Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} Throwing Unused Prescription Drugs in Trash May Be Best for Environment: Study A new study concludes that throwing away unused prescription drugs in the trash may be the most environmentally friendly option. The study appears shortly after the Drug Enforcement Administration’s fourth National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, which collected 276 tons of unwanted or expired prescription medications. The researchers compared the environmental impact of flushing medication, throwing it in the trash, and burning it. Drugs collected through take-back programs are incinerated. The study took into account how much of the drugs would enter the environment, as well as emission impacts from water treatment, transportation and burning of waste materials,...

Addiction Diagnoses May Rise Under Guideline ChangesIn what could prove to be one of their most far-reaching decisions, psychiatrists and other specialists who are rewriting the manual that serves as the nation’s arbiter of mental illness have agreed to revise the definition of addiction, which could result in millions more people being diagnosed as addicts and pose huge consequences for health insurers and taxpayers. The revision to the manual, known as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or D.S.M., would expand the list of recognized symptoms for drug and alcohol addiction, while also reducing the number of symptoms required for a diagnosis, according to proposed changes posted on the Web site of the American Psychiatric Association, which produces the book.  In addition, the manual for the first time would include gambling as an addiction, and it might introduce a catchall category — “behavioral addiction — not otherwise specified” —...

Most States Don’t Address Youth Exposure to Alcohol Marketing: ReportMost states do not address youth exposure to alcohol marketing, according to a new report. Researchers at the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore say this represents a missed opportunity to improve public health. Only 11 states use more than one of eight recommended strategies to reduce youth exposure to alcohol, the report found. These strategies include prohibiting false or misleading advertising; banning alcohol ads that target minors; restricting alcohol ads on alcohol retail outlet windows and outside areas, and restricting alcohol sponsorship of civic events. Other strategies including prohibiting alcohol ads on college campuses, restricting outdoor alcohol ads in areas where children are likely to be present, and establishing jurisdiction over in-state TV and radio ads, UPI reports.No states used more than five of these strategies, the report found.“We...

Misuse of prescription opioids is the fastest growing drug problem in the United States. And it will only get worse unless the population, especially youth, realizes that nonmedical use of these potent pain relievers is uncool and dangerous.A common misconception is that these substances are safe because they are prescribed by physicians and dispensed through pharmacies. Drug buyers can indeed be more confident of the "product" when it's a trademarked tablet rather than white powder in a plastic bag. A 26-year-old said,"My drug of choice is pharmaceutical heroin." But, just like heroin, these trademarked substances present the same deadly dangers of overdose and addiction. And buying, selling, or giving away these substances is against the law—even if they were prescribed for you. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports 100 people die from drug overdoses every day in the United States. The CDC also says drug...Original linkOriginal author: Geoff

High School Seniors Who Misuse Prescription Narcotics. Most Likely to Obtain Drugs from a Friend/Relative or a Personal PrescriptionNearly one in ten U.S. 12th graders reported using prescription narcotics without a doctor’s order in the past year, according to data from the 2011 Monitoring the Future survey. Users of prescription narcotics were most likely to report getting the drugs for free from friends or relatives (70%), followed by buying them from a friend or relative (40%,) and getting them from their own prescription (35%). These findings are similar to those of the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), which asks about the use of prescription pain relievers that were not prescribed for the user or were used only for the experience or feeling the drug causes. Reducing the available supply of prescription drugs in households (e.g., through prescription drug take-back programs) and limiting over prescribing and doctor shopping (e.g.,...

A Drug Policy for the 21st CenturyBy: Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Eric Holder, U.S. Attorney General and Gil Kerlikowske, Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control PolicyIllegal drugs not only harm a user’s mind and body, they devastate families, communities, and neighborhoods. They jeopardize public safety, prevent too many Americans from reaching their full potential, and place obstacles in the way of raising a healthy generation of young people.To address these challenges, today we are releasing the 2012 National Drug Control Strategy – the Obama Administration’s primary policy blueprint for reducing drug use and its consequences in America. The President’s inaugural National Drug Control Strategy, published in 2010, charted a new direction in our approach to drug policy. Today’s Strategy builds upon that approach, which is based on science, evidence, and research. Most important, it is based on the premise that drug addiction is...

Coalitions are “re-mixing” what “420” means to youth, changing the perception that marijuana is not harmful, and are re-claiming April 20th from an unofficial marijuana smokers’ “holiday.”Marijuana use among teens rose last year for the fourth straight year, according to the Monitoring the Future survey. In states where marijuana use is viewed by many teens as harmless, and where efforts to legalize the drug have surfaced, such as in California and Colorado, it’s not unusual to hear the local DJ do fake bong hits on air when youth are listening, at 4:20 p.m. or on April 20th.The most widely accepted theory of "420's" origination is that in the 1970s, high school-age stoners in Northern California congregated at 4:20 p.m. daily. "420" has evolved into an unofficial marijuana holiday.Rather than celebrating such a "holiday," educators, law enforcement officers and health advocates in Vista, Calif. want students to bungee and bounce their way...

By Peter W. Carmel, M.D., president, American Medical AssociationPrescription drug abuse is an epidemic that cannot be ignored. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, prescription drugs are now involved in more overdose deaths than heroin and cocaine combined. Physicians are serious about combating this epidemic, but we can’t do it alone.The National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting (NASPER) bill was signed into law in 2005 to give physicians an effective tool to help address drug diversion. This legislation was designed to create prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) in each state so physicians could access important information to help them appropriately treat their patients’ pain or illness while helping to prevent the abuse and diversion of controlled substances. Unfortunately, the program was never fully funded and never realized its full potential.When properly constructed and operated, PDMPs have proven extremely effective in fighting diversion while ensuring that individuals in need...

New Webzine Featuring Underage Alcohol ResearchThe National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) has recently released Spectrum. This electronic publication is NIAAA’s first-ever webzine with engaging feature articles, short news updates, and colorful graphics, NIAAA Spectrum offers accessible and relevant information on NIAAA and the alcohol research field for a wide range of audiences. Each issue includes feature-length stories, news updates from the field, articles and photo essays, and an interview with an NIAAA staff member or alcohol researcher. NIAAA Spectrum is published three times a year. To view this new resources visit: http://www.spectrum.niaaa.nih.gov________________________________________Stop Bullying.gov Relaunches The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education have unveiled an enhanced StopBullying.gov. The site encourages everyone to take action to prevent and respond to bullying.________________________________________Study Finds Widespread Use of Alcohol and Drugs Among U.S. TeenagersA survey of more than 10,000 U.S. teenagers found that by late adolescence, 78...

As we commemorate Alcohol Awareness Month, we are reprinting the Addiction Medicine Update, "Intervening on Alcohol? Style Matters!," originally published in April 2012.The World Health Organization identifies "The harmful use of alcohol [as] a global problem which compromises both individual and social development. It results in 2.5 million deaths each year. Alcohol is the world's third largest risk factor for premature mortality, disability, and loss of health." (WHO)Yet, perhaps because of our collective affection for beverage alcohol, we don't get alarmed. As Frank Bruni points out in his commentary on the death of Whitney Houston, it's other drugs that make the headlines. (New York Times)But some of us are too close to the dangers of alcohol to be complacent—perhaps because we witness alcohol problems as a family member or treat addiction as a clinician. Fortunately, our roles give us opportunities to help people at risk to better see...Original linkOriginal author: Geoff