Tag Archives: smoking

Cannabis: The Good & The Bad

Posted on November 5, 2018 by | 2 comments

Pot, weed, marijuana, Mary Jane, grass – you know name it. Just like how cannabis takes on many names, people can’t seem to come to a solid conclusion on whether or not the drug is beneficial to human health. Since the legalization of cannabis in British Columbia just this year on October 17, marijuana smokers and non-smokers voice their opinions loud and clear.

Non-smokers are against using cannabis. The reason? Well, there have been many published studies exposing the negative effects of cannabis. To name a few, cognitive development may be affected, especially for young users. Additionally, not only do studies show that the probability of death from hypertension increases, but the probability of stroke and heart failure increases as well. 

On the other side however, marijuana smokers have come to their own defence as there are studies that also reveal the positive effects of cannabis. Research

reveals that mental stamina may be improved for HIV patients, drug addiction may be treated, and smoking marijuana can relieve chronic nerve pain as well. 

Marijuana use proves to be a popular controversial topic around the world. Multiple studies and extensive research finds both pros and cons for people who are against smoking weed, and for the people who are for it.

If you were to ask me, it really depends on the situation. For all I know, you could be someone who enjoys the recreational use of marijuana, but claim that it helps “relieve muscle pain” because the news article you read on Facebook said it would. Either way, as long as cannabis is legal, most people like me don’t care if you need it for medical reasons or not. It’s a free world. Do your thing.

 

  • Sonia Sharma

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To Vape or Not to Vape?

Posted on October 31, 2018 by | 3 comments

One of the main causes of disease and death in the United States is smoking cigarettes, which kills 480,000 people per year. Nicotine is the main addictive part of cigarettes and makes users feel satisfied and relaxed. Other parts of cigarettes, such as tobacco, contribute to toxic smoke from cigarettes; breathing in toxic smoke is tremendously harmful. So, alternative nicotine delivery systems were developed to be less harmful while still letting users feel nicotine effects. Some examples of alternatives are nicotine gum, nicotine patches and electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes). Risks and benefits of e-cigarettes are quite debatable.

Figure 1. Photo of an alternative nicotine delivery system, patches. Photo from WikiMedia Commons.

The effects of inhaling e-cigarette smoke, known as vaping, is still being researched. An article published earlier this year supports vaping as a solution for the decrease of smoking tobacco cigarettes. The study by Zhuang et al. was a longitudinal study, which observes the same people over time. Zhuang et al. surveyed more than 2000 smokers in the USA in 2012, then again in 2014. They found that smokers trying to quit were more likely to be successful using e-cigarettes than using an FDA-approved drug treatment.

Within the same study, quitting smoking was not linked to short-term use of e-cigarettes. Overall, long-term use of e-cigarettes reduces tobacco smoking. Reducing tobacco smoking can slow the rate of disease caused by smoking.

Figure 2. Cigarette smoke drifting through the air. Photo from WikiMedia Commons.

Risks of e-cigarette use are also being studied. In a 2017 study of more than 300 12th graders surveyed in 2014 and again in 2015, Miech et al. found vaping to increase the likelihood of smoking cigarettes in the future. Youth who have never smoked but have vaped recently were 4 times more likely to also have smoked a cigarette within the past year.

The youth were also surveyed on their perception of cigarettes. Those who answered smoking is a “great risk” in 2014 and have vaped recently were found to be 4 times more likely to change their answer to smoking is less risky. E-cigarettes are concluded to pose as a risk for smoking among youth that needs to be restricted.

I think that vaping is acceptable, as long as the goal is to be healthier and not for fun. The benefits of decreasing actual disease and death caused by smoking outweigh the probable risk of vaping as a gateway to cigarette smoking. The best choice would be fully quit nicotine because addictions can impact finances and lifestyles negatively.

Figure 3. Signage prohibiting smoking and vaping at an establishment. Photo from WikiMedia Commons.

 

Alyssa Hui

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Vaping for Fun

Posted on October 15, 2018 by | Leave a comment

Did you know that 1.4% of people in the United States vape for the sake of vaping? A small percentage of 1.4% is actually close to two million people according to US census data in 2016. Originally, e-cigarettes (e-cigs) were seen as devices that can help people quit smoking “combustible” cigarettes, the ones you need to light with fire, and that can be a healthy alternative to smoking combustible cigarettes. Lately, e-cigs have been pushed to consumers that don’t already smoke combustible cigarettes. This population of “sole e-cig consumers”, people who never smoked before e-cigs, is concerning because a study shows that there is a link between smoking e-cigarettes for fun and taking part in high-risk activities like heavy drinking.

