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Health News Results - 213

19 Dec
U.S. Life Spans Rebound from Pandemic Lows, Helped by Drop in Fatal Overdoses

U.S. Life Spans Rebound from Pandemic Lows, Helped by Drop in Fatal Overdoses

After years of decline, U.S. life expectancy is finally on the rise again for the first time since 2019, new government research shows.

This turnaround was driven in part by a decline in drug overdose d...

12 Dec
U.S. Overdose Deaths Fell 17% in Just One Year

U.S. Overdose Deaths Fell 17% in Just One Year

In news that suggest the U.S. opioid epidemic may be easing, drug overdose deaths fell 17% between July 2023 and July 2024.

Per new data released Wednesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and...

12 Dec
FDA Asks Biden Administration to Limit Nicotine in Tobacco Products

FDA Asks Biden Administration to Limit Nicotine in Tobacco Products

In what appears to be a last-ditch effort to limit the harms of smoking before its term ends, the Biden administration has proposed a rule that would significantly lower the amount of nicotine in tobacco products.

The agency's efforts to counter the dangers of the addict...

11 Dec
What Works Best to Help Young Vapers Quit?

What Works Best to Help Young Vapers Quit?

Many young adults can kick their vaping habit with a little coaching and support.

New research published Dec. 10 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine

10 Dec
Opioid Abuse Can Change the Brain

Opioid Abuse Can Change the Brain

“This is your brain on drugs,” the old anti-drug admonition says, and now a new study has found there’s something to that chestnut.

Opioid addicts experienced structural and functional changes in specific regions of their brains, MRI scans show.

T...

04 Dec
Smoking/Vaping Combo Lowers Odds for Quitting Nicotine

Smoking/Vaping Combo Lowers Odds for Quitting Nicotine

People who smoke and vape are less able to break free of their nicotine addiction than folks who only have one of those habits, a new review concludes.

Instead, these “...

22 Nov
Flavored Vapes Behind Big Surge in U.S. E-Cigarette Sales

Flavored Vapes Behind Big Surge in U.S. E-Cigarette Sales

FRIDAY, Nov. 22, 2024 (HealthDay News) — E-cigarettes flew off store shelves between 2019 and 2023, and 80% were in youth-friendly flavors like fruit, candy, mint and menthol.

In all, e-cigarette sales rose 47% over the period, according to a

19 Nov
U.S. Alcohol-Linked Deaths Doubled in 20 Years

U.S. Alcohol-Linked Deaths Doubled in 20 Years

Alcohol-related deaths have surged in the United States, nearly doubling over 20 years, and a growing number of victims are women, a new study warns.

"Our study found significant gender differences in alcohol-related [death rates]," said senior author

13 Nov
Ozempic Could Help Curb Alcoholism

Ozempic Could Help Curb Alcoholism

The blockbuster GLP-1 drug semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) could curb drinking for people battling alcohol use disorder, helping them to avoid crises that require hospitalization, ne...

12 Nov
Kids Still Find It Easy to Buy Flavored Vapes Online

Kids Still Find It Easy to Buy Flavored Vapes Online

If you think that federal restrictions on the sale of tobacco products make it nearly impossible for your teen to buy vapes online, new research suggests you're mistaken.

In 2020, the Preve...

05 Nov
Banning Menthol Cigarettes Might Drive Smokers to Quit-Smoking Therapies

Banning Menthol Cigarettes Might Drive Smokers to Quit-Smoking Therapies

Banning menthol cigarettes could help convince smokers quit the habit, a new study finds.

People who prefer menthol cigarettes would rather buy nicotine gum or other nicotine...

05 Nov
Diabetes Can Damage Your Eyes' Retinas: An Expert Explains

Diabetes Can Damage Your Eyes' Retinas: An Expert Explains

People with diabetes face a number of health challenges related to their chronic condition, and loss of vision due to retinal damage is one of them.

“Diabetes can silently damage a person’s most precious sense, their sight, before symptoms even appear. That&r...

22 Oct
Even Hardcore Smokers May Quit If Given Right Tools, Study Finds

Even Hardcore Smokers May Quit If Given Right Tools, Study Finds

Smokers find it easier to quit if they’re automatically offered support, even if they didn't ask for it, a new clinical trial finds.

