Three major cigarette manufacturers in Canada have agreed to begin phasing out "light" and "mild" on their packaging, the Competition Bureau announced Thursday.
Light- and mild-labelled cigarettes vary in their tar content, but critics have long held that they're not necessarily safer than traditional cigarettes.
Abstract
This prospective longitudinal study examines patterns of psychiatric symptomatology among men admitted to treatment for cocaine dependence in 1988–1989. Study participants were interviewed at treatment intake, and at 1 year, 2 years and 12 years after treatment. The Hopkins Symptom Checklist-58 (SCL) and Natural History Interview were administered at the 4 time points. Of the 266 study participants interviewed at the 12-year follow-up, 138 (52%) had been cocaine abstinent for 5 years or more. Repeated measures ANOVA assessed changes in SCL scores over time for cocaine-abstinent and non-abstinent men. Both groups had similarly high mean SCL scores at treatment intake, and reductions in symptom severity 1 year after treatment. By 12-year follow-up, the abstinent group reported significantly lower SCL scores than the non-abstinent group on 4 of the 5 symptom measures. Additionally, cocaine-abstinent men reported lower rates of depressive and psychotic disorders, and lower use of psychopharmacologic and inpatient treatment than non-abstinent men. These findings suggest that severe psychiatric symptomatology persists among individuals unable to achieve a stable recovery from cocaine dependence.
Drug-reform groups have enjoyed great success in recent years using ballot questions to legalize the use of marijuana for medical purposes, but failed in their attempt to up the ante in Colorado, where Amendment 44 was defeated by a solid 61-38 percent margin. Voters apparently did not buy supporters' contention that alcohol was a more dangerous drug than pot; the measure would have allowed Colorado adults to legally possess up to one ounce of marijuana.
On the other hand, the trend toward state restrictions on smoking in public places continued to pick up momentum on Election Day. Voters in Ohio, Nevada and Arizona approved comprehensive indoor-smoking bans, and the tougher measures prevailed over competing questions supported by the tobacco and hospitality industries.
This long-term follow-up of people with alcoholism admitted to the same treatment program indicates a relatively high mortality rate, early occurrence of liver disease and lifestyle-related deaths, and some differences among ethnic/racial groups. The author acknowledges that findings from this group of urban poor will likely differ from findings in other populations with alcoholism. However, the study illustrates that treatment providers should understand the mortality risks for their patients and incorporate appropriate linkages to medical care and other services.
Side effects to discontinuing serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SRI) treatment are common and may be severe. Patients who are not prepared for these reactions may attribute symptoms to other causes such as a medical illness. Educate your patient about potential side effects to mitigate problems such as relapse or patient distress.
Fall is prime time for jimson weed, a legal plant that can grow nearly anywhere. Police and hospitals have reported scattered outbreaks of jimson weed poisonings in California, Colorado, Indiana, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Poison centers last year recorded 975 incidents involving anticholinergic plants such as jimson weed, down from 1,058 in 2004, according to the American Association of Poison Control Centers' annual report.
Poisonings typically increase in late summer and fall when jimson weed plants are at their peak, says Steven Marcus, director of the New Jersey Poison Information and Education System in Newark. New Jersey has had three reports of poisonings since July, he says.
Jimson weed also is known as stinkweed, locoweed and moonflower. Its pods contain seeds that when eaten or brewed in a tea can cause severe hallucinations and other reactions, including dry mouth, overheating, agitation, urinary retention and hallucinations, Marcus says. Overdoses can lead to seizures, comas or death. It can take up to an hour for someone to feel the effects, so people often consume excessive amounts, thinking the seeds aren't working, he says.
Welfare is a major access point to identify and serve low-income mothers with substance-use disorders, but it reaches a smaller proportion of illicit drug users than it did prereform. Declining welfare receipt among low-income mothers with substance abuse disorders poses a new challenge in serving this population.
Declining welfare receipt may pose a challenge to reaching this population, but nowhere near the challenge that drug testing would create. Several state legislature candidates are advocating more screening and, where there is suspicion of drug use, testing.
A new study made available this week by the American Journal of Public Health demonstrates that the Philip Morris so-called “youth anti-smoking commercials” actually encourage teens to smoke. The study, Impact of Televised Tobacco Industry Smoking Prevention Advertising on Youth Smoking-Related Beliefs, Intentions and Behavior, concludes that 10th and 12th grade children who view the Philip Morris parent-targeted advertisements perceive smoking to be less harmful and exhibit a greater likelihood of smoking.The part that's a little odd is that they are insisting that Philip Morris give the money they'd spend on the campaign to Protect the Truth for their public education campaign.
