Using alcohol to cope with symptoms of a mental health issue can result in alcohol dependence. Short-term alcohol dependence can easily turn into long-term dependence.

Heavy drinking can burden anyone’s liver. But in people who are also overweight, heavy drinking may really push the liver past its limits.

Secondhand smoke exposure during childhood may change cholesterol levels in a way that could increase the risk for heart disease later in life. That risk may not be the same for both genders.

Links between smoking and lung cancer have been well established, but what about other types of cancer? In particular, female smokers have shown high rates of colon cancer.

The health community has been striving to lower smoking rates for decades. The good news is that prevention programs have worked, some better than others.

In college, some young adults might feel invincible. But risky behaviors like binge drinking may disrupt a young adult’s blood flow and put him or her at risk for heart disease later in life.

Sober drivers get in car crashes every day. Adding alcohol, drugs or prescription medications to the equation can really compound the risk for winding up in a wreck.

After surgery, the body needs to focus on healing. Smoking may interfere with this healing process. People who smoke after surgery could be putting their bodies at serious risk for complications.

Hookah smoking may seem like a less harmful alternative to cigarettes. But the charcoal brick heating the hookah’s tobacco can expose a person to high levels of harmful chemicals.

Some women find it cool just to hold a cigarette. But smoking them could be tied to pain in those hands and in other joints later on.