Category: Uncategorized

By : Brianna

Juul Can Breathe After Didging Full FDA Ban on Flavored E-Cigs

https://www.wired.com/story/juul-dodging-ban-flavored-e-cigs/

The Food and Drug Administration has attempted to tackle the e-cigarette epidemic by banning the fruity flavors that the Juul company has to offer. This was the first attempt seen by the FDA to reduce the percentage of those who are abusing the Juul product. These flavors weee said to be “kid appealing” flavors such as; mango, fruit, crepe, and cucumber, but the company kept the flavors, mint, menthol, and tobacco on the shelves for adults who are hoping to aid their nicotine addiction. The fruity flavors were said to be “the core of the epidemic.” The fruity flavors could possibly be back on the shelves if stores managed to create age restricted areas, where these products could not be seen by underaged youth. Vape shops on the other hand, would not be affected by this. E-cigarettes are currently allowed to be sold until August 2022, where they will have to submit a “cumbersome and costly application requiring clinical studies and long-term data.” Juul has already committed to shutting down its social media accounts, but Juul has already gone viral and became a $38 billion company. Along with flavor restrictions, the FDA has released a survey which showed that 3 million high schoolers have stated they use e-cigarettes, which is a 78% increase from last year.

Although the FDA has imposed new restrictions in order to aid the e-cigarette epidemic, the question that pops up is will this really be able to help? It’s a hard topic to clearly pick and choose which decisions will either help or keep data at the same rates in relation to how many are still using the product, which u,timately makes it a struggle. But when we look at this decision, was it truly the “right” one? Although Juul has pulled majority of its flavors from the shelves, they still chose to keep mint on the market as well. Keeping mint, yet eliminating all other “kid appealing” flavors goes against the intent of not marketing to teens any longer. Mint, in fact, is the most popular flavor for 18-21 year olds. Those aged between 15-17 are also 3 times more likely to use mint over menthol. Keeping the mint flavor is arguably controversial as some have compared mint to “a roll of lifesavers” essentially claiming that it is a “candy” flavor as well. The argument against Juuls is definitely a hard one to discuss, as although they may help adult smokers, teens are still finding different ways to get their hands on these devices and the fruity flavors that were pulled from the market.

This article would relate to what we learned in class because when we look at why the FDA chose to make this decision over outright banning Juuls altogether, we understand how hard it is to actually regulate these things without legal complications. An outright ban on all flavors would lead to challenges due to the Tobacco Control Act, as well as issues with the first amendment, since it could go against a corporation’s free speech. It goes to show, it isn’t that easy to tackle this problem without facing other problems due to the legal “pitfalls” that would be encountered.

By: Reuel

The U.S. is overdue to establish an institute devoted to research on the top cause of poor health. By Joon Yun, David A. Kessler and Dan Glickman

This article talks about how America needs a research facility for nutrition. The authors give facts such as poor eating causes about 1,000 deaths in America and that obesity is the leading disqualify for Americans joining the military. They then say that we need an institution that specifies on nutrition and the affects it has on the human body such as the effect that foods have on a person’s mental health. They say that this would be different than the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) because they do not specifically focus on healthy food but on safe drugs that can be used on foods.

Early in the article the authors talked about how other departments for health such as Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense have about $1.5 billion annually, but the national spending on candy is about $40 billion. From that point I do agree with this article and that we need a specific facility for nutrition. We need something in the government that is able to conduct research on nutritional foods and diets that can help people and America as a whole.

This article relates to class because it talks about government facilities such as the FDA and the department of Defense. The FDA is apart of the executive branch which I believe this new facility would also be apart of. We’ve talked about the different branches of the government and what each of them do, that is how this article relates to class.

March 10, 2019

https://www.emsworld.com/news/1222382/western-penn-overdose-deaths-fall-nearly-50-percent

This article informed the readers about the decline of overdose deaths across West Pensylanvania in 2018. Federal authorities said they continue to combat the opiod crisis and work to further reduce the death rate. Drug overdose deaths fell by 47 percent in Allegheny County between 2017 and 2018, while the number was cut in half in both Beaver and Butler counties. Such deaths fell 44 percent in Washington County and 37 percent in Westmoreland County, according to Brady. The aggressive tactics on both the supply side and demand side significantly reduced the deaths of drug overdose. EMTs and first responders have saved thousands of lives. Federal prosecutors have been hired to go after medical professional who illegally prescribe opioids.

