Drug News

ALCOHOL – AUSTRALIA
Too many parents giving children alcohol: report – ABC.net
Parents are being asked to try harder when it comes to controlling their teenagers’ drinking habits. The latest report on the problem reveals Australian high school students are getting most of their alcohol from their parents.

ALCOHOL – USA
School Adds Alcohol Urine Test to Curriculum – ABC News
Students at Pequannock Township High School in New Jersey will soon be subjected to a new sort of pop quiz, one that alerts their parents if they have been drinking.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Analysis: Prescription drug ads leave out risks, alternatives – USA Today
An analysis of television commercials for prescription drugs found that few mentioned risk factors or non-drug treatments for the conditions they target, scientists reported Monday.

ALCOHOL – USA
High school to expand alcohol testing – Houston Chronicle
Some teenagers who drink over the weekend could be in big trouble come Monday morning: A New Jersey school district plans to institute random urine tests capable of detecting whether alcohol was consumed up to 80 hours earlier.

ALCOHOL – UK
Excessive Drinking, Not Alcoholism, May Lead To Most Alcohol-Related Problems – Medical News Today
Many people assume that most people who drink to excess are probably alcoholics. A recent survey of 4,761 New Mexico adults found that while 16.5 percent drank alcohol in excess of national guidelines, only 1.8 percent met criteria for alcohol dependence.

ALCOHOL – UK
Awash with alcohol – The Herald
There was no way of putting a decent gloss on yesterday’s figures on the death and destruction being wrought by alcohol in Scotland.

ALCOHOL – NEW ZEALAND
Vitamin D may prevent alcohol-related bone loss – Stuff.co.nz
New research conducted now suggests that vitamin D or the anti-osteoporosis drug Boniva (ibandronate) can prevent alcohol-related bone loss caused by regular binge drinking.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Doctors Criticize TV Prescription Drug Ads – Broadcast Newsroom
A new study claims TV drug ads are education-lite, a claim challenged by the ad industry.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Marketers Blast Drug-Ad Study – AD Week
Advertisers’ lobbying groups reacted with anger today at a study published in the Annals of Family Medicine that criticized direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising.

METH – CANADA
Shaw TV to Air ‘Black Ice -The Truth About Crystal Meth’ – CNN Mathews
Shaw Communications today announced plans to produce and air a 90 minute eye-opening special about Crystal Meth and its social and economic impact within the province of Alberta.

METH – USA
Strawberry meth removes any doubt about the scope of Carson City’s drug problem – Nevada Appeal
The Carson City Sheriff’s Department seized “strawberry meth” during a search of a Como Street apartment on Saturday. It was the first time the pink, flavored meth, designed to be more attractive to young people, was found there.

ALCOHOL – UK
Alcohol abuse and crime – The Herald
Problem drinking fuels many crimes: 40% of those in Scotland’s jails committed their crime while under the influence of alcohol.