UnVaping: A New Ban Treats E-Cigs the Same as Tobacco. Are They?

Even though science has yet to pass judgement on e-cigarettes, states have started restricting vaping like smoking.

take it outside Shutterstock


By Sarah Peters

03/17/14



Are E-Cigarettes the Solution?
Candy-Flavored E-Cigs Highly Appealing to Teenagers
As FDA Steps Aside, Will E-Cigarettes Conquer the Market?
My Acceptable E-Cigarette Addiction


Electronic cigarette smokers will soon find themselves cast outside with the tobacco smokers when an ordinance approved by Los Angeles city council members goes into effect. Lawmakers voted February 4th to include e-cigarettes under the same set of restrictions that prohibit tobacco products from restaurants, workplaces, bars and other shared areas like parks and beaches. Vaping stores and lounges are exempt. The ordinance, which received Mayor Eric Garcetti's signature, will go into effect April 19th.

While the vote by councilmembers was unanimous, the arguments for and against the ban were less clear-cut.

Science has yet to endorse a definitive winner in the debate over whether or not vaping is a safe health practice—and has less information still on whether or not second-hand vaping poses significant health risks. Both sides agree that no one has all the information yet, not even the Federal Food and Drug Administration, which has been investigating e-cigarettes for about two years without issuing a set of regulations.


The right thing to do in the absence of certainty is to protect the public’s health, because many thousands of lives could be lost while you’re trying to figure something out.

“The problem with e-cigarettes is that the rise in these cigarettes has been so rapid and the popularity has spread like wildfire, that there has not been enough time for all the scientific evidence to be available at the level that usually, at a scientific perspective, is required,” said Lourdes Baezconde-Garbanati, an associate professor at the USC Keck School of Medicine.

Due to lack of regulation, there is no one set standard for e-cigarette production. As such, e-cigarettes vary widely in what ingredients they contain, the potency of those ingredients and their effectiveness. All this variation has lead to some scientific studies contradicting other scientific studies.

“It’s not that we don’t have scientific evidence, it’s that we don’t have the level of certainty that is usually required from a scientific perspective,” Baezconde-Garbanati continued. “However, we do have very sound scientific studies that are linking these cigarettes and the aerosol emissions, that contain a variety of harmful chemicals, to [health risks].”

The liquid cartridges and vapor contain chemicals that are shown to cause eye and throat irritation and damage to the respiratory track, among other potential issues, she said.

In the last few years, there have also been emergency room reports of nicotine poisoning in children as a result of contact with the e-liquid or vapor, she added.

“This is not the same vapor that comes from your teakettle,” Baezconde-Garbanati said.

NOT JUST WATER VAPOR

E-cigarettes have risen in popularity due much in part to the claims of manufacturers that they are a healthy alternative to combustible cigarettes, featuring no tar or tobacco, less nicotine and don’t emit smoke.

“Safer does not mean safe,” said Director of Los Angeles County Department of Public HealthJonathan Fielding at the council meeting. “Although they are less harmful than cigarettes, some e-cigarettes may present health risks.”

Studies of the e-liquid and the vapor produced through the atomizing process show that some e-cigarettes contain not just nicotine, but also chemicals, heavy metals and food additives, he said.

Toxins such as formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and acrolein; metals such as tin, silver, iron, nickel aluminum, sodium, chromium, copper, magnesium, manganese, lead, potassium and silicate nanoparticles; and carcinogenic compounds found in tobacco and tobacco smoke have all been found in e-cigarettes, according to information provided by Baezconde-Garbanati.

The propylene glycol and glycerin found standard in e-cigarettes and used to create the vapor have both been approved by the FDA for ingestion, but little is known about the effects of repeat or long-term inhaling, Fielding said.

“Since many of these chemicals are efficiently absorbed into the bloodstream from the lungs, they present health risks to the users as well as the nonusers exposed to the vapor,” Fielding said. “Second-hand vapor contains particulate matter that may trigger asthma and make the eyes, nose and respiratory track irritated. People in enclosed spaces simply should not be subjected to these risks.”

