Within as little as twenty minutes after your last cigarette your body begins to feel the effects of quitting. Health benefits from stopping smoking include, amongst other things, a decrease in heart rate and blood pressure, better...
Recently sixteen people were hospitalised on the Gold Coast, Australia, after taking a new synthetic drug known as Flakka. One of those taken ill is said to be in a critical condition. Flakka takes the form of a white/pink crystal-like...
This article describes the easy access to carfentanil, a powerful synthetic opioid where a dose smaller than the size of a poppy seed can result in death. Chinese vendors are selling this drug online, making it easily accessible around the...
Debate continues over risks from e-cigarettes, such as encouragement of smoking among young people, while some observers stress possible reductions in numbers of existing tobacco smokers. This webinar features key experts presenting current...
This article summarizes the work of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection agency (CBP) in the area of counternarcotics. The CBP describes the challenges to addressing substance use when molecular...
This photo story documents the lives of children at a rehabilitation centre in Delhi. The majority of young drug users in India's capital city are addicted to marijuana and heroin. Rajesh Kumar, Executive Director of the Society for...
The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) defines contingency management as “a general behavioural intervention technique used in the treatment of drug dependence … designed to weaken drug use and strengthen...
The ‘second hand effects’ of alcohol use can be defined as the negative consequences of drinking experienced by people other than the drinker. They can include, for example, serious acts of sexual and physical violence as well as more...
After more than four years of industry delay tactics, yesterday’s ruling from the Court of Session in Edinburgh has finally paved the way for the introduction of a minimum price for alcohol in Scotland, a policy approved by MSPs back in...
Alcohol use is common among children and adolescents despite the fact that this particular form of risk-behaviour can have a negative impact on one’s psychological and social development. A recent article published in the journal Drugs...
Since its inception in 2003, the broad international coalition known as the Paris Pact Initiative (PPI), made up today of 58 partner countries and 22 organizations, including UNODC, has evolved into one of the most important frameworks for...
This five year survey is a global model for its rigor – the only national prevalence survey that I know of in the world where questionnaires were combined with 100% toxicology testing of three biological samples per person (hair, urine...
Afghanistan is the world’s leading producer of illicit opium. This video takes us to a remote village in northeastern Afghanistan, where families meet for their daily ritual of opium smoking. The women in the video say that the drug is only...
A recent review of studies focusing on excessive drinkers identified and counselled in primary care settings has found that, when combined with screenings and assessments, brief, regular intervention sessions lead to greater reductions in...
The ‘self-medication hypothesis’ is commonly known to refer to a human behaviour which sees people with depression turn to alcohol as a way of coping. New research published in the journal Nature Communications has now discovered a...
Almost 20% of Australians exceed two alcoholic drinks on average per day. However, the will to cut down or quit drinking can lead to social stigmatisation. A new study published in Drug and Alcohol Review reports that, in many social...
Four US states currently allow r
ecreational marijuana use and twenty-four allow medical marijuana. However, little research has been carried out to uncover the drug’s effect on the development of human embryos if smoked or consumed in...
This contest aims to create public awareness, especially among young people, and promote the direct involvement of the wider society in addressing addictions through the use of humour. The main topic of the contest is "Away from addictions...
New research published in the journal Addictive Behaviors has found the likelihood of 18- to 34-year-old nonmedical prescription opioid users having a prescription opioid use disorder has increased between 2002 – 2014. More specifically...
A new substance abuse prevention programme called Preventure uses personality tests to identify children most at risk of indulging in harmful drug-taking behaviour. The traits it has identified amongst at-risk children include: sensation...
