Smoking Cessation: What's Next?

In this 3-part online series, experts weigh in on nicotine use and present strategies to manage this undertreated addiction.

Smoking Cessation: What's Next?
Undertreatment of Tobacco Use Relative to Other Chronic Conditions
The Role of Electronic Cigarettes for Tobacco Dependence Treatment

Substance Use Disorder

The Role of Electronic Cigarettes for Tobacco Dependence Treatment

Chris Bullen, MBChB, MPH, PhD

News | November 20, 2013 | Addiction, Substance Use Disorder

By Chris Bullen, MBChB, MPH, PhD

Stopping smoking affects the metabolism of a number of drugs used in the management of mental illness. Here, a summary of the author's published study on whether e-cigarettes with nicotine were more effective for smoking cessation than nicotine patches.

Smoking Cessation: What’s Next?

Judson A. Brewer, MD, PhD

News | November 19, 2013 | Addiction, Substance Use Disorder

By Judson A. Brewer, MD, PhD

Smoking is the leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality in the US. The majority of smokers want to quit, but only a fraction achieve this annually. New evidence shows it is possible to teach patients to weaken the link between craving and smoking until they are able to ride out any craving–and consequently quit.

Mini-quiz: Schizophrenia and Cannabis Use Disorder

November 18, 2013 | Schizophrenia, Addiction, Psychotic Affective Disorders, Quizzes, Substance Use Disorder

What percentage of patients with schizophrenia have a comorbid cannabis use disorder? Take the quiz and learn more.

“Designer Drug” Use and Abuse: Implications for Psychiatrists

Daniel Castellanos, MD

Patricia Junquera, MD

November 12, 2013 | Special Reports, Addiction, Substance Use Disorder

By Daniel Castellanos, MD and Patricia Junquera, MD

Psychiatrists are urged to familiarize themselves with these new drugs and the typical presentations of patients who use them since implications of misdiagnosis can be far-reaching.

A Risk Stratification Approach to Alcohol Detoxification

Nick C. Mellos, MD

November 05, 2013 | Addiction, Alcohol Abuse, Cultural Psychiatry, Integrative Psychiatry, Psychopharmacology, Substance Use Disorder

By Nick C. Mellos, MD

The challenges of identifying patients at risk for alcohol withdrawal have been found to be mitigated by the development of a Risk Stratification Questionnaire, now being adopted by the VA regionally throughout New England. More in this video.

Schizophrenia, Neurocognitive Dysfunction, and Substance-Related Disorders: A Review

Maryam Sharif-Razi

Rachel A. Rabin, MSc

Tony P. George, MD, FRCPC

October 14, 2013 | Schizophrenia, Addiction, Neuropsychiatry, Substance Use Disorder

By Maryam Sharif-Razi, Rachel A. Rabin, MSc, and Tony P. George, MD, FRCPC

The authors evaluate the effects of nicotine and cannabis on neurocognitive function in individuals with schizophrenia and review potential pharmacological treatment strategies.

From the Streets to the Rx Pad: Do Party Drugs Have a Place in the Medical Office?

Heidi Anne Duerr, MPH

News | October 02, 2013 | USPC2013, Addiction, Substance Use Disorder

By Heidi Anne Duerr, MPH

Can drugs be categorized as good (eg, medicinal), bad (eg, recreational with deleterious side effects and addiction issues), or is there a middle ground? That was the underlying theme in a lecture at PsychCongress, “Perils and Promise of Psychoactive Drugs: A Focus on Harm Reduction Psychiatry.”