Monthly Archives: March 2023

Should cigarettes be abolished in Canada?

Smoking tobacco has been prevalent in Canadian communities for a very long time. Indigenous groups in Canada have been known to use tobacco to smoke for thousands of years. Canadians have been smoking cigarettes since the early 19th century. As time has advanced so have our smoking habits. In 2020 the University of Waterloo conducted a smoking prevalence survey where they concluded that 3.2 million Canadians (approximately 10.2% of the entire Canadian population) actively smoke cigarettes. The current trend in cigarette usage has seen a decrease in cigarette usage over the past 20 years. However, despite the decrease, some people feel that cigarettes should be banned altogether.

Common Cigarette

Tobacco use continues to be the leading cause of preventable illness and death in Canada. Over 48,000 Canadians die from tobacco use every year. Smoking legislation has already come a long way since the 19th century. Smokers would argue abolitions is an extremely drastic change however it is important to remember that it was only just over ten years ago that smoking with children in the car was legal. If a smoker was told that they weren’t allowed to smoke in a bar in the early 21st century they most likely would have gone ballistic believing that it is a complete infringement on their rights. Cigarettes are also a major cause of fires in Canada. From 2012-2015 11% of all outdoor fires were deemed to be caused by cigarettes that were improperly disposed of.

Wildfire prevention icon “Smokey the Bear”

In Canada, the cigarette and tobacco economy is one that puts roofs over people’s houses and food in their children’s mouths. There are over 2,300 Canadians working in the cigarette and tobacco manufacturing sector as of 2023. Economics is not the only reason abolition would be the wrong approach. Considering the health of current smokers is extremely important. Out of the 3.2 million Canadians that actively smoke cigarettes 2.6 million of them are daily smokers. If these people can no longer smoke their cigarettes they can experience serious withdrawal symptoms. Feelings of high anxiety, depression, and lack of sleep can severely impact a person’s mental health. Many people believe that being able to buy and consume cigarettes is their human-born right. A right that should not be infringed upon by the government. It does not take a smoker to not want to have freedoms of choice to be limited by the government.

The Fentanyl fire

Fentanyl was responsible for the most deaths by overdose in British Columbia from 2019-2022. It’s not just our homeless population. Young professionals, our youth, and new parents have all been affected; in short, all those who choose to partake can fall victim.

Chemical structure of fentanyl

This is terrifying but hardly surprising when you consider that a dose of only 2milligrams can kill you.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid: a man-made drug with effects similar to that of morphine and heroin. Fentanyl is 50 to a 100 times more potent than morphine and relatively speaking, frighteningly simple to synthesize. It makes sense then that it is used medically as both a pain reliever and sedative. In fact, it is on the WHO’s List of Essential Medicines.

It seems almost trite to remark here that fentanyl, like all drugs, has the potential for abuse.

Figure 2 shows the percentage of deaths attributed to a number of drugs between 2019-2022. Fentanyl clearly takes the cake here, and it’s not even close. Figure 1 below graphs the total deaths by illicit drugs per year, from 1996 to 2022. A truly disturbing, upward trend.

Figure 1: Deaths caused by illicit drugs from 1996 to 2022

Figure 2: Percentage of 2648 deaths in which fentayl and other drugs were found postmortem (Source: Government of Canada)

But why? Why are so many people dying? It’s not like people are purchasing fentanyl in droves. Surely they know how dangerous this is?

Fentanyl enters Canada in one of three ways: illegal import, illegal manufacture and theft of medical products.

The truth is, there are individuals who recreationally consume fentanyl. They have their methods; such as through transdermal fentanyl patches, lollipops or nasal sprays. These are all relatively safer options, all things considered, as they are all illegally sourced medical products going under brand names such as Actiq®, Duragesic®, and Sublimaze®.

Actiq, a popular orally bio available method of consumption.

These delivery methods first gained popularity in the 90’s, and soon after that, criminal organizations began making fentanyl analogues to avoid identification as an illegal substance. Even more potent than regular old fentanyl, analogues such as carfentanil and 3-methylfentanyl fueled the fire.

Most people are exposed unwittingly. The first illicit pills and laced drugs containing fentanyl and its analogues appeared in the market around 2013, and drug related deaths began to skyrocket at the same time (Figure 1) and a majority of these deaths are attributable to fentanyl (Figure 2).

But what can we do? While fentanyl test strips are certainly progress, there are limitations; false negatives, false positives, and the simple reality that most people probably won’t be bothered. We must first and foremost draw light to how pervasive and serious this problem really is. This should also be dealt with at the root. We must push for working with other countries including China, the US and Mexico to implement stricter drug measures and export regulations.

