Just as the use of vaping (e-cigarette) devices among young people began to decline—eliciting a collective sigh of relief from public health officials—a new, potentially worrisome product is gaining popularity among youth: nicotine pouches. Unlike cigarettes and vaping devices, which produce smoke and vapor, nicotine pouches are more discreet and, therefore, harder for parents to notice. They are tucked in between a …

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration today announced the release of the 2025 National Drug Threat Assessment (NDTA), DEA’s comprehensive review of the threats posed to the United States by deadly illicit drugs and the violent domestic and international drug trafficking organizations responsible for producing and trafficking the drugs poisoning our communities. For more than a decade, DEA’s NDTA has been …

Decades before it became known as “gas station heroin,” tianeptine was prescribed to treat depression in dozens of countries. Now, U.S. poison control centers are reporting a dramatic spike in cases involving tianeptine — a drug that isn’t FDA approved, and one that authorities warn poses overdose and dependency risks. Tianeptine inhabits a murky space in U.S. drug regulation. It’s …