"Health News - Medicine, Diet and Fitness"

The California Industrial Hemp Farming Act, intended to promote cultivation of marijuana’s close (but non-psychoactive) cousin as a major cash crop, has been passed by the state legislature and has been sent to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Oakland Tribune reported Sept. 24.

Schwarzenegger vetoed an earlier version of the hemp bill, which was then redrafted to address his stated concerns about the measure. The Hemp Industries Association and other backers say that hemp could become a multimillion-dollar business in California, noting its use in products as diverse as food and textiles.

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By Bob Curley

Fewer adolescents are telling federal researchers that they use marijuana, but the 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Men’s health (NSDUH) reported that most indicators of alcohol, tobacco and other drug use remain relatively unchanged from 2005.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Men’s health Services Administration (SAMHSA) unveiled the survey results on Sept. 6, with federal officials touting a 25-percent reported decline in marijuana use among male youths between 2002 and 2006 but fretting over the 2.2 million new nonmedical users of prescription drugs, including narcotic painkillers. Most users of prescription drugs for recreational reasons reported getting the drugs free from friends or family members.

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Viagra can move mountains — and watch those goggles

I had the naive belief that viagra was strictly for making “amour”.

Now I learn it may even help adventurers climb Mount Everest.

Normally, blood pressure is lower in lungs than in the rest of the body. But as one ascends Mount Everest in an oxygen-deficient atmosphere, it can become dangerously high resulting in high altitude sickness.

Dr. Martin Wilkins of Hammersmith Hospital in London, England, asked volunteers to breathe low levels of oxygen for 30 minutes. This caused constriction of blood vessels and a 56 per cent increase in pulmonary pressure. The experiment was then repeated after volunteers used (more…)

VIAGRA USE ‘NO LONGER TABOO

The number of prescriptions being written out in Gloucestershire for men with impotence is on the rise.GPs dished out more than 18,300 prescriptions last year, up from 16,500 in 2005/06.

With eight tablets of viagra costing as much as £46.99, the bill to the NHS is running into hundreds of thousands of pounds.

The figures were released this week by the Prescription Pricing Authority, which bills all 150 primary care trusts in England.

Medication including (more…)

Alcohol-fueled violence has increased at bars and restaurants in towns near military bases and hospitals as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have worn on, the Washington Post reported Sept. 2.

Some of the fights arise from interservice rivalries, and involve veterans recovering from combat wounds. Experts see the rising violence as a byproduct of repeated, extended tours of duty and unresolved mental and addiction issues. Binge drinking also has skyrocketed among service members in recent years, Pentagon surveys show, and more vets are returning with traumatic brain injury, a condition that leaves them prone to violent outbursts.

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A recent study found that male binge drinkers tend to decrease their intake of essential fatty acids as they increase their alcohol consumption, compounding their health risks, MedPage Today reported July 25.

Researcher Norman Salem Jr. of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and colleagues found that binge drinking was associated with declining intake of total saturated fatty acids, total monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), and total polyunsaturated acids (PUFA).

“The inverse association observed between binge drinking and n-3 fatty acid intake in our study implies that there may be adverse health effects on fatty acid intakes related to binge drinking in otherwise moderate drinkers,” the authors wrote.

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By Bob Curley

In a groundbreaking ruling, the California State Board of Equalization (BOE) has ruled that so-called “alcopop” drinks should be taxed as distilled spirits, rather than continuing to be subject to lower beer taxes.

The decision is expected to increase California state taxes on products like Mike’s Hard Lemonade and Smirnoff Ice by about 25 percent; currently, California taxes beer at 20 cents per gallon, while distilled spirits are taxed at $3.30 per gallon.

“Flavored malt beverages should be taxed as distilled spirits because they fall under the category of distilled spirits, as written in California law,” said California state Controller John Chiang. “While today’s vote is about fair taxation, taxing flavored malt beverages as liquor will also help reduce their popularity with young people by simply pricing the product out of their reach.”

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Alcohol-related deaths are soaring in Great Britain, and bar workers are among the most likely to die, UPI reported Aug. 23.

The U.K. Office for National Statistics reported that 16,666 people in Britain died of alcohol-related causes between 2001 and 2005, and bar staff, young female office workers, and merchant sailors were among the most likely to die because of alcohol use and its consequences.

On the other hand, doctors — who previously were counted as among those most at risk of dying from drinking — are now among the least at risk, due to changes in the drinking culture and an influx of doctors from ethnic backgrounds where alcohol use is taboo. “What is important is whether the occupation has a drinking culture, the availability of alcohol and the toleration of drinking at work,” said Martin Plant, an addiction expert at the University of the West of England.

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