Opioid addiction is a major problem in the US.
In this way, Harvard Medical School (HMS) has introduced a new online course entitled OpioidX: The Opioid Crisis in America.
OpioidX is the first free, comprehensive educational programme...
A new study published in the Journal of Addiction Medicine suggests that a tele-psychiatric approach which uses video-link technology in combination with medicinal treatment in the form of buprenorphine could be as effective as the usual...
Illegal marijuana use and reported cases of addiction have increased more rapidly in US states that passed laws to introduce medical marijuana compared to those that did not. This is according to new research to be published in the journal...
Tobacco is the number one cause of preventable death worldwide. A recently published Cochraine Review has found that standardised, or plain, tobacco packaging could make tobacco products less appealing and, in turn, lead to a reduction in...
The European Facility Survey Questionnaire (EFSQ) can be used for data collection in any country by those looking to investigate facilities that provide interventions for drug users.
Its aim is to collect information on facilities in...
New Research published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry has found that people with intermittent explosive disorder (IED) – a condition with a significant genetic component characterised by regular outbursts of aggression, whether...
Crack emerged in the late 1980s in Brazil. This emergence was a critical moment for public health; the growing AIDS epidemic led intravenous cocaine users to migrate toward crack use to avoid the use of injection drugs. At the same time...
New research published in The British Medical Journal supports the need to increase taxes on tobacco products in South Asia, suggesting that doing so could reduce consumption by at least 1/3 and, in turn, avoid around 35 - 45 million...
Psychosocial interventions are psychological or social interventions used to tackle issues related to substance abuse and behavioural addictions. They can be employed to identify and treat problems, as well as to assist with user...
An updated version of the publication Prevention of Substance Abuse by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) is now available in English. Global in scope, it provides an up-to-date review of prevention science...
New research published in The Lancet Public Health suggests that global smoking rates have decreased by 2.5% following the introduction of the global tobacco control treaty. The treaty obligates the 180 countries committed to it to...
A new study has found that having surgery may expose patients to a higher risk of developing long-term opioid dependence. According to the investigation, around 6% of people who had not taken opioids prior to their operation but were...
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has released a number of new resources.
These are aimed at those working within the criminal justice system and other environments where people in recovery from drug addiction are ready to...
New research by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) may lead to the development of personalised treatments for alcohol dependence. The study evaluated how people’s responses in the brain differ to various therapeutic...
Marijuana use may increase the risk of stroke and heart failure.
This was concluded to be the case even after accounting for demographic and lifestyle risk factors, as well as other health conditions.
The new findings on the potential...
Cocaine exerts its behavioral stimulant effects by facilitating synaptic actions of neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin. It is also neurotoxic and broadly cytotoxic, leading to overdose deaths. We demonstrate that...
Working with mice, researchers at Johns Hopkins have contributed significant new evidence to support the idea that high doses of cocaine kill brain cells by triggering overactive autophagy, a process in which cells literally digest their...
New research supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has found through a comparison of treatment approaches for opioid dependence that, in an emergency setting, combining the medication buprenorphine with on-going care is...
What is already known about this topic?
Fentanyl has a growing presence in the illicit drug market and is involved in an increasing proportion of opioid overdose deaths.
What is added by this report?
Approximately two...
Among people recovering from substance use disorders, those who smoke are more likely to relapse three years later compared to those who do not, according to new findings published in The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.
Treatment for...