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By Join Together Staff
Exposure to secondhand smoke can lead to hearing loss in teenagers, who often don't realize they have hearing difficulties, a new study suggests. Scientists conducting the study recommend that teens exposed to secondhand smoke be closely monitored for early hearing loss with periodic testing, HealthDay reports.
The researchers asked 1,533 nonsmoking teens about their...
read moreBy Join Together Staff
Researchers are asking the federal government for approval to study the effects of marijuana on veterans with chronic post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) who have not responded to other treatment.
The study would involve 50 combat veterans with PTSD, The New York Times reports.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sent a letter to the researchers,...
read moreBy Celia Vimont
A growing body of research is showing that when it comes to treatments for alcohol use disorders, women's needs are different from men's. Scientists who recently presented studies at the Research Society on Alcoholism are exploring gender differences in alcohol treatment and moving beyond a one-size-fits-all strategy.
"Women have different barriers to treatment than men," says Elizabeth Epstein, PhD, Research Professor in the Clinical Division...
read moreWalla Walla County is in the process of issuing an RFP for the provision of Alcohol, Tobacco and Substance Abuse Prevention services for the period of October 2011-June 30, 2012.
Full details are available beginning Thursday, July 28, 2011 at the Walla Walla County website: http://www.co.walla-walla.wa.us/Departments/HRS/Procurement.shtml
By Join Together Staff
Girls appear to be especially vulnerable to the effects of binge drinking on the brain, a new study suggests. The study found that binge drinking can affect teens' ability to perceive the space around them, and then remember and work with this information, known as spatial working memory.
"Even though adolescents might physically appear grown up, their brains are continuing to significantly develop and mature, particularly in frontal brain...
read moreBy Join Together Staff
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is considering banning menthol cigarettes following a recent report, from its Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee, that the cigarettes are extremely popular among African Americans, the poor and young.
About 19 million Americans smoke menthol cigarettes. The FDA already has banned other types of cigarettes, including flavored beedies, cloves, and cigarettes with vanilla, peppermint and spices, to...
read moreA new report on the Synar Amendment program -- a federal and state partnership aimed at ending illegal tobacco sales to minors -- shows that that the average national retailer violation rate of tobacco sales is down to 9.3 percent -- the lowest level in the 14 year history of the program.
Washington State's retailer violation rate for 2010 was 9.8 percent.
"This report brings welcome news about the measurable progress states have made in reducing illegal sales of...
read moreBy Join Together Staff
A growing number of smokers are rolling their own cigarettes using pipe tobacco in order to avoid paying high excise taxes.
The popularity of pipe tobacco cigarettes started in April 2009, when the federal government increased the excise tax on a pack of cigarettes from 39 cents to $1.01. The tax also jumped for tobacco used in roll-your-own cigarettes, and is now $24.78 per pound. The tax for pipe tobacco is $2.83 per pound.
Many smoke shops are...
read moreAn interview with Carol J. Boyd, PhD, MSN, FAAN, is Research Professor at the University of Michigan Substance Abuse Research Center
Join Together:
You have done quite a bit of research on drug use among 12 to 17 year olds. Why do you believe it is important to focus on that age group when it comes to Rx abuse?
CB:
Substance use disproportionately starts between the ages of 12 to 25. When we look at National Survey on...
read moreBy Join Together Staff
Children who breathe in secondhand smoke at home are more likely to develop attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), learning disorders and other behavior problems, compared with children who grow up in smoke-free homes, a new study suggests.
The study does not prove a cause-and-effect relationship between secondhand smoke and these disorders, and does not define how much smoke a child must be exposed to in order to be at increased risk, HealthDay...
read moreBy Join Together Staff
Current guidelines for sensible drinking are not adequate for preventing cancer, according to a new report. The authors say many countries' recommendations for moderate drinking don't take into account the long-term risks of alcohol use.
The Los Angeles Times reports the researchers, from the French National Institute for Agricultural Research, argue that the idea of "sensible drinking" may help prevent people from drinking too much at...
read moreBy Join Together Staff
Some college students continue to drink heavily even when they experience harmful effects such as hangovers, fights and unwanted sexual situations, because they perceive the benefits of drinking to outweigh the negative, a new study suggests.
The students participating in the study said the benefits of drinking include an increase in courage and chattiness, Medical News Today reports. The study authors say the findings suggest that programs targeting...
read moreWe're outraged. Federal guidelines that would help limit junk food marketing to kids are under attack by big food companies, and we need your help today. Parents shouldn't have to play defense in a world designed to make their kids consume unhealthy food, just so companies can make bigger profits. But we need to speak up today in support of the proposed standards or they might be dropped.
Federal guidelines released last April will, if companies follow them, ensure that foods...
read moreBy Join Together Staff
Drivers high on marijuana represent an unrecognized crisis, experts tell the Los Angeles Times. A 2009 report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), based on blood, breath and saliva tests collected on weekends from drivers in 300 locations nationally, found that 16.3 percent of drivers at night were impaired from legal or illegal drugs, including 9 percent of drivers who had detectable traces of marijuana in their system.
The...
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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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