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The more alcohol men drink, the more time they spend in a hospital, research from the United Kingdom has found. Even relatively low levels of alcohol consumption were associated with a higher number of days spent in the hospital, the researchers found. Drinkers of eight or more units of alcohol a week were hospitalized more days than non-drinkers, and the length of stay increased as weekly consumption of alcohol went up.

Researchers have found that a compound in tobacco provokes white blood cells in the central nervous system to attack healthy cells, leading to severe neurological damage.

With initial autopsy results inconclusive, the investigation into Michael Jackson's death focused Friday on whether the pop icon, who had struggled with painkiller addiction in the past, had overdosed on prescription drugs.

About seven million young adults in the past year were classified as needing treatment to overcome alcoholism or illegal drug usage, a new national study released Monday said. The report further showed that 93% of the young adults between ages 18 to 25 didn't receive the necessary treatment.

Richard Grucza, a professor at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, recently authored a study that researched the binge-drinking tendencies among young females in the U.S. and found increased consumption rates in college aged women.

There's nothing like a cold beer on a sweltering summer day. George Koob can tell you exactly what makes that beer so satisfying – how the alcohol triggers a cascade of pleasure-inducing neurotransmitters in the brain. “You go to a barbecue, and the beer you have in the first 30 minutes promotes relaxing,” said Koob, a leading researcher on the neurobiology of addiction. “That's why we call alcohol a social lubricant.”

In this trial, a sample of alcohol-dependent patients received naltrexone, acamprosate or placebo for 12 weeks. While there were no differences in outcomes between treatment groups, those who believed they had been taking active medication consumed fewer alcoholic drinks and reported less alcohol dependence and cravings.

Consumption of alcohol is up, and so it seems are the ills associated with it. Worldwide, one in 25 deaths and 5 percent of the years that people live with health-related disabilities are related to alcohol, according to a new study.

Parents who try to follow the relaxed European example, believing it fosters a healthier attitude towards alcohol, should be careful about giving alcohol to their children -- it may increase the likelihood that they binge drink in college.

Joints and baggies sold at California's medical marijuana dispensaries will soon carry a new warning label. Next to tags like "Purple Haze" and "White Widow" will be the advisory: Contents may cause cancer when smoked. California added marijuana smoke to its official list of known carcinogens, joining the ranks of arsenic, asbestos and DDT.