Daily Mail – A hazardous drug that eliminates free will and can wipe the memory of its victims is currently being dealt on the streets of Colombia. The drug is called scopolamine, but is colloquially known as ‘The Devil’s Breath,’ and is derived from a particular type of tree [The borrachero plant: Datura stramonium] common to South America. Stories surrounding the drug are the stuff of urban legends, with some telling horror stories of how people were raped, forced to empty their bank accounts, and even coerced into giving up an organ. Read article
Reuters – More than half of kids who were part of a new study from California tested positive for secondhand smoke exposure — despite only a handful of their parents admitting to lighting up. Parents may think kids are only exposed if they’re around someone actively smoking a cigarette, researchers said, or are unaware of where else their children might be breathing in smoke. Read article
You might not think it, but the conclusion of a study in the British medical journal Lancet described alcohol as more dangerous than many illegal drugs (including heroin, cocaine, and ecstasy). In both alcohol and drug use, the economic and health costs are considerable, so why are certain toxins such as cigarettes and alcohol accepted and others demonized? Find out more by reading our news archive of 382 articles on Alcohol and Drugs for a comprehensive view. CLICK HERE
Discovery – Adolf Hitler farted uncontrollably, used cocaine to clear his sinuses, ingested some 28 drugs at a time and received injections of bull testicle extracts to bolster his libido. The startling revelations come from Hiltler’s medical records, now up for auction at Alexander Historical Auctions of Stamford, Conn. Read article
BBC – The number of babies born in the US showing symptoms of opiate withdrawal increased threefold in the 10 years up to 2009, a medical study has found. The research, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, said one in every 1,000 newborns was affected in 2009. The number of pregnant women testing positive for illegal or legal opiates increased fivefold in the same period. Read Article
ScienceDaily — A research team presented findings that they say may finally explain the link between alcohol consumption and breast cancer. “Cells have different mechanisms to remove toxic substances, such as ethanol, the chemical name for alcohol, that represent a potential risk to them,” explains María de Lourdes Rodríguez-Fragoso, professor of pharmacology and toxicology at the Universidad Autonoma del Estado de Morelos in Mexico. “Unfortunately, sometimes these mechanisms produce other toxic substances, including some that are associated with the development of different types of cancer.” Read article
Courthouse News – Monsanto, Philip Morris and other U.S. tobacco giants knowingly poisoned Argentinean tobacco farmers with pesticides, causing “devastating birth defects” in their children, dozens of workers claim in court. The farmers, on their own behalf and for their injured children, sued Altria Group fka Philip Morris Cos., Philip Morris USA, Carolina Leaf Tobacco, Universal Corporation fka Universal Leaf Tobacco Company, Monsanto, and their affiliates and Argentine subsidiaries, in New Castle County Court. Read article
Yahoo! – A study’s found that alcohol can sharpen the mind. Daily Mail UK reports the American study has found that men who enjoy a relaxing drink are actually better at solving brain teasers than those who are stone cold sober. Read article
Reuters – Among smokers, people who prefer mentholated cigarettes tend to have more strokes than non-menthol smokers – and this seems to be especially true for women and non-African Americans, according to a North American study. The author of the study said that while no cigarettes are good for the health, the findings – published in the Archives of Internal Medicine – suggest people should especially stay away from mentholated varieties. Read article
LA Times – U.S. Air Force pilot Patrick Burke’s day started in the cockpit of a B-1 bomber near the Persian Gulf and proceeded across nine time zones as he ferried the aircraft home to South Dakota. Every four hours during the 19-hour flight, Burke swallowed a tablet of Dexedrine, the prescribed amphetamine known as “go pills.” After landing, he went out for dinner and drinks with a fellow crewman. They were driving back to Ellsworth Air Force Base when Burke began striking his friend in the head. Read article
Reuters – Many people who use the club drug ketamine – known as “special K” – may risk abdominal pain, bladder control problems and other urinary tract issues, and the heavier the dose or frequency of use, the more likely the problems, according to a UK study. The study, which appeared in the British Journal of Urology International, found that of 1,285 young adults who said they’d abused ketamine in the past year, 27 percent had developed urinary tract symptoms. Read article
AP – Tobacco companies will be required to report the levels of dangerous chemicals found in cigarettes, chew and other products under the latest rules designed to tighten regulation of the tobacco industry. The preliminary guidance issued Friday by the Food and Drug Administration marks the first time tobacco makers would be required to report quantities of 20 chemicals associated with cancer, lung disease and other health problems. The FDA will release the information in a consumer-friendly format by next April. Read article