Quit rates were higher among health system patients placed in an “opt-out” program, in which

17 Oct
Vaping Rates Hit Record Lows for U.S. High School Students

Vaping Rates Hit Record Lows for U.S. High School Students

Is vaping finally losing its coolness for American teens?

The latest tally of federal data finds that 550,000 school kids, mostly high schoolers, quit using e-cigarettes in 2024.

09 Oct
Vendors of Synthetic Nicotine Vapes on Instagram Are Skirting FDA Rules

Vendors of Synthetic Nicotine Vapes on Instagram Are Skirting FDA Rules

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration currently mandates strong health warnings when vapes containing synthetic nicotine are advertised on Instagram and other social media.

Trouble is, most vendors aren't adhering to those rules meant to protect kids, a new study finds. ...

04 Oct
Hospital Drug Tests Far More Likely for Minority Teens

Hospital Drug Tests Far More Likely for Minority Teens

Teens from minority groups seeking treatment at pediatric trauma centers are more likely than their white counterparts to be tested for drugs and alcohol.

That's the takeaway from a new study led by researchers at UCLA and Children's Hospital Los Angeles. 

"Wh...

27 Sep
Upping Dose of Anti-Opioid Drug Might Work Better to Curb Addiction

Upping Dose of Anti-Opioid Drug Might Work Better to Curb Addiction

Patients with opioid use disorder who receive higher doses of a drug to treat their addiction are more likely to have positive results, a new study finds. 

Daily doses of the drug buprenorphine is a standard treatment for opioid use disorder, and the findings sugges...

24 Sep
Inmates in Many U.S. Jails Have No Access to Meds That Fight Opioid Addiction

Inmates in Many U.S. Jails Have No Access to Meds That Fight Opioid Addiction

Opioid use disorder can be a contributing factor to Americans landing in the nation's prisons and jails, but those inmates typically have no access to medications that could help wean them off the drugs.

So finds a new study of over 900 jails nationwide. More than half o...

05 Sep
The 3 Best Ways to Stop Smoking, Rated by Science

The 3 Best Ways to Stop Smoking, Rated by Science

Thinking about quitting smoking?

There are three top ways to help you stop, a new review finds.

According to the study, folks wanting to quit should turn to:

30 Aug
Buying Smokes? Everyone Under 30 Now Must Show ID

Buying Smokes? Everyone Under 30 Now Must Show ID

A new, tougher rule on the sale of tobacco products will require retailers to check the IDs of any buyers under the age of 30, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday.

The 

08 Aug
Text Messaging Can Help Teens Kick the Vaping Habit

Text Messaging Can Help Teens Kick the Vaping Habit

An interactive text-message support program can help teenagers quit vaping, a groundbreaking new clinical trial finds.

Teens who subscribed to the anonymous program, called This Is Quitting, were 35% more likely to repo...

08 Aug
Are Vape Makers Using Dubious Nicotine 'Mimics' to Bypass Regulations?

Are Vape Makers Using Dubious Nicotine 'Mimics' to Bypass Regulations?

That vape pen might contain something even worse than nicotine, new research warns.

Tobacco companies may be trying to duck federal restrictions on vaping ...

08 Aug
Painkiller Misuse Common Among People Battling Chronic Pain

Painkiller Misuse Common Among People Battling Chronic Pain

Nearly 1 in every 10 chronic pain patients treated with prescription opioids winds up addicted to the painkillers at some point, a new review finds.

Further, nearly 1 in 3 will show symptoms of

07 Aug
Your Friends' Genes May Harm or Help You

Your Friends' Genes May Harm or Help You

Remember your besties from high school? Sure, they made a lasting impression, but science suggests they influenced the trajectory of your health, too.

It's not that far-fetched: Your friends carry genes that may or may nor predispose them to mental health issues ranging...

30 Jul
Ozempic's Latest Role: Helping Smokers Quit

Ozempic's Latest Role: Helping Smokers Quit

Smokers with diabetes or obesity who take semaglutide (Ozempic/Wegovy) might reap an added benefit: Help in quitting smoking.

A yearlong study found that, compared to people using other diabetes drugs, fewer patients who were taking semaglutide sought out medical help to...