Drugs aren’t evil. They are neither good or bad, how could they be? But some drugs are worse than others. Much, much worse. We are left with a fire that we must put out while we still can. The good news is we have ways to deal with this. We have science and people who care.

Environmental Hazard to Reusable Material: Converting Plastics and CO2 into Fuel

Plastic waste management has become a serious issue over the last few decades. In 2019, the total amount of plastic produced since 1950 totaled just over 9.5 billion tons, and plastic production hasn’t slowed down, as 400 million tons were added to that in 2020.

The chemical bonds that make up plastics are hard to break and do not degrade in the environment quickly. This makes plastic waste challenging to deal with, leading to a large amount of plastic being discarded or incinerated.

While people have been recycling since the late 1980s, only about 6% of annual waste is recycled, and only a further 20% of that stays recycled. Current recycling methods consist of mechanical recycling, a process by which the plastic is ground or melted down into a new product, or chemical recycling, a process by which chemical additives break down the plastic into more manageable pieces to be used as raw material. However, both methods are not environmentally friendly or cheap, leading to a high volume of plastics that are not recycled (see below).

The final fate of plastics over 65 years. only 1.72% of plastics remain recycled.

Finding new ways to deal with plastic waste is a heavy focus for environmental scientists, leading to catalysis, electrochemistry, and photochemistry developments. One such method, developed by Dr. Resier and his team at the University of Cambridge, has found a way to deal with this waste in an environmentally clean way. Using a perovskite (PVK) based photocathode and a copper-palladium alloy anode in combination with a CO2 reduction catalyst, they transformed PET plastics and CO2 into a variety of useable fuels and by-products, such as carbon monoxide, hydrogen gas, and glycolic acid.

Electrochemical pathway of CO2 reduction into CO and byproducts.

The photoelectrochemical system works upon sunlight exposure under zero applied voltage and generates products 10-100 times faster than other catalytic methods. Further, the catalyst system is not sensitive to the introduction of bio-organic molecules; in fact, the presence of small amounts of food products could increase the activity of the system.

However, this process is anything but cheap. The copper-palladium alloy anode is not cheap to fabricate, and the materials required are rare, palladium being over 15 times rarer than platinum. This increases startup costs, which is not favorable to most companies who could instead dump the waste.

While advancements in this technology are still needed, there is a positive outlook for the future of plastics and environmental contaminants. We may yet be able to save our fragile, yet vital planet from our own advancement.

Tristan Ruigrok

Nanocrystals: The Science Behind Creamy Plant-Based Ice Cream

Ice cream lovers, get ready to indulge in a whole new level of creamy goodness! The secret ingredient? Nanocrystals.

These tiny particles, smaller than the width of a human hair, have the potential to revolutionize the world of vegan ice cream. Typically less than 100 nanometers in size, they can be made from a variety of materials, including cellulose, starch, and lipids. And here’s the exciting part: they can make vegan ice cream creamier than ever before!

Figure 1. Vegan vanilla ice cream. Source.

Traditionally, guar gum and locust bean gum (LBG) are the most commonly used stabilizers in ice creams. Recent research, however, suggests that cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) may provide a more effective alternative. CNCs play an important role in improving the texture of plant-based ice cream by preventing ice crystal formation. This is due to nanocrystals’ unique properties which prevent them from growing larger. This results in a smooth and creamy texture comparable to traditional ice cream that consumers with dietary restrictions can enjoy.

But how do nanocrystals work their magic? The answer lies in the physics of freezing. When the water molecules in ice cream freeze, they can form large ice crystals. These large crystals, with diameters larger than 50 μm, impart a grainy texture to ice cream and can make it less creamy. Nanocrystals, on the other hand, can prevent this by enclosing the ice crystals in a protective shell, slowing their growth and keeping them small.

Figure 2. Ice growth kinetics of 0.5% CNCs, guar gum, and LBG in 25% sucrose solutions. Adapted from source.

Figure 2 shows that CNCs at 0.5% concentration can completely stop ice crystal growth after 72 hours. This is a significant finding because the same concentrations of guar gum and LBG had different effects. In the presence of CNCs, the final ice crystal size was approximately 37 μm, which was smaller than the final crystal size in the presence of guar gum and LBG. These findings show that CNCs can be a more effective stabilizer than traditional ones, as they can prevent ice crystal growth and result in smaller ice crystal sizes.

