What we learned about Drugs in 2017
Alcohol
Binge-drinking women depicted as 'burden to men' by media, study finds
Alcohol abuse linked to higher heart risks, study says.
https://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/-818776835545215658
Children whose parents give them sips of alcohol 'more likely' to drink as teens
Ten reasons some of us should cut back on alcohol
https://theconversation.com/ten-reasons-some-of-us-should-cut-back-on-alcohol-70406
Why do our friends want us to drink and dislike it when we don’t?
https://theconversation.com/why-do-our-friends-want-us-to-drink-and-dislike-it-when-we-dont-68430
Why does alcohol make you hungry? Blame biology
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-11/why-does-alcohol-make-you-hungry/8176220
Maybe moderate drinking isn't so good for you after all
Alcohol leads to more violence than other drugs, but you’d never know from the headlines
Media reports tend to link violence to illicit drugs when alcohol is far more likely to be to blame.
The Irrationality of Alcoholics Anonymous
Banning orders won’t solve alcohol-fuelled violence – but they can be part of the solution
Alcoholism may be caused by dynamical dopamine imbalance
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-03/nruh-amb030917.php
Could OTC medicines be the answer to alcoholism?
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-03/uomm-com032117.php
Energy drinks mask alcohol's effects, increase injury risk
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-03/joso-edm031517.php
Think you can handle your alcohol? Study may urge some drinkers to think again
Researchers look at how heavy drinking impacts performance over time
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-04/varc-tyc041317.php
Alcohol poll: Majority believe Australia has a problem with excess drinking
I know how alcohol can ruin your mental health. So why is it so rarely discussed?
Federal budget 2017: The shocking reason we're soft on drinkers
Personality may change when you drink, but less than you think
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-05/afps-pmc051217.php
Just one alcoholic drink a day increases risk of breast cancer, study says.
https://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/-995200128361600311
Resetting balance in reward centers may help treat alcohol addiction
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-05/e-rbi052417.php
Is binge drinking really that bad?
Research Check: can even moderate drinking cause brain damage?
https://theconversation.com/research-check-can-even-moderate-drinking-cause-brain-damage-79036
New study into why more teens are teetotallers
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-16/why-are-more-teenagers-turning-away-from-alcohol/8621124
Three ways to help your teenage kids develop a healthier relationship with alcohol
For white middle class, moderate drinking is linked to cognitive health in old age
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-08/uoc--fwm080117.php
Intoxication increases risk for heavy drinkers to commit violence against intimate partner
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-08/gsu-iir081417.php
Apparent alcohol consumption up first time in 9 years - ABS
Study: Alcohol labelling branded ineffective
Buying rounds is deeply engrained in Aussie culture but widely disliked
Hedonism not only leads to binge drinking, it’s part of the solution
https://theconversation.com/hedonism-not-only-leads-to-binge-drinking-its-part-of-the-solution-81751
Alcohol increases cancer risk, but don’t trust the booze industry to give you the facts straight
Young binge drinkers show altered brain activity
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-09/f-ybd090717.php
We need to talk about women's drinking
Alcohol makes rats more vulnerable to compulsive cocaine use
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-11/aaft-amr103017.php
Even light drinking increases your risk of cancer, doctors warn
https://www.newsweek.com/even-light-drinking-increases-your-risk-cancer-doctors-warn-705875
Frequent alcohol drinking kills new brain cells in adults, females are more vulnerable
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-11/uotm-fad110717.php
Smoking costs $1 trillion, soon to kill 8 million a year.
https://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/685015678436856836
Study Adds to Evidence that Electronic Cigarettes are not Harmless
https://www.enn.com/health/article/50434
Switching from smoking to vaping does reduce your carcinogens
Study affirms that cocaine makes users more likely to risk unsafe sex
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-02/jhm-sat020117.php
Modern cigarette filters increase the risk of lung cancer, study finds.
Cigarette filters introduced in the 1960s to reduce the health risks associated with smoking have actually increased the likelihood of lung cancer, researchers say.
https://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/-1786170265303040661
Australian smoking rates falling
Busting the myth that roll-your-own tobacco has fewer additives
Simon Chapman
https://theconversation.com/busting-the-myth-that-roll-your-own-tobacco-has-fewer-additives-79171
New study shows for first time link between passive smoking in childhood and rheumatoid arthritis
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-06/elar-nss061617.php
New data shows low risk nicotine product snus is 95 percent safer than smoking
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-06/kac-nds061517.php
E-cigarettes increase risk of cigarette smoking in youth
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-06/dmc-eir062817.php
Sinus disease symptoms improve 10 years after patients quit smoking
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-07/meae-sds071017.php
The death of smoking: how tobacco will be eradicated for good
'I'm a criminal for quitting smoking': Should vaping be legal?
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-27/to-quit-smoking-i-had-to-become-a-criminal/8746676
Could nicotine reduction help curb addiction?
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-08/lcom-cnr082317.php
Smokers who quit have metabolite levels that resemble those of nonsmokers
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-09/acs-swq092017.php
The E-cig is safer than tobacco: Fact
Up in smoke: illegal tobacco costing the economy millions
Why we should pay people to stop smoking
https://theconversation.com/why-we-should-pay-people-to-stop-smoking-84058
Filters: a cigarette engineering hoax that harms both smokers and the environment
Peers can reduce tobacco use among younger smokers
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/uoc--pcr102617.php
Vaping may stiffen the heart and blood vessels
https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/vaping-may-stiffen-heart-and-blood-vessels
US has an opioid overdose crisis, but cigarettes still kill 15 times more people
Tobacco hurts more than just your lungs – it damages the communities that grow it
Cigarette smokers are 10 times more likely to be daily marijuana users
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-11/cums-cs113017.php
Will an occasional cigarette damage your health?
