Anabolic Steroids:

http://www.drugabuse.gov/drugpages/steroids.html
NIDA’s Web site devoted to steroids
http://www.steroidabuse.org
NIDA Research Report: Anabolic Steroid Abuse
http://www.drugabuse.gov/ResearchReports/Steroids/AnabolicSteroids.html
NIDA Infofacts: Steroids
http://www.drugabuse.gov/Infofacts

We have been working very hard on the development of a complimentary addiction site. Please check out Best Quit Smoking Aids, our new site designed to help people who are trying to kick the nicotine addiction.

The idea of a smoking site has been in my mind for quite some time. The site is in its fledgling state right now but very shortly I be devoting a full time effort to its building out and promotion.

The concept behind the click smoking site will be to develop education and motivation as well as a review of the best quit smoking aids on the market.

This is a guest post – editor.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is considering whether to bar the sale of a new style of electric cigarette advertised as having the ability to administer pot to buyers at the office as well as on airplanes and other public places. These types of advertising are usually very suggestive to the purchaser insinuating the new kind of electronic cigarette enables you to get high in public without being detected. Having its focus on providing doses of psychoactive THC, this kind of electronic cigarette is plainly made to get buyers high and should be considered against the law.

Marketing campaigns for the new smokeless cigarette product apparently invite consumers not only to break regulations against smoking cigarettes in public areas but in addition regulations against using marijuana itself. The marketing campaigns suggest the completely new product permits you to now smoke weed in public areas without attracting any unwanted attention. They have already turned into the latest buzz in the pot community as the freshest method to smoke weed. Distributors state by using the newest marijuana e cigarette, you’ll be able to smoke the unlawful compound anywhere you want to with out a lighter, odor or even smoke. Potential buyers are lured because of the advertisers promise that you will get a weed high from any of the three different types on sale. All 3 types are supposedly obtained from powerful sativa and indica strains of marijuana.

There will also be hidden hazards as users of the device breathe out the by products in public places. What ought to be considered will be the concern of exposing bystanders to the residue given off from the product. Some of those most at risk from this exposure consist of infants, seniors and those with health-related issues which can be exacerbated due to the residue released from the device. This can be a real problem and may be used by the Food and drug administration to win their argument that e-cigarettes are in fact drug delivery devices.

Even the websites and distributors who sell and are generally supportive of e-cigarettes that administer nicotine say that the promotion of this product will most likely take the debate about electric cigarettes to a totally new level. The Food and drug administration has ruled that e-cigarettes designed to provide nicotine are drug-delivery devices and are criminal because they never have been approved by the agency for distribution. Although it is apparent that the FDA possesses jurisdiction over these types of devices, there is certainly debate if the government statute providing the Food and drug administration jurisdiction over tobacco relates to nicotine e-cigarettes.

E-cigarettes that administer cannabis, or substances besides nicotine, are not impacted by the government statute focusing on tobacco cigarettes and nicotine administration devices. The FDA’s inability to immediately prohibit this completely new device and begin suitable enforcement actions is undoubtedly a problem. Continued inability to adopt any sort of effective measures in opposition to this sort of e-cig will surely further undermine the organizations reputation and authority.

Want to know how to buy the best e cigarette to fit your needs? Visit Carl Toviaz’s site for reviews and pricing on the new e-cigarette and supplies.

There are a lot of smokers that are generally shunned away because of their habit. Well, what if you could enjoy a cigarette regardless of where you are, and not have one person say anything about it? An electronic cigarette will give you the ability to smoke whenever you desire to.

These cigarettes are known by many different names such as
smokeless cigarette ore-cigarettes . These electrified cigarettes are actually making the world a better place. The electronic devices are designed to simulate smoking, and a lot of smokers actually feel as though they are engaging in smoking, every time that they smoke one of these devices.

The cigarettes look, feel and even taste like the real thing. Aside from all of these features that these cigarettes have, they are also a lot safer for you to use. The electrified devices actually do not burn any tobacco at all, thus making them highly effective and safe to use.

Individuals that choose to smoke these cigarettes inhale water vapors instead of smoke. These vapors include nicotine, propylene glycol as well as a tobacco scent that is simulated as well. When you begin to suck with your mouth, the water vapors are released into your lungs, which emulate an actual smoking sensation.

The electronic devices do not have any glue or tar added to them. Aside from not having any additives added to these tubes, there is also no tobacco that has been added either. Without any tobacco added to these tubes, your chances of obtaining cancer are actually diminished.

