Cancer is a serious public health risk, and approximately 7 million deaths per year around the world are attributed to smoking each year. In recent decades we have come to better understand the link between smoking and cancer; 22% of all cancers are linked to a person’s smoking and 70% of people globally now understand that link, up from just 40% in 1966. This relationship has often clouded a discussion of cancer risks. But as far as we have come in understanding how smoking, genetics, and even stress affect our chances of developing life-threatening cancers, we still understand very little about the relationship between alcohol and cancer. Only 13% of adults surveyed in the UK believe that cancer is a health risk of drinking alcohol, despite research linking it directly to multiple different forms of cancer that affect both men and women. Smoking and drinking both have second-hand effects to consider as well - 40,000 deaths each year attributed to non-smokers exposed to smoke. Alcohol and its effects on drivers is also significant, as auto and motorcycle traffic injuries are the ninth cause of death across all age groups, globally, and many are alcohol and/or drug-related. Despite a decrease in driving under the influence of alcohol prevalence over the past decades, DUIA prevalence still remains very high in the United States.¹

On Tuesday, March 9, 2010, I awoke with a feeling that had become as expected as having the sunrise and set. I had a splitting headache and a nervous pit in my stomach as I dared to begin piecing together the night before.

To stay up-to-date on cutting edge research that could transform addiction policy and practice, look no further than Research You Can Use, weekly highlights by renowned addiction expert and psychiatrist Dr. Mark Gold.

Three hundred and forty-one Iowa residents died from a drug overdose in 2017; that’s 341 too many. However, there is good news. It appears the numbers are decreasing, especially in Iowa, a state that experiences one of the lowest overdose rates per capita in the country. Can you imagine how many more lives could be saved if promising programs were brought to scale and implemented across the state and country? That’s what Innovation Now dares to imagine.