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Start smoking – lead to e-cigarette use! Start vaping – lead to smoking! #quit
Conclusion Our study replicated the positive relation between e-cigarette use and tobacco smoking in both directions for adolescents. This may mean that the gateway works in two directions, that e-cigarette and tobacco use share common risk factors, or that both mechanisms apply.
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A new study by Portland State University… found that the toxic gas known as ketene is released when cannabinoid acetates are heated under vaping conditions. Ketene was found previously by researchers studying vitamin E acetate in 2019 in the emissions from a commercial e-cigarette. This led to ketene's identification as a possible source of the vaping-induced lung injury outbreak that led to nearly 3,000 hospitalizations and deaths in the U.S. as of February 2020. While ketene is known to be toxic to humans, Researchers said “it's too dangerous to study in order to fully understand its impact on the human body.”
The acetate group used in products, like Delta 8, make it easier to cross the blood-brain barrier, enhancing potency, Strongin said. The chemical reaction is similar to how morphine becomes heroin, he added. Strongin hopes to work with regulatory agencies to alert consumers and regulators about this finding.
The study provides results based on one puff, which showed not only that ketene formed at lower temperature settings than previously thought but at levels that are known to be dangerous to an individual's health.
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Although vaping is relatively new and studies are limited, some research suggests that it may worsen GERD symptoms. Nicotine and other chemicals in e-cigarettes may cause inflammation and affect the function of the valve that prevents stomach acid from rising into the esophagus. The authors suggest that vaping may cause mucosal injury, oxidative stress, and DNA damage. In addition, they note that the inconsistent regulation of e-cigarettes can result in people inhaling unknown chemicals and toxins.
What is the relationship between vaping and GERD? (medicalnewstoday.com)
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The importance of non-targeted testing to keep pace with a rapidly evolving synthetic opioid market.
The synthetic opioid market…is constantly evolving. Once a new substance is identified, it may only be prevalent for three to six months before it’s replaced by something new and yet to be identified by forensic laboratories.
For example, over one weekend in July 2018, Philadelphia-area hospitals experienced a surge of more than 100 patients with suspected opioid overdoses. Following the administration of naloxone, patients would become combative – an unusual reaction for an opioid overdose.
To help local public health and public safety agencies identify what was causing this troubling trend, the NPS Discovery drug early warning system at the Center for Forensic Science Research and Education (CFSRE) acquired a sample of “Santa Muerte,” the drug linked to the large number of overdoses. Advanced mass spectrometry analysis found within the sample a combination of fentanyl, heroin, and a synthetic cannabinoid – a combination not often seen in the region. Given the unique side effects that overdose patients were experiencing, it was thought this may be a synthetic drug combination worth tracking closely.
However, substances containing fentanyl and synthetic cannabinoids did not last long and were only a fraction of the whole drug supply in the region. After about six to nine months following the July overdoses involving “Santa Muerte,” these substances were largely replaced by new synthetic drug products, primarily fentanyl cut with xylazine.
For complete article Novel Psychoactive Substances and a Stronger Path Forward | National Institute of Justice (ojp.gov)
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Frequency of adolescent cannabis smoking and vaping in the United States: Trends, disparities and concurrent substance use, 2017–19 - Cannabis use without vaping appears to be declining among adolescents in the United States, while cannabis use with vaping is accelerating; frequent cannabis vaping is especially increasing, with consistent increases across almost all adolescent demographic groups. Cannabis use among US adolescents remains highly associated with other substance use.