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  1. Home
  2. Mental Health and Substance Use and Abuse
  3. Substance Use and Abuse

Substance Use and Abuse

Substance abuse dramatically affects health outcomes. We analyze the connection between substance use and abuse and how it causes chronic, and even deadly, illnesses. For example, though illicit drug use a serious health concern, nicotine is extremely harmful. It is the single most abused substance in the world -- an estimated 40 million Americans are addicted to nicotine in spite of its well-publicized deadly affects. Our research aims to study the cycle of substance use and abuse and developed strategies to break the cycle for all.

Subtance Abuse Research Lab
Substance Use and Abuse

Featured Publications

  • Racial and gender inequities in the implementation of a cannabis criminal justice diversion program in a large and diverse metropolitan county of the USA
  • Tobacco-related knowledge following a comprehensive tobacco-free workplace program within behavioral health facilities: Identifying organizational moderators
  • Evaluation of the Taking Texas Tobacco Free Workplace Program within behavioral health centers
  • Organizational Characteristics and Readiness for Tobacco-Free Workplace Program Implementation Moderates Changes in Clinician’s Delivery of Smoking Interventions within Behavioral Health Treatment Clinics
  • Clinician Training in the Adaptation of a Comprehensive Tobacco-Free Workplace Program in Agencies Serving the Homeless and Vulnerably Housed

Latest News

Photo of an empty wine glass under a low-light spotlight with a black background.
“Gray Area Drinking” Spikes During the Pandemic: The Warning Signs and How to Treat it
The jarring reality of a COVID-19 pandemic coupled with the stressors of job loss and increasing…
Women working and gathering supplies from a table outdoors, after dark.
"They're forming a Wellness Hub" TTTF's Outreach partner Home of Living Faith gives back to Texas rural communities
For families who live near Carrizo Springs or Crystal City, Texas, all it takes one rough patch in…
Portrait of Dr. Lorraine Reitzel, Dr. Isabel Martinez Leal, and Virmarie Correa-Fernandez with TTTF printed collateral spread across a table in the foreground.
Taking Texas Tobacco Free Honored in the CPRIT 2021 Annual Report
CPRIT featured TTTF in its 2021 Annual Report because this comprehensive, evidence-based program is…
Portrait of Dr. Lauren Gilbert
“This is a good step in terms of my mission as a researcher” Dr. Lauren Gilbert shares her journey in the HRI-RCMI Pilot Grant Program
“The focus of this pilot grant has really been to engage the community at all steps”

Dr. Lorraine Reitzel
Banishing Cigarettes into History’s Ashcan
New Grant Expands Texas Tobacco Program, Targets Substance Use Patients in Rural Communities
UH Health Research Institute


Houston, TX 77204
(713) 743-7684

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