Latest drug and alcohol reserach and information.
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.
Women and men who engage in frequent heavy drinking report significantly worse health-related practices, according to a Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research study in the journal Addiction Research & Theory. For the study, researchers surveyed 7,884 members of the Kaiser Permanente Northwest integrated health plan in Oregon and Washington.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first nonprescription, "over-the-counter" (OTC) naloxone nasal spray, Narcan. Naloxone -- a medicine that can reverse an opioid-related overdose -- has been shown to be a critical tool to prevent fatal overdoses, connect more people to treatment for substance use disorder, and save lives.