Archive for January, 2010
- Drug Addiction Spurs Theft from Parents
There are times when a drug problem is so bad, the criminal will even steal from his parents. The Buffalo News recently reported on two men who stole thousands of dollars from their parents to support a drug habit.
- Former Nurse Convicted for Forging Prescriptions
The forging of prescriptions should be enough to land a person in prison, but apparently back pain can postpone sentencing when narcotic painkillers are not readily available.
- Dealing with Suicidal Thoughts
When you start thinking that your pain will go away only when you kill yourself, or that life will be better for everyone if you’re no longer around, it’s time to get professional help. Suicidal thoughts that are allowed to roam rampant often lead to an inevitable conclusion – the end of life. But the sad truth is that suicide isn’t a choice at all. It’s the end of choice, a finality from which there is no return.
- Social Factors Can Predict and Sustain Alcohol Misuse among Older Drinkers
Social factors have consistently been implicated as a cause of vulnerability to alcohol use and abuse. The reverse is also true, in that individuals who engage in excessive drinking may alter their social context. New research on drinking among older adults has found that older adults who have more money, engage in more social activities, and whose friends approve more of drinking are more likely to engage in excessive or high-risk drinking. Science Daily reports that results will be published in the April 2010 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research and are currently available at Early View.
- America’s New “War on Drugs”
As the “War on Drugs” shifts from criminalization to treatment and second chances, more and more states have been turning to alternate approaches like drug courts, which help people kick their habit instead of throwing them behind bars.
- Short- and Long-Term Effects of Alcohol on the Body and Mind
Recent national survey figures show that people in the UK are buying and consuming unhealthy amounts of alcohol. In fact, to even meet the Department of Health’s daily alcohol recommendations of no more than 3-4 units for men and 2-3 units for women, the country’s yearly purchasing of alcohol would have to be reduced by one-third.
- Study Finds that Poor People Smoke More and are More Obese
A new study demonstrates that social status is intimately linked with health-related risk factors. In the current issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International, Thomas Lampert of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) in Berlin inquires to what extent smoking, physical inactivity, and obesity are associated with social status.
- Afghan Town Evicts Drug Addicts Who Won’t Quit
Village elders in a remote region of Ghazni, Afghanistan, are taking action to get the many drug-addicted youth to kick their habit, or get kicked out of town.
- Depression Episodes and Work Stress
Work stresses us out. Especially with current economic conditions, there are few who are not working harder and longer hours to make sure any interruption in employment is not due to lack of effort. But how many of the employed are affected to the point of experiencing work-related depression?
- Mark McGwire Admits Using Steroids
Former baseball star Mark McGwire finally admitted he used steroids when he broke baseball’s home run record in 1998, saying he used steroids on and off for nearly a decade.