Vending machines stocked with naloxone, syringes, and HIV tests are spreading across communities. But do they reach the people who need them most, and what does the evidence say about their impact?

Can skipping the standard sublingual induction and moving directly to injectable buprenorphine improve early retention in patients using fentanyl? And does the maintenance dose actually matter?

Does quitting smoking during addiction recovery help or destabilize patients who are already working hard to stay sober? A four-year longitudinal cohort study offers a cleare answer.

For smokers who have already tried and failed to quit smoking, what works better: e-cigarettes or combination NRT? A randomized trial compares their outcomes head-to-head.

Two recent studies examine starting long-acting injectable buprenorphine before significant withdrawal develops using a so-called "Direct-to-Inject" approach. Precipitated withdrawal rates were low, and early engagement in care was encouraging. This review outlines the protocols, tolerability, and practical implications for emergency and outpatient settings.

Dextromethorphan misuse is common, especially among young people, yet can easily be overlooked by family and healthcare providers alike. This article reviews recognition of toxicity across the four “plateaus,” psychiatric and medical complications, and supportive management strategies—including when to consider benzodiazepines, antipsychotics, or naloxone.

The first randomized controlled trial testing varenicline for e-cigarette cessation shows encouraging results. With 45% of participants achieving 7-day abstinence at week eight compared to 30% on placebo, this study provides preliminary evidence that varenicline may be effective for helping patients quit vaping, expanding its utility beyond traditional tobacco cessation.

Drug overdose mortality has increased nearly every year since the overdose epidemic began three decades ago. However, 2024 saw an unprecedented drop in overdose deaths across the country. Researchers are working to better understand this change, but it is almost certain that increasing availability of naloxone, widespread adoption of harm reduction practices, and improving rates of MOUD treatment played important roles in this encouraging shift.