The Latest News from Our Field

Family dinners, long considered to be a way to reduce the odds of teen substance abuse, may not be as effective as previously thought, a new study suggests.

A new poll suggests shrinking support for a California ballot measure that would add a $1 tax to each pack of cigarettes. Voters will decide the outcome on Tuesday.

Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear signed into law a measure that makes it illegal to sell or possess synthetic drugs, including “bath salts” and synthetic marijuana.

A new study finds that World No Tobacco Day, on May 31, promotes awareness and interest in quitting smoking. The study of seven Latin American countries found on that day, news coverage of smoking cessation increased by as much as 83 percent, and Internet searches about the topic jumped by up to 84 percent, compared with other days.

As a growing number of states implement prescription drug monitoring databases to curb “doctor shopping” for painkillers, some physicians say they object to aspects of the programs.

People who carry a specific high-risk variation in a cluster of nicotine receptor genes are more likely to find success in quitting smoking using smoking cessation medication, a new study suggests.

A new poll finds 46 percent of California voters say they favor legalization of marijuana for general or recreational use by adults. Eighty percent support doctor-recommended use for severe illness, according to the Los Angeles Times.

A counterfeit form of the drug Adderall is being sold online, the Food and Drug Administration warned this week. Adderall, prescribed for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and narcolepsy, also is used illicitly to increase attention and get high, the Los Angeles Times reports.

People who receive a lung transplanted from a smoker live longer than people who need a transplant and don’t receive one, a new study finds.

In Michigan, 44 residents younger than 18 have a medical marijuana card, according to the Detroit Free Press.

The number of visits to New York public hospital emergency rooms that are related to drinking shot up from almost 8,000 to 15,620 in five years, the New York Daily News reports.

Ken Winters, PhD, of the Treatment Research Institute sees two problems with the proposed DSM revisions.

The U.S. Senate last week passed a bill that would prohibit the sale of synthetic drugs. The bill had been held up in the Senate for months by Kentucky Senator Rand Paul.

A new video game helps doctors learn how to determine if patients asking for painkillers truly need them. The game is part of an effort at Northwestern University in Chicago to help physicians fight prescription drug abuse.

Only a small fraction of revenues that states collect from the sale of tobacco products goes toward smoking prevention programs, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Almost one-fourth of suicide victims in the United States are legally intoxicated at the time of death, a new study has found.

Drunk drivers are a threat on the road during Memorial Day weekend, warns Fox Business. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 397 people died over the three-day weekend in 2010, the latest year for which data is available. Of those crashes, 40 percent were alcohol-related.

Medical marijuana laws are posing a challenge to colleges, NPR reports. Since marijuana is illegal under federal law, colleges that allow students to use medical marijuana on campus are at risk of losing federal funding.

Prescriptions for controlled substances in Tennessee jumped 23 percent from 2010 to 2011, the Associated Press reports. The increase occurred despite efforts to address the state’s prescription drug abuse epidemic.

Support for a proposed $1 per-pack tax increase on cigarettes is waning, a new poll finds. The Public Policy Institute of California poll found 53 percent of likely voters say they will vote in favor of the tax hike during the June 5 primary, while 42 percent are opposed to it.

The United States is looking to other nations for ideas on how to treat addiction as a disease, the U.S. Director of National Drug Control Policy said Tuesday.

Researchers at Stanford University, who conducted the largest study to date of African-Americans’ genetics and smoking behavior, have found a genetic marker that influences smoking habits.

A federal appeals court has ruled that the Americans with Disabilities Act cannot be used to protect medical marijuana dispensaries from being shut down.

Teens and young adults who listen to high-volume digital music with ear buds, or who visit music venues such as clubs or concerts, are at greater risk of substance abuse than their peers who don’t engage in so-called risky music-listening behaviors, according to a new study.

What has many people interested in the Revel hotel and casino, which hosts its official opening Memorial Day weekend, is that it offers Atlantic City’s only smoke-free gaming floor, says William Furmanski of Legacy.