The Uncertain Future of E-Cigarettes

          Cigarette consumption amongst today’s youth has seen falling trends in the past decade. Anti-smoking ads and policies, such cigarette taxes, have lowered incentive for youth to take up smoking. Long term effects of smoking such as lung cancer, yellow teeth, bad breath, and poor skin often push the new generation of youth away from smoking. However, smoking has not fully been pushed out of the mainstream in society. New trends such as e-cigarettes and ‘vape’ pens have gained popularity in recent years as a ‘healthier’ alternative. But how healthy are these new products?

          E-cigarettes and ‘vape’ pens are not regulated closely and different companies offer different products. How do you know what you are consuming? While these alternatives do not have tobacco in them, they do still contain the addictive property of nicotine.

          From a medical perspective, the side effects of products such as e-cigarettes and ‘vape’ pens are still unclear. The long term effects of smoking these products are still unexplored due to the new nature of the product. This uncertainty brings concern into the minds of medical specialists that fear the long term effects of these products could bring negative health associations.

          Areas in Europe such as the United Kingdom have worked to combat this uncertainty by way of medical regulations. Europe works to pursue medical regulations that mirror those of prescription pills. These regulations would offer consumers a constant product across the board that they can monitor and continue to improve.

          Medical safety is the primary concern when dealing with potentially harmful products. European governments are leading the way in the standardization of e-cigarettes and ‘vape’ pens; the world would be wise to follow in their footsteps. 

Lancet, T. (2013). e-cigarettes: A moral quandary. The Lancet, 382(9896), 914.

     doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(13)61918-2

Adderall Abuse in College

         

          “For every one hour spent in the classroom working, you should spend three hours outside the classroom studying.” This was a statement that I was told during my freshman orientation prior to entering college. This eye opening statement sent me into an instant state of anxiety; would I be able to do this? Should I just drop out right now? College towns breed stress and anxiety by pressuring students to achieve the grades that dictate your college career, and ultimately your adult life thereafter.
          An average class schedule consists of five classes (15 credits) a semester. This averages out to 3 hours of class per day, 5 days a week. If we, as students, are expected to study three hours outside of the class room for every 1 hour in the class room, that comes out to 12 hours of school work a day. That doesn’t leave much time for much else, does it?
          The constant pressures of students to overachieve have led them to seek out an edge—a shortcut. College students have become the leading abusers of ADHD medications such as Adderall, which comes as no surprise. Medications such as Adderall are prescription-only drugs; if you take it without the prescription you are breaking the law. Studies have shown that nearly 25% –one-fourth of the population—of all college students have admitted to taking Adderall illegally. These alarming numbers pose the issue, how should universities handle this issue?
          As stated in Stefanie Stolz’s article, “Adderall Abuse: Regulating the Academic Steriod,” she believes that it is the universities obligation to level the playing field of academia by regulation of illegal drugs. Drug screenings, although tedious in application, may offer a sound way to prevent the inclination to consume these drugs. Adderall is created to give people with ADHD the ability to compete fairly with ‘normal’ students, and should not be abused as an artificial academic stimulant.
          Breaching not only the academic integrity of the university, but also breaking the laws set fourth by government policies, the elimination of Adderall abuse is a serious topic, and should be dealt with accordingly by both universities and local governments alike.

Stolz, S. (2012). Adderall Abuse: Regulating the Academic Steriod. Journal of Law and Education, 41(3), 
     585-592.

Gateway Potential of Marijuana

What is a gateway drug? A gateway drug is a drug or substance that has a domino-like effect leading to the consumption of harder—usually much more dangerous—drugs. The seemingly endless debate between what constitutes a gateway drug has been the basis of much research done over the years. The most popular, and most convincing tests on the matter are long term data collections on specific individuals. These tests offer data, over time, that shed light on the correlation between early substance consumption and its ability to perpetuate harder drug consumption.
          Marijuana has been a hot topic of discussion over the recent years. From classroom debates to political debates, there is strong evidence that supports both ends of the spectrum in the legalization of the product. But what are some side effects of this illicit (at least for now) drug. In a recent study conducted by economic specialists Hans Melberg, Andrew Jones, and Anne Bretteville-Jensen they posed the question, “is marijuana a gateway to hard drugs?” 
          In a multi-decade study, economic researchers followed a select and diverse youth group to track their habits. They recorded data anywhere from personal information about their home life, to their schooling, to their drug habits. Tying this information together economic research posed some interesting findings that may slow the integration of legal marijuana into today’s society.
          Through testing, marijuana proved to have positive correlation to likelihood to consumer harder drugs (cocaine, heroine, ect). Troubled youth especially showed these upward trends, migrating toward harder drugs much more frequently than casual consumers of the drug.
          In conclusion of the study, the question of legality of marijuana may still remain in debate until otherwise disproven. The apparent gateway risk associated with the consumption of marijuana is still relatively new from a research perspective, and until the subject is further explored, we must continue to do what is best for our youth.

Melberg, H. O., Jones, A. M., & Bretteville-jensen, A. (2010). Is cannabis a gateway to hard drugs? Empirical

     Economics, 38(3), 583-603.doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00181-009-0280-z