VAPING'S POTENTIAL WIDESPREAD EFFECTS

The discussion around e-cigarettes and their impact on public health doesn’t revolve solely around their chemical composition. Proponents of the ban on e-cigarettes point to use among adolescents, which has risen significantly over the last several years.

In a survey of middle school and high school students, use of e-cigarettes doubled from 4.7 percent in 2011 to 10.0 percent in 2012, according to information collected by the National Youth and Tobacco Survey and published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Additionally, the survey found that more than 75 percent of those who reported having used an e-cigarette had also smoked a traditional cigarette, prompting concern from health officials that e-cigarettes can act as an introduction to combustible cigarettes and result in dual use of both products.

“[Tobacco companies] glamorize the use of e-cigarettes with celebrity spokespeople and other marketing strategies,” Fielding said. “This enhances the use of these cigarettes as a gateway to traditional cigarette use, particularly among the most impressionable [populations] which are our youth.”

While marketed as a smoking cessation device, research shows that most people use e-cigarettes and combustible cigarettes in tandem, oft times leading to an even longer period of traditional cigarette use before the person quits, Fielding said.

E-cigarette manufacturers have marketed dual use of the products as an acceptable practice, he said.

“This threatens to undermine decades of work to protect the public by re-normalizing smoking,” Fielding said. “This societal norm has helped keep children from beginning smoking and helped adults make quit attempts.”

UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES

Opponents of restrictions on e-cigarettes reject the idea that the electronic devices will somehow revive combustible cigarette culture.

“E-cigarettes do not re-normalize smoking; they normalize not smoking,” said Jeff Stier, a senior fellow at the National Center for Public Policy Research, at the council meeting.

Many smokers have seen success quitting with help from e-cigarettes and putting vapers in with the smoking crowd could threaten those successes, he said.

“[As an example], you have a smoker who has quit smoking,” Stier said. “They’re at a bar and they want to use their vapor product and that is good news for public health. Without an amendment that would exempt bars, this law would require former smokers, which to me are champions, to go outside with the smokers—that’s nonsense.”

Stier asked that the city council move slowly in its actions because there may be unintended consequences of overly broad regulations.

“The precautionary principal applies to regulations as well,” Stier said. “Regulations should be narrowly tailored to achieve a public health goal and they shouldn’t do more harm than good.”

Former Surgeon General Richard Carmona is among those who are concerned that banning e-cigarettes could do more harm than good.

"A well-intentioned but scientifically unsupported effort like the current proposal could greatly impede the effort to defeat tobacco smoking," said Carmona in a letter he penned for the Los Angeles Daily News. "This regulation, if passed, would disincentivize smokers from switching to e-cigarettes, since many initially switch for reasons of convenience. It would also send the unintended message to smokers that e-cigarettes are as dangerous as tobacco smoking, with the result that many will simply continue to smoke their current toxic products."

Carmona disclosed that he recently joined the board of Scottsdale, Ariz.-based e-cigarette maker NJOY in the letter.

PRECAUTION IN THE ABSENCE OF CERTAINTY

More than 40 cities within California already have varying ordinances that prohibit vaping in places such as restaurants, bars, parks, and at public events, according to the American Lung Association.

Culver City, Hawthorne, Baldwin Park, South Pasadena and Inglewood are a just a few of the cities in addition to Los Angeles which already bar vaping from some indoor and outdoor areas, as shown in agraph created by the California chapter of the association.

Once the ordinance goes into effect, Los Angeles joins New York and Chicago as a growing group of major cities that are placing regulations on e-cigarettes, an industry with sales that exceeded $1.5 billion last year, according to Bloomberg Businessweek.

Those sales are only expected to grow as the continued popularity of e-cigarettes rise.

That rising popularity is the reason why lawmakers need to act now, even though the FDA has not yet issued a set of regulations, Baezconde-Garbanati said.

