Testing It Up

Over 3% of sudden death in the region of south-west Spain have been linked to cocaine use by forensic pathologists. These findings can be extended to most of the rest of Europe as well, demonstrating that cocaine use is a growing public health problem in Europe and that no amount of the drug can be considered safe. The study carefully investigated all the conditions surrounding a successive string of sudden deaths between 2003 and 2006. The pathologists tested blood and urine for traces of toxic substances post mortem, and studied the organs, focusing on the cardiovascular system and toxicological analysis. Information was also gathered on substance abuse prior to death, the circumstances of the death and death scene investigations.

There were 668 sudden deaths during the study period, 21 of which were related to cocaine use; of these, all occurred in men between 21 and 45, and most of the cocaine-related deaths were due to problems with the heart and its related systems.

“Our findings show that cocaine use causes adverse changes to the heart and arteries that then lead to sudden death.”  Said Dr Joaquín Lucena, MD PhD. “Any amount of the drug can be considered to have the potential for toxicity due to the fact that some patients have poor outcomes with relatively low blood concentrations, whereas others tolerate large quantities without consequences.”

81% of the men who died after cocaine use also smoked, and 76% had drunk alcohol. Ethanol, the inebriating ingredient in alcohol, increases the “high” cocaine gives while reducing the subsequent “low”. Both of these habits are associated with heart disease and Dr Lucena said: “The combination of cocaine with either or both of these habits can be considered as a lethal cocktail that promotes the development of premature heart disease.”

On Thursday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) placed more restrictions governing tobacco and the youth, according to an article on the Los Angeles Times.

Among the rules that were mentioned are the outlawing of free cigarette samples and the banning of the use of tobacco brand names on promotional gear. Sponsorship of concerts and sporting events are now also banned – so we can forget about seeing billboards of the Marlboro man in billboards during football games.

A federal ban has also been instituted by the FDA on selling cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18. This rule now creates what the LA Times termed as a “uniform standard” that will replace the various restrictions applicable for each state. Now, store clerks will need to check IDs to see if someone who would like to buy cigarettes is actually old enough to do so.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that the new rules will make it more difficult for tobacco companies to reach out to the younger generation, so kids will be less likely to start smoking and lead healthier lives during a press conference to announce the new rules.

In addition, cigarettes are now also banned from being sold in vending machines, except if the machine is located in a place that is inaccessible to people under 18. Cigarette packs with less than 20 cigarettes, which are usually cheaper and therefore more attractive to young buyers, are now also banned.

Sugar addiction occurs when a person becomes dependent on foods that contain sugar. Although our body needs our fair share of sugar for its supply of energy, too much of it can cause an addiction. Sugar addiction becomes dangerous when people get miserable and irritable without their daily dose of sweets. Sugar addiction is often linked to obesity or rapid weight gain and other health issues.

Tooth Decay

Tooth decay has always been linked to eating too much candies and chocolates. Sugar is not the main cause of tooth decay, though; the bacteria that are present in the mouth do. These bacteria just use sugar as a propellant to the production of acids which attack tooth enamel. That is why dentists often remind children to always brush their teeth after every meal and before going to sleep.

Unbalanced Glucose Levels

Consuming too much sugar also leads to an unstable amount of glucose in the blood which causes feelings of fatigue. Headaches are also a by-product of too much sugar. Our body also has a tolerance for sugar; the more sugar that we intake over time, the more the body needs to meet a normal and balanced blood glucose level.

Obesity

If you plan to lose some weight, you may need to limit your sugar intake to a minimum. This is probably because sugar that is not utilized by the body gets stored as fat. So the more sugar you take in and store, the more weight you gain. Obesity is also a dangerous condition which significantly increases the risks of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

Drugs like multi-vitamin pills and herbal tonics are causing the untimely deaths of over one thousand people every year with renal and heart failures in the Punjab region alone. Diagnosed with organ problems caused by consumption of high potency drugs illegally made with salts and chemicals of allopathic medicines these patients face serious health problems and often death. All this despite the effort of at least 9 drug courts to prevent the damage from getting worse. Unfortunately the courts are handicapped due to ineffective legislation and inefficient drug testing laboratories of which there only 3 in the region.

