Wood County Prevention Coalition
Uniting For A Drug-Free Community Since 2004
YOUNG PEOPLE WHO BINGE DRINK COULD INCREASE RISK OF STROKE, STUDY SUGGESTS
Young people who binge drink could be at greater risk of developing conditions such as heart disease and stroke later in life, the authors of a study have warned.
Rates of excessive drinking in the U.S. are at an all-time high, and the results should act as a wake-up call to the one in five college-age students who binge drink, the authors of the study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, suggested. On average, students consume six to seven drinks per binge-drinking session, exceeding the official binge-drinking definition of five or four drinks for men and women, respectively.
To understand how this affects cardiovascular health, the researchers studied the responses of 4,710 adults between 18 to 45 years old who participated in the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2011 and 2012 and 2013 and 2014. The respondents were placed into three categories: nondrinkers, binge drinkers 12 times or fewer a year and high-frequency binge drinkers at more than 12 times a year.
Of the participants, about a quarter of men and just over 11 percent of women binge drank frequently. When it came to binge drinking 12 times or less, 29 percent of men and a quarter of women qualified.
Those who binge drank frequently appeared to be more likely to have risk factors for poor cardiovascular health and stroke at a younger age, including high blood pressure and cholesterol levels, compared with those who didn't.
The researchers also investigated whether alcohol affects young men and women differently.
CDC: Drug overdoses hit new record
More than 72,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2017, according to preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a new record.
The CDC recorded a 6.6 percent increase in fatal drug overdoses from 2016, but noted that the preliminary numbers likely underestimate the final death toll.
More than 40,000 people died from opioid overdoses last year, and nearly 30,000 people died from overdoses of synthetic opioids, like fentanyl. The overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids rose sharply from 2016, while deaths from heroin, prescription opioid pills and methadone fell, the CDC said.
Controls on prescription opioids have succeeded in flattening the once-exponential growth of legal opioids, but an influx of illicit opioids has moved into the market to meet demand.
While the Department of Health and Human Services has declared the opioid epidemic a public health emergency, skeptics have said few solutions have actually come out of the White House or Congress.
States are using grant money made available through the 21st Century Cures Act, which was signed into law in 2016, to fight the epidemic. But President Trump has not allocated additional resources in the battle.
Earlier this summer, the House passed a massive package of opioid-related bills, but the Senate has yet to take it up. While some Democrats voted for the legislation, others opposed it for not going far enough and for not containing guaranteed funding.
90 Percent of Smokers in Study Couldn’t Quit After Vaping for One Year
Healthline by Michelle Pugle July 23, 2018
While federal regulators have not approved vaping as a smoking cessation aid, it is nonetheless marketed by some as a life-saving strategy for smokers trying to quit.Testimonials from people who have successfully switched from smoking combustible tobacco to vaping are emotionally charged. “If it wasn’t for vaping, I would have died from smoking cigarettes. Vaping has given me the opportunity to live longer and enjoy my children,” one such testimonial reads.The claims are not entirely unwarranted.Some research supports the use of vaping as a smoking cessation aid. One such studypublished in The BMJ shows a strong correlation between vaping and smoking cessation — for at least a three-month period.
But the body of research has conflicting results.
A 2017 European study concluded that vaping does not help individuals quit smoking. Instead, researchers said, it’s likely these individuals become “dual-users.”
And now, a new study published in PLOS One contends that vaping helps almost nobody to quit smoking.
More than 850 individuals selected from GfK Global’s KnowledgePanel participated in the observational study and a follow-up interview.
Survey data results found that 90 percent of smokers who vaped at the beginning of the study were still smoking one year later.
This study builds on the previous research that suggested vaping helps individuals stop or decrease smoking during a three-month period.
While vaping might help promote short-term smoking cessation, the new study’s finding strongly suggests it is an ineffective long-term strategy.
About Us
Our Vision: Helping youth be drug-free, productive and responsible citizens.
Our Mission: We are a coalition of compassionate community members working together to coordinate high quality programs for the prevention of youth substance abuse in Wood County.
Email: mkarna@wcesc.org
Website: wcprevention.org
Location: 1867 Research Drive, Bowling Green, OH, United States
Phone: (419)-354-9010
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WCPCoalition
Twitter: @woodpccoalition