With this on going opioid crisis, we are finally start to seeing some progress. The federal government spend billions of dollars to combat the opioid crsis. The Congress is continuing to pass bills to regulate opioid. I believe that the local government should address this issue more often through the news, it will raise awareness of this epidemic and encourage people to make a safe choice.

By: Brianna

New Report One of the Most Comprehensive Studies on Health Effects of E-Cigarettes; Finds That Using E-Cigarettes May Lead Youth to Start Smoking, Adults to Stop Smoking

http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=24952&_ga=2.227315540.810940964.1516640363-1933305849.1453397105

A newly mandated report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine takes a look at the human health effects of e-cigarettes. It was found that although e-cigarettes could potentionally help adult smokers transition from conventional cigarettes, there is substantial evidence among youth that use of e-cigarettes increases the risk of transitioning to conventional cigarettes. Not only has this risk increased the amount of young smokers, their health is also at risk as it was found that the use of e-cigarettes has been linked to things such as symptoms of dependence, cough and wheeze, and asthma exacerbations. Accidental or intentional exposure to the e-liquid itself can result in adverse health effects such as seizures, anoxic brain injury, vomiting, and lactic acidosis. Drinking or injecting this liquid has also been found to be fatal.

Although scientists are still learning of the effects that e-cigarettes could potentially have on your body, they have already found an substantial amount of evidence to justify efforts to prevent the use of them by the youth. Because most tobacco use starts during adolescence, it is crucial for the public to prevent the youth from a lifetime of nicotine addiction and other long term health effects. Our nation should work together to protect the youth from dangers associated with tobacco use and abuse liability. More than 6 out of 10 teens believe that the use of e-cigarettes cause little or no harm to their minds and bodies, but this has been proven otherwise.

If the government puts more of an effort to educate the youth on how this could effect their lives in the long run, we could reduce the amount of adolescents using these products and developing a dependency on them. Developing more intensive research on this topic could possibly allow the public to understand it and be able to spread awareness. It is now up to government officials to address this problem and create a solution for it.

By: Reuel

https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/18/health/diet-mental-health-partner/index.html

A study conducted in Australia and in the UK have found that after you eat more fruits and vegetables would increase your physical and mental well being. The study says that changing one portion of your diet per day could help your mental self as well as going for a walk for about a week. The study says that even though they have not counted for other foods that people have eaten, studies have further lead to people’s mental health , with their motivation and their vitality is improved. However this study has not shown any improvements for depression.

Even though I mostly focus on obesity in these blogs, this study could also help with dealing with that. It is important to have a good mental and physical body to the best of your abilities. It is always good to see how doing one thing can have multiple benefits. Eating healthy and exercising will lead to more improvements then just your body, but also how you feel.

https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/news/20190221/us-leads-rich-nations-in-drug-overdose-deaths#1

years, driven largely by the opioid epidemic, the researchers noted.

This news article by Steven Reinberg revealed that America has taken the lead in drug overdose deaths, with rates four times higher than 17 wealthy nations. Deaths caused by drug overdose have tripled over the past 20 years. In 2017, more than 70,000 Americans died from drug overdoses. The odds of dying from opioid overdose has surpassed those dying in a car accident. “For over a decade now, the United States has had the highest drug overdose mortality among its peer countries,” Ho said in a university news release. Drug deaths in the U.S. are more than 27 times higher than in Italy and Japan. Drug overdose deaths have also affected life expectancy. It made up 12 percent of the life expectancy gap among men and 8 percent among women between the U.S. and other wealthy countries.

In 2017, more than 70,000 Americans died from opioid epidemic. An average of 130 Americans dies from opioid overdose every day. It is becoming the leading cause of death. People often do not recognize this crisis. We discussed the process of passing public policies in class. How will the government respond to this crisis?

The researchers said the epidemic is being driven by factors that include fee-for-service reimbursement systems and linking doctors’ pay to patient satisfaction. Between 2013-2015, almost $40 million were spent on opioid marketing targeting doctors. I think there should be a limit on prescription drugs.

