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Harm Reduction
Chronic alcohol use reshapes brain’s immune landscape, driving anxiety and addiction
In their quest to understand how the immune system is implicated in alcohol use disorder, Scripps Research scientists in the United States have found...
E-cigarettes can significantly alter a body’s response to viruses — US study
Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have found that people who use e-cigarettes have significantly altered immune responses to influenza...
JAMA editorial: Research strengthens case for e-cigarettes for smoking cessation
Research shows that electronic cigarettes can help smokers to quit smoking cigarettes, according to an editorial in JAMA by Dr Nancy Rigotti, director of the Tobacco...
Study shows cannabis use leads to less alcohol. Are we just swapping vices?
Back before cannabis became legal in Canada in 2017, there was discussion about how it was going to mix with alcohol, writes Christine Sismondo...
Lung symptoms common among users of e-cigarettes and related products
One-third of people using e-cigarettes or related products reported symptoms associated with lung or respiratory tract impact or injury, according to an analysis of...
Cannabis use and impact on rheumatologic pain – French study
Nearly one in five patients suffering from rheumatologic diseases actively consume cannabis, with an improvement in pain, write researchers at Clermont-Ferrand University Hospital in...
Childhood smoking, adult cessation and heart risk — Large Oxford study
A large US study by Oxford University found that smokers, especially those who started young, faced nearly three times the risk of dying prematurely...
Tobacco harm reduction to reduce smoking rates in South Africa
Tobacco control strategies in South Africa could be complemented by a harm reduction approach to reduce smoking rates faster, writes Marcelo Nico, MD of...
Moderating excessive alcohol use resulting from COVID-19 stress
The full impact of COVID-19 on alcohol use is not yet known, but rates have been rising during the pandemic. There is an urgent...
Cannabis reduces OCD symptoms by half in the short-term
People with obsessive-compulsive disorder report that the severity of their symptoms was reduced by about half within four hours of smoking cannabis, according to...
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...