Entries for December 2011

Before voters cast their ballots to legalize marijuana, or their elected officials decide, think about what will happen to children if marijuana becomes accessible to adults, much like alcohol, advises National Families in Action's Sue Ruche.

A new study links smoking with a type of skin cancer called squamous cell carcinoma in women. The more a woman smokes, the greater her risk of developing the cancer.

The two biggest tobacco companies in the United States have agreed to pay $6.25 million to support the country’s largest online collection of tobacco industry documents.

Young adults who sent and received weekly text messages that tracked their alcohol consumption drank less after 12 weeks, according to a new study.

Substance abuse often plays a role in cases of child abuse or neglect in Kentucky, according to an investigation by the Lexington Herald-Leader.

A new report concludes the Food and Drug Administration needs more information about the health effects of “modified risk” tobacco products such as e-cigarettes or tobacco lozenges, before it allows tobacco companies to sell or advertise these products as being able to reduce the health risks of tobacco use.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced it will tell Medicare prescription drug plans to withhold payment when they detect signs of suspicious activity related to narcotics and painkillers. The move is aimed at reducing Medicare fraud, Reuters reports.

Government experts are urging people to learn the facts about drinking and driving, to prevent the surge of alcohol-related car accidents that occur every holiday season.

Ecstasy may produce long-lasting changes in brain chemistry, a new study suggests. The drug can cause a drop in the levels of the brain chemical serotonin for up to two years.

Marijuana use is gaining in popularity among teens, according to Monitoring the Future, an annual survey of eighth, 10th, and 12th-graders, The New York Times reports. The survey found one of every 15 high school seniors smokes marijuana on an almost daily basis.