By : Brianna h

The FDA is preparing to crackdown on e-cigs like the juul – here’s why vaping is so dangerous

https://www.businessinsider.com/vaping-e-cigs-juul-health-effects-2018-10

Smoking has been one of the major reasons Americans are dying due to addiction. But there are very few studies that looks at how vaping effects the body and brain. Even fewer, focus on Juuls which contain more nicotine than a pack of cigarettes and is very popular among young teens today. Researchers were able to find toxic metals inside e-cigarette devices such as lead which is also found in conventional cigarettes. Another study confirmed that these toxins make their way through vapers’ bodies through a urine analysis. In addition to this, research has found that nicotine can have dramatic impacts on the development of young adults. Nicotine is known to impair brain and lung development if used during adolescence. Surveys also suggest that teens who use e-cigarettes aren’t aware of these risks. Researchers have observed that those who have stated they use Juuls over other electronic devices tend to vape more than those who don’t use Juuls. Juul users are also less aware of how addictive thee devices can be compared to those who used different e-cigarettes.

“I was surprised and concerned that so many youths were using Juul more frequently than other products… We need to help them understand the risks of addiction”

Bonnie Halpern-Feisher, Professer of Pediatrics and lead author of the study

Many people who are avid users of the Juul, tend to not understand how they are putting their bodies and lives at risk, especially young teens who started using them even though they were intended to get rid of nicotine addiction, not create one. This leads us to the question, does the youth really understand what they are doing to their bodies and their minds? And if they did, would that be enough for them to stop? Spreading awareness of the effects nicotine has on the adolescent mind could be a potential strategy to eliminate the large number of kids who abuse these products. This research would also go to show that many are ignorant about what the product could do to their bodies. Even though our information on this topic is very limited, learning more about nicotine effects could help educate the public and help them find ways to get rid of their addiction.

To initiate this process and help the public, local government must implement new rules and find research that could potentially educate those who do not know much about how they could be jeopardizing their lives. Especially when those who are using these products are aged 13-18, an age in which the development of their minds and bodies are crucial. If we don’t take a step to help the youth who are addicted to nicotine now, then we could see a rise in deteriorating health levels of those users during their years of growth.

By: Reuel

https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/04/health/obesity-cancer-increase-millennials-study/index.html

A new study has found an association between obesity and cancer within the people aged 24 to 49. Different types of cancer has been typically found in the elderly, but is now being found at a much younger age which are concerning doctors and scientist. Even though cancer incidences have been decreasing within males and staying steady in females cancer is rising within these adults who have obesity. Scientist believe that the cause of this could be from fatty acids which causes changes in people’s metabolism can also be a factor of cancer.

I don’t believe that obesity can be the causation of cancer, but there could definitely be an association between the two. I wouldn’t fully disregard this article for this reason because they never said it was a causation but an association however the title makes it seem like there is. Research is still being done to figure out how obesity can be an affect that causes cancer so it would be better to try to reduce the likeliness that we can get cancer by trying to keep our bodies healthy.

For the first time on record, the odds of accidentally dying from an opioid overdose in the United States are now greater than those of dying in an automobile accident.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/14/health/opioid-deaths-united-states-surpass-road-accidents/index.html

This news article by Kevin Flower and Meera Senthilingam presented the audiences with the new drug overdose statistics. By examining a variety of federal and state data, the lifetime odds of dying of an accidental opioid overdoes were 1 in 96. Compared to motor vehicle accidents the odds were 1 in 103. Comparing 2017 to 2016, there is an increase of 11% in poisoning deaths (including opioid overdoses). The CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics reports that drug overdose deaths reached a new high of 70,000 in 2017. The drug overdose death rates increased in 35 of 50 states from 2013 to 2017.

An average of 130 Americans dies from opioid overdose every day. It is becoming the leading cause of death. People often do not recognize this crisis. We discussed the process of passing public policies in class. How will the government respond to this crisis.

I believe an effective way to combat the opioid epidemic is to provide healthcare providers with useful opioid overdose data. And from there they can use the data as a guide for improving opioid prescribing. The government can pass regulations on prescription drugs. Local government should address this issue through the news. Also, raise awareness of this ongoing epidemic and encourage people to make a safe choice.