"Legal Weed" is Now Banned

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - An herbal mixture called "synthetic marijuana" because it gives a marijuana-like high when smoked is being banned in Louisiana.

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http://www.klfy.com/Global/story.asp?S=12713138

Is There a Such Thing As Safe Tobacco?

The adverse health effects of tobacco use are well known, yet many people do not want to quit or have difficulty quitting. As a result, there has been a recent surge in the development of tobacco products that claim to reduce exposure to harmful tobacco constituents or to have fewer health risks than conventional products. These “potentially reduced exposure products” (or PREPs), which include cigarettes and smokeless tobacco (e.g., snuff, tobacco lozenges), have not yet been evaluated sufficiently to determine whether they are indeed associated with reduced risk of disease. Recent studies indicate that the levels of carcinogens in these PREPs range from relatively low to comparable to conventional tobacco products. These studies conclude that medicinal nicotine (found in the nicotine patch and gum) is a safer alternative than these modified tobacco products.

http://www.drugabuse.gov/researchreports/nicotine/Nicotine3.html#safe

Nicotine: Is It Addictive?

Yes.

Most smokers use tobacco regularly because they are addicted to nicotine. Addiction is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, even in the face of negative health consequences. It is well documented that most smokers identify tobacco use as harmful and express a desire to reduce or stop using it, and nearly 35 million of them want to quit each year. Unfortunately, only about 6 percent of people who try to quit are successful for more than a month.

Research has shown how nicotine acts on the brain to produce a number of effects. Of primary importance to its addictive nature are findings that nicotine activates reward pathways—the brain circuitry that regulates feelings of pleasure. A key brain chemical involved in mediating the desire to consume drugs is the neurotransmitter dopamine, and research has shown that nicotine increases levels of dopamine in the reward circuits. This reaction is similar to that seen with other drugs of abuse, and is thought to underlie the pleasurable sensations experienced by many smokers. Nicotine’s pharmacokinetic properties also enhance its abuse potential. Cigarette smoking produces a rapid distribution of nicotine to the brain, with drug levels peaking within 10 seconds of inhalation. However, the acute effects of nicotine dissipate in a few minutes, as do the associated feelings of reward, which causes the smoker to continue dosing to maintain the drug’s pleasurable effects and prevent withdrawal.

Nicotine withdrawal symptoms include irritability, craving, cognitive and attentional deficits, sleep disturbances, and increased appetite. These symptoms may begin within a few hours after the last cigarette, quickly driving people back to tobacco use. Symptoms peak within the first few days of smoking cessation and may subside within a few weeks. For some people, however, symptoms may persist for months.

While withdrawal is related to the pharmacological effects of nicotine, many behavioral factors can also affect the severity of withdrawal symptoms. For some people, the feel, smell, and sight of a cigarette and the ritual of obtaining, handling, lighting, and smoking the cigarette are all associated with the pleasurable effects of smoking and can make withdrawal or craving worse. While nicotine gum and patches may alleviate the pharmacological aspects of withdrawal, cravings often persist. Other forms of nicotine replacement, such as inhalers, attempt to address some of these other issues, while behavioral therapies can help smokers identify environmental triggers of withdrawal and craving so they can employ strategies to prevent or circumvent these symptoms and urges.

http://www.drugabuse.gov/researchreports/nicotine/nicotine2.html#deliver

Smokeless Tobacco: Q & A

Q: How is chewing tobacco packaged?
A: Chewing tobacco comes in the form of loose leaf, plug, or twist.

Q: What is snuff?
A: Snuff is finely ground tobacco that can be dry, moist, or in sachets (tea bag-like pouches). It is more concentrated than chewing tobacco.

Q: Is smokeless tobacco safer than cigarettes?
A: Not necessarily. Smokeless tobacco contains 28 cancer-causing agents (carcinogens). It is a known cause of cancer, as it increases the risk of developing cancer of the oral cavity.

Q: Can you get addicted to smokeless tobacco?
A: Smokeless tobacco use can lead to nicotine addiction and dependence.

Q: Can using smokeless tobacco lead to cigarette use?
A: Adolescents who use smokeless tobacco are more likely to become cigarette smokers.

Q: What are some oral health problems associated with smokeless tobacco use?
A: Leukoplakia (a lesion of the soft tissue that consists of a white patch or plaque that cannot be scraped off) and recession of the gums.

(www.cdc.gov)

Tobacco: The Innocent Victims

• Secondhand smoke is a complex mixture of gases and particles that includes smoke from the burning cigarette, cigar, or pipe tip (sidestream smoke) and exhaled mainstream smoke.
• Secondhand smoke contains at least 250 chemicals known to be toxic, including more than 50 that can cause cancer.
• Secondhand smoke exposure causes heart disease and lung cancer in nonsmoking adults.
• Breathing secondhand smoke has immediate harmful effects on the cardiovascular system that can increase the risk of heart attack.
• The California Environmental Protection Agency estimates that secondhand smoke exposure causes approximately 3,400 lung cancer deaths and 22,700–69,600 heart disease deaths annually among adult nonsmokers in the United States.
• Secondhand smoke exposure causes respiratory symptoms in children and slows their lung growth.

(www.cdc.gov)

Tobacco and Your Health

The Statistics

1. The adverse health effects from cigarette smoking account for an estimated 438,000 deaths, or nearly 1 of every 5 deaths, each year in the United States.
2. More deaths are caused each year by tobacco use than by all deaths from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), illegal drug use, alcohol use, motor vehicle injuries, suicides, and murders combined.
3. Smoking causes cancers of the bladder, oral cavity, pharynx, larynx (voice box), esophagus, cervix, kidney, lung, pancreas, and stomach, and causes acute myeloid leukemia.
4. Smoking causes coronary heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States.
5. Cigarette smoking approximately doubles a person’s risk for stroke.
6. Cigarette smoking has many adverse reproductive and early childhood effects, including an increased risk for infertility, preterm delivery, stillbirth, low birth weight, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
7. Smoking causes about 90% of lung cancer deaths in women and almost 80% of lung cancer deaths in men. The risk of dying from lung cancer is more than 23 times higher among men who smoke cigarettes, and about 13 times higher among women who smoke cigarettes compared with never smokers.

(www.cdc.gov)

Tobacco: Is It NCAA Banned?

NCAA RULING ON TOBACCO

Bylaw 11.1.5: The use of tobacco products is prohibited by all game personnel (coaches, trainers, managers and game officials) in all sports during practice and competition. Uniform penalties shall be established for each use.

Bylaw 17.1.8: The use of tobacco products by a student-athlete is prohibited during practice and competition. A student-athlete who uses tobacco products during practice or competition shall be disqualified for the remainder of the practice or competition.