Excessive alcohol consumption cost the U.S. $223.5 billion in 2006 alone, and nearly half of that burden was borne by the government, according to a new study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Addiction
Do People Really Drink More When the Economy Tanks?
A new study suggests that in hard economic times, people drink more alcohol. Intuitively, it might make sense, but the findings run counter to most previous research, which shows that alcoholism and other drinking-related …
Viewpoint: Teaching Recovery, Rather Than Treating Addiction
Today is the final day of Recovery Month, during which we celebrated those who are overcoming addictions. But as the month winds down, the question of how best to spur recovery remains. One New York program, Exponents, has …
Viewpoint: Why Dr. Feelgood Isn’t Always Wrong
Dr. Conrad Murray, personal physician to Michael Jackson, is currently on trial in Los Angeles for involuntary manslaughter, two years after the death of the singer — of “acute propofol intoxication” — was officially ruled a …
Fueled by Growing Painkiller Use, Overdose Deaths and Child Poisonings Are on the Rise
Drug overdose has now overtaken automobile crashes as the leading cause of accidental death in the U.S., according to an analysis of government data. This is the first time that drugs have killed more people than car wrecks since …
How We Cope: What Do Addiction Rates After 9/11 Tell Us?
We may never know the true death toll of 9/11, nor the full extent of the psychological trauma the terrorist attacks caused. But by looking at rates of alcohol and other drug use among those who were directly and indirectly …
Viewpoint: Why Tough-Love Rehab Won’t Die
Despite decades of research showing the harmfulness of coercive rehab for addiction, these abusive, tough-love programs refuse to go away.
On Overdose Awareness Day, a Mother’s Plea for Compassion
Marilee Murphy Odendahl wants you to know a few things about her son, Ian. “He was marvelously funny, loyal, extremely intelligent and a really good observer of human behavior, so much that you wouldn’t necessarily like to be the …
Does Drug Testing the Poor Do Anything to Reduce Addiction?
In one of the most emailed articles this week on TIME.com, legal columnist Adam Cohen questions the constitutionality and financial benefit of a new Florida law that requires welfare applicants to take a drug test for …
Why the New Definition of Addiction, as ‘Brain Disease,’ Falls Short
In 1956, the American Medical Association declared alcoholism a “disease.” More than half a century later, the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) has proclaimed addiction, including alcoholism and “process” addictions …
Can Tanning Be “Addictive”? Not So Fast
We’ve all seen the headlines about sex, food and rock-and-roll “lighting up” the same brain regions as drugs. The latest? “Tanning Bed Users’ Brains Like Addicts’,” claims the UPI, citing a new study.
The Detox Amy Winehouse Should Have Done
It appears that we won’t know what caused Amy Winehouse’s death for several months, but if the singer did die from alcohol withdrawal, as has been speculated, the tragedy of her loss will be compounded by the fact that such …
Most Teens Taking Prescription Drugs Do It Right
Most students taking prescription medications for pain, sleep, anxiety or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) do not misuse the drugs, a new study finds. And proper use of these medications was not associated with a …
