Teenage Behavior Influenced by Video Games?
Experts from the UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies at The University of Nottingham have carried out the first ever analysis of best-selling video games to find out the extent to which the games include this content and to assess the link between playing the games and drinking and smoking behavior. They found that teenagers who play video games featuring alcohol and tobacco references appeared to be directly influenced because they were twice as likely to have tried smoking or drinking themselves. Click here for more in this research study
Have You Heard About Alcohol Vaping?
If you look online, you might come to the conclusion that people have given up drinking. Instead, everyone seems to be going crazy over vaping alcohol. Dr. Alfred Aleguas of the Florida Poison Information Center at Tampa General Hospital says smoking or vaping your booze is not great for you: “Absolutely as bad as drinking, maybe worse,” he says. That’s because the vapor or fumes go straight into your lungs—without taking a detour through your stomach, intestines, and liver. Avoiding those organs allows the alcohol to absorb more quickly without being metabolized. In other words, “You have really no clue…
North Carolina Medical Board Calls Attention to Prescription Drug Overdoses
Across Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, Gaston, Cleveland, Union and Anson counties, 134 people died from opioid overdoses in 2015. The North Carolina Medical Board is trying to stop addiction and prevent overdoses by analyzing doctors’ prescribing records and the steps they take to prevent and identify patient misuse of painkillers. “It is critical that we look at it because even one overdose or narcotic opioid poisoning is too many,” said Dr. Mark Romanoff (the Charlotte physician on the committee that created the new investigative program). The medical board is investigating 12 doctors who are considered high-dose prescribers and 60 physicians who had…
See You at PITA IX
We are excited to present PITA IX. This is an opportunity to: connect with prevention providers across the state get an updates from the field, and receive training. Here is the full agenda for the day: NCSAPPA PITA IX Agenda If you haven’t done some already, register today!
The Safe Opioid Prescribing Initiative
Doctors who over-prescribe OxyContin, Percocet and other narcotic painkillers known as opioids are widely seen as partly responsible for a dramatic rise in drug overdose deaths over the last two decades. Fatal overdoses kill more than 1,000 people a year in North Carolina and nearly half involve prescriptions written within 60 days of the victim’s death. Regulators seeking to curb deaths are now using a statewide database to spot potentially reckless prescribing. Click HERE for more on this story
Senate Passes Bill to Support Substance Abuse Treatment
Responding to a drug crisis that has contributed to more American deaths than car crashes, the Senate passed a broad drug treatment and prevention bill, the largest of its kind since a law in 2008 that mandated insurance coverage for addiction treatment. The measure authorizes money for various treatment and prevention programs. It also strengthens prescription drug monitoring programs to help states and expands the availability of the drug naloxone, which helps reverse overdoses, to law enforcement agencies. It also increases disposal sites for prescription medications that are often abused by teenagers and others. “This is a strong signal that…
Register Today for the PITA IX Conference
It’s that time of year. Register today for the PITA IX Conference
Public Health Leaders Urge Far-Reaching Reforms to Curb Prescription Opioid Epidemic
A group of experts, led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, issued recommendations aimed at stemming the prescription opioid epidemic, a crisis that kills an average of 44 people a day in the U.S. The report calls for changes to the way medical students and physicians are trained, prescriptions are dispensed and monitored, first responders are equipped to treat overdoses, and those with addiction are identified and treated. The report, titled “The Prescription Opioid Epidemic: An Evidence-Based Approach,” breaks its recommendations into seven categories: Prescribing Guidelines Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs) Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs)…
It’s Red Ribbon Week
National Family Partnership (NFP), was established as a grassroots, nonprofit organization in 1980 by a handful of concerned and determined parents who were convinced they should begin to play a leadership role in drug prevention. Today, NFP is a national leader in drug prevention education & advocacy. This year’s theme, “Respect Yourself. Be Drug Free.™”, created by a middle school student in Ohio, sends a powerful, positive message to our children – and we invite you to join us in spreading that message. Check out the planning guide for ideas on activities you can do in your community.
The Role of Physicians in Addressing Prescription Med Abuse
According to the National Institute for Drug Abuse, more than 100 million people in this country suffer from chronic pain, and for some opioid therapy may be the only option for relief. Physicians often walk a thin line in the desire to confront the public health emergency while upholding our oath to reduce the suffering of our patients. Robert E. Schaaf, M.D., president of the N.C. Medical Society, says “We, as physicians and physician assistants, have a responsibility to stop the abuse of opioids, as it saps the human and economic resources of our state and country.” This responsibility includes the…