Various e-Cigarettes. (Photo from Wikimedia Commons)

According to a paper in the Annals of Internal Medicine, e-cigs appeal to a large number of people who have never smoked before, and sole e-cigarette users are more frequently taking part in high-risk activities and self-rated their mental and physical health as poorer than nonusers.

The study used something called a Behavioural Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) to survey smokers and non-smokers, and age-standardized the responses. Data can be compared across populations after age-standardization. For example, cancer death rate is age-standardized, so that an older population doesn’t skew the rate of death by cancer with death by old age with cancer. So the data in the e-cig study is age-standardized in consideration of the fact that approximately 60% of sole e-cig users were between 18 and 24 years of age. The response data were listed as percentages, which I have made graphs of below:

Perceived Health of Smokers and Non-smokers (Image created by Alyssa Hui, with data from study)

Health Behaviours of Smokers and Non-smokers (Image created by Alyssa Hui, with data from study)

From the above graphs, we see that sole e-cig smokers perceive themselves to be fairly healthy, similar to a non-smoker. Yet, the same sole e-cig smokers will more frequently take part in high risk, unhealthy activities, such as heavy drinking and having a “high-risk lifestyle”.

When I see this link between vaping for fun and doing high-risk, unhealthy activities, the function of e-cigs as a healthier alternative to smoking combustible cigarettes is somewhat undermined.

-Alyssa Hui

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Does Smoking Keep Colds Away?

Posted on October 8, 2018 by | 1 comment

Have you ever found yourself sitting near a sneezing stranger, and wonder if you’re going to fall sick next? Do you feel the urge to pull out that pack of cigarettes in your pocket that has been marketed to be good for your health? No! It’s 2018, and research shows that not smoking will increase your chances of fighting a cold.

Good Smoking Ad

Ad for “Healthy Smoking” from Nesster on Flickr.

Specifically, recent research supports that someone can be exposed to the common cold, such as being sneezed on, and not get sick. This happens when your respiratory system is “free” to react to germs in the air before they make you sick.

While the common cold doesn’t sound dangerous, it can lead to complications. According to researchers, millions of colds per year in the US are caused by the rhinovirus and lead to hospitalization. In a recently published article in Cell Reports, Ellen F. Foxman and her team of scientists used two different airway cells from the outer lining of the nose and lungs to observe their responses to rhinovirus exposure and oxidative stress exposure. Oxidative stress exposure is when your body doesn’t have enough antioxidants (which can be obtained from eating antioxidant-rich foods and supplements) to balance out oxidants. Oxidants are molecules that can interact with cells in a good way or a bad way.

Disease Transmission Through Sneezing - Photo from Wikimedia Commons

Disease transmission through sneezing – photo from Wikimedia Commons

The outer layer of the airway normally provides protection from unhealthy parts in the air that gets into the body, including molecules that cause oxidative stress. Foxman’s team studied the protective functions of these cells and found that exposure to oxidative stress increases the cell vulnerability to rhinovirus infection. The study singled out smokers as the patient group the weakest as smoking causes oxidative stress.

Researchers look forward to finding ways to protect against oxidative stress to better defend against rhinovirus infection.

 

-Alyssa Hui

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Why Your Body Didn’t Fight that Cold

Posted on September 17, 2018 by | Leave a comment

Have you ever found yourself sitting a little too close to a sniffling and sneezing stranger, and wondered if they’re contagiously sick or suffering due to allergies?

Fortunately, recent research supports that someone can be exposed to the common cold, and not get sick. This happens when your respiratory system is “free” to react to the germs in the air before they make you sick, and not fighting other stress from the environment.

Disease Transmission Through Sneezing - Photo from Wikimedia Commons

Disease Transmission Through Sneezing – Photo from Wikimedia Commons

Millions of common colds per year are caused by the rhinovirus. According to researchers, 2 million cases develop into respiratory illness, leading to hospitalization. In a recently published study in Cell Reports, Ellen F. Foxman and her team of scientists used two different airway epithelial cells between the nose and the lungs, nasal and lung cells respectively, to observe their responses to rhinovirus exposure and oxidative stress exposure.

Human Rhinovirus – photo from Flickr

Human Rhinovirus – Photo from Flickr

The outer layer cells of the airway normally provides the body protection from detrimental substances in the air. The study focused on the protective response of these cells further and found that exposure to oxidative stress increases the cell susceptibility to rhinovirus infection. This balance describes the natural compromise between taking viral versus oxidative airway damage. Furthermore, the study singled out smokers as the patient group most susceptible to rhinovirus infection, as smoking causes oxidative stress.

The researchers look forward to finding ways to protect against oxidative stress to better defend against rhinovirus infection.

While the common cold doesn’t sound dangerous, getting sick can lead to complications. These complications add to my long list of reasons to not smoke.

-Alyssa

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