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This discussion is urgently needed with teen patients, who are either uninformed or misinformed about the dangers and risks associated with electronic cigarettes, says Nancy Campbell-Heider, PhD, a University at Buffalo addictions and high-risk adolescent behavior expert. In the review, "Teen Use of Electronic Cigarettes," published in the  Journal of Addictions Nursing , Campbell-Heider calls on health care professionals to place this form of nicotine delivery on their radar when seeing young patients. By screening early for at-risk behaviors, clinicians can stage interventions before vaping leads to the use of other tobacco products. "Teens are ignorant of the risk of using e-cigarettes, so it has become their new drug of choice," says Campbell-Heider, associate professor and chair of the Department of Family, Community and Health System Sciences in the UB School of Nursing. "Vaping is a dangerous drug since you are inhaling nicotine, which is highl...

In a study that appears in the May issue of the  Journal of General Internal Medicine , researchers at Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center have found that the majority of patients misusing drugs and alcohol have chronic pain and many are using these substances to "self-medicate" their pain. According to the researchers, many illegal drugs such as marijuana and heroin have pain-relieving properties. The researchers screened approximately 25,000 patients in primary care for illegal drug use and misuse of prescription medications. Among these patients, 589 who screened positive for substance use were asked questions about chronic pain and their substance use. Substance use was defined as use of illegal drugs (heroin, marijuana, cocaine, etc.), use of prescription drugs in ways other than prescribed or high risk alcohol use. They found that 87 percent of those who screened positive for illegal drug use, misuse of prescription drugs or heavy alcoh...