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E-cigarette use raises heart failure risk by 19%
More than 64 million people around the world are affected by heart failure.
Heart failure can occur if the heart muscle is damaged in some way, such as through disease, high blood pressure, or cigarette smoking.
A new study from researchers at MedStar Health says people who use e-cigarettes have a much higher risk of developing heart failure compared to those who have never vaped.
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Background: Resurgent psychedelic research has largely supported the safety and efficacy of psychedelic therapy for the treatment of various psychiatric disorders. As psychedelic use and therapy increase in prevalence, so does the importance of understanding associated risks. Cases of prolonged negative psychological responses to psychedelic therapy seem to be rare; however, studies are limited by biases and small sample sizes. The current analytical approach was motivated by the question of whether rare but significant adverse effects have been under-sampled in psychedelic research studies.
Results: We find that 16% of the cohort falls into the “negative responder” subset. Parsing the sample by self-reported history of psychiatric diagnoses, results revealed a disproportionate prevalence of negative responses among those reporting a prior personality disorder diagnosis (31%). One multivariate regression model indicated a greater than four-fold elevated risk of adverse psychological responses to psychedelics in the personality disorder subsample (b = 1.425, p < 0.05).
Conclusion: We infer that the presence of a personality disorder may represent an elevated risk for psychedelic use and hypothesize that the importance of psychological support and good therapeutic alliance may be increased in this population.
(Source: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10.1177/02698811241232548 )
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Australian Children presenting with 'significant symptoms of withdrawal' as vaping rates rise among under 25’s Australia"Vaping I would say is definitely more addictive [than smoking] because of the ease of access"…"You can vape anywhere, so you can be lying in bed at night, and you can fall asleep with it in your mouth like a pacifier for a baby." (Source: ABC News March 2024)
Public Health Consequences of E-Cigarettes – Harm Reduction or?
Although e-cigarette use might cause youth to transition to combustible tobacco products, it might also increase adult cessation of combustible tobacco cigarettes. The net public health effect, harm or benefit, of e-cigarettes depends on three factors: their effect on youth initiation of combustible tobacco products, their effect on adult cessation of combustible tobacco products, and their intrinsic toxicity. If e-cigarette use by adult smokers leads to long-term abstinence from combustible tobacco cigarettes, the benefit to public health could be considerable. Without that health benefit for adult smokers, e-cigarette use could cause considerable harm to public health in the short and long term due both to the inherent harms of exposure to e-cigarette toxicants and to the harms related to subsequent combustible tobacco use by those who begin using e-cigarettes in their youth. Source: N.I.H National Library of Medicine
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Vaping has become one of the most popular forms of substance use among young people, despite growing evidence of its health risks and harms. Vaping is the act of inhaling and exhaling the aerosol produced when using an electronic vapor device. Typically, the ingredients include nicotine, flavourings and other chemicals, many of which are toxic. Some vaping products contain marijuana or other drugs. As parents and caregivers, we want to do all that we can to protect our children from the negative effects that vaping can have on a young person’s developing brain. Whether a child has not yet tried vaping, has already begun to vape or vapes regularly, this guide can help you. We break down what vaping is, why it appeals to youth, what the health risks are and what you can do to protect young people from its harms.
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Trip-killers: a concerning practice associated with psychedelic drug use
Psychedelic drugs such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and psilocybin (‘magic mushrooms’) induce hallucinations and distort thought-processes. The intensity of a psychedelic ‘trip’ can cause distress, agitation, and even psychosis. A recent report showed that at least 8.4% of drug-related presentations to European emergency departments involve psychedelics. This proportion may increase as the clinical use of these agents expands.
There are multiple ways to control a ‘bad trip’ and avoid hospitalisation. One is to take psychedelics under the supervision of a ‘trip-sitter’—a non-intoxicated friend who can provide psychological support. Another is to use additional psychoactive drugs—‘trip-killers’—to attenuate or prematurely end the psychedelic experience. Trip-killers are not new, but have received increased attention on social media in recent years.