The Latest News from Our Field

An advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration has recommended approving a long-acting opioid painkiller that the manufacturer says could deter abuse. The company that makes the new drug, Arymo ER, says it comes in a tablet that is extremely hard, making it more difficult to break down.

The Food and Drug Administration’s new rules on tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, went into effect Monday, HealthDay reports. Under the rules, announced in May, the agency is banning sales of e-cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco and hookah tobacco to people under age 18.

Many insurance companies require patients who have been prescribed the opioid addiction treatment Suboxone to get prior authorization, NPR reports. This requirement can take days or weeks, leaving patients vulnerable to relapse, one expert says.

A new study finds college students who misuse prescription stimulants are more likely to have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, compared with students not misusing stimulants. UPI reports students who misused stimulants also were more likely to have conduct disorder or substance use disorder.

Illicit drugs increasingly are being traded in hidden online marketplaces known as “crypomarkets,” The Wall Street Journal reports.

President Obama on Wednesday announced he is commuting 214 sentences for drug-related offenses, CNN reports. He has commuted a total of 562 sentences, more than the past nine presidents combined.

Aetna, one of the nation’s largest health insurance companies, is contacting doctors who prescribe significantly more opioids than their peers, The Washington Post reports.

A new study concludes the risk of long-term opioid use can be reduced by starting patients off with a single prescription of a short-acting opioid, with no refills.

A study of patients at pain or rehabilitation clinics who were prescribed opioids found 20 percent tested positive for the anti-seizure drug gabapentin (Neurontin), even though they did not have a prescription for the drug.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, July 29- Thursday, August 4, 2016.

Poison control centers around the country are receiving a growing number of calls about the abuse of the drugs gabapentin and pregabalin, which are prescribed to treat seizures and nerve pain. Abuse of these drugs has increased fourfold since 2006, new research indicates.

A new report urges legislators to end the use of anonymous shell companies, to help law enforcement fight opioid trafficking. The report, by the nonprofit group the Fair Share Education Fund, says requiring all companies formed in the United States to disclose their owners would allow law enforcement to curb drug trafficking.

High school students are more likely to use marijuana than to binge drink, a new report indicates.

Teens who have easy access to drugs or alcohol may be at increased risk of substance use in adulthood, a new study suggests.

A newly developed device worn on the skin as a temporary tattoo can measure a person’s blood alcohol level from sweat. The device can transmit the data wirelessly to a laptop or smartphone, according to engineers at the University of California San Diego.

Kratom, a plant-based drug with opioid-like effects, is an emerging public health threat, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns.

A street drug that combines fentanyl and a new synthetic opioid is being sold illegally as the prescription painkiller Norco, according to a new report. Researchers caution that the street version is much stronger and more hazardous than the real medication.

A new study finds medical services for people dependent on opioids rose more than 3,000 percent between 2007 and 2014, according to Kaiser Health News.

Many people still see addiction as a character flaw instead of a chronic disease of the brain, according to U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy. He told The Huffington Post that to address the opioid epidemic, it is necessary to “change how our country sees addiction.”

Critics of a new law that makes it more difficult for the government to take action against drug companies say the measure could worsen the opioid crisis, according to the Los Angeles Times.

A new study finds a non-drug approach to pain management that combines behavioral therapy and social support is effective. The researchers say such an approach could help reduce addiction to opioid painkillers, Science Daily reports.

All e-cigarettes emit toxic chemicals, according to a new study. Levels of these chemicals are affected by a number of factors, including temperature, type and age of the device, HealthDay reports.

People living in Southern states are less likely to smoke marijuana than those in other regions of the country, according to a new study. Residents of Alabama, Mississippi and Texas are the least likely to use the drug, USA Today reports.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, July 22- Thursday, July 28, 2016.

Raising the minimum age of sale for cigarettes and all tobacco products to 21 is a critical tool that can help end the tobacco epidemic, explains Robin Koval of Truth Initiative.