Category Archives: Drugs

NEW YORK, March 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Drugs.com, the leading online clinical drug resource, today announced they have launched the Drugs.com Medication Guide, a mobile app to facilitate patient engagement in their own medication management. The "Drugs.com Medication Guide" app is now available as a free download on the popular iOS and Android mobile platforms. Utilizing the Drugs.com Medication Guide app, patients and caregivers can have instant access to their most recent personal medication records, saved drug interactions lists, and breaking FDA and health news tailored to their needs. In addition, consumers can easily navigate through the most trusted and unbiased sources of medical information to make educated health decisions. "As the U.S. healthcare system moves through the upcoming stages of meaningful use, patients will be empowered to utilize mobile health apps to manage their medications and maintain wellness," said Philip Thornton, CEO of Drugs.com. "The latest Drugs.com Medication Guide app is a practical tool to shorten this learning curve for both patients and caregivers alike. Medication management, safety and adherence will simply become easier." The Drugs.com app provides consumers with easy access to vital health information tools such as MedNotes, the Symptom Checker, and the Complete Drugs A to … Continue reading →

LONDON, March 6, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Following the UN's report this week on legal highs, the drugs charity, Angelus, has called for the Government to accept that the threat to public safety from legal highs is considerably greater than that of horsemeat. Both are being sold in the high street masquerading as other products, but the Government has only devoted resources to protecting the integrity of the food chain. Angelus has asserted that the country's children should be protected from the even greater threat resulting in loss of mental health, and even life, posed by easy access to legal highs. Several companies have been compelled to withdraw supermarket products, which contained traces of horsemeat. The Government has response with great urgency despite no obvious threat to human health. This response contrasts markedly with Government "inactivity" in tackling the sale of highly dangerous legal highs which can result in psychosis, depression, severe paranoia, anxiety, difficulty breathing, heavy nose bleeds, damaged eye sight and even the loss of the use of the bladder. The President of the International Narcotics Control Board, Raymond Yans said: "In recent years, there has been an unprecedented surge in the abuse of new psychoactive substances. Clear action … Continue reading →

Designer drugs are multiplying at a worrying rate and increasingly sending users to hospital, a UN-affiliated report said Tuesday, calling for international efforts to stem the spread of these substances. "In recent years, there has been an unprecedented surge in the abuse of new psychoactive substances," often called "legal highs" or "designer drugs," the Vienna-based International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) said in its annual report. "In Europe alone almost one new substance is appearing every week. Previously, between 2000 and 2005 there were an average of five notifications of new substances per year," added INCB head Raymond Yans. Experts estimate thousands of such drugs currently exist on the market, the report said. "As abuse of these substances has increased, so too has the number of users who have experienced grave health consequences or even suffered death due to exposure to them," it went on, pointing to "marked increases in emergency room visits for adverse health reactions" and "significant increases in calls to poison treatment centres." Aggravating the problem further was the fact that these drugs were not subject to international control regimes and were readily available on the Internet, requiring states and international institutions to find new ways to identify … Continue reading →

In 2010 we wrote about Harvard economics professor Jeffrey Miron's stance that all drugs should be legalized because prohibition wastes money and doesn't work. In a recent in-depth interview with Der Spiegel, the economist provides more insight into why he thinks that all kinds of drugs should be sold in supermarkets. Miron asserts that the prohibition of drugs "is the worst solution for preventing abuse" because it costs a lot money, creates a corrupt and dangerous black market, and constrains the freedom of those who wouldn't abuse drugs. The director of undergrad studies in Harvard's Economics Department says if drugs were legal, the U.S. could save about $90 billion per year (by stopping drug war policies and implementing state taxes), the black market would be drained and violence reduced, and the American way would be respected. "If you believe in anything that the Americans claim to believe in freedom, individuality, personal responsibility you have to legalize drugs," Miron said. Miron's libertarian leaningsmakea ddiction a non-issue because "p eople are addicted to caffeine[, sports, beer or food] and nobody worries about that ... people who harm themselves with drugs will do it anyway, regardless of whether or not they're legal." He … Continue reading →

7 March 2013 Last updated at 10:35 ET Home Secretary Theresa May has rejected calls from MPs for a root-and-branch review of drugs strategy, insisting the government's approach is working. In a recent report, the Home Affairs Committee said a Royal Commission should examine policy and consult the public on alternative ideas. But she said there was "no case" for such a move and hailed "promising" progress in various areas since 2010. Early intervention and "recovery incentivisation" schemes were working. The government has faced calls for a change in approach from campaigners and some police officers amid warnings that existing policies are not working. Speaking last year, former Home Secretary Ken Clarke said the war on drugs was "plainly being lost". There is growing concern over the growth and prevalence of "legal highs", some of which are banned, amid a recorded rise in deaths linked to their use. In a recent report, the cross-party Commons committee urged ministers to develop a new series of measures to tackle the harm caused by drug misuse and suggested an independent Royal Commission should take a fresh look at policy and the changing international context by 2015. While stopping short of supporting a relaxation … Continue reading →