Smaller ice crystals can improve the creaminess, smoothness, and mouthfeel of ice cream.

It’s amazing how such small particles can have such a big impact on the quality of plant-based ice cream. Take a moment to appreciate the incredible chemistry happening in your bowl the next time you enjoy a scoop of your favourite non-dairy treat.

~ Vivian Hou

Bhopal Gas Tragedy: The Deadliest Chemical Incident

On February 3^rd, a derailed train in East Palestine, Ohio released 5 toxic chemicals into the area. The local authorities then burned some of the chemicals to avoid an explosion. Byproducts of this burning included dioxins, which are highly toxic compounds that persist in the environment. Local residents reported burning sensations in their throats and noses as a result of airborne chemicals. Residents are also worried how the water supply and air quality will be impacted in the long term.

While we cannot yet determine the long term effects on public health or the environment resulting from this chemical spill, this incident does remind chemists that our work can escape the controls of the laboratory or factory and cause devastation to the public. The scale and gravity of the impacts of a chemical incident are best demonstrated by the Bhopal gas tragedy of 1984, considered the world’s worst industrial disaster to date.

Exterior of the pesticide factory which caused the Bhopal gas tragedy. Image source: Bhopal Medical Appeal

On the night of December 2^nd, 1984, 30-40 tonnes of the toxic gas methyl isocyanate (MIC) were released by a pesticide manufacturing facility over the city of Bhopal. In the immediate aftermath, over two thousand people died and over five-hundred thousand were injured. As Figure 1 shows, the immediate death toll of the Bhopal incident far exceeds that of the Beirut explosion of 2020 and the Chernobyl disaster, making it the deadliest chemical disaster ever. Those who survived in Bhopal showed higher rates of chronic illnesses, such as pulmonary fibrosis and bronchial asthma, and other health issues. To this day, the pollution resulting from the incident persists in the area and we observe high rates of congenital physical and intellectual defects in children born even decades after the disaster.

Figure 1. Shows the immediate death toll of the Bhopal gas tragedy, the Beirut explosion, and the Chernobyl disaster. Figure source: Ying Cai

The heartbreaking reality is that this incident could have been prevented. The manufacturing plant had many safety procedures and devices, but they were all malfunctioning, not used, or lacking supplies at the time of incident. For example, the refrigeration system to cool the MIC and the alarm for high temperatures in the MIC tank were removed months earlier and never replaced; the flare tower meant to burn the MIC as it escaped was also missing parts and therefore not functional. If the safety procedures were taken seriously by management of the plant, many lives would have been saved.

Disasters such as the Bhopal gas tragedy should be taught to chemists as a grim reminder of the potential consequences of our actions and the importance of chemical safety. We should take safety seriously even when running small scale or familiar reactions to build good habits. As well, these disasters should motivate the chemistry community to work towards green chemistry, where hopefully highly toxic reagents will not be needed in industrial quantities anymore.

~ Ying Cai

The lingering effects of Pandemic Screen time: a result of parental stress

Children’s screen time increased by 65% during the COVID-19 Pandemic and hasn’t changed since.

Unsplash Photo by @emily_wade (Child, Technology) Unsplash

In 2019 Dr. Henderson and her team at Permanente Californian Research Center began a longitudinal study on 228 children aged 4-12 across the United States. From July 2019 to August 2021, they found that prepandemic mean screen time increased by 1.75 hours per day after Dec 2020, and 1.11 hours per day after May 2021.

During the pandemic, with school and daycare closures, many parents and families were under tremendous amounts of social, emotional, and financial stress. Occupying kids with technology reduced parents’ stresses around having to constantly stimulate their children.

Researchers point out that screen time increased because children were spending more time at home instead of doing extracurricular outside and because schools transitioned online.

The graphic below illustrates Dr. Henderson’s findings, showing a clear increase in educational, recreational, and total mean screen time.

Longitudinal 228-child cohort study (ages 4-12) from July 2019 to August 2021 in the USA. Measuring Prepandemic (July 2019-Mar.2020), First Pandemic Period (Dec. 2020-Apr. 2021), and Second Pandemic Periods (May 2021-Aug 2021), and their Educational, Recreational, and Total Mean screen times. JAMANetwork

The long-term effects of high-screen time in children are still relatively unknown, but given that socializing and exercising are fundamental for healthy brain development in children, the pandemic undoubtedly has affected a generation of kids and youth.

More recently, in 2022, ABC news interviewed Dr. Heather Berlin, Neuroscientist and Clinical Psychologist at New York University, about the harmful effects of high-screen time.

