Latest Drug culture Stories
YOUNG drivers should face a zero legal blood alcohol limit, the country's top doctor said yesterday. Chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson said that, although the measure for motorists aged 17-20 might prove unpopular it would reduce road deaths among young people. In his annual report, Sir Liam called for a new focus on the "unique" health needs facing teenagers. He highlighted six key factors threatening the well-being of young people, including smoking, alcohol and drugs, accidents...
By Alan McEwen Police clampdown nets a dozen child boozers in Capital A 12-YEAR-OLD girl drunk on cider and vodka was among more than a dozen youngsters rounded up in a single night by undercover police in a new crackdown in the Capital. The police patrols, aimed at clamping down on under-age drinkers, also found a 13-year-old girl and eight 14-year-olds girls who had been drinking. Along with the young girls, two 16-year-old boys and two 15-year-old boys were also discovered with booze....
By Tom Kisken, Ventura County Star, Calif. Pain patients understand why California's attorney general says he needs to raise $3.5 million to stop addicts and drug dealers who use doctors to stockpile Vicodin and OxyContin. Abuse of prescription medicine is rampant in part because chronic pain can put your head in a vise and reduce you to a lump of flesh unable to do anything but lie on a sofa, said Bob Ramos of Santa Paula, whose spine has been surgically fused. It can feel as if...
By BONNEVIE, Christian; JACKSON, Laura Supermarkets selling alcohol at a loss to lure shoppers are fuelling New Zealand's binge-drinking culture and violence, police say. The practice, known as loss leading, involves beer and wine being marketed at cost price or less. Supermarkets had promised not to do so when the amendment to the Sale of Liquor Act 1989, allowing beer sales in supermarkets, was discussed during the 1999 parliamentary select committee hearings. New Zealand's two major...
By Vikki Ortiz, Bonnie Miller Rubin and Lisa Black, Chicago Tribune Jun. 26--Despite stricter laws and stern warnings that "we card hard," millions of teenagers are still getting their hands on alcohol. And they're often getting it for free from people who should know better: adults of legal drinking age. A four-year federal survey being released Thursday found that about 40 percent of drinkers ages 12 to 20 had obtained free alcohol in the previous 30 days from people over 21. The...
NORWALK, Conn., May 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The Beverage Information Group, a leading provider of marketing, merchandising and statistical information to the beverage alcohol industry, recently released its 2008 Wine & Spirits Industry Marketing Handbook. The updated, expanded and now online handbook provides access to more than 600 wine and spirits importers, marketers and suppliers by name, title, company name, address, phone, fax, e-mail, Web address and brands. The handbook's comprehensive...
The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) approved a program this week to raise awareness about the risks of injury, violence and illness resulting from alcohol use, especially among young people and pregnant women. The agency's 34-member executive board called for a global strategy to be put in place within the next two years to reduce the threats and protect "all at-risk populations such as young people and those affected by the harmful drinking of others," from these dangers,...
LONDON -- New "landmark" research finds that alcohol and tobacco are more dangerous than some illegal drugs like marijuana or Ecstasy and should be classified as such in legal systems, according to a new British study.In research published Friday in The Lancet magazine, Professor David Nutt of Britain's Bristol University and colleagues proposed a new framework for the classification of harmful substances, based on the actual risks posed to society. Their ranking listed alcohol and...
By Terri ColesTORONTO -- Many populations worldwide have seen a decrease in HIV prevalence, but in several countries drug use is fueling new HIV epidemics. Prevention has become a key focus of the 16th International AIDS Conference in Toronto, highlighting the importance of targeting and engaging drug users in the fight against HIV and AIDS.Users of illegal injection drugs are at a disproportionally higher risk of becoming infected with HIV, and their health is poorer when they are...
By Megan Rauscher NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A study conducted in Norway provides more evidence that genetic factors may play an important role in the use of drugs such as marijuana and cocaine. According to study chief Dr. Kenneth S. Kendler, previous studies on the role of genes in illicit drug use were conducted in countries with high rates of drug abuse, namely the United States and Australia. "This is the first study to show the importance of genetic factors in a culture/country...
