PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Teen contraband smokers more likely to use illicit drugs: Study

University of Alberta economics professor calling on government to tighten enforcement on contraband tobacco after research shows link to illicit drugs

2014-12-16
(Press-News.org) A University of Alberta economics professor has discovered a link between contraband cigarette use and illicit drug use among Canadian teens.

Professor Mesbah Sharaf, a health economics lecturer at the University of Alberta in Canada, recently published a joint study with the University of Waterloo titled "Association Between Contraband Tobacco and Illicit Drug Use Among High School Students in Canada" in The Journal of Primary Prevention.

The study shows that 31 per cent of adolescent smokers in Canada between grades 9 and 12 use contraband tobacco and indicates that teens who smoke contraband tobacco are more likely to use illicit drugs.

"The rate of illicit drug use among the contraband smokers is higher than that among teenagers who smoke non-contraband cigarettes--sometimes double or triple the rate," says Sharaf.

According to the study, 22 per cent of all adolescent smokers in Canada used cocaine. Among those who smoked contraband cigarettes, 31 per cent reported using cocaine, whereas only 18 per cent of non-contraband smokers reported using cocaine. Use of MDMA (ecstasy) was also more prevalent among contraband smokers (45 per cent) than among non-contraband smokers (33 per cent). The rate of ketamine and amphetamine use among the contraband-smoking teens was almost three times as high as the rate among non-contraband-using teens--and more than six times as high for heroin.

This is the first published research to specifically examine the potential connection between contraband cigarette smoking and drug use among adolescents.

"If, as we believe this study shows, contraband cigarette use is associated with illicit drug use, then intensive effort needs to be made to avoid this--by both government and tobacco companies," says Sharaf. "Adolescence is a critical period, and most unhealthy habits are developed at an early age."

Sharaf is calling on the federal government to strengthen contraband enforcement and enhance public education efforts to combat this trend. "This is an important insight, and we encourage the government to come up with measures to tackle this problem," he says.

In producing this study, three researchers--Sharaf, along with Sunday Azagba and David Hammond of the University of Waterloo--used a national sample of 2,136 current smoker students in grades 9 to 12 from the 2010-2011 Youth Smoking Survey conducted by Statistics Canada.

The survey assessed students' past-year use of the following drugs (including some street names for each type of drug): amphetamines, cocaine, hallucinogens, heroin, MDMA and ketamine. The study also showed a significant relationship between truancy and drug use, as well as binge drinking and drug use.

INFORMATION:



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Can returning crops to their wild states help feed the world?

2014-12-16
To feed the world's growing population--expected to reach nine billion by the year 2050--we will have to find ways to produce more food on less farmland, without causing additional harm to the remaining natural habitat. A feature review, to be published on December 16th in the Cell Press journal Trends in Plant Science, points the way to intensifying agriculture sustainably by fixing weaknesses that have sprung up quite by accident in the process of traditional crop breeding over the course of thousands of years. Michael G. Palmgren of the University of Copenhagen and ...

Yale researchers reveal Ebola virus spreads in social clusters

2014-12-16
New Haven, Conn. -- An analysis of the ongoing Ebola outbreak reveals that transmission of the virus occurs in social clusters, a finding that has ramifications for case reporting and the public health. Prior studies of Ebola transmission were based on models that assumed the spread of infection occurred between random pairs of individuals. However, because transmission of the virus happens most often in hospitals, households, and funeral settings, Yale researchers, and an international team of co-authors, investigated the possibility of clustered transmission, or spread ...

Meth users face substantially higher risk for getting Parkinson's disease

2014-12-16
(SALT LAKE CITY)--In addition to incurring serious dental problems, memory loss and other physical and mental issues, methamphetamine users are three times more at risk for getting Parkinson's disease than non-illicit drug users, new research from the University of Utah and Intermountain Healthcare shows. The researchers also observed that women who use methamphetamine may be nearly five times more likely to get Parkinson's disease compared to women who don't use drugs. Although findings suggest the risk in women may be higher than that in men, additional studies are ...

Vessel research offers new direction to study how cancer spreads

2014-12-16
ITHACA, N.Y. - Researchers have understood very little about how blood and lymphatic vessels form in the mammalian gut - until now. A new Cornell University study reports for the first time how arteries form to supply the looping embryonic gut with blood, and how these arteries guide development of the gut's lymphatic system. The study, published online Dec. 4 as the cover story of the journal Developmental Cell, provides a new avenue to explore treatments to prevent cancer metastasis and gut-specific lymphatic diseases. Lymphatic vessels are the main channels for spreading ...

Microwave imaging of the breast

Microwave imaging of the breast
2014-12-16
WASHINGTON D.C., December 16, 2014 -- Although currently available diagnostic screening systems for breast cancer like X-ray computed tomography (CT) and mammography are effective at detecting early signs of tumors, they are far from perfect, subjecting patients to ionizing radiation and sometimes inflicting discomfort on women who are undergoing screening because of the compression of the breast that is required to produce diagnostically useful images. A better, cheaper, and safer way to look for the telltale signs of breast cancer may be with microwaves, said Neil ...

