The Great American Relapse: An Old Sickness has Returned to Haunt a New Generation The Economist The face of heroin use in America has changed utterly. Forty or fifty years ago people addicted to heroin were overwhelmingly male, disproportionately black, and very young (the average age of first use was 16). Most came from poor inner-city neighborhoods. These days, more than half are women, and 90% are white. The drug has crept into the suburbs and the middle classes. And although users are still mainly young, the age of initiation has risen: most first-timers are in their mid-20s, according to a study led by Theodore Cicero of Washington University in St Louis.
Behavioral Treatment of Obesity in Patients Encountered in Primary Care Settings Journal of the American Medical Association Intensive behavioral counseling can induce clinically meaningful weight loss, but there is little research on primary care practitioners providing such care. These findings suggest that a range of trained interventionists, who deliver counseling in person or by telephone, could be considered for treating overweight or obesity in patients encountered in primary care settings.
Projections of National Expenditures for Treatment of Mental and Substance Use Disorders, 2010-2020 SAMHSA This report provides policymakers with essential information about treatment service expenditures for mental health disorders and substance use disorders, sources of financing, and spending trends over time for the period 2010 through 2020.
Doctor Shopping Laws CDC Public Health Law States with general doctor shopping laws prohibit patients from obtaining drugs by any or all of the following means: fraud, deceit, misrepresentation, subterfuge, or concealment of material fact. While all states and the District of Columbia have general doctor shopping laws, the language used in the laws varies across jurisdictions...
The State of Health Care Quality Report NCQA The 2014 State of Health Care Quality Report includes the latest findings from the National Committee for Quality Assurance, such as: populations have doubled in health plans showing quality results, remaining work to be done in behavioral health, and more.
Factors Associated with Initiating Someone into Illicit Drug Injection Drug and Alcohol Dependence Most people who inject drugs (PWID) were first initiated into injection by a current PWID. Few studies have examined PWID who assist others into drug injection. The goal of this study was to describe the prevalence of and risk factors for initiating someone into injection in the last 12 months...
Association Between Nicotine Withdrawal and Reward Responsiveness in Humans and Rats JAMA Psychiatry These findings across species converge in suggesting that organisms have diminished ability to modulate behavior as a function of reward during withdrawal of nicotine. This blunting may contribute to relapse to tobacco smoking, particularly in depression-vulnerable individuals, to reinstate responsiveness to natural rewards and to experience potentiated nicotine-induced reward responsiveness.
Opioids Killing More Canada-Ontarians than Ever, Coroners’ Numbers Show Global Toronto Ontario’s opioid epidemic is more deadly than ever, new numbers obtained by Global News indicate. And the province hasn’t shifted its tactics to deal with the evolving health crisis killing 600 Ontarians a year. Preliminary 2013 coroners’ data indicate the number of Ontarians killed by prescription opioids continues to rise.
Effects of an Anger Management and Stress Control Program on Smoking Cessation: A Randomized Controlled Trial Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a cognitive behavioral therapy–oriented anger management and stress control program on smokers' quit rates. Of 2348 smokers, 350 were randomly allocated into study and control groups (n = 175 each). An individualized therapy cessation technique was selected for each participant (combination of behavioral counseling, nicotine replacement therapy, and/or pharmacotherapy). The participants in the control group attended a standard quit program, whereas the study group also received an additional 5-session (90 minutes each) cognitive behavioral therapy–oriented program aimed at improving their anger and stress coping skills.
Video: On Campus - Overcoming Addiction to Drugs HuffPost Live A Kennesaw State University program is providing college students a chance to overcome their addiction. HuffPost Live goes on campus to speak to participants about their road to recovery.
Clinical Trial of a New Technique for Drugs of Abuse Testing: A New Possible Sampling Technique Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment Exhaled breath has recently been proposed as a matrix for drug testing. This study aims to further explore, develop and validate exhaled breath as a safe and effective non-invasive method for drug testing in a clinical setting. Self-reported drug use was recorded and drug testing was performed by mass spectrometry and immunochemical methods using breath, plasma and urine samples from 45 individuals voluntarily seeking treatment for recreational drug use...
CO*RE Awarded Year-Long Grant to Continue ER/LA Education ASAM ASAM is a partner of the Collaboration for REMS Education (CO*RE). CO*RE has been awarded its second full year-long grant (after the first and an interim grant) by the REMS Programming Companies (RPC). CO*RE, a collaboration of primarily national associations, will use this funding of $3,655,634 in 2015 to reach beyond the 53,000 clinicians it has successfully educated since 2013.
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