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Quitting smoking without help is hard: Effects of motivation and other personality factors
Quitting smoking is hard, but that suggestion probably isn’t terribly exciting all on its own since most of our readers probably knew it already. Still, while we’ve talked about quitting smoking using nicotine replacement and medication, we haven’t really touched the subject of all those people out there who just decide to give quitting smoking…
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Correlation, causation, and association – What does it all mean???
A comment posted by a reader on a post reprimanded me for suggesting that marijuana caused relationships to go bad. In this instance the reader was mistaken, as I had specifically used the word “associated”, but the comment made me think that maybe I should explain the differences between correlation, causation, and association. I’m a…
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Higher drug abuse among gay youth likely tied to rejection
For a lesbian, gay, or bisexual youth, “coming out” is an extremely stressful, though important event that can result in improved self-esteem, social-support, and psychological adjustment. However, a recent study found that the reactions to such a disclosure have a lot to do with the risk of those youths abusing alcohol and drugs. Social rejection…
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Talking to kids about teen smoking: The FTAS (Family Talk About Smoking) paradigm
Newsflash: Kids don’t like being preached to – especially when it’s done hypocritically A recent study assessed the impact parents have over the decisions their teenagers make concerning whether or not to ‘experiment’ with smoking cigarettes and to continue smoking in the long term, once they have tried it. Experimenting with smoking represents a form…
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Global Commission on Drug Policy: Legalization, decriminalization, and the war on drugs
A commission made up of some big names, though not really any names of addiction or drug researchers I noticed, just released a report that’s making a lot of noise throughout every news channel including NPR (see here, and here for stories) and others (see CNN). They want the debate about the current state of…
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Convincing yourself to quit smoking – The influence of personal beliefs on smoking
A study published in Addictive Behaviors showed that thinking actively about quitting smoking cigarettes allows people to smoke less!!! In the experiment, participants from one group of smokers were asked to think about reasons to quit smoking and write them down on a piece of paper. Participants from a second group of smokers were asked…
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ADHD and neurocognition – Knowing what to remember
Kate Humphreys ADHD In children and adults – Symptoms and tests Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD, formerly known also as ADD) are classically seen as the kids in class who have trouble staying in their seats and paying attention during long lessons. Underlying these problematic behaviors is a confluence of factors, with evidence…
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Quitting smoking ‘on the spot’ is more likely to succeed than a quit attempt planned in advance
Two studies show smokers who make a sudden decision to quit smoking are more likely to be successful than smokers who plan their quit attempt in advance.