Psychology Space

WHO Proposes Creation Of African Public Health Emergency Fund, Strategy To Reduce Alcohol Use In Africa - During the 60th session of the Africa Committee of the WHO on Monday, Luis Sambo, regional director of the WHO for Africa, proposed the creation of a public health emergency fund to provide financial support to African countries in emergency situations, Agencia AngolaPress reports (8/30)…
Addiction, Compulsive Eating May Be Linked By Biochemical Pathway - Ezlopitant, a compound known to suppress craving for alcohol in humans, was shown to decrease consumption of sweetened water by rodents in a study by researchers at the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center, which is affiliated with the University of California, San Francisco…
Floridians Prepare To Take Back The State - September’s National Pain Awareness Month has never been more important for the state of Florida. Recent data from the Florida Medical Examiner shows residents are dying at a rate of at least 7 per day as a result of prescription drug abuse…
Michael Douglas Says He Has Stage Four Throat Cancer - Michael Douglas told a US television audience on Tuesday night that he has been diagnosed with and is receiving treatment for stage four throat cancer. Speaking on David Letterman’s “Late Show” to promote the release of his new film “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps”, the 65- year old American actor and producer said his doctors had told him he has an 80 per cent chance of survival…
Addressing Health Problems Of Alcohol Requires Society Wide Response - Responding to figures from the North West Public Health Observatory on the effects of alcohol consumption, NHS Confederation deputy policy director Jo Webber said it was up to society as a whole to address the problems of excessive drinking Commenting on the release of Local Alcohol Profiles for England (LAPE) by the North West Public Health Observatory, Jo webber, deputy poli…
Study Finds Privatizing Sweden’s Retail Alcohol Sales Will Increase Alcohol-Related Violence And Other Harms - A study published in the scientific journal Addiction argues that privatising Sweden’s government monopoly on the sale of alcohol will significantly increase alcohol-related violence and other harms…
Research Reveals Higher Rates Of Substance Use By Hispanic Students - Hispanic middle school students may be more likely to smoke, drink or use marijuana than their peers of other races and ethnicities, whereas Asian students seem to have the lowest risk, according to new research in the September issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs…
White House Drug Policy Director Awards $85.6 Million To Local Communities To Prevent Youth Drug Use - Gil Kerlikowske, Director of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), announced $22 million in new Drug Free Communities Support Program (DFC) grants to 169 communities and 16 new DFC Mentoring grants across the country…
Death Of Injecting Drug User In Leicestershire - The Health Protection Agency (HPA) and NHS Leicestershire County and Rutland can confirm that they are investigating the death of a drug injecting heroin user in Leicestershire. Testing of samples from the patient has confirmed the presence of anthrax. This is the fourth case of anthrax seen in an injecting drug user in England, the first being announced in London on 5 February 2010…
FDA Seeks Court Order Against Michigan Dairy - The U.S. Department of Justice, on behalf of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, has filed a complaint for permanent injunction against Scenic View Dairy of Hamilton, Mich., its president, and three of its managers alleging that they sold dairy cows for human consumption that contained illegal drug residues in edible tissues. The complaint, filed Aug. 31, 2010, in the U.S…
BMA Scotland Comment On Labour Alcohol Commission Report - Commenting on the Scottish Labour’s Commission on Alcohol report yesterday (Tuesday 31 August 2010) the BMA said it was ‘disappointed’ that the panel had rejected minimum pricing as the most effective measure to address alcohol misuse in Scotland…
Adventure Trial Successfully Lowers Drinking Rates In At Risk Children - The coming weeks mark the return to school for many of our youngest citizens. Sadly the satisfaction of making new friends and obtaining good test scores may be overshadowed by the prospect of substance abuse for some school-aged adolescents. The previous decade has witnessed a two-fold increase in both alcohol consumption and intoxication by adolescents age 12 to 17…
