The latest news, tips and updates
from The Partnership at Drugfree.org.
A panel of experts assembled by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration voted against recommending approval of the painkiller Zohydro ER on Friday. The panel cited concerns over the potential for addiction.
The federal government missed several important opportunities to improve access to smoking cessation medications and counseling this year, according to a new American Lung Association report. States’ records were more mixed, but many failed to ensure coverage, the group says.
Thousands of prisoners wait months to enter drug education or rehabilitation programs, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office. The delay is caused by staff shortages and limited resources.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates a 50-cent hike in the U.S. cigarette tax could result in a decrease of more than three million smokers by 2085. The tax increase would either encourage people to quit, or would keep people from starting to smoke, the researchers say.
The Canadian government has given approval to six generic drug companies to manufacture oxycodone products. The Canadian health minister had been under pressure to forbid the generic version of OxyContin because of concerns about widespread abuse of the painkiller.
Michael Botticelli has been sworn in as Deputy Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, according to UPI. Botticelli, who is in long-term recovery from addiction, is a former director of the Massachusetts Substance Abuse Services Bureau.
The Food and Drug Administration said this week it is likely to seek advice about the potential health dangers of energy drinks, in the wake of reports of deaths and injuries possibly related to the products.
The presidents of four Latin American countries have called for an international debate on drug legalization, following the passage of laws that legalize recreational marijuana use in Colorado and Washington state.
The National Institutes of Health has announced it will not pursue the proposed creation of a single institute devoted to substance use, abuse and addictions. The proposal would have dissolved the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and replaced it with a single body.
The Food and Drug Administration on Friday released reports of injuries that cited the possible involvement of the nation’s top-selling energy drink, Red Bull. The reports follow the release of similar reports for other energy drinks, The New York Times reports.
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