The Health Protection Agency (HPA) and NHS London have confirmed that a drug injecting heroin user has tested positive for anthrax and is being treated in a London hospital. This is the first case of anthrax seen in an injecting drug user in England since similar cases were first seen in Scotland in December 2009. Nineteen cases have so far been confirmed in Scotland...

 The U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Treasury jointly issued new rules providing parity for consumers enrolled in group health plans who need treatment for mental health or substance use disorders. "Today's rules will bring needed relief to families faced with meeting the cost of obtaining mental health and substance abuse services," said U.S...

 Exposure to ecstasy or cocaine during adolescence increases the "reinforcing effects" that make people vulnerable to developing an addiction. This is the main conclusion of a research team from the University of Valencia (UV), which has shown for the first time how these changes persist into adulthood...

 Research presented at the American Academy of Pain Medicine's 26th Annual Meeting provides early published data analyzing information gathered from California's prescription monitoring program, known as the Controlled Substances Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES)...

 Leading experts from across Britain's 'binge-drinking' debate will meet at the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) on Wednesday 10 February to discuss whether we need to recognise the places where people drink as a significant influence on their behaviour...

 Between 1997 and 2006, 38% of out-of-clinic suicides by mental health patients were carried out by people absent without leave from the hospital. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Psychiatry suggest that measures to improve the ward environment or prevent patients from leaving psychiatric wards without staff agreement could avoid up to 50 suicide deaths every year...

 Exposure to severe stress early in life increases the risk of alcohol and drug addiction. Yet surprisingly, some adults sexually abused as children - and therefore at high risk for alcohol problems - carry gene variants that protect them from heavy drinking and its effects, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis...

 The Alliance for Consumer Education (ACE) is launching a new public service announcement campaign to support its http://www.inhalant.org website, and its ongoing efforts to reach out to parents and children about inhalant abuse...

  "State and local efforts to thwart methamphetamine production by further limiting consumer access to a popular decongestant are pitting law enforcement against pharmacists and patients," USA Today reports...