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Published: 01 December 2021

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(Vaping linked to dysregulation of mitochondrial genes and immune response genes)

Nov 24 2021

Since they hit the market, e-cigarettes have been touted as a safe alternative to tobacco cigarettes for adult smokers. When research began to suggest otherwise, many questioned whether smoking was still to blame for adverse effects, since most vapers are either "dual users" who also smoke cigarettes or have a prior history of smoking.

Now, a team of researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of USC has demonstrated that - independent of the effects of prior smoking – using e-cigarettes is linked to adverse biological changes that can cause disease. The study, published in Scientific Reports, revealed that vapers experience a similar pattern of changes to gene regulation as smokers do, although the changes are more extensive in people who smoke.

Our study, for the first time, investigates the biological effects of vaping in adult e-cigarette users, while simultaneously accounting for their past smoking exposure. Our data indicate that vaping, much like smoking, is associated with dysregulation of mitochondrial genes and disruption of molecular pathways involved in immunity and the inflammatory response, which govern health versus disease state."

Ahmad Besaratinia, PhD, corresponding author and professor of research population and public health sciences at the Keck School of Medicine

"We found that more than 80% of gene dysregulation in vapers correlated with the intensity and duration of current vaping," said Besaratinia. "Whereas none of the detected gene dysregulation in vapers correlated to their prior smoking intensity or duration."

Effects of vaping mirror those of smoking

In previous research, Besaratinia and his team have shown that e-cigarette users develop some of the same cancer-related molecular changes in oral tissue as cigarette smokers. They also discovered vapers had the same kind of cancer-linked chemical changes to their genome as smokers.

In this study, they found that, in both vapers and smokers, mitochondrial genes are preferential targets of gene dysregulation. They also found that vapers and smokers had significant dysregulation of immune response genes.

Besaratinia says the findings are not only novel and significant, but they are also interrelated, since growing evidence shows that mitochondria play a critical role in immunity and inflammation.

"When mitochondria become dysfunctional, they release key molecules," said Besaratinia. "The released molecules can function as signals for the immune system, triggering an immune response that leads to inflammation, which is not only important for maintaining health but also plays a critical role in the development of various diseases, such as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, metabolic diseases, and cancer."

"Given the popularity of e-cigarettes among young never-smokers, our findings will be of importance to the regulatory agencies," said Besaratinia. "To protect public health, these agencies are in urgent need of scientific evidence to inform the regulation of the manufacture, distribution, and marketing of e-cigarettes."

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Published: 01 December 2021

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When you use street or club drugs, you’re taking a lot of risks. The drugs are dangerous, and usually there’s no way to know how strong they are or what else may be in them. It's even more unsafe to use them along with other substances like alcohol and marijuana.

Here's a rundown of common street drugs and the health threats they can pose.

Bath Salts – Cocaine – Ecstasy – Flakka – Heroin – Krokadil – LSD – Marijuana – ICE – Mushrooms – Salvia – Spice

Bath Salts

These designer drugs came on the scene fairly recently and became popular fast. That may be because they were easy to get and used to be hard to detect in drug tests.

They're highly addictive, and they come in a crystalline powder that users swallow, inhale, or inject.

Despite their name, bath salts have nothing in common with products you can use for a soak in the tub.

What else they’re called: Plant Food, Bloom, Cloud Nine, Ivory Wave, Lunar Wave, Scarface, Vanilla Sky, or White Lightning.

What type of drug is it? Bath salts contain manmade stimulants called cathinones, which are similar to amphetamines.

What are the effects? These stimulants increase levels of dopamine, a brain chemical that can create feelings of euphoria.