“Consequences for kids’ of endless screen time” A 2022 ABC News interview with Dr. Heather Berlin, Neuroscientist and Clinical Psychologist at New York University. Youtube

While a lot is still unknown about screen time and how it affects children, the COVID-19 Pandemic gave impetus to necessary research at an unprecedented time in history. Research that could prevent further effects in the future and potential recurrence.

Exposing the Dark Side of The Skin-Lightening Industry

Skin colour has long been the social-economic benchmark in many countries, predominantly in Asia-Pacific, where individuals often affiliate lighter complexions with attractiveness and more career opportunities. Skin lightening products (SLPs), the practice of lightening complexion by reducing the skin’s natural pigments, is often the solution to this dilemma. This growing demand created the lucrative business of skin-lightening products (SLPs), which was valued at US$8.8 billion in 2020.

Skin beauty is very important to many people by enhancing users’ self-esteem and confidence. Oftentimes, people reported wanting a lighter, radiant, and youthful skin, an indicative symbol of beauty and youth.

Some active ingredients in SLPs shown results in correcting the effects of age, stress, UV exposure, pollution, and poor eating. They also help maintain a luminous skin by preventing skin dryness, reducing oxidative damage, and balancing skin tone. SLPs coat the skin’s surface and act as a protection layer, thereby preventing issues like tanning and sunspots.

For most people, the utility that SLPs offer are essential to maintaining their beauty and confidence.

However, a major concern when it comes with SLPs is the uncontrolled concentrations of these active ingredients and their negative side effects.

Hydroquinone, a potent SL agent for hyperpigmentation treatments, causes blue-black facial discoloration (Figure 1) or skin thinning with high-dosage applications, said Dr. Desai, a board-certified dermatologist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. This condition is hard to treat, and can result in permanent discoloration of the skin.

Figure 1: Discoloration from long-term usage of hydroquinone-containing products. Source: Wikimedia

Mercury, another dominating ingredient in many unregulated SLPs, inhibits skin pigmentation production to reveal a lighter complexion. The well-documented report from the Pan American Health Organization list of associated risks from mercury poisoning does not look so pretty.

Risks from prolonged exposure to mercury ranges from multiple major organ failures to psychological issues such as psychosis, depression, anxiety, and early-childhood development issues.

Minnesota Department of Health revealed that most SLPs contain mercury ranging from 135 to 33,000 parts per million (ppm). This level is much higher than the recommended level of 1 ppm by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Additionally, the high levels of corticosteroids in most SLPs have resulted in steroid-dependent reactions (SDRs) – the tell-tale signs of chronic misuse of corticosteroids over an extended period (FIgure 2). Rashes, skin sensitivity to sunlight, and infections occur when SDR patients withdraw from topical steroids.

Figure 2: Steroid-Dependent Reactions. Source: Wikimedia

While these active ingredients in SLPs are effective in brightening consumers’ skin complexions along with providing additional skin care benefits, they pose significant and unwarranted health risks. Personally, the turmoil from experiencing side effects of some over-promising SLPs that are constantly promoted on social media is not worth sacrificing the highly-appraised fair skin. Not to mention the society that pressures those who are chasing after a fairer skin might be the first to criticize the consumers if SLP’s side effects arise. It is therefore crucial to pressure the SLPs’ manufacturers to move away from these dangerous compounds and towards safer ingredients.

Missing Capsule of Cesium-137 Sparks Manhunt in Western Australia

Authorities in Western Australia have quite literally found a radioactive needle in a haystack.

Carrying case for radioactive capsules. Source.

On January 12th, a tiny capsule of radioactive cesium-137 from a radiation gauge fell off a transport truck that was on its way from a Rio Tinto mine site to a storage facility in Perth, Western Australia, along a 1400 km stretch of highway in the rural Australian outback.

Due to the radioactive nature of cesium-137, Australia’s Department of Fire and Emergency Services, as well as nuclear scientists quickly launched a desperate search for the tiny capsule, about 8 mm in length. As the search intensified, the public was warned to say at least 5 meters from the radioactive capsule.

Figure 1: The bar chart compares the size of cesium-137 to the size of commonly used Australian coins.

Cesium-137 is a radioactive isotope that is formed from the nuclear fission of uranium-235. Although it is tiny, cesium-137 is very dangerous to the health and wellbeing of anyone who come in contact with it. The radioactive isotope can emit both beta and gamma rays, which can penetrate skin, causing severe radiation burns, sickness, or even death.

