Heavy drinkers who were formerly homeless, and are provided with housing, cut down on their drinking if they are allowed access to alcohol, a new study has found.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie this week called for mandatory treatment for all low-level drug offenders.

Many states received failing grades on the latest American Lung Association report card rating tobacco control efforts.

U.S. Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania called on the Senate Judiciary Committee to close loopholes in a synthetic drug law that allows makers of the drugs to slightly alter their ingredients to avoid federal and state bans.

A new government report finds that rates of substance abuse are far higher in people with mental illness. The report found that one in five adults in the United States—nearly 50 million people—experienced mental illness in the past year.

Two Florida health care organizations have announced a new plan to treat patients coming to the emergency room seeking pain relief. They say the plan aims to reduce prescription drug abuse.

An advisory committee to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is meeting this week to discuss the risks and benefits of dissolvable tobacco. Critics of the products say they look like candy and are designed to appeal to teens.

Cognitive behavioral therapy can help bring relief to some patients with chronic pain, a new study suggests. The findings are potentially significant in light of the increasing incidence of painkiller overdoses and addiction, according to Fox News.

Many hospital patients are comfortable with having nurses deliver screening and brief intervention for alcohol, a new study suggests. According to the researchers, the findings indicate that nurses can be important partners in helping to screen for hazardous drinking.

A family history of alcoholism may affect teenagers’ decision-making, researchers at Oregon Health and Sciences University have found. They discovered these adolescents have a weaker brain response during risky decision-making compared with teens without such a family history.