| (The New York Times News Service) -- Deaths from drugs and alcohol in Boston soared dramatically in 2006, an increase fueled by cheap heroin, the allure of crystal methamphetamine, and the widespread availability of addictive prescription medications.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Depression, teens and marijuana are a dangerous mix that can lead to dependency, mental illness or suicidal thoughts, according to a White House report being released Friday.
CHICAGO (AP) -- The federal government's new advice to doctors for helping smokers quit recommends the drug Chantix, which has recently been linked with depression and suicidal behavior. The new guidelines mention the psychiatric risks but also say the popular Pfizer Inc. drug is the most effective at helping people get off cigarettes.
BOSTON (AP) -- A Massachusetts study suggests that restaurant smoking bans may play a big role in persuading teens not to become smokers. Youths who lived in towns with strict bans were 40 percent less likely to become regular smokers than those in communities with no bans or weak ones, the researchers reported in the May issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Government regulators on Friday said encouraging wider use of a powerful painkiller made by Cephalon Inc. raises the risk of potentially fatal misuse of the drug.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government is evaluating a new version of OxyContin -- the potent painkiller sometimes called "hillbilly heroin" -- designed to be harder to abuse.
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