Whiskey Makers Court Jewish Market
For avid whiskey
lovers, few events are more eagerly anticipated than WhiskyFest, an enormous
tasting that
touches down in several American cities throughout the year. But
when sponsors of the New York festival suddenly moved it last year from Tuesday
to Friday and Saturday, many regulars were unable to attend. A "K" symbol used in Britain to
indicate that a product is kosher. An alternative arrived suddenly in the form of a new
one-night event, held on the eve of WhiskyFest. Despite little time to
advertise, it drew a crowd of 250 to its unlikely Manhattan location: the West
Side Institutional Synagogue. Click
here to read the rest of the story.
Survey:
Many Teens Have Unsupervised Access to Their Prescription Medications
A survey of eighth and ninth
graders prescribed medication finds 83.4 percent say they have unsupervised
access to the drugs at home. This included 73.7 percent who took pain relief,
anti-anxiety, stimulant and sedative medication that have the potential for
abuse, Science Daily reports. The online survey and in-person interviews with
230 teens is published in the Journal of Adolescent Health. “It was surprising
to me that parents were not storing medications securely because I expected
them to be locked up and for parents to administer the medications,” said lead
researcher Paula Ross-Durow, PhD, of the University of Michigan. She said
parents don’t think about their teens’ friends coming into their homes and
stealing medications. In addition, teens may give their prescription drugs
away, thinking they are helping a friend and not understanding the risk. They
also may not realize their friends may sell the drugs. “It is critical that
clinicians educate parents and patients about the importance of proper storage
and disposal of medications, particularly those with abuse potential,” the
researchers conclude.
Teenagers
Getting Prescription Drugs Online
More teenagers are getting
their hands on prescription drugs and deterring them isn't as easy as
monitoring your own medicine cabinet anymore. Controlled medications can be
just a few computer clicks away. Recently, a 15-year-old from Maryland turned
to the Internet to buy prescription painkillers. In his first phone call, that
you can hear in a video obtained by WUSA 9, the teen calls a hotline for an
online pharmacy based overseas to place an order for Percocet. When asked if he
has a prescription, the teen says, "No, I don't have a prescription."
The operator then responds, "No problem. Sir, we can get that, because if
you do not have a prescription, we provide the medication, no problem." Click
here for more on this story.
Alcohol
abuse is fueling military sexual assault
Lately it has been awkward to
be both a soldier and a woman. Civilian friends gently inquire about my
welfare, always after a kindly and meaningful pause. They’ve read about the
military’s problems with sexual assault, they say, and they’d like to support me
if I need it. Fortunately, I do not. To what should my luck be attributed? I am
physically fit, friendly and attractive. I have deployed overseas and sometimes
work alone late at night. I attend social events and occasionally enjoy a nice
glass of pinot grigio. Continue reading here
NY
Senator Schumer Wants Colleges To End 'Academic Doping'; Up To 35% Of College
Students Use ADHD Meds
With increasing competition
to get into college and even fiercer competition once in college, attention
deficit disorder (ADD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) drug
abuse is on the rise in so called "academic doping." Chuck Schumer,
the senior senator from New York, has called on colleges in the state to
regulate student access to drugs such as Adderall and Ritalin, medications
which are often abused by students to help them study and cram for tests.
Currently, they are only approved for use by patients with ADD and ADHD. Continue
reading here.
Alcohol
ads push underage girls to drink more, research finds
A woman in a tight T-shirt
holds a cup in front of her chest as she pours a beer in a TV ad. Her face is
cut out of the shot. In another beer commercial, there is a closeup on a
woman’s torso from behind as she dances at a party. Next to a bottle of
tequila, a man embraces a woman, lifting her up with a smile on his face. These
images of sexually attractive, popular women associated with alcoholic
beverages are not meant for women as young as 13. But underage girls see them,
and the exposure to advertising is having an adverse effect on their health.
That’s the argument made in an editorial published on the Canadian Medical
Association Journal website on Monday by senior associate editor Dr. Ken
Flegel. Rest
of this story is here.
The
Unlikely Force Driving Teen Prescription Drug Addiction: Parents?
So many issues in parenting
are a matter of opinion. Work or stay home? Spank or don't spank? Parents argue
passionately on both sides, but there will likely never be a clear resolution
to these questions. Luckily, a few issues are (or should be) cut and dry. None
of us want our children using drugs. Unfortunately, even on this point, not all
parents agree on the gravity of the problem. A recent study by The Partnership
at Drugfree.org reveals that parents are taking a hands-off approach to
prescription drugs even though we have clear evidence of the magnitude of the
epidemic. Researchers found that one in four teens has misused prescription
medication at some point in their young lives. At a time when most other types
of substance abuse are stabilizing, prescription drug abuse is up 33 percent
from 2008. Continue
here.
Craft
brewing renaissance hits college campuses
A boom in the craft beer
industry combined with an increase in food science programs means that more
students are graduating college with a different kind of alcohol education.
Read more here.
Improper
Use Of Prescription Drugs Costs $200 Billion A Year, Report Finds
The U.S. spends $200 billion
each year — about 8 percent of the nation’s health care tab — on medical care
stemming from improper or unnecessary use of prescription drugs, a new report
out Wednesday says. Much of those costs result from unneeded hospitalizations
or doctor visits, according to the study by the IMS Health’s Institute for
Healthcare Informatics, which provides data and other consulting services to
the health care industry. Medical costs are driven up by patients who don’t get
the right medications or fail to take their drugs, the misuse of antibiotics,
medication errors and inadequate oversight when patients take multiple drugs. Please
click here for more.