Regular wine drinking has also been shown through epidemiological studies to reduce cardiovascular disease by significant amounts...
Which is all very interesting. But the salient point – that red wine is consumed in social, non-abusive way, usually over dinner, was highlighted by a rather less uplifting news report from Finland, where alcohol has now become the leading cause of death for men, and the second leading cause of death for women.
Researchers have long divided Europe into two drinking cultures: A northern, binge drinking culture, and a southern, social-drinking culture...Unfortunately, increasing numbers of youth in France, Italy and Spain appear to be adopting northern binge-drinking habits too
This was forwarded by Faces and Voices of Recovery. It could create new barriers to employment for people with misdemeanor drug crimes:
Folks -
We are writing to ask your help opposing a troubling new proposal by the FBI which would authorize the agency to report "non-serious" offenses in response to a criminal background check conducted for employment purposes. We very much need your help to spread the word about the proposal and generate public comments to the FBI. Please act fast because the deadline for comments is Monday, November 6th (see the attached sample letter and fact sheet prepared by the National Employment Law Project).
As you may know, the FBI's rap sheets, generated by the state criminal records, are used more and more by employers and the states in screening workers for employment and occupational licenses Currently, the federal law limits the rap sheets to serious misdemeanors and felonies. But if the FBI has its way, that could all change. The rap sheets will also include non-serious offenses, which means juvenile arrests and convictions and minor adult crimes like vagrancy and public drunkenness. If adopted, the proposal will be devastating to the millions of workers who have a criminal record, and it will seriously undermine the growing movement to protect public safety by removing unnecessary barriers to employment based on a criminal record.
The more letters received by the FBI with the compelling stories of the communities where you live and work, the better chance the FBI will think twice before implementing this misguided policy. Please spread the word to your networks and communities. For more information on the FBI's proposal, see the attached factsheet, or contact either Laura Moskowitz (lmoskowitz@nelp.org) or Maurice Emsellem (emsellem@nelp.org) at NELP. Your comments can be e-mailed directly to the FBI at enexreg@leo.gov, and indicate "FBI Docket No. 111P" in the subject box. Thanks for your help!
Maurice Emsellem
National Employment Law Project
405 14th Street, 14th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612
(510) 663-5700
www.nelp.org
“[The hippocampus] is the area related to memory and the reward system. The areas lighting up were areas activated in drug addicts. It’s very similar to what triggers the craving for cocaine,” [Gene-Jack Wang] says. So despite receiving the “full [stomach]” signal, they still have the craving for more.
Finnish authorities expressed alarm on Thursday at figures showing alcohol to be the leading killer of men in Finland and the second most common cause of death in women. ... there was no question why: in 2004 Finland cut its taxes on alcohol and Estonia joined the EU, allowing Finns to pop across the Baltic Sea to buy liquor at much lower prices.
Moving forward to address nicotine addiction within the larger rubric of addiction treatment is no longer a question of inadequate research; it is a question of honesty, courage and leadership.
"Although providers advertise anesthesia-assisted detox as a fast and painless method to kick opiate addiction, the evidence does not support those statements," says Dr. Collins. "Patients should consider the many risks associated with this approach, including fluid accumulation in the lungs, metabolic complications of diabetes, and a worsening of underlying bipolar illness, as well as other potentially serious adverse events," he says. Those with preexisting medical conditions—including some psychiatric disorders, elevated blood sugar, insulin-dependent diabetes, prior pneumonias, hepatitis, heart disease, and AIDS—are particularly at risk for anesthesia-related adverse events. "Careful screening is essential with the anesthesia-assisted method, because the thought of sleeping through withdrawal is so compelling that some patients may conceal their medical histories," says Dr. Collins.
"We now have several rigorous studies indicating that anesthesia-assisted detox— a costly and risky approach—offers no advantage over other methods," says Dr. Ivan Montoya of NIDA's Division of Pharmacotherapies and Medical Consequences of Drug Abuse. Dr. Montoya notes, "The low retention of patients in subsequent outpatient treatment in the present study, which is not unusual for the opiate-addicted population, highlights the need to engage people in long-term recovery after detoxification."
The proportion of adults who smoke held steady at 20.9 percent in the most recent national survey of cigarette habits, conducted in 2005, marking the first time the rate did not fall from one year to the next since 1997, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta reported.
Critics of a law that bars the awarding of federal student financial aid to students convicted of drug offenses have offered up no shortage of reasons why they think the law is unnecessary, unfair and even unconscionable. But that doesn’t mean the statute is unconstitutional, a federal judge ruled Friday in dismissing a lawsuit two advocacy groups filed against the U.S. Education Department in March.
