Teen smokers who rationalize their use of cigarettes by saying, "At least, I'm not doing drugs," may not always be able to use that line. New research presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Washington, DC, supports the theory that cigarettes are a gateway drug to marijuana...

Scientists at British American Tobacco have used a multi-analyte approach to determine the level of exposure to tobacco constituents of snus users. The results show that, generally, less than a third of each constituent measured was extracted by consumers during use. Snus is a moist snuff that is placed under the upper lip...

People who have used marijuana may be more susceptible to the addictive properties of nicotine, researchers from the National Institute on Drug Abuse reported in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology. More specifically, it is the consumption of the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana - tetrahydrocannabinol (TCH) - that is linked to stronger nicotine addiction among laboratory rats...

Poor mental health leads to unhealthy behaviors in low-income adults - not the other way around, according to a new study¹ by Dr. Jennifer Walsh and colleagues from the Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine at The Miriam Hospital in the US...

Approximately 1 in every 10 teenagers with mental health problems drinks alcohol, smokes tobacco and uses cannabis, Australian researchers reported in the journal BMJ Open. The authors believe these behaviors contribute to poor mental and physical health...

Smoking and drinking alcohol in excess has many disadvantages, however new research now shows that smoking heavily simultaneously with drinking heavily results in more severe hangover symptoms; findings were published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs...

It is a myth that snus (Swedish snuff) users today have fewer dental caries. On the contrary, some types of nicotine-free snus contain both carbohydrates and starch that increase the risk of cavities. Those are the findings of a thesis from Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden. A common notion is that people who use nicotine-containing snus have fewer cavities...

1. Evidence Review: Behavioral Counseling Interventions Can Reduce Problem Drinking Alcohol misuse is the third leading cause of preventable death in the United States after tobacco use and being overweight. About 30 percent of the U.S. population admits to alcohol misuse, with most engaging in what is considered risky drinking, or drinking more than is recommended during a given time period...

Scientists have reported identification of the first substance in smokeless tobacco that is a strong oral carcinogen - a health risk for the 9 million users of chewing tobacco, snuff and related products in the U.S. - and called upon the federal government to regulate or ban the substance...

Although numerous studies have shown a strong link between drinking and smoking behaviors, few telephone smoking-cessation "quitlines" routinely screen and counsel callers about their alcohol use...