ban marijuana dispensaries, according to the Los Angeles Times. The court will hear arguments on February 5, following years of contradictory decisions by lower courts.

Heroin use is growing in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, while abuse of opiate painkillers, such as methadone and oxycodone, may be decreasing, according to a new report.

A Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel voted Friday to strengthen restrictions on hydrocodone combination drugs, such as Vicodin. The panel recommended that the FDA make the drugs more difficult to prescribe.

A survey of parents finds just one-third are very concerned about the misuse of prescribed narcotic pain medicine by children and teens in their community, according to HealthDay. Only one-fifth are very concerned about the misuse of these drugs in their own families.

Communities across the country are beginning to organize town hall meetings, support groups and campaigns to discourage the growing use of heroin, The Christian Science Monitor reports.

Representatives from Mexico, Colombia and Costa Rica met with U.S. officials last week to discuss the impact on Latin America of new marijuana legalization laws in Colorado and Washington.

Michael Botticelli brings insights from the Massachusetts Department of Health to his new job as Deputy Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

The soon-to-be-released update of psychiatry’s diagnostic manual, DSM-5, combines problem drinking and alcoholism into a single condition known as “alcohol use disorder.” A new study suggests these changes may not improve the diagnosis of alcoholism, Time.com reports.

A top Drug Enforcement Administration official said this week the high rates of abuse of hydrocodone combination pills demonstrate physicians aren’t taking the risks of these medications seriously.

Emergency room visits involving attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) drugs more than doubled from 2005 to 2010, according to a new government report. The number of visits involving ADHD medications that were used non-medically almost tripled during this period.

This fall, seven of the eight Ivy League universities introduced new alcohol policies in an effort to combat high-risk drinking, the Yale Daily News reports.

Smokers lose at least 10 years of life expectancy, compared with those who have never smoked, according to a study published in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine.

High school programs that teach teens to better manage their personality traits can help reduce and postpone problem drinking, a new study suggests.

The U.S. Navy will begin conducting random blood-alcohol tests on sailors in the United States in February, the Associated Press reports.

Missouri’s drug courts have more than 12,000 graduates who have successfully completed treatment court programs, according to the state’s top judge. "Missouri has become a national leader in drug courts," Chief Justice Richard Teitleman said in an address to the state legislature this week.

A U.S. Appeals Court this week refused to overrule the Drug Enforcement Administration’s classification of marijuana as a dangerous drug with no accepted medical uses, the Los Angeles Times reports.

A proposal by the Drug Enforcement Administration to more tightly control prescriptions of drugs containing hydrocodone is prompting debate among doctors, according to NPR.

Almost half of Americans surveyed say they would support government regulation of nicotine levels in cigarettes, HealthDay reports.

Drinking alcohol may help a person fall asleep, and increase deep sleep during the first half of the night, but can disrupt sleep during the second half, a new study finds.

Prescription drug abuse is growing out-of-control, draining limited resources and devastating families. Karen Kelly of Operation Unite explains why the National Rx Drug Abuse Summit aims to “Make An Impact” in the fight against this national epidemic.

Having a parent or sibling who has been deployed in the military increases the risk of drug and alcohol use among middle and high school students, a new study finds.

British researchers say there appears to be a link between smoke-free laws and a drop in the number of children hospitalized for asthma attacks. Their study found a 12.3 percent decrease in hospital admissions for childhood asthma attacks in the first year after smoke-free laws were enacted in Britain.

Law enforcement officials in the Boston areas report spotting new synthetic drugs, whose makers are figuring out ways to get around a federal ban on the substances.