President Trump’s declaring the opioid epidemic a national health emergency is a critical first step, but it does not address the urgent need for more federal funds to fight this crisis, according to Arthur C. Evans, Jr., PhD, CEO of the American Psychological Association (APA). Evans said the declaration does not automatically direct federal funds to address the problem – funds which should go to the states, because they “are battling this epidemic on the front lines.”

The fight to protect public health is more important than ever. The Senate is moving quickly — and secretively — on their version of legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act. While we don’t know the content of the bill, we do know that the House-passed repeal bill — the American Health Care Act — would cause over 23 million people to lose their health care, restructure Medicaid, pare down essential benefits like maternity and newborn care, result in the loss of over a million American jobs, and zero out the Prevention and Public Health Fund.

Winemakers could soon receive a tax break that would spur production of higher-alcohol wines, a move that would pad their bottom lines but that has health advocates seeing red.

A new medication that targets part of the brain’s stress system may help reduce alcohol use in people with alcohol use disorder (AUD), according to a new study by researchers at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health.

Many things can lead to suicidal thoughts, and all of them need to be addressed in different ways. However, alcohol and drug abuse have been linked to suicide, and it’s important to remember that no two people use substances for the same reason.

For decades, when a member of the International Association of Sheet Metal Air, Rail and Transportation Workers, or SMART, (formerly the Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association) had a personal problem, they would turn to a fellow member for help. For small issues, friends and mentors dispensed good advice just fine.

Recent reports that heroin use is on the rise—the U.S. Justice Department says there was a 320% increase in heroin seized along the southwest U.S. border from 2008 through 2013 (1) prompted U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to speak out about the need for a solution.

Of total drug users in the U.S., 74.8 percent are employed and active in the workplace — this means that 12.9 million individuals actively use drugs in the workforce, according to OSHA.