Future batteries: Lithium-sulfur with a graphene wrapper

Future batteries: Lithium-sulfur with a graphene wrapper
2014-12-16
WASHINGTON D.C., December 16, 2014 -- What do you get when you wrap a thin sheet of the "wonder material" graphene around a novel multifunctional sulfur electrode that combines an energy storage unit and electron/ion transfer networks? An extremely promising electrode structure design for rechargeable lithium-sulfur batteries. Lithium-sulfur batteries are of great commercial interest because they boast theoretical specific energy densities considerably greater than those of their already-well-established cousin, lithium ion batteries. In the journal APL Materials, from ...

NREL compares state solar policies to determine equation for solar market success

2014-12-16
Analysts at the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have used statistical analyses and detailed case studies to better understand why solar market policies in certain states are more successful. Their findings indicate that while no standard formula for solar implementation exists, a combination of foundational policies and localized strategies can increase solar photovoltaic (PV) installations in any state. In the report, "The Effect of State Policy Suites on the Development of Solar MarketsPDF," NREL researchers examined a variety of policy- ...

Political extremists may be less susceptible to common cognitive bias

2014-12-16
People who occupy the extreme ends of the political spectrum, whether liberal or conservative, may be less influenced by outside information on a simple estimation task than political moderates, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. The research, conducted by psychological scientists Mark J. Brandt and Anthony Evans of Tilburg University and Jarret T. Crawford of The College of New Jersey, suggests that because political extremists hold their own beliefs to be superior to the beliefs of others, ...

Do caffeine's effects differ with or without sugar?

Do caffeines effects differ with or without sugar?
2014-12-16
New Rochelle, NY, December 16, 2014-Consuming caffeinated or sugary drinks can affect the body's metabolism, causing changes in heart and respiratory rate and weight gain. The results of a new study exploring whether individuals respond differently to caffeinated drinks that do or do not contain sugar and to sugar alone are published in Journal of Caffeine Research: The International Multidisciplinary Journal of Caffeine Science, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Journal of Caffeine Research website ...

Main reason for lifespan variability between races not cause of death

2014-12-16
Eliminating health disparities between races is a goal of many groups and organizations, but a team of sociologists suggests that finding the reasons for the differences in the timing of black and white deaths may be trickier than once thought. Life expectancies for black people are shorter and more uncertain, on average, than to those of whites, according to Glenn Firebaugh, Roy C. Buck Professor of American Institutions and professor of sociology and demography, Penn State. A higher lifespan variability -- the variability in the ages at which people die -- among blacks ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Brain mapping unlocks key Alzheimer’s insights

Clinical trial tests novel stem-cell treatment for Parkinson’s disease

Awareness of rocky mountain spotted fever saves lives

Breakthrough in noninvasive monitoring of molecular processes in deep tissue

BU researcher named rising star in endocrinology

Stressed New Yorkers can now seek care at Mount Sinai’s new resilience-focused medical practice

BU researchers uncover links between metabolism and aggressive breast cancer

Engineers took apart batteries from Tesla and China’s leading EV manufacturer to see what’s inside

Paralyzed man moves robotic arm with his thoughts

Planetary science: More potential locations for ice on Moon

Injectable Therapy is 'magic' for those who can’t take HIV pills

siRNA-AGO2 complex inhibits bacterial gene translation: a novel therapeutic strategy for superbug infection

Memory is impaired in aged rats after 3 days of high-fat eating

Artificial muscles for tremor suppression

A new way to engineer composite materials

AERA selects 29 exemplary scholars as 2025 Fellows

Touchless tech: Control fabrics with a wave of your finger

JMIR aging invites submissions on the social and cultural drivers of health in aging adults

New research sheds light on why scleroderma affects mostly women and how to treat it

Lack of appropriate mental health care impacts quality of life for people with COPD

Yawn! Many people are bored by spiritual practice

A new algorithm sheds light on ‘disordered’ proteins

How’s the weather on Mars?

Plants struggled for millions of years after the world’s worst climate catastrophe

Clinical trial opens to study groundbreaking 3D printed device for babies with rare respiratory disease

Effects of shenfu decoction on neutrophil chemotactic function in septic mice

ESMT Berlin offers scholarships in executive leadership

New WSU study shows how scarcity pricing helps 'cult wineries' drive demand

New discovery and grant to accelerate Strep A vaccine efforts

Novel enzyme found in gut bacteria could revolutionize prebiotic research

[Press-News.org] Teen contraband smokers more likely to use illicit drugs: Study
University of Alberta economics professor calling on government to tighten enforcement on contraband tobacco after research shows link to illicit drugs