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Addiction Archive
Articles
We should be ashamed if we don’t pass Tobacco 21 laws
Ninety percent of smokers had their first cigarette before turning 18. A movement to raise the legal age to buy tobacco in the United States to 21 hopes that making it more difficult for young people to start smoking may lead to a healthier population overall.
Prescription pain pills: Worth the risks?
Thorough risk assessment and family assistance may help you take them more safely.
Prescription pain pills such as oxycodone (Oxycontin) and hydrocodone (Vicodin) are in a class of drugs known as opioids. They're typically used to treat severe pain after surgery, and sometimes to treat chronic pain. But these drugs come with many risks, including addiction. Does that put you at risk if you take opioids? "You have to look at it on a case-by-case basis," says Dr. Hilary Connery, an addiction psychiatrist at Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital.
Risks and benefits
Opioids are powerful painkillers that block messages of pain to the brain and decrease the body's perception of discomfort. They may also create a feeling of euphoria. Opioids are especially useful in the short term, such as the initial weeks following joint replacement. Common side effects include nausea, itching, drowsiness, or constipation.
Why are doctors writing opioid prescriptions — even after an overdose?
A recent study of nearly 3,000 patients who had an overdose during long-term opioid treatment found that more than 90% of these patients continued to receive opioids — even after their overdose. Poor communication between emergency rooms and prescribing doctors is likely the culprit. What’s more, doctors receive little training in recognizing patients at high risk for overdose, or in treating addiction when they do spot it. An important strategy to address the current opioid crisis is to improve how doctors are educated about opioids.
Prescription drug use continues to increase, survey shows
Research we're watching
A nationwide survey conducted by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health indicates that prescription drug use rose from 51% of U.S. adults in the 1999–2000 calendar year to 59% in 2011–2012. In 2012, women were taking more prescription medications than men, with 65% taking at least one drug and 16% taking more than five.
Although the use of postmenopausal hormones declined, women's prescriptions for blood pressure medication, cholesterol-lowering drugs, antidepressants, and diabetes medications rose significantly. The study was published in the Nov. 3, 2015, issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association.
Study suggests scant increased risk of breast cancer from alcohol intake
Research we're watching
A study published Oct. 15, 2015, in the International Journal of Cancer adds to evidence that the risk of breast cancer increases—but not very much—with every drink a woman takes. Researchers from five Spanish universities followed 334,850 women, ages 35 to 70, from 10 European countries. During an 11-year period, 11,576 were diagnosed with breast cancer.
When the researchers compared alcohol intake among women who developed breast cancer and those who didn't, they found women who averaged two drinks a day had a 4% higher risk than those who limited their consumption to one daily drink. Those who averaged three drinks a day had a 6% higher breast cancer risk.
Low-nicotine cigarettes may help determined smokers cut back
A study examining the effects of low-nicotine cigarettes on smoking behavior yielded surprising results. The study volunteers who smoked the low-nicotine cigarettes actually smoked less and had fewer cigarette cravings than those who smoked cigarettes with a higher level of nicotine. Although more research is needed before we can draw any conclusions, it’s possible that very-low-nicotine cigarettes might be a way to mitigate the health dangers of smoking for people determined not to quit.
When are opioids safe to take?
Opioids are commonly used to control acute, intense pain. Meditation, yoga, and acupuncture may help control pain when tapering off opioids. |
Although these powerful pain relievers can be addictive, opioids are safe for most people when used properly.
Recent Blog Articles
How — and why — to fit more fiber and fermented food into your meals
Tick season is expanding: Protect yourself against Lyme disease
What? Another medical form to fill out?
How do trees and green spaces enhance our health?
A muscle-building obsession in boys: What to know and do
Harvard Health Ad Watch: New drug, old song, clever tagline
Concussion in children: What to know and do
What color is your tongue? What's healthy, what's not?
Your amazing parathyroid glands
When — and how — should you be screened for colon cancer?
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