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Published: 26 October 2021

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Significant changes include:

• The per cent reporting any use of cocaine in the past six months increased significantly from 68 per cent in 2020 to 80 per cent in 2021, the highest per cent observed since monitoring began, although frequency of use remains low.
• The per cent reporting any use of ecstasy capsules in the past six months declined significantly in 2021 (from 83 per cent in 2020 to 70 per cent in 2021), as did the per cent reporting use of ecstasy pills (53 per cent in 2020 to 42 per cent in 2021) and ecstasy powder (35 per cent in 202 to 26 per cent in 2021). The price of all forms of ecstasy significantly increased in 2021, and there were significant declines in the perceived purity and availability of ecstasy capsules and crystal, suggesting a disruption to the MDMA market compared to 2020.
• The per cent reporting use of ketamine in the past six months significantly increased from 43 per cent in 2020 to 52 per cent in 2021, representing the largest per cent reporting recent use since monitoring began. Frequency of use, however, remained low and stable at a median of three days in the past six months.
• Reported recent use of non-prescribed pharmaceutical stimulants significantly increased from 39 per cent in 2020 to 46 per cent in 2021, as did the per cent reporting any recent hallucinogenic mushroom use (30 per cent in 2020 to 45 per cent in 2021), although frequency of use remained low for both.
• Almost three-fifths (58 per cent) of the national sample reported any e-cigarette use in the six months preceding interview, a significant increase from 39 per cent in 2020. Frequency of use also increased, from a median of 7 days in 2020 to 30 days in 2021

(Dalgarno Institute Comment: It is interesting to note that even in this snapshot of the data that, from where we sit, the substances that have received ‘positive’ press, or little attention in the marketplace have increased in use. However, the substances that have had some negative focus, and restrictions placed on use ‘opportunities’, due to the pandemic (i.e. ecstasy at non-existent music festivals) have declined. Of course, interrogating the data requires more than an anecdotal swipe, but it remains an observational reality, none-the-less. Permission models continue to drive demand and extinction focused vehicles, when given even part sway, can shift demand down)

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Published: 26 October 2021

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Prevalence of Adolescent Cannabis Vaping: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of US and Canadian Studies.

JAMA Pediatr. Published online October 25, 2021. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.4102

Key Points

Question:  What is the prevalence of adolescent cannabis vaping in the US and Canada?

Findings:  This systematic review and meta-analysis reviewed 17 unique studies from the US and Canada, with a total of 198 845 adolescents, and found that the lifetime prevalence of cannabis vaping doubled from 2013 to 2020 (6.1% to 13.6%), past 12-month use doubled from 2017 to 2020 (7.2% to 13.2%), and the 30-day prevalence of cannabis vaping increased 7-fold from 2013 to 2020 (1.6% to 8.4%). Preference for cannabis products may be shifting from dried herb to cannabis oil.

Meaning:  The findings of this study suggest that more effective prevention and response measures are required to mitigate the increasing prevalence of cannabis vaping among adolescents.

Abstract

Importance:  Vaping products were initially designed to deliver nicotine as a tobacco cigarette substitute (eg, electronic cigarettes) but are now frequently used to deliver psychoactive substances, such as cannabis and its derivatives. Large, nationally representative surveys, such as Monitoring the Future, found that approximately 1 in 3 grade-12 students vaped cannabis in 2018 alone.

Objective:  To summarize the findings of epidemiological studies that reported the global prevalence of cannabis vaping in adolescents by survey year and school grades.

Main Outcomes and Measures:  Prevalence of cannabis vaping.

Results:  Seventeen studies met the eligibility criteria (n = 198 845 adolescents). Although no restrictions were imposed on study location, all 17 studies were from the US and Canada. Across all school grades, the pooled prevalence increased for lifetime use (6.1% in 2013-2016 to 13.6% in 2019-2020), use in the past 12 months (7.2% in 2017-2018 to 13.2% in 2019-2020), and use in the past 30 days (1.6% in 2013-2016 to 8.4% in 2019-2020). Heterogeneity across studies was large. The limited evidence from studies using similar survey and study designs suggested that adolescents’ preference for cannabis products other than dried herbs, which usually contain higher Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol levels, may have shifted over time.

Conclusions and Relevance:  The findings of this study suggest that the prevalence of cannabis vaping has increased among adolescents in the US and Canada and that more effective preventive and response measures are required.

(Dalgarno Institute Comment – Again, a ‘harm reduction’ product that not only ‘isn’t’, yet one that is easily hijacked by pro-drug actors to enable and equip illicit drug use, and most tragically, among the now ‘propagandized’ young.)

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