New, interesting, informative articles about addiction to heroin, alcohol, smoking, and coffee drinking . We have some new sites with links listed here. Give us your feedback on what you like!
Heroin and opiate addiction
Cesar Fax: The number of admissions to state-funded substance abuse treatment facilities citing opiates other than heroin as substance of abuse continues to increase. Admissions for the abuse of opiates, such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, and codeine, have increased from 1.2% in 1998 to 5.9% in 2008.
Alcohol Abuse and related issues
University of Maryland: Heavy drinking among college students, and alcohol-impaired driving, are major public health issues. Alcohol-related traffic risk behaviors increase significantly when college students reach age 21, especially for male drivers.
The Journal of Early Adolescence: Family meals are associated with reductions in alcohol and tobacco consumption in girls. Apparently, the family that eats together has girls that drink and smoke less!
Chicago Tribune: A new state law will requires stores to check a photo ID for anyone purchasing alcohol. This law will apply to liquor stores, convenience stores, pharmacies and supermarkets in Indiana, but not to restaurants or bars.
Science Daily: Excessive drinking is responsible for approximately 79,000 deaths annually in the United States. Binge drinking accounts for more than half of these deaths.
Smoking cigarettes and health
USA Today: There will be a ban against using words such as “light” or “mild” on cigarette labels and ads. Now, tobacco companies have lightened package colors to convey the same message.
ABC news: In 2005, there were just 18 smoke-free colleges. Today, there are 394 smoke-free colleges. This number seems to continuously grow.
Health Day: Secondhand smoke may now be tied to an increase in mental woes. Exposure to secondhand smoke could up the odds for psychological distress, depression, schizophrenia and delirium.
Boston.com: An estimated 40 percent of Connecticut’s Medicaid recipients smoke. The state pays about $507 million yearly for smoking-related health care for its Medicaid clients.
Health Day: Increasing cigarette taxes can cause smoking rates to go down among people struggling with alcohol, drug or mental disorders. Raising the price of cigarettes by just 10 percent could cause more than an 18 percent drop in smoking among these individuals.
Alcohol, Smoking, and Coffee
Health Day: Alcohol, smoking and coffee drinking is linked to higher rates of migraine and tension headaches among teens and young adults. Around 5 to 15 percent of high school students reported suffering from migraines, and 15 to 25 percent reported that they have tension headaches.