Twelve-step programs can be extremely helpful for teens who are struggling with addiction or who are on the road to becoming addicted, but they are more useful if they are adapted to the particular needs of adolescents, according to an expert on teenage addiction.

Two emergency medicine experts have proposed what they call “ideal” prescription drug monitoring software, in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine.

Family dinners, long considered to be a way to reduce the odds of teen substance abuse, may not be as effective as previously thought, a new study suggests.

A new poll suggests shrinking support for a California ballot measure that would add a $1 tax to each pack of cigarettes. Voters will decide the outcome on Tuesday.

Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear signed into law a measure that makes it illegal to sell or possess synthetic drugs, including “bath salts” and synthetic marijuana.

A new study finds that World No Tobacco Day, on May 31, promotes awareness and interest in quitting smoking. The study of seven Latin American countries found on that day, news coverage of smoking cessation increased by as much as 83 percent, and Internet searches about the topic jumped by up to 84 percent, compared with other days.

As a growing number of states implement prescription drug monitoring databases to curb “doctor shopping” for painkillers, some physicians say they object to aspects of the programs.

People who carry a specific high-risk variation in a cluster of nicotine receptor genes are more likely to find success in quitting smoking using smoking cessation medication, a new study suggests.