The Latest News from Our Field

Ohio officials say they are making progress in the fight against prescription drug abuse. The Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services says about one million fewer prescription pain pills will be dispensed in two Ohio counties this year compared with 2010.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has purchased nine million cigarettes made of tobacco that are genetically altered to reduce the nicotine content by 97 percent, The New York Times reports. The NIH is looking for ways to regulate cigarettes so they are not addictive.

More companies are raising health insurance rates for smokers, according to Reuters. Companies are taking a more punitive approach after finding not enough employees signed up for classes to quit smoking, and those who did weren’t showing enough improvement.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder came to Tampa, Florida to announce the arrest of 22 people in Central Florida on charges of illegal prescription drug distribution.

The Foundation for Recovery’s Conference on Addiction, Research, Recovery and Education (CARRE) will take place at the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas on December 1-2, 2011.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse interacts with a variety of audiences, including scientists, prevention and treatment specialists and the general public. But one particularly important audience (and often the most difficult to reach) is the American teenager, explains Dr. Nora Volkow of NIDA.

The National Institute of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse has given the University of Buffalo a $900,000 grant to develop graduate medical education programs in addiction medicine.

A proposed Massachusetts bill would require doctors to participate in a prescription drug monitoring program. Currently participation in the program is voluntary.

A new study estimates 2.5 million children under age 12 in California are at risk of exposure to secondhand smoke.

Smoking cigarettes produces changes in the lungs that are similar to those seen in cystic fibrosis patients, according to a new study.

Yearly chest X-rays to screen for lung cancer do not reduce the death rate for the disease, a new study concludes.

A federal judge has extended a temporary ban on a Missouri college’s mandatory drug testing program.

Vermont police do not have access to the state’s prescription monitoring database, although the program receives funds from the federal Department of Justice.

The demand for cheap cigarettes in New York has fueled a large underground market, law enforcement officials say.

Florida’s prescription drug trafficking law requires mandatory minimum sentences to be based on the total weight of the drugs found in someone’s possession, not the amount of controlled substance in the pills.

A Missouri judge has declared a mistrial in a $700 million lawsuit against tobacco manufacturer Philip Morris.

CT scans used to look for signs of lung cancer may also pick up early chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in men with a history of heavy smoking.

Voters in Washington state are considering a measure that would change the way liquor is sold, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Each day, nearly 2,500 teens use prescription drugs to get high for the first time. Karen H. Perry, Executive Director of NOPE Task Force, explains the importance of safeguarding your medicines at home.

States are using prescription databases to deter “drug tourists” who travel to Florida and other states to load up on prescription painkillers and sell them across state lines.

The Food and Drug Administration has determined the smoking cessation drug Chantix is no more likely than nicotine patches to cause psychiatric events that require hospitalization.

A federal judge has temporarily halted a Florida law that requires welfare applicants to pass a drug test before they are able to receive benefits.

A new study links heavy alcohol consumption with a greater risk of developing lung cancer.

Major League Baseball is considering whether to issue a ban on alcohol in baseball clubhouses following reports of beer drinking in the Boston Red Sox clubhouse this season.

Wal-Mart has announced it is significantly raising health insurance premiums for many employees who smoke.