“The problem is that although there may be potential for harm reduction in the sense that many people may quit [smoking by] using an e-cigarette, at the same time, the potential exposure of the aerosol is harmful enough that it is a major concern to the public health community,” Baezconde-Garbanati said.

Although scientist have yet to conclusively determine just how dangerous e-cigarettes are, enough studies have shown that some level of danger does indeed exist and thus warrants caution on the side of health officials, she explained.

“Therefore, the right thing to do in the absence of certainty is to protect the public’s health, because many thousands of lives could be lost while you’re trying to figure something out,” Baezconde-Garbanati said.

While the long-term effects of e-cigarettes remain unknown, about 500,000 tobacco-related deaths occur in the U.S. each year, according to the American Lung Association.

Sarah Peters is a regular contributor to The Fix. She last wrote about apps for recovery.

TAGS:
e cigarettes
vaporizers
law
politics
bans
Regulation
Features
Sarah Peters

Brain Restoration: ‘Too Good To Be True’ for Addiction and Disease?

Could megadoses of energy-giving NAD—which allegedly relieves withdrawal symptoms, flushes out stored drugs in the body and replenishes balance in the brain—really be the cure-all for addiction as well as many other diseases and mental health disorders?

Shutterstock

By Royce Amy Morales

03/20/14

Share on facebookShare on twitter|More Sharing ServicesShare

When Paul decided again it was time to do something about his drug addiction, he knew the usual routes wouldn’t work. While using a variety of substances for at least two-thirds of his life – injecting heroin in the last 20 years of it - he also became a veteran of just about every traditional rehab/detox program in the book. Twelve to be exact; with no permanent results or positive outcomes to speak of.

Hearing the remarkable claims from a Brain Restoration Therapy outpatient clinic immediately sent him into skeptic mode: This is too good to be true. How can I kick drugs with just an infusion of some concoction? What about withdrawal? Side effects? And, if it really works, will it last? Sounded far too simple for this jaded, somewhat cynical, pushing-60 drug addict.

Figuring he had nothing to lose, he called and arranged a free consultation. After listening to details of their success rate and impressed with assertions of little or no withdrawal symptoms, he signed up for the treatment - albeit with some reluctance. His wife’s divorce threat had something to do with enrolling, but it was more about life hitting bottom one more time.

Groggily arriving at the crack of 9 am the next day, a warmly friendly nurse in navy blue scrubs hooked him up to an IV. Told that all he needed to do was relax, he settled into the oversize leather lounge chair. If nothing else he’d be able to listen to music, watch a few videos, and read a bit, he thought. Observing the slow drip of clear liquid entering his veins, he listlessly wondered what he would do next if this latest treatment failed.

At the end of the first eight-hour treatment, Paul says he already felt different. He couldn’t quite explain it, he recalls, but his mind was clearer. He felt energized. More alive. And definitely more present.

Returning daily for nine more treatments, he noticed a growing list of undeniable and rather dramatic changes. His outlook was more positive and he was optimistically able to imagine a future for himself, one he’d stopped envisioning years ago. His mind was as sharp as it had been prior to years of drug use.

The best part, he says, true to the claims, there were few or no withdrawal symptoms therefore no need for a replacement drug to get him through yet another grueling detox. He also realized he had no cravings, the primary cause of his continued bouts of relapse. His disbelief completely gone, he recalls, he concluded he was drug free.

But would it last?

Ann Rodgers, the Director of Brain Restoration Therapy, meets me at the door of the Center for Health and Wellbeing in San Diego, CA., where the clinic operates under medical supervision. It’s difficult to not get caught up in her animated explanation of the benefits of this program. “The treatment utilizes a megadose of NAD [Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide is a co-enzyme of niacin that is the key fuel for energy production in every cell of the body] in an IV form, and it’s clinically proven with a 90% no-craving statistic,” she excitedly offers.

