The BBC news service reports on research from Italy linking women’s smoking with a certain type of acne. Sounds wonderful.
The BBC news service reports on research from Italy linking women’s smoking with a certain type of acne. Sounds wonderful.
The Globe and Mail is carrying a story on alcohol and rhematoid arthritis: “More good news for drinkers –regularly drinking may halve the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis, scientists say.
New research presented at the annual European Congress of Rheumatology on Friday indicated that drinking at least three units of alcohol a week had clear protective effects and that 10 units brought more protection still.
One unit is roughly equivalent to a glass of wine or a small beer.
Previous studies have indicated that alcohol may also have a beneficial role in heart disease, stroke, some forms of cancer and perhaps Alzheimer’s.
Henrik Kallberg of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm said his research showed consuming three or more units was associated with a 50-per-cent drop in the risk in developing rheumatoid arthritis.” . . .
You might want to think about alternatives, such as Rose Hips. The BBC Health Desk offers an alternative: “Rose-hip ‘remedy’ for arthritis”.
$49 - $67k per MONTH? For drug and alcohol rehab?!
The New York Times takes a look: “GOSSIP columns noted breathlessly this month that Lindsay Lohan, cocooned in high-class rehab in Malibu after crashing her Mercedes on Sunset Boulevard, had stepped off the premises to go to the gym. ”
“Was she breaking the rules? Were the rules bent to suit her? Either way, the idea that she might soon win her battle with substance abuse seemed, given the evidence, unduly optimistic. Not yet 21, she is halfway through a second stint in rehab.”
“But optimism, it turns out, is one of the main things offered at rehabilitation centers like Promises, the luxurious Malibu retreat for patients suffering from alcohol and substance abuse where Ms. Lohan now lives. ”
“Much harder to come by is evidence that these programs work. The quiet truth in the upper-crust rehabilitation industry is that $49,000 a month may buy lots of things — including views of the Pacific, massage therapy and blue-ribbon chefs. But whether it buys sobriety is very uncertain.”
The San Francisco Chronicle has a report on the use of topical pot for skin wounds. . . .
JoinTogether has a research summary article on the relative lack of parity for the chronic problem of substance abuse compared to the chronic problems of diabetes and heart disease.
“While some states have passed addiction parity bills intended to equalize insurance coverage between addiction and mental-health disorders and other diseases, new research demonstrates that most workers still face stricter annual limits, lifetime caps, and cost-sharing when they try to access addiction treatment.” . . .
“Substance abuse is a treatable chronic medical condition, similar to diabetes or heart disease, and the economic costs of not treating substance abuse can be many times the costs of treatment.” . . .
ITWire is carrying an article on radiation exposure from cigarettes:
“According to Greek scientist Constantin Papastefanou, the natural radiation in tobacco leaves is greater than the human-made radiation that fell on plant leaves near the Chernobyl disaster.
Constantin Papastefanou found that radium (Ra-226 and Ra-228) and polonium (Po-210), which are radionuclides (ionizing radiation) found naturally in tobacco leaves, is up to one thousand (1,000) times more radioactive than the artificially-made radionuclide cesium (Ce-137) found on plant leaves from the fallout of the Chernobyl nuclear accident, which occurred in 1986.” . . .
Caterina Roman, a senior research associate at the Urban Institute’s Justice Policy Center in Washington, D.C. writes in The Charlotte Observer:
“Jenny Song’s May 11 Observer article, “Study finds rising drug use in CMS,” noted that white students used gateway drugs at higher rates in past years, but now minority student rates have reached similar levels.
This recent surge in drug use — driven primarily by minorities, mostly Latinos — illustrates why we must better understand how millions of children in immigrant families in the United States are adapting to American culture. Until then, strategies designed to prevent high-risk behaviors, such as alcohol and drug use, will fail.
Acculturation is the complicated process by which individuals of one culture adopt the language, values, identity and behaviors of another culture. A growing body of research suggests that the longer Latinos live in the U.S., the more likely they are to engage in high-risk behavior. More specifically, studies show that greater, not lower, levels of acculturation by Latino youth have been associated with increased rates of smoking, drinking and substance abuse, lower rates of family formation, and increased rates of dependence on government assistance programs.”
Pregnancy Crawler reports on a study from Obstetrics and Gynecology that indicates: "The use of nicotine substitutes (nicotine gum, patches or inhalers) during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy appears to slightly increase the risk of birth defects, according to a large study of pregnant women and their offspring. Dr. Maria M. Morales-Suarez-Varela, from the University of Valencia in Spain, and others interviewed 76,768 women between weeks 11 and 25 of pregnancy regarding their smoking habits and use of nicotine replacement products during the first 12 weeks."
Congress has greatly reduced the funding for drug courts. Drug courts provide a VERY useful alternative to incarceration for people convicted of minor drug offenses that could result in long prison sentences.
Quoting the National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP), 4900 Seminary Road, Suite 320, Alexandria, VA 22311 www.nadcp.org "Despite our triumphs this past year, despite the U.S. General Accounting Office releasing a report earlier this year supporting the effectiveness of drug courts, despite our mounds of research on the effectiveness of the drug court approach, the Congress has decided to slash the Drug Court Discretionary Grant Program to $10 million. Many programs have been reduced to assist in the hurricane relief efforts. However, the drug court appropriation is lower than anticipated."
The information can be found here rather far down the page.
The NADCP is asking you to contact your US congress critters to request restoration of their budget.
Another downside to passive smoking — the BBC offers the following: "Passive smoking increases the risk of one of the most common causes of blindness, a study has found. A Cambridge University team looked at the impact of smoking on age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the British Journal of Ophthalmology reported. Living with a smoker for five years doubled the risk of the disease and regular smoking tripled it, they found. Campaigners said it highlighted the need for an outright ban on smoking in enclosed public places and workplaces."