People also can smoke these cigarettes wherever they want to. The cigarettes do not emit any type of smoke out of them. So, you can easily smoke one of these vapor filled tubes in any place that you desire. Everything is locked inside of the tube that the devices come in, the only way to release the water vapors is to suck on the tubes. The vapors will not release harmful toxins into the air.

The electronic devices come with refillable nicotine cartridges. Aside from having these cartridges, you can also decide on the type of nicotine that you want to consume. The nicotine flavors range from regular, menthol flavored and even an apple or strawberry flavored nicotine product as well.

Believe it or not, there are a lot of people that have managed to find a way to cease their smoking habits. These electronic devices are not meant to be a smoking cessation, but they are meant to be a smoking alternative. With the ability to be able to change the nicotine strengths that you consume, you will be able to gradually decrease your nicotine consumption.

Nicotine patches and other oral pills typically do not individuals quit smoking. However, with these electronic devices assisting you with your desire to quit, you will still be able to treasure smoking a cigarette without being adversely affected by the additives that are put into these cigarettes. You will be able to satisfy your desire to smoke, and also help curve some of your tobacco cravings.

Find more information and details on the benefits of using an electronic cigarette today! When you want to add distinction to your experience, using a Blu Electronic Cigarette will give you the unique look and feel of a regular cigarette.

If someone uses nicotine again and again, such as by smoking cigarettes or cigars or chewing tobacco, his or her body develops a tolerance for it. When someone develops tolerance, he or she needs more drug to get the same effect. Eventually, a person can become addicted. Once a person becomes addicted, it is extremely difficult to quit. People who start smoking before the age of 21 have the hardest time quitting, and fewer than 1 in 10 people who try to quit smoking succeed.

When nicotine addicts stop smoking they may suffer from restlessness, hunger, depression, headaches, and other uncomfortable feelings. These are called “withdrawal symptoms” because they happen when nicotine is withdrawn from the body.

Nicotine also activates areas of the brain that are involved in producing feelings of pleasure and reward. Recently, scientists discovered that nicotine raises the levels of a neurotransmitter called dopamine in the parts of the brain that produce feelings of pleasure and reward. Dopamine, which is sometimes called the pleasure molecule, is the same neurotransmitter that is involved in addictions to other drugs such as cocaine and heroin. Researchers now believe that this change in dopamine may play a key role in all addictions. This may help explain why it is so hard for people to stop smoking.

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By Donate Fagiano

It is difficult to admit that we have faults. It is, at times, the last avenue for us-admittance that we have problems and that we need help. If you believe you have a gambling addiction then your reading of these words is the all important first step. If you don’t think that you have a gambling problem, read on and, then at the end of this article, see if you feel the same way. Think carefully! Do you or someone you love need to overcome the real problem of gambling addiction.

Three Clues

Clue # 1 You think gambling is going to make you rich.

Big mistake! If you have this mentality then you will be spending a long time in the dregs of addiction. Here is a little fact: most professional gamblers are not rich. Sure there are some who are, but the majority just gets by (look this up if you are skeptical). Sure they live off their winnings and don’t have to work a 9-5 job, but they are professionals, they have dedicated their lives to the art of entertainment gambling. And besides, professional gamblers are moderate in that they do not gamble compulsively.

Clue # 2 You think that your gambling will help pay your bills.

Have you ever had a friend who thought that they were going to gamble his/her way back to solvency? I have and it was not a pretty sight. My friend came to me after a weekend in Atlantic City and asked me for a small loan (some friend). If you think that gambling is going to pay your bills then you have a gambling problem. If you think gambling may be able to make you an extra hundred or so bucks then you are realistic in your assessment of what you might make as an entertainment gambler.

Clue # 3 Your loved ones (family, friends, colleagues) are affected by your gambling.

Part of life is giving up what you know you can no longer possess for the benefit of something else you can’t afford to lose. When your family, friends, and/or colleagues are negatively affected by your gambling sprees, it is time to realize that you have a gambling problem and need help to control your addiction. If you have kept your gambling a secret and your loved ones are unaware of your problem then ask yourself this question: Are they being affected by my penchant for gambling. Remember, your loved ones don’t need to be consciously aware of your problem in order to be affected negatively by it.

Life is too wonderful to be enslaved to any addiction. But don’t worry, you are not alone. The first step is to call this free and private hotline 1-800-522-5700, or find a G.A. near you on the web.

Donate Fagiano is probability theorist who specilizes in statistical analysis and gaming theory. He is the creator of the entertainment gambling website http://www.merlinsmind.com

Donate spends his time writing and researching when he is not spending quality time with his family. He lives in the South of France.