Maximum punishment under the Drug Act of 1976 is 7 years imprisonment, but there have been no cases that were given this level of punishment. Most fines which are imposed on those who are found guilty of being involved in the business of spurious drugs are minor. Only 4 % of these pharmaceutical companies in Pakistan make medicine or raw materials while the other 96 % import raw materials/medicine salts or are re-packing industries.

The term spurious drug is complex as some genuine drugs made by unregistered companies are also called spurious, while the bogus drugs which don’t contain ingredients listed on the label, also fall under this heading. The raw material of allopathic medicines (which include salts and chemicals) were instead being given to the mafia which remixes several chemicals to make new allopathic medicines, herbal medicines and high potency health tonics that are dangerous if ingested. Some of these bogus medicines and antibiotics are even available in stores.

On the advice of Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif, notices were issued to 400 pharmaceutical companies while 80 companies were asked to submit affidavits that they would use allopathic raw material under legal limits. FIRs were also registered against 14 companies for violation. Drug courts have proven ineffective, and the mafia was taking advantage of the fragile laws with time and better laws this may be changed.

According to estimates made by Hawaii’s largest, locally owned drug testing company and drug prevention organizations the use of meth went up dramatically in 2009. Diagnostic Laboratory Services released its year-end numbers for 2009 and found that the use of crystal meth rose 33 % from where it stood in 2008. The laboratory (which conducts tests for companies and those seeking employment and conducts 7,000 to 10,000 drug tests each quarter) found that the highest numbers of increase came in the last quarter of the year. This meant that meth use was up 57 percent from the year’s average.

Hawaii Meth Project and other drug prevention groups say that such increases can be common when a bad economy is affecting so many. Between the higher stress of such a situation causing users to increase use and others selling or starting to use the drug these numbers are likely to increase.

The Hawaii Meth Project focuses on prevention with a target audience of 12-17 year olds. Such numbers are a big tell that prevention programs are needed now more than ever.

Diagnostic Laboratory Services also found that there was a 9 % increase in marijuana use from 2008 to 2009.Other forms of drug use went unchanged in the area.

A feature on MSNBC got us thinking: how welcome is medical marijuana in the workplace, at least in states where it is deemed legal? What kind of protection do the laws of a state that govern medical marijuana provide to the people who use them?

Joseph Casias, a Wal-Mart associate working in Battle Creek, Michigan who is suffering from sinus cancer and an inoperable brain tumor was reportedly fired from his job – because he tested positive for marijuana use. He has been using marijuana since last summer; it was prescribed by his doctor to help deal with the pain that he has to endure because of his condition, since a therapy that consists of traditional pain killers alone was not as effective.

Casias said in the article, though, that he did not use marijuana while on duty and did not go to work high. Still, one morning, he was suddenly called into the store manager’s office and was informed that he had been fired. Casias shared: “I never thought I would be terminated for this. At first I thought, ‘This wasn’t true. How could this be right?’”

Casias tested positive for the drug after suffering from a knee injury while on the job. A spokesperson for Wal-Mart, Greg Rossiter, said however that while the company was sympathetic to Casias’ condition, “we have to consider the overall safety of our customers and associates, including Mr. Casias, when making a difficult decision like this.”

At the same time, a spokesperson for the Department of Community Health of the State of Michigan, James McCurtis, said that a person who has a medical marijuana card and uses the drug for medical purposes should not be discriminated.

Pregnancy involves taking a lot of things into consideration. There are several precautionary measures that expectant mothers need to do so that they can avoid potential pregnancy problems.

Healthy Diet

Eating right is always a must during pregnancy. Remember that, as a pregnant woman, you now eat for 2 — yourself and your baby. So, eat the right kind of food with the adequate amounts of minerals and vitamins. It is very crucial that a healthy and well-balanced diet is maintained. Eat a good portion of fruits and vegetables rich in vitamins and fiber and enjoy a good source of calcium like milk. Foods that contain starch like potatoes, whole grain cereals, pasta and breads should be included as well as protein rich sources like lean meat and fish.

