Welcome to This Week in Recovery, a weekly recap of the 5 biggest stories in the recovery industry.
How Judges Contributed To The Opioid Crisis – Reuters
In an investigative study, Reuters found that over the past 20 years judges sealed evidence relevant to public health and safety in about half of the 115 biggest defective-product cases brought before federal judges. Reuters also found that hundreds of thousands of people were killed or seriously injured as a result of these allegedly defective drugs and medical devices. This evidence could have alerted consumers and regulators to the potential danger that these products held.
The Benefits of Stopping Drinking, Even Briefly – NPR
The “sober curious” and “sober sometimes” communities are continuing to grow across the country, in part due to the vast health benefits that sobriety can provide. Studies have found that just after one month of not using alcohol, people got better sleep, lost weight, had better blood pressure numbers, and more.
San Francisco Becomes First Major City To Ban E-Cigs – Washington Post
This week, San Francisco became the first major city in the United States to ban the sale of e-cigarettes. The measure has been criticized by e-cigarette makers and public health officials who are questioning the ban, asking what the real benefit of banning these products while cigarettes are still widely sold in the city.
Two-Thirds of Global Drug Deals Due To Opioids – UN News
A study from the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime found that opioids, which include both heroin and legal pain relievers, were responsible for about two-thirds of drug-related deaths in 2017. The report found that there is also an overall rising trend in drug use and that cocaine production is at an all-time high.
Overdose Deaths Projected To Fall For First Time Since 1990 – Wall Street Journal
Provisional data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention predict that there were nearly 69,100 drug deaths in the 12-month period ending last November, down from almost 72,300 predicted deaths for 12 months ending November 2017. This data would signal that drug overdose deaths in the U.S. may be at the beginning of a decline.
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Alcohol Effects On The Body
Alcoholism is a serious issue that impacts different parts of the body and affects nearly every organ. Excessive alcohol use can lead to issues in the brain, heart, lungs, liver, and more, and also causes an increased risk of cancer. To learn more about how alcohol affects the body, check out our featured article of the week.
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