Thinking of quitting smoking? Research shows non-smokers have a lower rate of alcohol and drug relapses than smokers.

•    About 33% of all smokers try to stop smoking each year.

•    More than 90% try to quit without any nicotine cessation treatment.

•    Most smokers will make several attempts to quit.

•    Ultimately, about 50% are successful over their lifetime.

(U.S Dept of Health and Human Services)

I hate statistics when it comes to addiction recovery of any type because of the false conclusions people can draw from them.

Here is the flaw in all those statistics. They assume independent variables. An example is flipping a coin; all factors being equal, over the long run, we expect heads 50% of the time, and tails 50% of the time.

Any addiction recovery is a dependent variable. If statistics say 50% of people recover from something, it is not a random chance of which group you will be in. Your individual actions will determine your success.

When I entered recovery, both smoking and drugs and alcohol, I could care less about statistics. I adopted the belief that if others could do it, I could too. You can’t stop me. I know that is cocky and immature, but it worked enough for a start.

How about it? Statistics say you have a fifty/fifty shot on quitting smoking, but you get to choose which fifty you want to be in. you may want to consider natural ways to quit smoking.

Just take a chance – you might win big!

Gambling addiction and the lure of easy money is powerful. What if you could spend a single dollar and win millions in the lottery? You start out buying one ticket, then another and another – but you never win anything substantial.

You might win twenty dollars and use it to buy more tickets. Once you get the gambling bug, it’s a short step from buying a lottery ticket at the convenience store to pulling a chair up to the slot machines in a casino.

With so many online gambling sites, it’s easy for anyone to gamble even those who are underage, and teenage gambling addictions are growing. The sites say you have to be over 18 or 21, but who’s checking the IDs?

Teens are three times more likely to get addicted to gambling than adults. Some rack up thousands of dollars in gambling debt before they’re even old enough to get a driver’s license!

Gambling is a hidden addiction because it’s more likely to be done in secret than on a night out to a casino with friends. As the addiction increases, gambling interferes with work, social, mental and physical aspects of your life.

Up to 4% of Americans have a gambling addiction. If you find that you crave the thrill of risking money and hoping to win big, then you’re an action gambler. But if you’re more likely to gamble when you’re upset or in some type of life crisis, then you’re an escapist gambler. Women are more likely to be escapist gamblers while men are usually action gamblers.

If you realize that you’re driven to gamble and it’s taking over your life, then you need to get help. You can’t beat this on your own. Gambling is an addiction as powerful as drugs or food. Here are some tips to help you break the addiction to gambling:

1. Tell your spouse, significant other, parent or someone close to you. Ask for their support as you confront your problem.

2. Reduce your access to money. Cut up your credit and debit cards. Carry only small amounts of cash in your wallet.

3. Change your path. Stay away from places that are triggers to gamble.

4. Stay away from people who encourage you to gamble. If necessary, change your cell phone number or email address so that they can’t contact you.

Contact the nearest Gambler’s Anonymous group. You and your family members need to attend this group to know what to expect. And find an experienced counselor who can work one-on-one with you.

Check out my friends blogs with gabling addiction postings:

What I now know to be true

Into My Second Year Gambling Free

More of my story – Gambler’s Anonymous

Dr. McNeilly looks into new ways to treat gambling addiction

Senior gambling addiction , NYC Independent Media Center, 4/25/07 …

When food becomes more about emotional hunger than physical hunger, you could be at risk for developing a food addiction. A dysfunctional relationship with food can involve over-eating or starving.  In either situation, food is a weapon turned on the self in ways that are unhealthy and sometimes life threatening to an individual.

These aren’t the occasional situations like over-eating at a holiday buffet or joining in on the late night pizza party. That kind of over-eating is situational and you can get back to normal eating with minor effort.

Food addiction goes beyond those situations – it’s a craving that drives a person to eat well beyond what it takes to satisfy basic hunger cues. With food addiction, the real hunger is emotional, not physical.

The dynamics of food addiction are similar to that of alcohol addiction or smoking. Each of those addictions involves a craving for something that’s damaging to the body in excess.

You can go cold turkey to give up smoking or alcohol as part of changing behaviors, but you can’t give up food. Refusing to eat leads to another kind of eating disorder, so it’s no improvement.

Unlike alcohol or smoking, food isn’t what’s harmful – it’s the way food is used that causes the problem. Food addicts actually get little pleasure from eating. They aren’t pigs without discipline they’re people who are locked in a negative relationship with food, often suffering guilt after a binge.

Food addicts often hide food and eat secretly so that friends and family won’t know how much they’re eating. They sometimes eat foods that are stale, overcooked, undercooked or half frozen.