Capsule of cesium-137. Source.

With a half-life of about 30.05 years before decaying to barium-137m, a stable and non-radioactive isotope. However, “the cesium inside the capsule will [still] be dangerous [until] the next century.” That is according to Edward Obbard, a nuclear materials engineer with the University of New South Wales.

Miraculously, on February 1st, the radioactive capsule of cesium-137 was found just off the side of the highway around 200 km from the mining site. Authorities quickly cordoned off a 20 meter perimeter and safely contained the capsule inside a lead container.

It is important for companies to be extremely careful when transporting radioactive substances. This incident highlights the need to scrutinize the transport of radioactive substances so that a similar incident will not happen again in the future.

–Raymond Tang

The Swelling Concerns on Food Allergies: Prevalence or Awareness?

Food allergies appear to be an increasing worry to the Canadian public, with common allergens such as nuts, milk, and eggs being frequently used in foods of all cultures. Some allergic reactions produce the immunoglobulin E antibody, which can lead to life-threatening anaphylactic shock. The question is whether allergy prevalence is rising alongside these concerns.

Some Common Food Allergies Source: NIAID

Health Canada and AllerGen NCE supported the University of Calgary and the University of Waterloo’s research to estimate the prevalence of food allergies in the country. The study surveyed 5,784 Canadian households in 2016, asking people to report their food allergies.

The percentage of Canadians that had a perceived food allergy, claimed by self-report, was noticeably higher than the percentage with a probable food allergy, supported by family history or physician diagnosis.

Food Allergy Prevalence in Canada Source of Data: Government of Canada

Clarke et al. compared these results to data from 2010, observing a noticeable increase in overall food allergy claims (7.1% to 9.3%), but only a minimal change in supported food allergy claims (5.9% to 6.1%).

While the actual prevalence of food allergies did not rise significantly, Clarke et al. states that the increase in self-reported allergies is likely due to raised awareness.

Continuing to spread awareness on food allergies is actually beneficial, as they are not curable. Severe allergic reactions are treated by an epinephrine injection in emergency situations, making educating people and properly labelling food products that much more important.

From catnip to bug spray

Researchers from Iwate University in Japan have published a new paper that explains one aspect of the intriguing response cats have to catnip. The paper, published on June 14th 2022, shows that chewing catnip leaves maximize the release of organic compounds and repels insects. Tamako Miyazaki, who led the research, hopes that the work will pave the way for development of new insect repellants.

A photo of a domesticated cat eliciting a behavioral response to catnip. Source

Catnip is a non-toxic plant in the mint family and it has been long known to elicit several responses in cats. And, it’s not just domesticated cats that are affected, catnip induced behavior has been seen across the feline family including leopards, cougars, tigers, and lions.

Figure 1: Effect of leaf damage on the airborne emission of nepetalactone. Data adapted from Miyazaki et al.

The behavioral response which includes rolling, licking and chewing is seen in two thirds of all felines. The prevalence of these responses led Miyazaki and his team to believe there was a biological importance of the behavior.

Miyazaki and his group have previously identified nepetalactone as the compound responsible for triggering the behaviors.

Nepetalactone is a iridoid compound that is present in high concentration in several plant species including catnip. The group’s previous work, published in 2014, showed that nepetalactone had a strong insect repellant effect. The behavioral response of rolling resulted in the transfer of nepetalactone to the cats fur and provided protection from insect bites.

Following on from this study the team turned there attention to why cats are often seen chewing catnip. Considering that this behavior was also linked to insect repellence the team began by measuring the airborne emission of Nepetalactone from intact and manually damaged leaves. The manual damage was intended to simulate the effects that chewing had on the leaves.

The results, shown in figure 1, was a 20 fold increase in nepetalactone emission in the manually damaged group. When tested on mosquitos, the damaged leaves showed a much greater repellant effect than intact ones. The research group also found that leaf damage affected the cat’s response duration. On average, the studied cats responded to damaged leaves 6 minutes longer than were presented with intact leaves.

The researchers propose that chewing the catnip leaves is an important evolved response that maximizes the amount of airborne nepetalactone. When combined with rolling, the behavior maximizes the protective qualities of catnip and offers a significant benefit to cats.

The paper concludes that there maybe something to be learnt from catnip. Specifically, further studying into the structure and synthesis of nepetalactone may lead to new kinds of insect repellents. While more studies are needed to assess the effectiveness of such a use one thing for sure is that it would have the seal of approval from cats.