Research conducted at the University of Edinburgh has found a link between cannabis use and bone mass density. More specifically, the findings, recently published in the American Journal of Medicine, report that frequent cannabis users are...
Almost 20% of American adults smoke cigarettes. Those diagnosed as having a moderate mental health problem are approximately twice as likely to smoke, whereas for those diagnosed as severely ill the risks are roughly three times greater...
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Within as little as twenty minutes after your last cigarette your body begins to feel the effects of quitting. Health benefits from stopping smoking include, amongst other things, a decrease in heart rate and blood pressure, better...
Recently sixteen people were hospitalised on the Gold Coast, Australia, after taking a new synthetic drug known as Flakka. One of those taken ill is said to be in a critical condition. Flakka takes the form of a white/pink crystal-like...
The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) defines contingency management as “a general behavioural intervention technique used in the treatment of drug dependence … designed to weaken drug use and strengthen...
The ‘second hand effects’ of alcohol use can be defined as the negative consequences of drinking experienced by people other than the drinker. They can include, for example, serious acts of sexual and physical violence as well as more...
After more than four years of industry delay tactics, yesterday’s ruling from the Court of Session in Edinburgh has finally paved the way for the introduction of a minimum price for alcohol in Scotland, a policy approved by MSPs back in...
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Alcohol use is common among children and adolescents despite the fact that this particular form of risk-behaviour can have a negative impact on one’s psychological and social development. A recent article published in the journal Drugs...
The ‘self-medication hypothesis’ is commonly known to refer to a human behaviour which sees people with depression turn to alcohol as a way of coping. New research published in the journal Nature Communications has now discovered a...
Almost 20% of Australians exceed two alcoholic drinks on average per day. However, the will to cut down or quit drinking can lead to social stigmatisation. A new study published in Drug and Alcohol Review reports that, in many social...
Four US states currently allow r
ecreational marijuana use and twenty-four allow medical marijuana. However, little research has been carried out to uncover the drug’s effect on the development of human embryos if smoked or consumed in...
New research published in the journal Addictive Behaviors has found the likelihood of 18- to 34-year-old nonmedical prescription opioid users having a prescription opioid use disorder has increased between 2002 – 2014. More specifically...
A new substance abuse prevention programme called Preventure uses personality tests to identify children most at risk of indulging in harmful drug-taking behaviour. The traits it has identified amongst at-risk children include: sensation...
A new study carried out by researchers at Ohio State University and subsequently published in the Journal of Health and Social Behaviour shows how smoking bans in the United States have led to a decrease in social or light smoking amongst...
Substance abuse entails a whole host of social, physical and mental health problems. A recent overview published in the Journal of Adolescent Health evaluates the effectiveness of interventions focused on smoking, alcohol or combined drug...
Around 88,000 Americans die from alcohol-related harm each year. The physical effects of alcohol abuse, including certain cancers, heart disease and liver disease, are well-known. There is also much evidence that suggests alcohol can have a...
Smoking, and the desire to smoke, cigarettes amongst high school students in the United States is currently at an all-time low, according to a recent article published in Preventing Chronic Disease. The study found that between 2012 – 2014...
E-cigarettes are becoming more and more popular. As such, many in the field of drug prevention and treatment are eager to uncover how they affect our health. E-cigarettes do not contain tobacco. However, it has been found by researchers at...
This month saw the release of the findings from the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD). The publication shows the country-by-country results for the use of various legal and illegal drugs. Thirty-five European...
To drink alcohol at sporting events has become the social norm. A new study conducted collaboratively by Eastern Health and Turning Point Alcohol and Drugs Centre has discovered that drunkenness and related harm in Australia tend to reach...