The dramatic decline in the popularity of smoking since the turn of the millennium could largely be the result of increased education and awareness of the harms of smoking, and that it's now less socially acceptable, particularly since the smoking ban in public places.
But what will be of concern to some is that while teens may be less likely to try smoking or think it acceptable, there may have been a massive increase in the perceived acceptability of vaping and the number of teens who have tried e-cigarettes if they'd been asked about it in the surveys.
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This study adds to existing evidence that suggests regular use of high-strength cannabis carries the risk of mental health problems.
Psychosis is a condition that might lead to further mental illness.
While the study does not prove that high-strength cannabis is a direct cause of first episode psychosis, it seems that the use of high-strength cannabis increases the risk of it happening.
But factors other than cannabis use may be involved in the development of psychosis.
This study cannot prove that cannabis use in teenagers caused depression in young adults. Depression is a complex disorder with many potential risk factors, including hereditary influence and life circumstances. Other, unmeasured factors may have contributed to the study results. For example, difficult childhood circumstances could increase both the chances of getting depression as a young adult, and of using cannabis as a teenager.
However, the study joins other research to suggest that cannabis use may be putting teenagers at risk of poor mental health.
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Musculoskeletal ; Osteoporosis ; Nutrition and obesity ; Falls ; HR ; Research Methods ; Information Governance ; Bladder, bowel and pelvic healthcare ; Rheumatology ; Medicines and healthcare products regulatory agency (circulated email)
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Free access. I walked through a supermarket recently and saw candles saying “Wine not?”, greeting cards with “On your marks, get set, prosecco!”, and t-shirts emblazoned with “You've got to be gin it to win it.” When I reached the pharmacy, I saw a sign saying that alcohol is the leading cause of ill health, disability, and death among people aged between 15–49 years in the UK.
An expert in substance abuse reacts to a new study published in the Lancet that suggests there is no safe level of alcohol consumption for the one in three people who drink alcohol worldwide.
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The main finding was that the number of over-40s seeking treatment had more than doubled over the past 10 years for cannabis-related problems – rising from 471 to 1,008 – and from 27,092 to 64,195 for treatment for any drug.
The majority of people accessing services are still male, but there has been a large increase in the number of women attending.
However, it's worth noting that the vast majority of cannabis users will never present to services for help, so it's difficult to tell how representative these figures are of the wider UK population.
It's perhaps not surprising that low-strength e-cigarettes were found to be less satisfying than the higher-strength versions, and interesting that the low-strength vapers compensated with their puffing, potentially exposing them to more toxins.
But this was a tiny study that only looked at habitual users of high-nicotine products, who may have found it harder to adapt to low nicotine. The findings can't necessarily be applied to all vapers.
To assess the cost-effectiveness of a two-component intervention designed to increase attendance at the NHS Stop Smoking Services (SSSs) in England. Please contact the library to request a copy of this article - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
A survey has revealed which areas across England have the highest levels of binge drinking. Data was collected by Ipsos MORI from 25 local authorities to cover all regions and all types of local authority. The figures also show the number of people who abstain from alcohol. Public Health England (PHE) said there is a lack of reliable information about alcohol consumption, primarily due to the cost of collecting the data. Rates of frequent drinking, considered to be drinking on four or more days a week, varied from 9% in Peterborough to 22% in West Berkshire.
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We often think of alcohol misuse in terms of dependence and the conditions associated with heavy drinking like liver disease and pancreatitis. But, as last year’s Chief Medical Officers’ new guidance indicated, lower levels of alcohol misuse can contribute to a wide range of conditions not so readily associated with alcohol. Is it therefore worth considering how alcohol could be affecting the health of a wider range of patients and not just heavy drinkers?