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Harm Reduction
US Surgeon-General's 2020 report on smoking cessation
It is time to recognise smoking for what it is – America’s longest-running and deadliest epidemic – and treat it with a commensurate sense...
Managing older people’s perceptions of alcohol-related risk – British Journal of General Practice
A Newcastle University study suggests that older people may struggle to recognise risks associated with drinking, unless ill health or screening results indicate that...
Studies link marijuana to cardiovascular hazards
Research suggests that smoking marijuana carries many of the same cardiovascular health hazards as smoking tobacco, writes Jane E Brody in The New York...
Oxford review: E-cigarettes versus traditional nicotine replacement therapies
A University of Oxford study has provided greater confidence that e-cigarettes with nicotine can help more people to quit smoking than traditional nicotine replacement...
Sobriety tags launched to tackle alcohol-fuelled crime in UK
Criminals in Wales who commit alcohol-fuelled crimes can be banned from drinking and ordered to wear a ‘sobriety tag’ by judges from 21 October....
Changes in blood metabolite profile visible years before alcohol-related disease
A new study has shown that the serum metabolite profile can be used to identify individuals likely at risk of developing an alcohol-related disease...
Cannabis users need more anaesthesia, painkillers for surgery
Cannabis users appear to need more anaesthesia than non-users during surgery, and also more opioids to relieve pain after surgery, according to a University...
It is time for a new conversation to reduce smoking rates
The World Health Organization estimates that the number of smokers in the world – 1.1 billion – will not materially change by 2025. This...
International studies identify risk factors linked to alcohol-related cirrhosis
A consortium involving researchers from six countries has published two studies that identify risk factors associated with alcohol-related cirrhosis, the University of Liverpool reports....
15% of older adults use cannabis to treat common health conditions – US study
With growing interest in its potential health benefits and new legislation favouring legalisation in more states in America, cannabis use is becoming more common...
Strict household rules the best way to prevent child tobacco use
Most parents know or suspect when their child smokes, but they are much more likely to be in the dark if the child vapes...
Vaping raises chances of regular smoking threefold — Australian research review
Using e-cigarettes triples the chance of a non-smoker taking up regular cigarettes, a review of the public health impacts of vaping has found, with...
American Thoracic Society: New pharmacotherapy guidelines on smoking cessation
An evidence-based guideline from the American Thoracic Society addresses several pharmacotherapy-initiation questions for treating tobacco use and dependence. The overall message is a recommendation in favour...
Heating elements in some vaping devices cause lung injury — animal study
Early results of an experimental vaping study in rodents show significant lung injury from e-cigarette devices with nickel-chromium alloy heating elements, reports the University...
No effects from cannabis on brain health in older people – Israeli, Canadian studies
Demographic data shows rising cannabis use among older people. What is the likely effect on cognitive function and brain health in this group? Two...
Adolescent cannabis use associated with other health risk behaviours – CDC
A study from the Centres for Disease Control in the United States suggests that adolescent marijuana use is associated with numerous other health risk...
Healthy living – chiefly, not smoking – extends life for people with multi-morbidities
A large United Kingdom analysis covering a 10-year period found that regardless of multi-morbidities, engaging in a healthier lifestyle was associated with up to...
Low level alcohol use during pregnancy can impact on child brain development
Research from the University of Sydney has found that any alcohol use during pregnancy, even low levels, is associated with subtle yet significant behavioural...
It is time to embrace cannabis for medicinal use – UK medical experts
Twenty months after cannabis-based products for medicinal use were legalised in the United Kingdom, and with some 1.4 million users, attitudes towards using them...
In a large Finnish study of twins, smoking is linked to bleeding in the brain
Researchers at the University of Helsinki in Finland have found a clear link between smoking and subarachnoid haemorrhage, a type of bleeding stroke, in...
Tobacco dependence treatment critical to excellent health care delivery
Too few of the 34 million people in America who are addicted to nicotine receive assistance from health care professionals, according to a just-published...
Canadian youth are vaping early and often – Heart and Stroke Foundation
A Heart & Stroke study of youth and young adult vaping behaviour and preferences reveals that young people across Canada who vape do so...
'Worrying' rise in alcohol industry-funded research into alcohol impacts
The alcohol industry is increasingly funding academic research into the impacts of alcohol consumption – with some studies making claims about alcohol’s health benefits...
US national survey uncovers doctor misconceptions about nicotine risks
According to a Rutgers University-led national survey in the United States, most doctors misperceive the risks of nicotine, the addictive chemical in tobacco products....
Vitamin B1 may help stem alcohol-induced cognitive decline – Austrian study
Researchers from the Medical University of Vienna in Austria have hypothetically linked alcohol-induced vitamin B1 deficiency with iron deposits in the brain that could...
Over 40% increase in high-risk drinkers in England since COVID-19
The Royal College of Psychiatrists warned this week that addiction services in England are not equipped to treat the eight million people who are...
E-cigarette use plummets among American youth – FDA survey
About 3.6 million youth in the United States reported current e-cigarette use in 2020, reflecting a decline from 5.4 million in 2019, according to...
Girls and women 'may be at greater risk' of tobacco use
Tobacco harms young and old, men and women, in South Africa and around the world. Women and children, however, face unique challenges and may...
Social smokers have multifold higher lung disease and lung cancer risk
‘Social smokers’ are more than twice as likely to die of lung disease and more than eight times as likely to die of lung...
Cannabis use has a debatable impact on cognitive functioning
Cannabis is the most commonly used psychotropic drug in the world. Because so many young people use cannabis, it is important to understand its...
New digital tool to improve treatment for people with alcohol addiction
An online system to monitor symptoms and cravings will help combat heavy drinking and alcohol use disorders, which affect about a third of men...
Why low and alcohol free beers could be considered health drinks
With improving brewing and alcohol-removal methods, the flavour and potentially the health benefits of low alcohol beers can be retained, while reducing the negatives...
Secondhand smoke heightens risk of child hospitalisation – Cincinnati study
Children in the United States who are exposed to tobacco have much higher rates of hospital admissions after visiting emergency departments or urgent care...
E-cigarettes are no better than alternative aids to quit smoking – US study
People who use e-cigarettes to help them stop smoking are no more likely to be abstinent a year later than those who use alternative...
Lung injuries not linked to higher rates of vaping, cannabis use – Yale
Higher rates of e-cigarette and marijuana use in states in America did not result in more e-cigarette or vaping-related lung injuries – known as...
Marijuana use rising among older adults in America
Marijuana use is on the rise among baby boomers in the United States, especially men, according to a study published Monday in the Annals...
Public buildings in Cape Town could soon be smoke-free zones
Public buildings in Cape Town could soon become smoke-free as part of the City of Cape Town health department’s Bloomberg Partnership for Healthy Cities...
Problematic alcohol use linked to legal performance-enhancing substances
A study published in the journal Pediatrics found that young adults aged 18 to 26 who used legal performance-enhancing substances were significantly more likely to report...
Alcohol industry – R150 million boost for harm reduction initiatives
Alcohol industry players in South Africa have pledged R150 million for harm reduction initiatives over the next year. While the alcohol ban turned out...
San Francisco needs to admit it was wrong about vaping ban
Research by the universities of Memphis and Florida into San Francisco’s banning of flavoured tobacco products suggests the measure was probably a mistake. While...