| WASHINGTON (AP) -- Depression, teens and marijuana are a dangerous mix that can lead to dependency, mental illness or suicidal thoughts, according to a White House report being released Friday. CHICAGO (AP) -- The federal government's new advice to doctors for helping smokers quit recommends the drug Chantix, which has recently been linked with depression and suicidal behavior. The new guidelines mention the psychiatric risks but also say the popular Pfizer Inc. drug is the most effective at helping people get off cigarettes. BOSTON (AP) -- A Massachusetts study suggests that restaurant smoking bans may play a big role in persuading teens not to become smokers. Youths who lived in towns with strict bans were 40 percent less likely to become regular smokers than those in communities with no bans or weak ones, the researchers reported in the May issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government is evaluating a new version of OxyContin -- the potent painkiller sometimes called "hillbilly heroin" -- designed to be harder to abuse. WASHINGTON (AP) -- Government regulators on Friday said encouraging wider use of a powerful painkiller made by Cephalon Inc. raises the risk of potentially fatal misuse of the drug. | News brought to you by: | | | | | | |
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