Listening quietly as she rapidly fires glowing statistics in my direction, my skeptical mind revs into full gear. “With literally no reported side-effects," she says, “the protocol reduces withdrawal symptoms by 70-80% without using replacement drugs, and restores the patient's clarity and well-being to pre-use levels. Six to ten days of treatment is like a seven or eight month jump-start to recovery.” All this expounded with the tone of a bragging parent.

Rodgers tells me that although relatively new to America, NAD treatment has been successfully used in South Africa since 1961, with centers there reporting more than 22,000 people treated. [Rodgers could not provide any research report from South Africa to confirm this, only a report from individual clinicians who treated patients with NAD. Separately, I could not confirm the 22,000 figure.]

The first NAD clinic to open in the States was in Springfield, Louisiana, founded by psychotherapist Paula Mestayer, M.Ed, LPC, FAPA, along with her psychiatrist husband Richard. The couple discovered the treatment when their 16-year-old adopted daughter became addicted to alcohol and found her way into NAD treatment. Thrilled to see her positive results, they conducted their own research and in 2001, putting aside their cumulative years of treating addicts with therapy, they opened the Springfield Wellness Center on a private 500-acre estate. They claim to have treated more than 1,000 patients since then with NAD.

Springfield Wellness Center's ten day addiction detox, Mestayer asserts when I contact her, has been used successfully on people hooked on prescription drugs, alcohol, opiates, benzos, stimulants, cocaine, marijuana, suboxone, and methadone.

Mestayer noted in our interview that “like a thumb print, all brains are unique, so this protocol is more like an art than a science.” Each patient, she pointed out, responds differently to NAD, with one factor being their type of addiction. She therefore adjusts the dosage and prescribes booster NAD treatments when necessary, especially when a patient feels vulnerable or if any cravings return. “I always emphasize that there may be a period of time where they need maintenance, either by an occasional booster or other means of support. Some patients have gone nine years without needing a booster, but many do.” Mestayer generally prescribes oral NAD as a supplement to the IVs, on the grounds that the more NAD that builds up in an addict’s system, the less prone he or she is to succumbing to cravings

Mestayer emphasizes that the treatment is “not a cure, but rather maintenance,” and notes that it remains a mystery as to why NAD works more successfully on some addictions than others. “The highest success rate is on alcohol and opiate users,” she says. “The only failures are people who were using during the treatment or not committed to their maintenance.” Even so, she like Rodgers encourages all patients to seek therapy and support groups to address underlying psychological issues.

In California, I asked Rodgers if the treatment is just a substitute “high.” Rodgers countered with “it’s a state of well-being that allows the client to feel content with their life, so many don’t even consider going back to being an addict, no desire for that miserable life anymore. It’s as if they become themselves again, back to their natural state, seeing themselves as a different person, separate from being an addicted person. It’s not just a detox; it’s a total state of sobriety."

With only a handful of other U.S. clinics in existence, the technology has yet to become familiar to most of the recovery community. Even so, Ann Rodgers says she is certain that once knowledge of NAD spreads, it will be seen as a revolution in addiction treatment. “[Members of] the AA community have been resistant to it at first, but once they read the evidence and witness the results, they embrace it,” she claims.

Her San Diego clinic is modern, serenely comfortable and well-appointed. Located on the first floor of the larger health center, it’s been open for over three years and has treated nearly 40 patients. Rodgers recently opened another facility in Los Angeles, CA, at the Center for Optimum Health.

HOW THE TREATMENT WORKS

Dr. Janette Gray, a California licensed internist and a pioneer in combining allopathic and holistic medical approaches, is the center’s medical director. Board certified in Holistic Integrative Medicine, she worked for years in the prison system helping inmates get off drugs and has extensive experience with the agonies of drug withdrawal. “Seizures, nausea and vomiting, intense sweating and physical pain are standard, but that is greatly minimized with this program,” she tells me. “The most common withdrawal symptom is feeling a little bit flu-ish…[which] passes quickly.”

