Tag: risk

  • Decision-making and alcoholism: what’s the risk?

    By James R. Ashenhurst Every day we are faced with decisions to make, both simple and complex: should I buy the bargain brand cereal or do I really want to pay more for those Cheerios? Sometimes, we’re faced with decisions that carry a bit more risk to our health and safety: should I jump out…

  • How much alcohol is too much drinking? Knowing your BAC can be key!

    There has been some research suggesting that training people to better estimate their Blood Alcohol Content (BAC), can help reduce accidents and improve risk-taking while drinking among college students (see here and here respectively). I’m including a recent piece from one of our readers, telling us about her first over-21 drinking experience in Las-Vegas. I…

  • Will you get addicted? Signs of drug abuse

    Everyone wants to know if they, or someone they love will get addicted to alcohol or drugs. • Parents want to know if their children are likely to become addicts, especially if there is a family history of addiction. • Teens wonder if trying a drug will lead to a life of crime and shame.…

  • 420, smoking weed, and drug problems : Marijuana facts

    Co-authored by: Jamie Felzer It’s April 20th, or 4-20, and anyone who smokes marijuana knows what that means – It’s time to smoke weed- a lot of weed! In honor of this “stoner” holiday, or perhaps in reverence of its implications, I wanted to put together a post that explored some recent findings having to…

  • Tobacco smoking alone isn’t enough: More than smoking important in lung cancer death

    Christopher Russell and Adi Jaffe The tobacco epidemic already kills 5.4 million people a year from lung cancer, heart disease and other illnesses. By 2030, the death toll will exceed eight million a year. Unless urgent action is taken tobacco could kill one billion people during this century. (The World Health Organization Report on the…

  • Proteins and cocaine: Addiction is a disease, not a question of morality.

    While there are some people who still argue about whether drug addiction is a disease or a condition that results from the moral failing of an individual, most of the scientific community has long agreed that there are at least some influences on it that are far beyond a person’s control. I’ve mentioned the genetic…