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By Join Together Staff
A low-cost drug not available in the United States is effective in helping smokers quit, a new study published in The New England Journal of Medicine has found.
The drug, cytisine, is a nicotine substitute that has been sold in Eastern European countries for many years. The study found people taking the drug were more successful in quitting than those taking a placebo, HealthDay reports. The study included 740 smokers who were randomly assigned to take...
read moreBy Join Together Staff
Doctors frequently fail to ask their young adult patients about excess alcohol use. The findings come from a new study by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).
The survey included more than 4,000 adults ages 18 to 39. Two-thirds had seen a doctor in the past year. Of those whose drinking was considered excessive, only 49 percent said their doctor asked about their drinking, and only 14 percent were counseled about it.
...
read moreBy Celia Vimont
A group representing pain management physicians is calling for mandatory education for doctors who prescribe opioids. The American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (ASIPP) is advocating for legislation that would require health care professionals who prescribe drugs to receive specialized training. Several such bills are currently circulating in the House and Senate.
Between 80 and 90 percent of doctors in the United States have no formal training in...
read moreThe marketers of Four Loko have agreed to re-label and repackage the super-sized, high-alcohol, fruit-flavored, carbonated malt beverage, to resolve Federal Trade Commission (FTC) charges of deceptive advertising.
The FTC alleges that Phusion Projects, LLC and its principals falsely claimed that a 23.5-ounce, 11 or 12 percent alcohol by volume can of Four Loko contains alcohol equivalent to one or two regular 12-ounce beers, and that a consumer could drink one can safely in its...
read moreThe National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention marked its one year anniversary today by launching its twelfth task force - one focused on suicide prevention in the workplace.
Roughly 80% of all suicides are by working-aged adults and the majority of those are employed at the time of their deaths. Initially, the Workplace Task Force plans to create a compelling business case for suicide prevention, designed to encourage more employers to initiate programs for their workforce....
read moreOctober 7th Deadline!
In an effort to help build safer, stronger and better educated communities, State Farm is inviting non-profit organizations from around the country to submit their applications for a chance to receive $5,000 (minimum) grants for 2012. State Farm's funding focus is on safety, community development and education.
For eligibility, funding requirements and additional information please visit:...
read moreBy Join Together Staff
Tobacco companies were aware of the dangers of a radioactive substance in cigarettes as early as 1959, but hid this knowledge from the public, according to a new study.
The substance, called polonium-210, causes cancerous growths in the lungs of smokers, according to ABC News. Scientists from the University of California, Los Angeles, studied 27 documents that had never been analyzed, and found tobacco companies calculated how much radiation a regular...
read moreBy Join Together Staff
Almost one-third of workers in mining, construction, and the accommodation and food service industries smoke, compared with about 20 percent of the general U.S. adult population, according to a new survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
USA Today reports only about 9 percent of teachers and librarians smoke.
Smoking rates among specific occupations may have as much to do with workers' education levels as with the jobs...
read moreIn 2009, 21.3 percent of American households with children experienced food insecurity, which means they had limited or uncertain access to adequate food at all times for an active, healthy life. In the current economic downturn, even more children may be at risk. Food insecurity is a public health problem with serious consequences for children, including greater likelihood of depression, anxiety, poor academic performance, birth defects, and behavior problems.
A new policy brief -...
read moreBy Join Together Staff
Police and medical professionals in Maine say use of "bath salts" is becoming an epidemic. They have witnessed a growing number of people acting strangely - and dangerously - while under the influence of the synthetic drugs.
The drugs first appeared in Bangor, where police respond to one to three calls a day involving bath salts. The problem has since quickly spread throughout the state, the Bangor Daily News reports.
Rockland Police...
read moreBy Join Together Staff
Welfare applicants in Florida are less likely than Americans in general to use drugs, the Associated Press reports. The state compiled the figures as part of a new state law that requires drug tests for welfare applicants.
About 2.5 percent of up to 2,000 applicants for welfare in the state have tested positive for drugs since the law went into effect in July, and an additional 2 percent declined to be tested.
The 2010 National Survey on Drug Use...
read moreThe Senate Appropriations 2012 Budget, approved Wednesday, zeroed out $19.7 million in funding for the Center for Disease Control's Youth Violence Prevention activities, causing surprise and worry amongst advocates across the country.
Prevention Institute, one of the nation's leaders in the development and implementation of youth violence initiatives, is calling for the Senate to reinstate the funding immediately, saying the funding cuts are simply unacceptable.
"...
read moreAdults rate drug abuse and childhood obesity as the top health concerns for kids in their communities, according to the fifth annual survey of the top 10 health concerns for kids conducted by the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health.
Most of the top 10 health concerns pertain to long-recognized risky behaviors for youth: drug, alcohol and tobacco use, as well as teen pregnancy. The top health concerns this year also include...
read moreBy Shari Roan, Los Angeles Times
An analysis of 31 studies on alcohol drinking patterns worldwide has found that people born in North America after World War II are more likely than other groups to engage in binge drinking and develop alcoholism. Younger groups consistently consume more alcohol than older generations.
Researchers, led by Katherine M. Keyes of Columbia University, evaluated data dating from 1948. She found that the United States differs from Western Europe and...
read moreContact Us
Washington State Health Care Authority
Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery
P.O. Box 45330 Olympia, WA 98504-5330
Email: DBHRAthenaTeam@hca.wa.gov
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