Folic Acid Supplement

Folic acid is one of the most important vitamins that should be taken by pregnant women. Folic acid is necessary to synthesize, repair and methylate DNA. It also crucial in the development of healthy red blood cells. Folic acid is also an important ingredient in the development of the baby’s neural spine and brain. Folic acid can also be found in foods like broccoli, peas and fortified breakfast cereals.

Stop Smoking, Alcohol and Drugs

Smoking, alcohol and drugs are three of the main causes of birth defects and infertility. Studies have found that a fair percentage of pregnant women smoke, drink and take drugs, causing serious side effects to the baby, including mental retardation.

After a long denial of steroid use Mark McGwire admits that he used these performance enhancing drugs during the 1998 season that made him a household hero for many baseball fans and reignited America’s interest in baseball. The record season with 70 home runs caused his fans to stand by him even after rumors roared to the effect vehemently denying he had ever used them. Now those fans can only shake their heads. The record breaking hitter is now facing his mistakes with frank honesty and a clear interest in moving on.

Having admitted that he used steroids during his best season he went on to admit that in fact the use had been going on nearly the entirety of his career in baseball which began in 1989 until 1999 a few short years before he retired abruptly. McGwire is one of only 5 stars that have owned up to their use since the 2003 drug testing record fiasco raised questions about how many professional players were pumping up to be successful. And by many accounts his admission is likely to be the most pivotal in repairing the damage done by performance enhancing drugs to the game and the nation’s faith in its heroes.

As much as his admission is likely to cost him McGwire is standing by the admission and it seems that it’s gaining him some ground despite the negative influence his mistakes have likely had on the sport. The commissioner has already given him permission to go back to playing.

The age of a patient suffering from colon cancer is a likely factor in the chemotherapy, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and reported in an article on Reuters.

According to the study, while older patients who are suffering from colon cancer are not as likely to receive chemotherapy after undergoing surgery when compared to younger patients, they tend to suffer from fewer side effects when they do get treatment.

Dr. Robert Fletcher of Harvard Medical School said that despite the fact that clinical trials have indicated that surgery augmented by chemotherapy helps patients live longer when compared to treatment that consists of surgery alone, this is not an option that is usually open to the elderly. Dr. Fletcher adds: “One of the main reasons people shy away from giving these drugs to older patients is that they might have more adverse events and we saw no evidence … that there was an increase in those adverse events.”

The study was conducted by Dr. Katherine Kahn of RAND Corporation and her colleagues, and involved the analysis of the use of chemotherapy as well as its side effects by age. The researchers looked at data from 675 patients, whose progress they followed through for up to 15 months since their diagnosis.

The results indicated that 75% of the patients received chemotherapy after surgery, but only half of 202 patients aged 75 and older were given chemotherapy compared to 87% for younger patients. Adverse side effects, however, were lower among older patients than among the younger patients.

According to the European Food Safety Authority flavoring used in cheese, meat and fish to give it a smoky flavor could in fact be toxic. AM01 (one of these smoke flavorings) may be toxic to humans if consumed in large amounts. 11 other smoke flavorings used in cheese, meat, fish, soups, cereals and spices, were released with most giving no cause for concern. When tested on animals AM01 however, caused changes to the blood and made young animals gain weight at a slower rate than normal.

Translated to humans, a person would have to consume around 20 times the normal amount of foods containing the chemical every day to ingest enough AM01 to cause any ill effects. More information and more testing on the chemical (which is obtained from beech wood and is used as an alternative to traditional smoking) was asked for by the EFSA.

“The Panel based its conclusions on the limited data which are currently available as well as conservative – or cautious – intake estimates. The Panel expressed safety concerns for several smoke flavorings where intake levels could be relatively close to the levels which may cause negative health effects. However, this does not necessarily mean that people consuming these products will be at risk as, in order to be on the safe side, the consumption estimates deliberately overestimate intake levels.”  Said Klaus-Dieter Jany, chairman of EFSA’s expert Panel on flavorings.

Food labels mention only if flavorings or smoke flavorings have been used and do not specify which chemical has been added.