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Harm Reduction
Cannabis legalisation has not led to increased traffic injuries in Canada
When Canada implemented cannabis legalisation in 2018, there was concern about increased traffic harms, especially among youth. But research by the University of Northern...
Tobacco use declines globally, strategies for cessation – WHO tobacco report
The fourth World Health Organisation (WHO) global tobacco trends report, released on 15 November, shows that there are 1.30 billion tobacco users globally compared...
Car technology to detect drunk driving is on the way
New cars in the United States would be required to have technology that stops drunk people from driving, under a mandate the US Congress...
Too little treatment for people with alcohol use disorder – Global survey
Results from World Mental Health Surveys have found that in two dozen countries, fewer than half of people with alcohol use disorder who sought...
Athletes tend to drink more alcohol than their peers, study finds
An international study has found a robust link between higher cardio fitness and higher alcohol consumption among general populations, writes Matthew Kadey in Bicycling...
E-cigarette users risk fewer strokes – but at a younger age – than smokers
Research has found that while stroke is more prevalent among traditional cigarette smokers, e-cigarette smokers have a 15% higher risk of having a stroke...
Tobacco harm reduction – ‘We’ll take to the streets” – Letlape
Harm reduction lobbyists will lead people onto the streets of South Africa if the government continues with its AIDS denialist-like stance on alternatives to...
In world first, NHS may prescribe e-cigarettes for smoking cessation
England could be the first country in the world to prescribe medicinally licensed e-cigarettes to help reduce smoking rates, announced the Department of Health...
Physicians search for medicinal cannabis knowledge – Australia and SA
Tens of thousands of people in Australia are turning to medicinal cannabis to treat a range of conditions – but the evidence is patchy...
Confusion clouds FDA’s approach to e-cigarettes – POLITICO analysis
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decision earlier this month to authorise the sale of an electronic cigarette in the United States was a...
Stopping smoking before 45 can wipe out 87% of lung cancer risk
Smokers who kick the habit before age 45 can nearly eliminate their excess risk of dying from lung or other cancers, estimates a new...
Alternative tobacco products ‘should be for smokers only’
People who cannot or are unwilling to give up smoking combustible tobacco should be encouraged to use safer alternative tobacco harm reduction products, heard...
100 experts from 30 countries urge WHO to change tobacco harm reduction stance
This week 100 independent specialists from 30 countries – mostly doctors, researchers and professors – signed a letter calling on the World Health Organisation...
Global tobacco control ‘hugely outdated’ – Dr Kgosi Letlape
The 16-year-old Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FTCT) of the World Health Organisation – signed by 180 countries including South Africa and many other...
Australia: New laws won’t drive vapers back to smoking, say experts
Leading public health experts in Australia have rejected warnings that a new ban on importing nicotine vaping products without a doctor’s prescription could drive...
Western Cape records highest number of trauma cases as alcohol restrictions ease
The Western Cape recorded 621 trauma cases on Sunday – the highest number for the year – as alcohol restrictions were relaxed, writes Nicole...
Profound problem of misinformation for public health and tobacco harm reduction
The problem of misinformation is profound for public health, as highlighted by responses to COVID-19 and to tobacco harm reduction. “We need targeted strategic...
US regulator: Hard to balance benefits and harms of cigarette alternatives
Tobacco products needed to be regulated along a “continuum of risk”, the Global Tobacco and Nicotine Forum (GTNF) conference heard last week. But the...
Tobacco harm reduction – The lesser of two evils
It is always better to “take the small risk of the unknown than the known risk of large hazards”, said Lord Matt Ridley, medical...
Smokers up to 80% more likely to be admitted to hospital with COVID
Smokers are 60% to 80% more likely to be admitted to hospital with COVID-19 and also more likely to die from the disease, a...
Nine million deliveries track the impact of smoking on foetal health
Mothers in the United States who smoke are more likely to deliver smaller babies even after a full-term pregnancy, increasing the risks of birth...
FDA approvals of e-cigarettes must be based on evidence, not politics
The rampant politicisation of e-cigarettes, and the role of the United States Food and Drug Administration in making evidence-based policy decisions, will affect the...
WHO: 5,000 fewer lives a year lost to cancer if Europe ups alcohol tax
In an effort to curb alcohol consumption, the World Health Organisation (WHO) suggested this week that European countries consider doubling their ‘sin tax’ on...
Vaping is linked to heightened eating disorder risk among US college students
University of Toronto research has linked vaping to heightened eating disorder risk among college students in the United States, as both use of e-cigarettes...
FDA delays Juul e-cigarettes’ decision but culls almost a million products
The Food and Drug Administration last week put off a long-anticipated ruling on whether Juul Labs and other major e-cigarette companies could continue to...
BMJ: New clinical guidelines for medical cannabis in pain relief
People living with chronic pain should be offered a trial of non-inhaled medical cannabis or cannabinoids if standard care is not sufficient, according to...
Medical cannabis – SA’s high hopes of a cash cow that blunts pain
The medical cannabis industry is a godsend for pain sufferers and could be the same for the economy and job creation, writes Alex Patrick...
E-cigarettes: Misconceptions may prevent people from quitting smoking
When communicating about the risks of e-cigarettes, we need to be clear about which e-cigarettes, who might be at risk, and who might benefit,...
E-cigarettes using nicotine cause blood clotting and impair small blood vessels
Using e-cigarettes containing nicotine causes an immediate increase in the formation of blood clots and a deterioration in the ability of small blood vessels...
Half of adults with ADHD have had a substance use disorder — Canadian study
Half of adults aged 20-39 with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have had a substance use disorder in their lifetime, according to University of...
Non-invasive brain stimulation may reduce smoking
A systematic review of randomised controlled trials has found evidence that non-invasive brain stimulation may reduce smoking frequency – the number of cigarettes per...
SA’s 0% alcohol legislation – Threat of punishment won't reduce unsafe driving
A zero-tolerance drunk driving law is on the cards in the upcoming National Road Traffic Amendment Bill, writes Rhys Evans, MD at drug and...
Anti-vaping advice by World Health Organisation ‘risks lives of millions’
British experts have accused the World Health Organization of risking the lives of millions by urging governments to crack down on vaping, writes Kat...
E-cigarettes: Misconceptions may prevent people from quitting smoking
When communicating about the risks of e-cigarettes, we need to be clear about which e-cigarettes, who might be at risk, and who might benefit,...
E-cigarettes using nicotine cause blood clotting and impair small blood vessels
Using e-cigarettes containing nicotine causes an immediate increase in the formation of blood clots and a deterioration in the ability of small blood vessels...
Half of adults with ADHD have had a substance use disorder — Canadian study
Half of adults aged 20-39 with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have had a substance use disorder in their lifetime, according to University of...
Anti-tobacco group wants ‘balance’ in vaping policies and media coverage
“Considerable evidence” suggests that e-cigarettes are an effective smoking-cessation tool for adults, according to a paper in the American Journal of Public Health, by...
Research probes ‘magic’ mushrooms to treat depression, addiction and PTSD
The first legal collection of native ‘magic’ mushrooms in Australia could provide medical options to treat severe depression, alcohol and drug addiction, post-traumatic stress...
Women find it more difficult to quit smoking than men — Large study
A study in France of more than 35,000 smokers has found that women smoke fewer cigarettes than men but are less likely to quit....
Link between secondhand marijuana smoke and respiratory infections in children
According to the most recent US national survey on Drug Use and Health, an estimated 58.8 million Americans aged 12 years or older had...