Gray rattles off to me a scientific explanation behind the BR treatment. The protocol, she says, employs a proprietary NAD formula administered by IV. NAD is an element that reacts with oxygen in the cell’s mitochondria in order to create energy for movement, breathing, heartbeat, blood pumping, digesting food, brain functions, and generally living life. It is available in low doses over the counter.

Studies have found that those with extremely low NAD levels (which can be present even at birth) are far more vulnerable to addiction as well as other diseases and to chronic physical conditions. There is a preponderance of low levels of NAD present in Western society as it is mostly lost in cooking and food processing. What little remains is broken down by stomach acid, degraded before it’s absorbed from the digestive tract.

When the clinic’s all-natural NAD is received directly through an IV, the nutrients bypass the stomach and go directly to the receptors in the brain, Gray tells me. According to Gray, this immediately produces palpable positive results as the nutrients bathe the brain in a continuous pool of natural and highly therapeutic co-enzymes.

Since NAD is a detoxifier, it takes days (rather than weeks or months), to flush out stored drugs from the body and its organs, replenish balance in the brain, and reverse damage. Results can be mental clarity, cognitive function increase, focus and concentration returns, more energy, better mood, positive outlook. And this happens cold turkey.

Authorities Issue Warning About Deadly Street Drug, Fentanyl

Posted: Mar 20, 2014 4:30 PM EDTUpdated: Mar 20, 2014 4:30 PM EDT

MEDIA, Pa. -

District Attorney Jack Whelan, Marcus Hook Police Chief John Ireland and the Delaware County Medical Examiner Dr. Fredric Hellman have issued a warning regarding Fentanyl, a deadly, synthetic opioid narcotic that has claimed the life of a Delaware County woman.

Delaware County Medical Examiner Dr. Fredric Hellman said toxicology results returned on March 19 indicated that the recent death of a 30-year-old Marcus Hook woman was the result of the intravenous administration of pure Fentanyl. The name on the packet is "Black Dahlia," and the substance was packaged in a blue glassine packet with red lettering. According to Dr. Hellman, this is the first case in 2014 involving a death from pure Fentanyl. Fentanyl can come in the form of powder, pill or patch and has been known to be snorted or injected into the bloodstream. Authorities are warning the community that the use of this lethal drug will result in death.

"These drugs are manufactured in clandestine labs by criminals, and every single packet has the potential to kill the user," warned District Attorney Jack Whelan. "Those who believe they are purchasing heroin end up with a much more dangerous drug that is 100 percent pure and, when ingested, rapidly shuts down the central drive for breathing, resulting in death."

The Delaware County Heroin Task Force continues its efforts to educate and prevent the use of heroin and abuse of prescription drugs. "We are moving forward on many fronts to combat the heroin epidemic that has plagued Delaware County," said District Attorney Jack Whelan, chairman of the Heroin Task Force. "We are determined to do everything possible to protect our children, our families and our communities from the devastating effects of drug addiction." For more information visit the Heroin Task Force website at www.co.delaware.pa.us.

Residents who have any information concerning illegal drugs should contact the Marcus Hook Police Department at 610-485-1611 or the Delaware County Criminal Investigation Division at 610-891-4700

Read more: http://www.myfoxphilly.com/story/25031311/authorities-issue-warning-about-deadly-street-drug-fentanyl#ixzz2wb1CqD59

MARCH 21 v 30 TWELVE STEPPING WITH POWER IN THE PROVERB

No human wisdom or understanding or plan

can stand against the Lord.

STEP 3 -Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood God.

Did you ever notice when in active addiction that everything in your life is falling apart . No matter how hard you try to make sense of the insanity that is your life you keep asking yourself what  am I doing wrong  ,well at least I did. I would always justify the insanity by lying to myself and convincing myself someone upstairs hates me or someone put a curse on me . Wow the excuses I had ! It took a lot of heartache , confusion , pain , and homelessness to hit the bottom. I am going to make this simple so you wont have to suffer as much as I did , and I hope you hear this message take it to heart so you wont lose it all like I did. Read the Proverb and commit step three , that's the answer ! You sincerely and whole heartily follow these two , God will Help and fix you ! 

