Reducing the risk factors and enhancing the protective factors associated with initiating substance use.
Prevention
Drugs on the Brain: Neurological Scans Predict Future Substance Use
A new study published in the journal Nature has found that brain scans can predict whether or not teenagers will develop drug taking behaviours later in life. A sample of 14-year-olds was assessed. The investigation reports that, from an...
Sleep and Substance Use: What’s the Link?
A new study reports a link between daytime tiredness and alcohol consumption, together with its related harms, in the future.
Counselling Parents and Teens about Marijuana Use in the Era of Legalisation of Marijuana
Abstract Many states have recently made significant changes to their legislation making recreational and/or medical marijuana use by adults legal. Although these laws, for the most part, have not targeted the adolescent population, they...
Better Working Memory, Less Temptation: Substance Abuse and Neuro-Mechanisms
New research published in the journal Addiction suggests that poor working memory and the inability to control impulses during adolescence are key predictors for future substance abuse. ‘Working memory’ refers to one’s capacity to...
Health Matters: Preventing Drug Misuse Deaths
Teleconference and question and answer session:
Wednesday 1 March 2017: 2.15pm – 3.00pm (UTC)
The Drug Problem in the Americas: Drugs and Public Health
Summary and Findings Most people do not use illicit drugs and among those who try them, only a fraction will develop patterns of dependence. Still, drug use constitutes a serious health problem for many people in the Americas. Early age of...
The Urgent Need to Change the Current Medical Approach on Tobacco Cessation in Latin America
Absract Despite the accumulation of scientific evidence confirming the health consequences of smoking and the new paradigm of smoking as a disease where nicotine is the drug that modifies the functional and morphological characteristics of...
Participation in School Sports and Marijuana Use among Male and Female Students
Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit substance among adolescents. There is a paucity in the literature on the relationship between school sports participation and marijuana use.
Reducing Risk: Assessing the Effectiveness of Computer-Based Interventions
A new study reveals that computer-based intervention programmes could reduce the risk of substance use among early adolescents living in an urban setting.