26 Jul
Fake Oxycontin Pills Widespread and Potentially Deadly: Report

Fake Oxycontin Pills Widespread and Potentially Deadly: Report

The rate at which young Americans are ending up in hospital ICUs after using fake Oxycontin pills spiked with fentanyl is soaring, especially in the U.S. West, a new report warns.

Medical toxicology data from one unnamed hospital in the western U.S. found the number of c...

24 Jul
Big Drop in U.S. Kids, Teens Misusing Prescription Meds

Big Drop in U.S. Kids, Teens Misusing Prescription Meds

Misuse of illicit prescription drugs is falling dramatically among U.S. high school students, a new study says.

The percentage of seniors who say they’ve misused prescri...

19 Jul
FDA Allows Marketing of Vuse Tobacco-Flavored Vapes

FDA Allows Marketing of Vuse Tobacco-Flavored Vapes

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday authorized the sale of the country's best-selling e-cigarette.

The agency's

18 Jul
Telemedicine May Help Folks Battling Opioid Addiction Stick With Treatment

Telemedicine May Help Folks Battling Opioid Addiction Stick With Treatment

Telemedicine could be a better way to get opioid addicts to seek out and stick with treatment, a new study suggests.

People referred to an addiction treatment clinic following a telemedicine evaluation were more likely to show up to their first appointment than those who...

15 Jul
Some Youths Still Taking Opioids Months After Surgery

Some Youths Still Taking Opioids Months After Surgery

Many tweens and teens are filling prescriptions for opioids far in advance of surgeries unlikely to be associated with severe pain afterward, a new study says.

Worse, a significant minorit...

02 Jul
Most Americans Don't Know That Family Doctors Can Prescribe Anti-Opioid Meds

Most Americans Don't Know That Family Doctors Can Prescribe Anti-Opioid Meds

Most people addicted to opioids and their loved ones are unaware that their primary care doctor can prescribe a medication to treat the disorder, a new nationwide survey reveals.

"We've made great strides in making it easier for primary care doctors to prescribe these sa...

24 Jun
FDA's Move to OK First Menthol Vapes Is Big Mistake, Health Advocates Say

FDA's Move to OK First Menthol Vapes Is Big Mistake, Health Advocates Say

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's decision to authorize the first menthol-flavored e-cigarettes has drawn the the ire of health advocates who say the decision undermines efforts to end the youth vaping epidemic in America.

In its approval of four flavored vaping pr...

19 Jun
Most Outpatient Mental Health Clinics Don't Offer Opioid Addiction Meds

Most Outpatient Mental Health Clinics Don't Offer Opioid Addiction Meds

Only a third of outpatient mental health facilities offer medications essential for treating opioid addiction, a new study finds.

Standard care for treating people with opioid use disorder involves drugs like buprenorphine, methadone and naltrexone, which help suppress c...

18 Jun
Rates of Problem Marijuana Use Are Rising Among Seniors

Rates of Problem Marijuana Use Are Rising Among Seniors

As marijuana use becomes legal and more accepted across America, more seniors are developing unhealthy relationships with the drug, a new report suggests.

A look at data on almost 56 million Medicare beneficiaries finds "rates of health care encounters with cannabis-rela...

17 Jun
What Are Nicotine Pouches, and Are They Less Harmful Than Smoking?

What Are Nicotine Pouches, and Are They Less Harmful Than Smoking?

Nicotine pouches might be less harmful than smoking or chewing tobacco, but they still pose an addiction risk to users, a new review finds.

These pouches are ...

17 Jun
Help for Women Battling ADHD & Opioid Addiction in Pregnancy

Help for Women Battling ADHD & Opioid Addiction in Pregnancy

Opioid overdoses in pregnant women are at an all-time high in the United States, and researchers think they've figured out one way to counter this phenomenon.

Attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is strongly tied to substance use disorders, which means some wo...

11 Jun
FDA, DOJ Form Task Force to Fight Illegal Vapes

FDA, DOJ Form Task Force to Fight Illegal Vapes

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Monday that it has joined up with the Department of Justice and several other federal agencies to do more to stop the sale of illegal e-cigarettes in this country.

In launching the newly created task force, the FDA aims "to...

