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By Join Together Staff
As R.J. Reynolds test-markets Camel Orbs - a dissolvable tobacco lozenge - a new smokeless tobacco product is tested in two U.S. cities, public health officials are expressing concerns about the safety of this and other similar products. They say the products are especially attractive to teens.
Camel Orbs are pellets of finely cured tobacco with added binders and flavoring which dissolves in the mouth and provides a hit of nicotine. An R.J. Reynolds...
read moreBy Join Together Staff
Almost one-quarter of Americans age 12 or older say they participated in binge drinking in the previous month, according to a government survey. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health found binge drinking rates varied among states, ranging from 14.1 percent in Utah, to 29.8 percent in North Dakota.
The survey defines binge drinking as having five or more drinks on one occasion. The survey, released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services...
read moreBolstering your own community's successes with rigorous study data helps make the case for prevention more effectively. This week, we highlight several studies that provide concrete evidence for what we already know: community prevention works—and it's working right now.
The Studies
In the July issue of Preventing Chronic Disease, "Effect of School District Policy...
read moreBy Join Together Staff
Seattle's City Council voted this week to establish a system for licensing and regulating medical marijuana distribution under a new Washington state law. The city's ordinance differs from those of other Washington cities, which have established bans and restrictions on medical marijuana cultivation facilities and dispensaries, Reuters...
read moreBy Join Together Staff
Electronic cigarettes, or "e-cigarettes," are crude drug delivery systems for refined nicotine that pose unknown risks, two experts write in this week's New England Journal of Medicine. Researchers from the American Legacy Foundation's Steven A. Schroeder National Institute for Tobacco Research and Policy Studies write that e-cigarettes have more in common with...
read moreswBy Join Together Staff
Health care providers in Ohio are reporting cases of people abusing a type of incense sold under the brand name "Mad Hatter."
This type of incense is not the same as the sticks that are burned to produce a fragrance, the Lancaster Eagle Gazette reports. Mad Hatter, a form of synthetic marijuana, is a green, leafy substance that can cause hallucinations and increased heart rate.
Last week, Ohio Governor John Kasich...
read moreBy Join Together Staff
Exposure to secondhand smoke can lead to hearing loss in teenagers, who often don't realize they have hearing difficulties, a new study suggests. Scientists conducting the study recommend that teens exposed to secondhand smoke be closely monitored for early hearing loss with periodic testing, HealthDay reports.
The researchers asked 1,533 nonsmoking teens about their...
read moreBy Join Together Staff
Researchers are asking the federal government for approval to study the effects of marijuana on veterans with chronic post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) who have not responded to other treatment.
The study would involve 50 combat veterans with PTSD, The New York Times reports.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sent a letter to the researchers,...
read moreBy Celia Vimont
A growing body of research is showing that when it comes to treatments for alcohol use disorders, women's needs are different from men's. Scientists who recently presented studies at the Research Society on Alcoholism are exploring gender differences in alcohol treatment and moving beyond a one-size-fits-all strategy.
"Women have different barriers to treatment than men," says Elizabeth Epstein, PhD, Research Professor in the Clinical Division...
read moreWalla Walla County is in the process of issuing an RFP for the provision of Alcohol, Tobacco and Substance Abuse Prevention services for the period of October 2011-June 30, 2012.
Full details are available beginning Thursday, July 28, 2011 at the Walla Walla County website: http://www.co.walla-walla.wa.us/Departments/HRS/Procurement.shtml
By Join Together Staff
Girls appear to be especially vulnerable to the effects of binge drinking on the brain, a new study suggests. The study found that binge drinking can affect teens' ability to perceive the space around them, and then remember and work with this information, known as spatial working memory.
"Even though adolescents might physically appear grown up, their brains are continuing to significantly develop and mature, particularly in frontal brain...
read moreBy Join Together Staff
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is considering banning menthol cigarettes following a recent report, from its Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee, that the cigarettes are extremely popular among African Americans, the poor and young.
About 19 million Americans smoke menthol cigarettes. The FDA already has banned other types of cigarettes, including flavored beedies, cloves, and cigarettes with vanilla, peppermint and spices, to...
read moreA new report on the Synar Amendment program -- a federal and state partnership aimed at ending illegal tobacco sales to minors -- shows that that the average national retailer violation rate of tobacco sales is down to 9.3 percent -- the lowest level in the 14 year history of the program.
Washington State's retailer violation rate for 2010 was 9.8 percent.
"This report brings welcome news about the measurable progress states have made in reducing illegal sales of...
read moreBy Join Together Staff
A growing number of smokers are rolling their own cigarettes using pipe tobacco in order to avoid paying high excise taxes.
The popularity of pipe tobacco cigarettes started in April 2009, when the federal government increased the excise tax on a pack of cigarettes from 39 cents to $1.01. The tax also jumped for tobacco used in roll-your-own cigarettes, and is now $24.78 per pound. The tax for pipe tobacco is $2.83 per pound.
Many smoke shops are...
read moreContact Us
Washington State Health Care Authority
Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery
P.O. Box 45330 Olympia, WA 98504-5330
Email: DBHRAthenaTeam@hca.wa.gov
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