By Serena Gordon HealthDay Reporter TUESDAY, March 5 (HealthDay News) -- The newest medications used to treat autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis don't appear to raise the risk of developing shingles, new research indicates. There has been concern that these medications, called anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) drugs, might increase the chances of a shingles infection (also known as herpes zoster) because they work by suppressing a part of the immune system that causes the autoimmune attack. "These are commonly used drugs for people with rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases, and the issue was whether or not they increased the risk of [shingles]. We found there is no increased risk when using these drugs, which was reassuring," said study author Dr. Kevin Winthrop, associate professor of infectious disease and public health and preventive medicine at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland. Results of the study are published in the March 6 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Shingles is a major concern for people with autoimmune conditions, particularly people who are older and more at risk for developing shingles in general. Shingles is caused when the same virus that causes chickenpox is reactivated. The symptoms … Continue reading →

8 March 2013 Last updated at 01:49 ET Police in India's Punjab state say they have seized 26kg (57lbs) of heroin and arrested two men, including a Canada-based Indian, media reports say. Police said the seized drugs had a street value of 1.3bn rupees ($24m; 16m) in the international market, reports said. The drugs were recovered from an apartment in Mohali town. Most of the world's heroin comes from Afghanistan and its main route into India is through Punjab, via Pakistan. A Canada-based Indian man and his "accomplice" were held from the apartment in Mohali where the drugs were found during a raid on Friday morning, media reports quoting police said. Senior police official HS Mann told Indo-Asian News Service that the Canada-based man was "the main kingpin and they used to smuggle the drugs to the various countries of Europe and North America". Reports said the police also recovered weapons from their possession. There have been a number of major drug seizures in Punjab, which itself has had a drugs problem for many years. Two years ago a study by a university in Punjab suggested that as much as 70% of young Punjabi men were addicted to drugs or … Continue reading →

7 March 2013 Last updated at 07:11 ET The rise of new "legal high" drugs in south Wales has the potential to cause even more problems than those from the influx of mephedrone, a drugs charity is warning. Swansea-based Sands Cymru says local drug agencies and the police were "caught out" by the speed with which mephedrone, known as meow meow, spread. It will host a conference in Swansea on Thursday to address the problem. Last year the number of people taking the drug rose in south west Wales. Mephedrone is more than twice as prevalent in Wales as it was in 2011, a police report suggested in October last year. We must be more prepared for the emergence of any new drugs and the associated physical and psychological health Until April 2010 it was considered a "legal high", but given its potency and powerful side effects the drug was reclassified. Potential side effects can include fits, memory loss, potentially fatal heart problems and brain damage. Dr Adam Winstock, consultant psychiatrist and founder of Global Drugs Survey, is speaking at Thursday's conference. Read more: Warning over new 'legal high' drugs … Continue reading →

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) -- A bill that would allow patients addicted to prescription drugs to sue the doctors who prescribed the medication and the drug's makers was met with stiff opposition Wednesday in a Nevada legislative hearing. Sen. Tick Segerblom, D-Las Vegas, said doctors aware of the risks associated with addiction from prescription drugs should be responsible if those adverse effects are realized. "They know the person can get addicted to the drug so they should pay for the process of them getting off it," said Segerblom, the sponsor of SB75. People who packed hearing rooms in Carson City and Las Vegas were overwhelmingly opposed to the measure. Sen. Ruben Kihuen, D-Las Vegas, as acting chairman urged testifiers to keep their remarks short because of the large number of vocal opponents. "This bill ties the hands of physicians and takes away the rights of patients to choose which risk to assume while seeking treatment for their diseases," said David Johnson, a Las Vegas physician. "Yes, some drugs may be addictive, but that may be the less important issue when fighting the disease or symptom." Conditions such as cancer often require potentially addictive drugs that come with the risk of … Continue reading →

Drugs gang ordered to repay 1 each - despite making 1.3m selling heroin 12:27pm Tuesday 5th March 2013 in News 1: John Tait A drugs gang who made 1.3m selling heroin and cocaine have been ordered to pay back just 1 each. John Tait acted as a ringleader from behind bars and recruited cohorts, who made a fortune from their crimes, but were jailed last year for a total of 50 years after they were snared by a police operation. They were brought back to court as prosecutors tried to take back some of the cash they made in a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing. But Newcastle Crown Court heard despite raking in up to 462,000 each, five of the gang have been ordered to pay back just 1 because they have no available assets. A sixth man, who also earned thousands from the drugs trade, has to pay back just 985 which he was caught with when police arrested him. Tait was estimated to have made 203,270 and must pay back just 1. Brian Harrison profited to the tune of 462,437 and was ordered to pay 1. Read more: Drugs gang ordered to repay £1 each - despite making … Continue reading →