Prescription
Drugs: 7 Out Of 10 Americans Take At Least One, Study Finds
A new study from Mayo Clinic
researchers reveals how many Americans are on prescription drugs -- and it's a
lot of us. The study, published in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings, shows
that seven out of 10 Americans take at least one prescription drug. The most
commonly prescribed drug is antibiotics -- taken by 17 percent of Americans --
followed by antidepressants and opioids -- each taken by 13 percent of
Americans. Rest
of the story is here.
Wiser
Prescription Drug Use Could Cut Health Costs By Billions: Study
If doctors and patients used
prescription drugs more wisely, they could save the U.S. health care system at
least $213 billion a year, by reducing medication overuse, underuse and other
flaws in care that cause complications and longer, more-expensive treatments,
researchers conclude. The new findings by the IMS Institute for Healthcare
Informatics improve on numerous prior efforts to quantify the dollars wasted on
health care.
More is available here.
Fetal
Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and Autism May Share Similarities: Rodent Study
Fetal alcohol spectrum
disorder and autism spectrum disorder may share some molecular similarities, a
new study of rats suggests. The findings could help researchers trying to
develop new treatments for both disorders, Fox News reports. Researchers at Northwestern
Medicine in Chicago exposed pregnant rats to alcohol, and found their offspring
showed symptoms of social impairment and changed levels of genes that have been
linked to autism in humans. Rats exposed to alcohol when pregnant who were
given low doses of the thyroid hormone thyroxin showed reductions in some
effects of alcohol damage, and a reversal in the production of autism-related
genes in their offspring, the article notes. “The novel finding here is that
these two disorders share molecular vulnerabilities, and if we understand
those, we are closer to finding treatments,” said senior author Eva Redei. Both
disorders have symptoms of social impairment, and begin during brain
development in the womb, HealthCanal reports. The study appears in Alcoholism:
Clinical & Experimental Research.
Minorities
Less Likely to Complete Substance Abuse Treatment in Many States
A state-by-state analysis of
substance abuse treatment programs finds that in many states, minorities are less
likely than whites to successfully complete substance abuse programs. The
analysis found significant disparities among states with regard to racial and
ethnic differences. Overall, 46.25 percent of whites, 45.6 percent of Latinos,
and 37.5 percent of African-Americans completed substance abuse treatment
programs, Newswise reports. In Tennessee, African-American clients were 35
percent less likely to complete treatment programs, compared with whites. In
Vermont, Latinos were almost 22 percent less likely than whites to complete
treatment programs. While Latinos and African-Americans had lower completion
rates in many states, there were some exceptions, the University of Iowa
researchers found. In Hawaii, Utah and Mississippi, African-American clients
were slightly more likely than whites to complete programs. Latinos were more
likely than whites to complete programs in 17 states, including Texas, Florida,
Oregon and Kansas. “Our findings suggest that for most states there’s something
amiss,” researcher Stephan Arndt, PhD, said in a news release. “There are
strong racial and ethnic disparities for people in being able to complete
substance abuse treatment programs successfully, and those disparities are
something we need to set as targets to remove.” Arndt added, “On the positive
side, the study clearly shows that some states have been able to eliminate
disparities. We need to examine the states that are being successful and
compare what they are doing with those states that are not doing so well – what
can we learn from successful states?” The study appears in the journal Drug and
Alcohol Dependence. It included data from 940,058 participants in outpatient
substance abuse treatment centers.
Tide
Detergent Stolen, Traded for Drugs, Law Enforcement and Retail Officials Say
Law enforcement and retail
officials say Tide detergent is being stolen and traded for drugs. Liquid Tide
or Tide Pods are also being sold at open swap meets and secret meetings,
according to The Press-Enterprise. Detergent is fairly easy to steal and
difficult to trace, law enforcement officials say. Stealing detergent is
relatively low in risk, compared with other types of crime, they add. Unlike
cold medicines, which are frequently stolen to make methamphetamine, Tide is
not being broken down to make drugs, the article notes. A 150-ounce bottle of
Tide that sells for about $18 can be exchanged for $5 in cash, or $10 worth of
marijuana or crack cocaine, according to New York Magazine. Riverside,
California Police Lieutenant Dan Hoxmeier said the thefts often involve three
people: someone to identify the product, a second person to make sure no one is
watching and loads the cart, and a third who pushes the cart out of the store.
Richard Mellor, Vice President of Loss Prevention for the National Retail
Federation, says some merchants are shrink-wrapping extra inventory on shelves,
or making the detergent difficult to reach. Others are attaching electronic
devices to the products, which will activate if they are not removed at the
checkout counter. Stores are also comparing surveillance photos, and forwarding
the information to law enforcement.
The
Friends You Keep: Non-Medical Use Of Prescription Drugs
As I look back through my
writing — particularly on highly-caffeinated drinks and synthetic marijuana or
other previously-legal highs — I’m reminded of the need to put societal drug
use risks in proper perspective. For example, we’ve discussed the implication
of 5-Hour Energy Shots in cardiac events and deaths in heavy users. But these
events occurred in a dozen or two people out of millions of users. And while
high-dose caffeine is know to precipitate such adverse events, the FDA has yet
to establish causality in these specific cases. Continue
reading here.
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