Smoking leads to less increase in life expectancy for less educated women
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-12/su-slt121117.php
No, Rollies Aren't Healthier Than Traditional Cigarettes
Marijuana
Surge in support to decriminalise marijuana: survey
Delaying pot smoking to age 17 is better for teens' brains, a new study suggests
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-01/uom-dps012517.php
So-called 'synthetic marijuana' linked to serious health problems
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-02/cp-sm012617.php
Have we been lied to about weed?
Marijuana use associated with increased risk of stroke, heart failure
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-03/acoc-mua030617.php
Early use of marijuana can increase its negative health impacts
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-03/cu-euo032817.php
A little cannabis every day might keep brain ageing at bay
Marijuana use tied to poorer school performance
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-05/uow-mut051017.php
Why pot-smoking declines -- but doesn't end -- with parenthood
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-06/uow-wpd060117.php
Could cannabis help crack cocaine addicts kick the habit?
Marijuana and vulnerability to psychosis
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-07/uom-mav070417.php
Depression among young teens linked to cannabis use at 18
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-07/uowh-day071717.php
Pattern of marijuana use during adolescence may impact psychosocial outcomes in adulthood
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-07/uops-pom072417.php
Marijuana may produce psychotic-like effects in high-risk individuals
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-09/cumc-mmp091317.php
Cannabis, 'Spice' -- better think twice
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-09/uot-c-092117.php
A quarter of problematic pot users have anxiety disorders, many since childhood
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/dumc-aqo102417.php
Regular marijuana use linked to more sex, Stanford study finds
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/sumc-rmu102317.php
Cocaine
Cocaine addiction leads to build-up of iron in brain
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-02/uoc-cal021717.php
Treating cocaine addiction by reducing our appetite for drugs?
The hypocretin/orexin (HCRT) system of the brain is best known for promoting wakefulness and appetite. A new paper in Biological Psychiatry suggests that blocking hypocretin signaling via the HCRT-1 receptor (HCRT-R1) might also reduce the appetite for cocaine.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-03/e-tca031617.php
Cocaine more addictive than first thought, study finds
Cocaine users' brains unable to extinguish drug associations
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-09/tmsh-cu091117.php
Methamphetamines
What happens to your body when you use ice?
Young ice users 'have brain changes similar to Parkinson's disease'
Junk food packaging hijacks the same brain processes as drug and alcohol addiction
Australian methamphetamine user outcomes
Stopping drug abuse can reverse related heart damage
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-05/acoc-sda052517.php
Ice addiction treatment surging, but alcohol still the biggest problem
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-28/surge-in-treatment-for-drug-ice-australia/8657212
'This is not a beat up, this is real': Ice-related deaths have doubled, study finds
Meth users top 30pc spike in 'toxic blend' of mental illness and drug use
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-28/drugs-meth-mental-health-problems-rise/8989614
Ice use stabilising across Australia, wastewater research shows
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-12-14/ice-use-stabilising-across-australia/9257450
Ice epidemic in Queensland creating a wave of domestic violence
Heroin's use rising, costing society more than $51 billion
Heroin use in the United States was estimated to cost society more than $51 billion in 2015, according to new research at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-06/uoia-hur060817.php
Heroin deaths in Victoria may pass road toll
Other addictive substances
Petrol-sniffing irreversibly stunts growth, research shows
African plant adding to drug danger
Study reveals risk factors for substance use problems, as well as resilience
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/f-srr101617.php
Small potent doses of illegal drugs are evading authorities but having a huge impact
The 'drop dead' drug terrorising North America linked to 10 deaths in Melbourne
Australians are taking too many antipsychotic drugs, experts warn
Is sugar the world’s most popular drug?
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/jan/05/is-sugar-worlds-most-popular-drug
Fact or fiction – is sugar addictive?
https://theconversation.com/fact-or-fiction-is-sugar-addictive-73340
Zero tolerance for drugs doesn't work. Let's embrace zero harm
Drug Prohibition Is Killing Young Australians
Greg Chipp
Review confirms link between drug use and poor dental health
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-03/sfts-rcl030817.php
Can Australia respond to drugs more effectively and safely?
National wastewater drug monitoring program: report 1, 2017
Drug related deaths have seen a 'significant jump' since 2014
How drug use changes the brain — and makes relapse all too common.
https://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/-1187149411708837083
Study finds mushrooms are the safest recreational drug
Illegal drugs costing us billions
Rise in illicit drug use by over 40s, but teens buck the trend
Performance enhancing drugs
We should stop banning drugs in sport – it doesn't work
LSD alters perception via serotonin receptors
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-01/uoz-lap012617.php
Daily stress can trigger uptick in illegal drug use for those on parole, probation
A recent study finds that even small, day-to-day stressors can cause an increase in illegal drug use among people on probation or parole who have a history of substance use
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-05/ncsu-dsc050317.php
Three charts on: Australia’s changing drug and alcohol habits
https://theconversation.com/three-charts-on-australias-changing-drug-and-alcohol-habits-78597
FactCheck Q&A: are rates of drug use 2.5 times higher among unemployed people than employed people?
Alcohol and other drug treatment services in Australia 2015–16
https://www.apo.org.au/node/96181
Kids in high-achieving schools: Addiction down the road?
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-05/asu-kih053017.php
What is chemsex and why is the UK government worried about it?
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2140756/
Drug-induced deaths at highest point since 1990s
Australians want more spent on drug education and treatment – survey
National Drug Strategy Household Survey 2016: detailed findings
https://apo.org.au/node/112301
Almost half of those who resolve a problem with drugs or alcohol do so without assistance
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-11/mgh-aho110117.php
Parental attention can reduce risk of drug abuse in adolescence
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-12/fda-pac120417.php