Drinkaware Response To Plans By The Government To Crack Down On Binge Drinking Hotspots, UK
Responding to the plan by the Government to crack down on binge drinking hotspots and give communities more influence over licensing applications, Chris Sorek, Chief Executive of alcohol awareness charity Drinkaware, says: "Alcohol misuse costs society £25 billion a year* and it is imperative our culture's binge drinking problem is tackled head on...

Texas Raises Organ Donor Registry; D.C. Not Ready For Medical Marijuana Sales; L.A. Health Department Facing Major Service Cuts
The Houston Chronicle: "Though Texas has the nation's lowest percentage of registered organ and tissue donors, several recent initiatives have more than doubled the state's donor rolls this year. The number enrolled in the Glenda Dawson Donate Life Texas Registry has ballooned since Jan...

Rheumatoid Arthritis Severity Reduced By Alcohol
Drinking alcohol may reduce the severity of rheumatoid arthritis according to new research justg published. It is the first time that this effect has been shown in humans. The study also finds that alcohol consumption reduces the risk of developing the disease, confirming the results of previous studies...

NHS Choices: Five Drinking Myths
There are so many stories around alcohol and drinking that it's hard to know what to believe. Knowing the facts about how drinking affects your body is the best way to make sure you drink safely. Below are some common myths around drinking . Read on to find out the real facts about alcohol...

Cash-Strapped Local Governments Threaten To Hold Back Payments To N.Y.; Oakland Council Approves 4 Marijuana Factories
The Wall Street Journal: "Frustrated by Albany's backlog of unpaid bills, cash-strapped local governments around New York are threatening to suspend their Medicaid payments to the state. Last week, an upstate county announced that it was freezing Medicaid payments to Albany...

DrugScope Responds To Government's Decision To Abolish National Treatment Agency, UK
DrugScope has responded to the Department of Health's announcement that the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse (NTA) is to be abolished as a statutory organisation. The NTA will cease to exist as an organisation in its own right but its functions will be transferred to a new Public Health Service, which will be directly accountable to the Secretary of State...

American Association Of Poison Control Centers: Fake Marijuana Spurs More Than 750 Calls To U.S. Poison Centers This Year Alone
Synthetic marijuana products being sold at gas stations, convenience stores and "head shops" have spurred more than 750 calls to U.S. poison centers this year alone, causing increased concern among doctors and clinicians as well as state lawmakers, who are quickly moving to outlaw such products...

European Medicines Agency Concludes Review Of Modified-Release Oral Opioids Of The WHO Level III Scale For The Management Of Pain
The European Medicines Agency has finalised a review of modified-release oral opioids of the WHO level III scale for the management of pain...

Blogs Comment On Abortion Coverage, Female Condoms, Other Topics
The following summarizes selected women's health-related blog entries. ~ "The Obama Administration Takes a Page From Stupak's Playbook," Allie Bohm, ACLU's Blog of Rights: On July 14, "the Obama administration inexplicably announced that it is bringing back Stupak in the high-risk pools required by the law," Bohm writes...

DrugScope Responds To New Official Data On Drug Use Trends
DrugScope has responded to the publication of two sets of official statistics detailing the prevalence of drug use among adults and young people. The Home Office's Drug misuse declared: Findings from the British Crime Survey 2009/10 presents estimates of the prevalence of illegal drug use among 16 to 59 year olds in England and Wales [1]...

Genetics May Influence Social Drinking
Your friend walks into a bar to meet you for happy hour...

Novel Treatment For Pain In Sickle Cell Disease
A University of Minnesota Medical School research team led by Kalpna Gupta, Ph.D., has discovered that cannibinoids offer a novel approach to ease the chronic and acute pain caused by sickle cell disease (SCD)...

AIDS 2010 Studies, Releases: Criminalization, Discrimination Of High-Risk Groups; Test-And-Treat; UNAIDS Launches HIV Prevention Commission
The criminalization of men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender people in Asia is holding back efforts to contain HIV/AIDS in the region, according to a report presented Wednesday by the U.N. Development Program (UNDP) and Asia Pacific Coalition on Male Sexual Health at the International AIDS Conference-AIDS 2010, VOA News reports...

'Seek, Test, Treat And Retain' - New Global Report Launched By The International AIDS Society Recommends A New Paradigm For Treating IDU's
Against the backdrop of some of the globe's fastest growing HIV epidemics in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, a report launched at the XVIII International AIDS conference (AIDS 2010) in Vienna makes the case for a new model for scaling up treatment and prevention of HIV amongst Injecting Drug Users (IDUs)...

Most Men In Long-Term Study Of HIV Report Low Use Of Illicit Drugs
Most older gay and bisexual men enrolled in a long-term study of HIV used recreational drugs infrequently over a 10-year period, report University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health researchers at the XVIII International AIDS Conference...