Reuters – People in Europe drink more alcohol than in any other part of the world, downing the equivalent of 12.5 litres of pure alcohol a year or almost three glasses of wine a day, according to report by the World Health Organisation and the European Commission. But while the title of world’s heaviest drinkers goes to the European Union as whole, where consumption is almost double the world average, there are also wide variations in drinking levels between sub-regions, as well as big differences in how frequently, where and when people drink. Read article
BBC – Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina has said the war on drugs has failed, and it is time to end the “taboo” on discussing decriminalisation. He was addressing a Central American summit in the Guatemalan city of Antigua. Mr Perez Molina convoked the meeting to consider decriminalisation as a way of reducing drug-related violence. Read Article
The Guardian – Heavy drinking is a major cause of a 25% increase in deaths from liver disease in England in under a decade, according to the government’s specialist NHS unit on terminal care. The first report from the fledgling National End of Life Care Intelligence Network warns that the victims of liver disease are getting younger, with deaths increasing among people in their forties. Read article
Reuters – A fresh look at past studies suggests kids who live with a smoker are more likely to wheeze or get asthma, providing more evidence for the link between secondhand smoke and breathing problems. Researchers found that the biggest effect on wheeze and asthma symptoms was seen in babies and toddlers whose moms smoked while they were pregnant or soon after kids were born. Read article
Reuters – Their faces painted heavy with make-up, teenage girls in short, tight blouses and long petticoats loiter in squalid alleys, laughing and gesturing to potential clients who roam Tangail town’s infamous red light area in the early evening. There is no shortage of men looking for “company” in Kandapara slum, a labyrinth of tiny lanes – lined cheek-by-jowl with corrugated iron shacks – a few hours drive northeast of Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka. Read Article
New Scientist – Just as many authors of the new psychiatry “bible” are tied to the drugs industry as those who worked on the previous version, a study has found, despite new transparency rules. The findings raise concerns over the independence of the revamped Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM, published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and scheduled for publication in May 2013. Read article
Reuters – Smoking among America’s youth has reached epidemic proportions, starting them on the path to a lifetime of addiction, the U.S. surgeon general’s office said in its first report on youth smoking since 1994. Among U.S. high school seniors, one in four is a regular cigarette smoker, and because few high school smokers are able to quit, some 80 percent will continue to smoke as adults, according to the report released on Thursday. Read article
Reuters – U.S. authorities are looking into allegations that some Afghan Air Force (AAF) officials have been using aircraft to transport narcotics and illegal weapons across the country, a U.S. official said on Thursday. “At this point allegations are being examined,” said Lt. Col. Tim Stauffer, spokesman for the NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan, which is setting up and financing Afghan security forces, including the Air Force. Read Article
BBC – One dose of the hallucinogenic drug LSD could help alcoholics give up drinking, according to an analysis of studies performed in the 1960s. A study, presented in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, looked at data from six trials and more than 500 patients. Read article
Reuters – Fifty years after top doctors issued their first stark warning about the dangers of cigarettes, more than 20 percent of Britons still smoke — and unless they quit, half of them will die from the habit, health experts on Tuesday. In a new report to mark the anniversary, the RCP said smoking rates have fallen substantially in Britain the past 50 years, and at least 360,000 deaths from smoking have been prevented as people have accepted health advice and quit. Read article
BBC – Police in Peru say they have captured a man they suspect of leading the Shining Path rebel group. They said Walter Diaz Vega had been reorganising the guerrillas after their previous leader, known as Comrade Artemio, was arrested last month. Mr Diaz was arrested in northern Peru. The Shining Path, a Maoist rebel group, posed a major challenge to the Peruvian state in the 1980s and early 90s but has since dwindled to a small gang involved in drug trafficking. Read Article
You might not think it, but the conclusion of a study in the British medical journal Lancet described alcohol as more dangerous than many illegal drugs (including heroin, cocaine, and ecstasy). In both alcohol and drug use, the economic and health costs are considerable, so why are certain toxins such as cigarettes and alcohol accepted and others demonized? Find out more by reading our news archive of 360 articles on Alcohol and Drugs for a comprehensive view. CLICK HERE
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