Tobacco & Marijuana
Marijuana May Grow Neurons in the Brain
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Advocates for medical marijuana can take heart over the findings of two Canadian research teams.
A synthetic cannabinoid—similar to the compounds found in marijuana, but substantially stronger—causes the growth of new neurons and reduces anxiety and depression, investigators at the University of Saskatchewan here reported.
Norwegian bar smoking ban reaps health rewards
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A ban on smoking in Norwegian bars, restaurants and nightclubs has been a huge success in improving staff health, the government said on Tuesday.
Norway imposed the nationwide ban in June 2004, the second country in the world after Ireland to do so, to give waiters, cooks and other staff in the sector the same protection as workers in offices or factories, which have long been smoke-free.
Drug Addiction: Cocaine Is the Most Addictive
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Certain drugs, such as narcotics and cocaine, central nervous system stimulant, are more physically addicting than are other drugs.
Drug addiction affects 19.5 million Americans over the age of 12. Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug. While not everyone who uses drugs becomes addicted, many people do. As many as 19,000 people die of drug-related causes every year.
Even light smokers risk disease and death
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A study released today squashes the common belief that light smokers escape the serious health consequences faced by heavier smokers. According to the study in the journal Tobacco Control, smoking just one to four cigarettes per day nearly triples the risk of dying from heart disease or lung cancer.
There is widespread belief among the lay public that “a few cigarettes per day cannot harm me,” said Dr. Kjell Bjartveit of the National Health Screening Service in Oslo, Norway.
Irish pub workers breathe easier after smoking ban
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Ireland’s nationwide ban on smoking in all workplaces has not only cleaned up the air in pubs and restaurants, it has also improved the health of the people who work there, researchers said on Sunday.
Since Ireland became the first country in the world to impose the ban nationwide in March 2004, other countries and cities have followed its example.
Different therapies can work for alcoholism
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The research team with the UK Alcohol Treatment Trial (UKATT) compared two approaches to helping people with Alcoholism, and found that they were equally beneficial and cost-effective.
Specifically, the study looked at “social behavior and network therapy” and the more established “motivational enhancement therapy.”
Unions, doctors call for total British smoking ban
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Britain’s trade unions and doctors said on Monday the government should ban smoking in all workplaces, including all pubs and clubs, to protect workers’ health.
The call by the Trade Unions Congress (TUC), the umbrella organisation for the nation’s unions, and the British Medical Association (BMA) came as the government’s consultation on proposals for a selective smoking ban in England ends.
UK clubbers turn to animal drug Ketamine
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Ketamine, an animal anaesthetic with hallucinogenic properties, is gaining popularity as a recreational drug in Britain, an independent survey reported on Tuesday.
Charity Drugscope found that the drug, first popular in gay nightclubs, had now spread to a wider group of partygoers, and was on sale in eight of the 15 British towns and cities surveyed.
Anesthesia doesn’t ease heroin detox
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Heroin detoxification under general anesthesia has been touted as a fast and pain-free way for addicts to get clean, but new research indicates that this method offers no benefit over other protocols that are safer and much less expensive.
“Anyone who might be interested in anesthesia for detox should know that it’s costly, dangerous, and not better than alternative approaches,” Dr. Eric D. Collins told Reuters Health.
US heroin users exposed to dangerous additive
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A drug that promotes lean muscle growth in cattle may be turning up in heroin on the U.S. East Coast, sickening users and stoking fears of a wave of such poisonings, U.S. health officials said on Thursday.
Traces of clenbuterol were found in the urine of eight reported heroin users who became ill in New York and Connecticut in the first three months of 2005, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a weekly health report.
UK children claim easy access to cigarettes, drink
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Young people in Britain find it easy to get hold of cigarettes, alcohol and other drugs from ages as young as 12, health specialists said on Friday.
Most regular smokers aged 12-15 claim they buy cigarettes in shops, even though the legal minimum age is 16.
Around 80 percent of 15-year-olds say alcoholic drinks are very or fairly easy to obtain, usually through friends or relatives. By the age of 16 or 17, drinkers are usually buying alcohol for themselves, defying a legal minimum age of 18.
Alcoholism may be in the genes, for flies
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Fruit flies carry a gene - aptly named ‘hangover’ - that appears to help them become tolerant to alcohol. Tolerance is thought to promote dependence, so if a similar gene is found in humans, it might lead to drugs to treat or prevent Alcoholism.
In the journal Nature, researchers report that only fruit flies that carry a functioning ‘hangover’ gene develop a tolerance for alcohol.
Topamax may help alcohol-using smokers quit
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The anti-Epilepsy pill Topamax (a.k.a. topiramate) is a safe and promising treatment for helping alcohol-dependent smokers quit cigarettes, according to the results of a new study.
In a previous study, Dr. Bankole A. Johnson, of the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, and colleagues showed that topiramate is an effective treatment for alcohol dependence. In a further analysis, they examined whether the drug improved the smoking cessation rate among the cigarette smokers in the earlier study.
Wife influences husband’s marijuana use
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A newlywed wife can help determine whether her husband smokes marijuana, New York state-based researchers reported Wednesday.
The researchers found that when people in their 20s first marry, husbands are more likely to start or resume smoking marijuana if their wives smoke it, and are more likely to stop smoking marijuana if their spouses do not smoke.
Conn. wants to weed out marijuana-flavored candy
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Connecticut on Tuesday joined a growing effort to weed out marijuana-flavored candy from store shelves when its attorney general said he would sponsor a statewide ban on “Pot Suckers” lollipops.
Five other states have either banned or are considering a ban on the candy, causing New Jersey distributor ICUP to suspend further sales of the green candy as of June 28.
