Dado que muchos consumidores de drogas se enfrentan a problemas de salud mental como la depresión y la ansiedad, el aislamiento del coronavirus presenta un desafío sin precedentes.

Con el avance de las medidas de aislamiento para tratar de contener el nuevo coronavirus, algunos usuarios de drogas ilegales han comenzado a abastecerse de su sustancia preferida para evitar el desabastecimiento durante el periodo en el que no pueden salir de sus casas.

Pero las consecuencias pueden ser devastadoras, advierten los expertos preocupados de que estas personas puedan adoptar hábitos más riesgosos...

By Decree No. 10,282 of March 2, 2020, in articles I and II of Art. 3, the activities and services performed by the Therapeutic Communities are considered essential and, therefore, it is important to guide coronavirus prevention and clarify how chemical dependents should be welcomed in these institutions.

Thinking about it, the National Secretariat for Drug Care and Prevention - SENAPRED, in partnership with the Ministry of Citizenship, published a guidebook directed to the work of therapeutic communities,addressing information about the virus, its symptoms, its transmission and preventive...

Dr. Joo Paulo Lotufo, paediatrician, member of the Smoking Commission of the Brazilian Medical Association, director of ISSUP Brazil and partner of Freemind, this video provides facts and advice on the relationship between coronavirus and smoking.

A study published in late February 2020 by the Chinese Medical Journal evaluated 78 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, of whom 14.1% evolved with worsening of their condition and 85.9% stabilized or improved.

With this follow-up, they achieved the following complication factors of pneumonia:

- The age of over 60 increases the risk of the case...

This webinar focuses on the issue of self-care for addiction professionals and was delivered by ICUDDR Deputy Director Cary Hopkins Eyles.

Many of us are drawn to work in the field of substance use disorders due to our history, family, and personal traits, such as compassion and empathy. While these can be great assets, they can also be detrimental to us personally.

In this webinar, Cary explains how to identify healthy and unhealthy traits, how we can care for ourselves, and what authentic self-care looks like.

Cary has worked in the field of substance use disorders for 18 years. She is...

1. ¿Qué funciona en la prevención del abuso de sustancias?
Todos estamos de acuerdo (esperemos) en que las autoridades y otras instituciones responsables deben invertir sus recursos en prácticas de prevención eficaces basadas en la evidencia, basadas en teorías científicas y en la evaluación de las necesidades, que correspondan a la edad y al nivel de riesgo de los grupos destinatarios y que se adapten y evalúen culturalmente, especialmente en relación con los resultados y el impacto en las poblaciones objetivo. Todas las intervenciones de prevención deben ser implementadas por personal...

Publicado originalmente en acceso abierto en The Lancet Global Health (8:3, PE329-E330, 2020).

Traducción de Robert Marten, Gianna Gayle Herrera Amul, Sally Casswell. También disponible en: http://bit.ly/3apiouO

Las enfermedades no transmisibles representan más del 72% de las muertes anuales en el mundo y ahora están recibiendo una mayor atención en la agenda de salud mundial. Sin embargo, se sigue descuidando uno de los principales factores de riesgo para las enfermedades no transmisibles: el alcohol. Si bien la industria del alcohol utiliza sofisticadas campañas de relaciones públicas para...

The role of genetics in prevention

Substance use disorders can occur in families. Research suggests that genetics represents about 1-2 of a person's likelihood of developing a substance use disorder.

Genes are the functional units of our DNA that drive the development and functioning of every cell in our body. Some diseases, such as sickle cell anemia or cystic fibrosis, are caused by a "mutation" in a single gene. But many diseases, such as cancer, heart disease, and substance use disorder, involve variations in many different genes that contribute to a person's overall level of risk and...

The Permanent Forum for Drug Mobilization was launched by the Ministry of Citizenship on Wednesday, February 12, 2020, in Brasilia and called for entities and society to participate in the work of prevention and combating drugs. In addition to the federal government's commitment to investing in effective public policies in defense and assistance to drug addicts and family members, the mobilization warned of the harms of the use of narcotics.

The proposal also wants to raise awareness among the population on central topics, reflecting the position of the Brazilian population mainly contrary to...

The harmful use of alcohol and other drugs is a topic that Brazilian society frequently discusses, but due to its breadth and complexity, it is also a subject that returns to the debate due to the depth of its causes and the severity of its effects, in addition to requiring a systematic and continuous approach.

Brazilian legislation deals with the issue of drugs, proposing actions of prevention, treatment and social reintegration that are required of federated entities whose execution requires social and community support. Such actions must be carried out by organizations in the areas of...

At the 6th International Freemind Congress, held from December 4th to 7th, 2019, in Águas de Lindóia/SP – Brazil, we had the presence of Dr. William D. Crano, who occupies the Oskamp chair and is a professor of psychology in the Division of Behavioral and Organizational Sciences at Claremont Graduate University.

Dr. William participated in a Panel whose theme was "The Regular Cigarette and New Ways to Intoxicate with Nicotine" and addressed the issue of the rise of electronic cigarettes (vapes) and the reinstatement of nicotine as a primary addiction of youth.

He talked about the problems...

Research carried out at the Federal University of Goiás (UFG) – Brazil has developed a particle capable of capturing cocaine circulating in the blood of a living organism. The formulation proved to be efficient even in lethal doses of the drug, which means that it can reverse an overdose that would lead to death. It is the first time that a particle produced from nanotechnology has been used for this purpose.

The work was developed in the Graduate Program in Pharmaceutical Sciences at UFG by researcher Sarah Rodrigues Fernandes, under the guidance of Professor Eliana Martins Lima. They...

A cidade de Água Branca, no estado do Piauí desenvolveu o Projeto “Viver bem é viver sem drogas”, em virtude de inúmeras demandas de famílias em sofrimento decorrentes desses fatores. O Núcleo de Apoio à Saúde da Família de Água Branca recebe frequentemente famílias encaminhadas pelas Estratégias Saúde da Família em intenso sofrimento devido ao uso de drogas por um ou mais membros da família.

O Projeto visa atuar de forma preventiva, reforçando a qualidade de vida, e o fortalecimento dos vínculos familiares e sociais.

O período da adolescência é entendido como a etapa de desenvolvimento...

COMORBIDADE

Comorbidade pode ser definida como a coocorrência de duas ou mais enfermidades ou transtornos, em uma mesma pessoa, num determinado período de tempo (ou por tempo indeterminado).

A manifestação de transtornos mentais e de comportamento, decorrentes do uso de drogas e de outros transtornos psiquiátricos, vem sendo bastante estudada desde os anos 80. Pode-se dizer que o abuso de substâncias psicoativas é o transtorno coexistente mais frequente entre os portadores de transtornos mentais, sendo fundamental o correto diagnóstico das doenças envolvidas.

Os transtornos mais comuns...

Drugs are problems that integrate virtually all contemporary societies, causing great social and economic impacts. In Brazil, illicit drugs also finance crime and violence, so their fight remains a huge challenge for our country.

Most users are young and start using these substances still at school, at an increasingly premature age. The truth is that, both in large metropolises and in regions farther from Brazilian territory, consumption and addiction start more and earlier.

According to the Brazilian Center for Information on Psychotropic Drugs (CEBRID), adolescence is a period of...

University students are considered a risk population with regard to alcohol consumption, either by frequency of consumption or its consequences, which can even considerably affect the academic performance of the student. For this reason, alcohol consumption in this population has been the focus of concerns and searches for effective interventions to reduce consumption, as well as associated problems and consequences.

According to data from the United Nations (UN, 2013), alcohol is the most consumed psychoactive substance in the world, with significant growth in consumption among university...