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FDA Adds Strong Warnings To Anti-Smoking Drug Labels
"The Food and Drug Administration announced (Wednesday) that it is requiring the smoking-cessation drugs Chantix and Zyban to carry the strongest type of safety warning possible to alert patients that the medications can cause serious mental health problems, including depression and suicide," the Washington Post reports (Stein, 7/1).

The Rewarding Aspects Of Music Listening Involve The Dopaminergic Striatal Reward
A Canadian research group has found that pleasure centers in the brain that respond to drug craving are also active when we listen to emotionally powerful music that gives us "chills" or "shivers-down-the-spine". Using two separate brain imaging tests the researchers examined subjects as they listened alternately to music that gave them chills and music that did not. Using a PET scan, the researchers showed that music that caused chills lead to a release of dopamine in the reward centers of the brain (mesolimbic striatum). Using fMRI on the same subjects, they found that activation in these regions happens both during the experience of chills and while subjects are anticipating them. Music, a mere sequence of notes arranged in time, can activate the same reward centers in the brain as drugs such as cocaine.
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New 18 Week Arthritis Commissioning Pathway, UK
The Rheumatology Futures Project and the Department of Health have launched a new 18-week commissioning pathway for inflammatory arthritis (IA).
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RCP President Responds To Publication Of NHS Alcohol Statistics Compendium, UK

Responding to the figures contained in Statistics on Alcohol: England 2009, Professor Ian Gilmore, President of the Royal College of Physicians said: "The figures released today reflect the contradictions that characterise Britain"s relationship to drink. It is a welcome development that more people, on average, are drinking within the recommended limits. But this contrasts with fact that nearly half of all adults drink above the safe daily limits at least once a week, often above twice these levels. This paradox underlines the difficulties in understanding and seeking to change the drinking culture in the UK, because we are dealing with a heterogeneous population drinking in different patterns and for different reasons. Policies may need to reflect that diversity. There are three measures that would help. The first is to ensure people have ready access to digestible information. It would cost virtually nothing extra to manufacturers to include the unit information on their containers, and do much to enable people to count their units. The second priority is to provide support for problem drinkers when they are seeking it. It is striking that nearly a quarter of people drinking more than eight units a day would like to drink less. Yet Britons with chronic alcohol dependency often face waits of up to a year to get on a treatment programme. The third issue is to address the thorny issue of price. The pivotal role of increasing affordability of alcohol over the last few decades as a key factor in increasing consumption and harm has been yet again confirmed. In conclusion, these new figures on our nation"s drinking give us some signs of encouragement but also show us very clearly that the argument that it is a small minority spoiling it for the vast majority of responsible drinkers just won"t wash - let"s get some policy levers on price, availability and information in place, and also make sure that treatment facilities can be accessed by those in need." Notes For further information please contact Frank Soodeen on 0207 935 1174 ext 468. Out of hours inquiries should be directed to 07896416409. As well as being President of the Royal College of Physicians, Professor Ian Gilmore is also Chair of the Alcohol Health Alliance UK. Royal College of Physicians


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