Vancouver’s Supervised Injection Facility Challenges Canada’s Drug Laws - Despite medical research that indicates Vancouver’s supervised injection facility, Insite, reduces needle-sharing and overdose deaths, the facility’s fate is uncertain, states an analysis article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). Insite was North America’s first sanctioned supervised safe injection site, opened in 2003 under the then Liberal government…
Why Do Moderate Drinkers Live Longer Than Abstainers? - Researchers found that moderate alcohol drinkers are more likely to live longer over a 20-year follow-up than heavy drinkers and abstainers. Moderate drinking means consuming about one or two drinks per day…
Smoking Cannabis Reduces Pain, Helps Sleep And Improves Mood For Those With Chronic Symptoms - For patients with chronic (long-term) neuropathic pain, smoking cannabis was found to reduce symptoms of pain, improve mood and help sleep, a report published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Journal Association) revealed…
Drugs In Sport: Support Available, Australian Psychological Society - The Australian Psychological Society (APS) will offer psychological assistance to sportspeople and sporting organisations to deal with drugs in sport as part of a new government initiative. As part of the Australian Government’s $20…
At NACDS Pharmacy & Technology Conference, Cardinal Health Helps Retail Pharmacies Fight Prescription Drug Abuse - At the NACDS Pharmacy & Technology Conference, taking place August 28-31 in San Diego, Calif., Cardinal Health will encourage attendees to learn more about how they can get involved in the fight against prescription drug abuse…
Authorities Arrest More Than 80 People, Seize 10 Tons Of Counterfeit Meds In E. Africa - Authorities have arrested more than 80 people and seized 10 tons of counterfeit medicines across six East African countries, the international police agency Interpol announced Thursday, United Press International reports (8/26). Interpol, together with a WHO unit, “targeted alleged networks of counterfeit drugs makers, traffickers and vendors,” the Canadian Press reports (8/26)…
Obama Administration Touts Federal Efforts To Combat Health Care Fraud - The Los Angeles Times: Obama administration officials at a meeting in Los Angeles Thursday touted their efforts to crack down on health care fraud, “saying quickly expanding criminal enterprises are costing taxpayers billions of dollars each year. … Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr…
Cocaine Addiction: Experimental Treatments May Prevent Relapse - Doctors have used the drug disulfiram to help patients stay sober for several decades. It interferes with the body’s ability to metabolize alcohol, giving a fierce hangover to someone who consumes even a small amount of alcohol. More recently, disulfiram was shown to be effective in treating cocaine addiction as well, even though alcohol and cocaine affect the nervous system in different ways…
Innovative Federal Partnership To Study Combat Related Substance Use And Abuse - Eleven research institutions in 11 states will receive more than $6 million in federal funding from fiscal year 2010 to support research on substance abuse and associated problems among U.S. military personnel, veterans, and their families…
Study Identifies Risk Factors For Painkiller Addiction And Links The Addiction To Genetics - A new Geisinger study begins to unlock the puzzle of painkiller (opioid) addiction why some people are more likely to become addicted than others. Geisinger investigators have found that patients with four common risk factors have a significantly higher risk of addiction. In addition, a history of severe drug dependence and drug abuse compounds the risk…
Study Examines Methods College Students Use To Avoid Risky Situations - College students are less likely to let their female friends engage in risky sexual behavior after a night of drinking alcohol. Recent findings in the journal Communication Education examine how and why college students protect their friends who have been heavily drinking…
Scientific American Features Series On HIV/AIDS: Prevention Strategies, MSM, IDUs - A Scientific American series examines how recent scientific advances will guide future efforts to thwart HIV/AIDS and also looks at the epidemic among men who have sex with men (MSM) and injecting drug users (IDUs)…
To Reduce HIV Risk Among Men Who Have Sex With Men, Better Interventions Are Needed - Although a cognitive-behavioral intervention to encourage men who have sex with men to reduce their substance use and sexual risk behavior (as both are linked) was partially successful, a similar reduction was achieved in comparison groups who did not receive the intervention suggesting that better methods for changing behaviors are needed…