Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Deadly Addictions

Deadly Addictions

In the United States, cigarette smoking kills more than 480,000 people each year; it is the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the nation. This is truly mind-boggling when the negative consequences resulting from extended cigarette use are known and well studied. I’d say it is a fair assumption, that everyone in the Unites States is aware of the health complications posed by extended cigarette use, for many the complications, such as lung cancer and emphysema, hit a little too close to home. It is hard to find an American who doesn’t know at least one person who smokes or used to smoke.

While cigarette smoking is a common addiction and leading cause of death in the United States, another deadly addiction is sweeping across other parts of the world. In Southeast Asia, as many as 600 million people chew areca (or betel) nuts; the common preparation, referred to as a quid, is prepared by mixing sliced areca nuts, slaked lime, spices, sometimes tobacco, and wrapping it all in leaves from the betel vine. It is so common in some nations, such as Taiwan due 
to the feeling of euphoria it induces; it is referred to as the nations “chewing gum”. Its side effects are detrimental; it is causing oral cancer in users up to 20 years after the user’s last chew. The lime that is added is particularly horrible, it causes tons of abrasions on the inside of the mouth, which then allows all of the cancer causing chemicals in the mixture to harm the users. Use of this concoction also causes their saliva and teeth to turn a bright red; so much so that sidewalks are said to be permanently stained red from people spitting the “quid juices”.




This addiction isn’t limited to adults, although most common amongst working class men, women and children also chew the quid (which makes the habit even more alarming). What is worse is the people are unaware that the high rates of oral cancer are linked to the addiction. It is said to be, one of the most popular mind-altering substances in the world, alongside nicotine, alcohol and caffeine.

Both quid chewing and cigarettes are exposing millions to known carcinogens. It is imperative the people of South Asia be educated about the negative health consequences of the popular substance use.

So what is being done to help the millions of people using cigarettes or chewing quid to curb these two addictions? Surprisingly, the research is being done on the two substances simultaneously.


Arecoline's chemical structure: can it curb the deadly addictions?
A recent study notes that researchers have found new insight to a possible new drug that could help both smokers and quid chewers quit their deadly habits. There are some drugs currently on the market to help smokers quit, but many of them come with negative side effects. One example is Vareceline, the negative effects happen because the drug targets multiple types of nicotine receptors, not just those involved in the addiction. Papke and Horenstein of the University of Florida have found a possible alternative: arecoline. It is one of the psychoactive alkaloids in the areca nut. It stimulates the same receptors responsible for nicotine addiction, but doesn’t stimulate the receptors associated with the side effects of other drugs. The arecoline analogs that they have synthesized (hey look, a practical use for organic chemistry!) may be able to treat these addictions without side effects. Let’s hope they get the funding they need and get it on the market as soon as possible because these two addictions are killing a staggering number of people each year.

Posted by Jenna Lansbury (B) 

Sources:

Pictures:






8 comments:

  1. Wow, it's amazing to me that people will continue their deadly habits while knowing that these habits could potentially kill them in the future. I thought having cigarettes in the world was already bad enough but now with this quid chewing coming to fruition things could possibly only get worse. Hopefully this addiction gets halted before it gets anywhere else in the world because i would hate to see a number of people have their lives shortened just for a euphoric sensation that lasts for only a little while. Great blog, enjoyed reading!

    Posted by Nicolas Baltayan (group A)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! I couldn't agree more, I will never understand how people can continue their habits whether it be smoking, quid chewing or other substances when the negative health consequences are known and very well documented. I'm not sure what more can be done to try and get people to come to their senses, but whatever it is, I hope we figure it out!

      Posted by Jenna Lansbury

      Delete
  2. This is a very interesting article Jenna! Its crazy to think that people would actually chew areca nuts knowing the extreme consequences that comes along with it (especially the physical consequences!). Its pretty upsetting knowing that even the younger generations are being introduced to this addictive nut knowing that it causes oral cancer. I could only hope that the researched drug you mentioned, arecoline, could be tested so it could be put on the market as soon as possible. I could only imagine how many more people in Southeast Asia are being exposed to this which is pretty scary to think about!

    Posted by Angela Driscoll (group A)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! I know, it truly is frightening. I hope in the meantime the people of Southeast Asia begin are educated about the correlation between the nut and oral cancer because something needs to be done to stop it.

      Posted by Jenna Lansbury

      Delete
  3. Sometimes it's really sad to see people addicted to extremely harmful drugs, but I know it's not something they can just easily quit. I think they just think more of the sensations in the moment than in the long run. But I think it's great that this new drug has been introduced. Sounds like it could have a really positive influence on these people since it is targeting the same receptors that would normally be targeted for nicotine addiction!

    Posted by Natalie Nou (group c)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We can only hope that the drug makes it out onto the market and can help curb these addictions. I agree with your point, I don't think they are necessarily harming themselves on purpose; at least those chewing quid because they do not know the high rate of oral cancer is caused by the quid. Yet we know the substance contains known carcinogens so hopefully we act fast and do something about it.

      Posted by Jenna Lansbury

      Delete
  4. This was a really interesting topic as I had never heard of this before! When I was reading the ingredients of the “chewing gum” I didn’t realize how dangerous it could be. This could be a reason why many people in that area don’t realize the risk associated with this addiction. One concern I do have is that even if they do find a treatment for this addiction is if people in those developing countries can get access to the help that they need. Overall really interesting post that really opened my eyes up to problems all over the world!

    Posted by: Kate Masterson (Group C)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know, I stumbled upon the topic and was shocked to discover this was such a wide ranging problem in other parts of the world! I agree, I am not sure exactly how these people will all get the treatment they need, but I hope they do. Perhaps the first step could to be at least educate the people on the severe harm the addiction is doing to them.

      Posted by Jenna Lansbury

      Delete