Matthew chapter 10 v 38 - Those who do not take up their cross and follow in my STEPS are not fit to be my disciples .

Republicans Who Oppose Mandatory Minimum Sentences Say They’re Costly, Ineffective

By Join Together Staff | March 20, 2014 | Leave a comment | Filed in Drugs,Government, Legal & Legislation

Republicans, who have traditionally taken a tough approach on crime, are increasingly opposing mandatory minimum sentences, The New York Times reports. They see the sentences as ineffective, as well as too costly and punitive.

Fiscal conservatives are looking to save billions of dollars in the federal budget by closing prisons and releasing inmates who no longer appear to pose a threat to society. Religious conservatives view sentencing reform as a way to offer compassion and to reunite families.

Many Republicans and Democrats agree mandatory minimum sentences should be reduced, the newspaper notes. Attorney General Eric Holder is pushing to eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug crimes. He is joining with libertarian Republicans, including Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, in this effort.

Last week, Holder testified in favor of changing federal guidelines to reduce the average sentence for drug dealers. He told the United States Sentencing Commission the Obama Administration supports changing guidelines to reduce the average drug sentence by about one year, from 62 months to 51 months.

The proposed changes would reduce the federal prison population by about 6,550 inmates over the next five years. Currently, half of the 215,000 inmates in the federal prison system are serving time for drug crimes.

Republicans and Democrats in the Senate are discussing combining two bills on sentencing reform. One would give judges more leeway to depart from mandatory minimum sentences in lower-level drug cases, reduce mandatory sentences for other drug offenses, and make the 2010 law that reduced the disparity between cocaine and crack-cocaine sentences retroactive.

A second bill would establish a skills training and early release system for people who are incarcerated, but who are considered to be at low risk for committing another offense.

Teen Inhalant Use Decreasing: Government Report

By Join Together Staff | March 20, 2014 | Leave a comment | Filed in Drugs &Youth

Fewer American teens are abusing inhalants, such as spray paint, glue and gasoline, according to a new government report. The number of teens ages 12 to 17 who used inhalants dropped from 820,000 in 2011, to about 650,000 in 2012.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), which released the findings, defines inhalants as “liquids, sprays and gases that people sniff or inhale to get high or to make them feel good,” UPI reports.

“This downward trend of inhalant use in adolescents is very encouraging,” Pamela S. Hyde, administrator of the SAMHSA, said in a statement. “Nevertheless, we must all continue our efforts to raise awareness about the dangers and health risks of this deadly and addictive problem among our youth.”

When inhalants are breathed in through the nose or mouth in a variety of ways they are absorbed quickly through the lungs into the bloodstream and the user experiences a rapid but short-lived intoxication.

There are hundreds of household products on the market today that can be misused as inhalants. Examples of products kids abuse to get high include model airplane glue, nail polish remover, cleaning fluids, hair spray, gasoline, the propellant in aerosol whipped cream, spray paint, fabric protector, air conditioner fluid (freon), cooking spray and correction fluid.

These products are sniffed, snorted, bagged (fumes inhaled from a plastic bag), or “huffed” (inhalant-soaked rag, sock, or roll of toilet paper in the mouth) to achieve a high. Inhalants are also sniffed directly from the container.

Within seconds of inhalation, the user experiences intoxication along with other effects similar to those produced by alcohol. Alcohol-like effects may include slurred speech, an inability to coordinate movements, dizziness, confusion and delirium. Nausea and vomiting are other common side effects. In addition, users may experience lightheadedness, hallucinations, and delusions.

Compulsive use and a mild withdrawal syndrome can occur with long-term inhalant abuse. Additional symptoms exhibited by long-term inhalant abusers include weight loss, muscle weakness, disorientation, inattentiveness, lack of coordination, irritability, and depression.