The Latest News from Our Field

Norwegian Cruise Lines has announced it will ban smoking in staterooms on all of its 11 ships starting in 2012.

Two new initiatives are bringing college leaders and experts together to tackle the seemingly intractable problem of college high-risk drinking.

People who start smoking soon after they wake up are more likely to develop lung, head and neck cancer, compared to those who wait awhile before they light up, new research suggests.

A survey to see how well alcohol use rules are being enforced among Marines could result in an increase in treatment for alcohol abuse, the Marine Corps Times reports.

Smoking and obesity play a large role in the early deaths of many women in Emporia, VA. Women there are likely to die nearly 10 years earlier than women in a wealthier county just a few hours north.

Police and hospitals across Maine report a sharp increase in the use of “bath salts.” The Northern New England Poison Control Center received 110 calls about bath salts—87 of them from Maine—between January and July, compared with just one call in 2010.

An increasing number of colleges are selling beer to legal-age drinkers to increase profits, according to The Des Moines Register.

The rate of alcohol abuse among soldiers has doubled in the past five years, the head of the Army’s substance abuse program says.

Using the U.S. Postal Service and commercial carriers to transport contraband is becoming an increasingly popular choice among South Florida drug smugglers.

Cape Cod, a favorite Massachusetts vacation destination, is experiencing a rash of property crimes fueled by drug abuse.

Screening and brief intervention (BI) is recommended to find patients with unhealthy alcohol use and to treat them, even though there are still many questions about the effectiveness of the procedure, according to the Chair of the upcoming INEBRIA conference in Boston.

Self-medicating with alcohol and drugs to ease anxiety substantially increases the risk of substance use disorders, suggests a new study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

The percentage of high school smokers who smoke at least 11 cigarettes a day is on the decline, a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds. ‘Light’ smoking—defined as between one and five cigarettes a day—is increasing among U.S. high school students.

A new study suggests that Florida’s Clean Indoor Air Act, which prohibits smoking in all enclosed indoor workplaces, has not harmed businesses. In some cases, the law has had a positive effect on profits, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

California Governor Jerry Brown this week signed a bill that bans the production and sale of beer with added caffeine.

Vermont has the highest rate of underage drinking in the nation, a new federal report reveals.

Johnson & Johnson’s recent announcement that the company plans to lower the maximum dose for Extra Strength Tylenol highlights the potential overdose dangers of over-the-counter drugs, experts say.

Israeli scientists are developing a new device to detect “date-rape” drugs, ketamine and GHB, in drinks, the New York Daily News reports.

Customs officials in South Florida say drug smugglers are finding a variety of creative ways to conceal their goods, from using submarines to hiding drugs in beans and nuts.

Health officials in Vancouver, Canada have announced a pilot project to distribute clean, unused crack pipes to drug users later this year, as part of a “harm reduction” program to reduce spread of disease.

A report by doctors at New York’s Bellevue Hospital describes how 11 young people –10 of them under the legal drinking age of 21—were rushed to the emergency room after drinking the “alcopop” Four Loko.

Women who suffer gender-based violence have a much higher-than-average lifetime risk of substance abuse disorders and other mental health disorders, according to a study in this week’s Journal of the American Medical Association.

Smoking is an important risk factor in brain shrinkage and a decline in brain function in later years, a new study suggests.

Countries need to be cognizant of the suffering of patients in pain when formulating plans to cut down on prescription drug abuse, according to the new World Health Organization's (WHO) guidelines on balanced drug control policies.

A survey of teenagers finds 22 percent of those taking controlled medications, such as painkillers or stimulants, misused the drugs in the past year.