07 Jun
FDA Rescinds Ban on Juul E-Cigarettes

FDA Rescinds Ban on Juul E-Cigarettes

A ban on Juul e-cigarettes has been reversed, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday.

Why? The agency said it needs to review both new court decisions and updated data from the vape maker. While the company's e-cigarettes are back under review, they hav...

23 May
Shared Fentanyl Pipe Residue a New Overdose Danger

Shared Fentanyl Pipe Residue a New Overdose Danger

San Francisco researchers report that smoking has now replaced injections as the most common way of ingesting illicit fentanyl.

That switch has created a potentially deadly new danger, however, as fentanyl residues slowly build up in shared equipment used to smoke the dr...

23 May
TikTok: Ground Zero for Vaping Sales to Kids

TikTok: Ground Zero for Vaping Sales to Kids

TikTok is full of fun memes, pranks, dances and challenges -- and illicit vaping product sales targeting teenagers, a new study reports.

Advertising a...

21 May
Quit-Smoking Drug Chantix May Also Help Folks Stop Vaping

Quit-Smoking Drug Chantix May Also Help Folks Stop Vaping

A quit-smoking drug appears to help people drop their vaping addiction, a new study shows.

Vapers who took

17 May
The More Kids Use Social Media, The More They're Likely to Vape

The More Kids Use Social Media, The More They're Likely to Vape

Kids and young adults who use social media for seven or more hours per day have double the risk of taking up vaping or smoking or both, new research shows.

The study is based on a survey of almost 11,000 young British people ages 10 to 25 who were tracked from 2015 throu...

15 May
U.S. Drug Overdose Deaths Decline for First Time in 5 Years

U.S. Drug Overdose Deaths Decline for First Time in 5 Years

The relentless rise in deaths from drug overdose in the United States may finally have stalled: New data from 2023 show the first decline in such deaths since 2018.

"Statistics indicate there were an estimated 107,543 drug overdose deaths in the United States during 2023...

13 May
Police Seizures of Pills With Fentanyl Have Skyrocketed

Police Seizures of Pills With Fentanyl Have Skyrocketed

Police seizures of illicit fentanyl pills have soared in recent years, a new study has found.

The number of pills containin...

08 May
How Mindfulness Could Help Folks Quit Opioids

How Mindfulness Could Help Folks Quit Opioids

Using mindfulness to help people trying to overcome opioid addiction can boost their odds of continuing treatment, new research shows.

The approach helps folks how to deal with tension...

07 May
A Parent's Watchful Eye Does Keep Kids From Drugs, Alcohol: Study

A Parent's Watchful Eye Does Keep Kids From Drugs, Alcohol: Study

Parents can be very effective buzzkills for their teens, just by letting kids know they're being closely watched, a new study reports.

Teenagers are less likely to drink,

07 May
Drug May Help Folks Kick the Vaping Habit

Drug May Help Folks Kick the Vaping Habit

An experimental anti-nicotine drug appears to help people quit vaping, a new study says.

Cytisinicline is a naturally occurring plant-based substance that binds to nicotine receptors in the brain, reducing a person's cravings, researchers said.

The drug has been sh...

25 Apr
Opioids During Pregnancy May Not Raise Psychiatric Risks for Offspring

Opioids During Pregnancy May Not Raise Psychiatric Risks for Offspring

Prescription opioids taken during pregnancy are not associated with a substantial increase in risk of developmental disorders like ADHD in children, a new study has found.

"A slightly inc...

25 Apr
Drug, Alcohol Abuse Goes Untreated in Many Ex-Prisoners

Drug, Alcohol Abuse Goes Untreated in Many Ex-Prisoners

Most ex-cons are unlikely to receive substance use treatment following their release from prison, even though odds are high they are struggling with addiction, a new study finds.

National estimates suggest as many as 85% of inmates leave prison with some form of substanc...

18 Apr
Two-Drug Combo Curbs Drinking for People Battling Severe Alcoholism

Two-Drug Combo Curbs Drinking for People Battling Severe Alcoholism

A combo of an allergy drug and a blood pressure med appears to lower daily drinking in folks battling severe alcoholism, French researchers report.

The two generic drugs are the antihistamine cyproheptadine and prazosin, which treats high blood pressure and urinary urgen...