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most addictive chemicals in the world. Anxiety, depression, irritability, hunger, and weight gain are all symptoms of nicotine withdrawal — symptoms that pretty much every parent would like to spare their child from. SO, WHAT’S THE VERDICT? It’s clear that Juuling, vaping, and all forms of e-cigarette use are a huge danger to kids. The strategic marketing of Juul specifically seems to have successfully gained them customers for life in our nation’s youth. In 2018, the FDA announced it was cracking down on the illegal sales of e-cigarettes to minors and“kid-friendly marketing and appeal of these products.” If you’re looking to prevent your child from becoming one of the millions of teenage Juul users, simple awareness goes a long way. In one survey, most teen respondents didn’t even realize that Juul pods contain nicotine. The first step to protecting your kids from the dangers of Juul usage is to do your research and have an open conversation with them about the facts.
the smoke and the bad smell —may lower the initial barrier to tobacco use and encourage teens to get started on e-cigarettes like the Juul, regardless of whether or not they would have engaged in tobacco use before. HOW BAD IS IT FOR YOU? Fans of e-cigarettes, especially Juul, often insist their habit is less harmful than smoking traditional cigarettes. But the reality is e-cigarettes have only been available in the American market since 2007. Researchers are only just starting to realize the impact long-term e-cigarette use can have on our health. While Juuls might not as bad for you as traditional cigarettes, they are still extremely toxic and addictive. According to the National Center for Health Research,“The popularity of Juuls among adolescents exposes them to large amounts of nicotine that can have adverse health risks for their physical and emotional development.”At least one study has tentatively linked nicotine to cardiovascular issues, and it’s no secret that nicotine has been proven to be one of the
especially appealing to kids. The vast selection of flavors is one of the company’s major selling points, and their marketing boasts the tagline, “Discover your favorite flavor today.”But the main reason Juul users keep coming back is the same reason smokers reach for a pack of cigarettes: the nicotine itself. Each“pod”is packed with e-liquid that contains 59 milligrams of nicotine per millimeter — a much higher concentration than in other e-cigarettes — in order to mimic the buzz that regular smokers experience from traditional cigarettes. When users inhale, the device vaporizes this liquid, which is then absorbed into the body at a speed comparable to regular cigarettes. Normal cigarettes use freebase nicotine, which can irritate the throat and lungs, but e-cigarettes use nicotine salts, which are designed to go down smoothly. The vapor doesn’t carry the clinging smell of cigarette smoke and disappears almost immediately. According to health experts, the lack of negative traits associated with traditional cigarettes —mainly
Why Exercise Therapy Should Be the First Step in Recovery Amid an Epidemic, PT Helps Curb Opioid Abuse
Studies show that physical therapy may have the potential to dramatically reduce opioid reliance, abuse, and overdose. In one 2017 study published in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, researchers discovered that, in cases where doctors referred patients suffering from low back pain to a PT as a first-line treatment, the odds that the patient ended up needing an opioid prescription decreased significantly. Other studies have also reinforced the same trend for treatment post-surgery: When physical therapy is the first recommendation, patients tend to use fewer opioids and actually spend less on treatment in the long run. The evidence seems clear: If patients follow the recommendations of the CDC and consider physical therapy before taking pills, they substantially lower their risk of dependence on and abuse of prescription drugs. Of course, you should always follow the advice of your doctor, but consider requesting a referral to PT first — it’s just a safer, more consistent, and less expensive option. And who knows? It might just save your life!
Today, a startling number of Americans suffer from opioid addiction. According to a report published in the Annual Review of Pharmacology and Toxicology, more than 4 percent of U.S. adults misused prescription opioids in 2018. Prescription drugs can lead to enough tragic overdoses on their own, but as the physical aspects of addiction set in and prescriptions dry out, addicts desperately turn to more serious drugs like heroin and fentanyl. Opioid addiction is indiscriminate; it can strike anyone of any social class, race, gender, or economic standing. This is one reason the overprescription of opioids over the last two decades, coupled with a more recent flood of street opioids, led to more than 70,000 deaths in 2017. In an effort to stem the tide of opioid-related deaths, the CDC issued a set of new recommendations to doctors in 2016. They questioned the effectiveness of opioids for the management of chronic pain and encouraged physicians to instead focus on physical therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and other nonopioid pharmacologic options for long- term intervention.
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