Food addiction is never just about eating habits. It’s as much a psychological issue as it is a physiological one.  Not all food addicts are overweight, either! Many are underweight to normal weight.

If the food addiction becomes bulimia with binging and purging, then the individual may not gain weight because of induced vomiting or excessive use of laxatives.

Like a drug addict constantly on the lookout for a fix, the food addict is always thinking about food. This person will talk incessantly about food, finding a place for lunch, getting a snack at break time or stopping at a fast food drive through on the way home from work before dinner!

Food addicts need medical and psychological help to overcome this disorder. You need a complete physical to identify and treat any problems such as diabetes, food allergies or thyroid.

You also need counseling with a mental health professional who specializes in eating disorders. Changing the way you deal with food starts with filling the emotional void that’s driving your food addiction.

By Mike Lindsey

Are you looking for tips on stopping smoking?

And would you like to know what are some ways to help quit? Is there a best way to quit smoking? Now let me remind you that when we come to the actual quitting process, that it is not going to be easy. Please do not consider yourself to be superhuman so be ready to get external help if you need it. As I told you earlier, there might be physical, mental and emotional changes when you stop smoking. But you do not have to worry. There is plenty of help available nowadays. Below are some tips on stopping smoking:

Medical Help:

If you can get professional medical help, then its even better. Getting professional medical help does not mean that you have to under go prolonged medical treatment. Your doctor or even your dentist will be able to guide you and provide you with all the solutions to your queries. They will able to suggest methods of handling the withdrawal symptoms and even prescribe medicines that can help you, and they can give you even more tips on stopping smoking.

Medicines:

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved five medications to help you quit smoking:
1. Bupropion SR Available by prescription
2. Nicotine gum Available over-the-counter
3. Nicotine inhaler Available by prescription
4. Nicotine nasal spray Available by prescription
5. Nicotine patch Available by prescription and over-the-counter

Taking these medicines will not just double your chances of succeeding but will actually increase your chances by a whooping 80%. But of course it is highly recommended that you start using these medicines after consulting a medical practitioner.
Counseling:

You might also consider possibilities like group counseling or telephone counseling. Group counseling has a wonderful effect, because there is nothing that feels as good as having others who face the same problems that you are encountering. When you hear the fears of others, and how difficult t is for them to pull no, you will feel surprisingly encouraged. Group counseling will provide you a wonderful arena to compare notes with other fellow quitters and you can watch and monitor your progress.
For more Tips to Stop Smoking visit http://www.healthy-news.com

NEW YORK, NY, October 23, 2007

The nicotine in tobacco products poses a significant danger of structural and chemical changes in developing brains that can make teens more vulnerable to alcohol and other drug addiction and to mental illness, according to Tobacco: The Smoking Gun, a new white paper released today by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University and commissioned by The Citizens Commission to Protect the Truth, a group of all former U.S. Secretaries of Health, Education, and Welfare and of Health and Human Services, all former U.S. Surgeons General, and all former Directors of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Smoking and Alcohol and Illegal Drug Use

Compared to 12- to 17-year olds who don’t smoke, those who do are more than five times likelier to drink and 13 times likelier to use marijuana than nonsmokers.
Compared to those who never smoked, those who began smoking at age 12 or younger are:
More than three times likelier to binge drink;
Nearly 15 times likelier to smoke marijuana; and
Nearly seven times likelier to use other illegal drugs such as heroin and cocaine.

Smoking and Mental Health Disorders 

The CASA analysis also found that among teens ages 12 to 17, twice as many smokers as nonsmokers suffered from symptoms of depression in the past year. Teens who reported early initiation of smoking were more likely to experience serious feelings of hopelessness, depression and worthlessness in the past year.

The report also notes that smoking at a young age is related to panic attacks, general anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder.

“We have long known that nicotine is extraordinarily addictive and that youth can become addicted extremely quickly,” said Cheryl G. Healton, Dr.P.H., president and CEO of the American Legacy Foundation. “This new report underscores what we know about the developing brains of teens who are highly vulnerable to personal, social and media influences to begin smoking and why it is so vital to reach them with information about tobacco before they start to smoke. Because 80 percent of smokers begin before age 18, when their young brains and bodies are so susceptible to the effects of nicotine, it is imperative that we stop what for so many will result in lost years and lives to tobacco addiction, disease and death.”

The public health case against tobacco for hiking the chances of damaging our childrens developing brains in ways that can increase their risk of alcohol and other drug abuse and mental illness is clear, noted Califano, who started the national anti-smoking campaign in 1978. The time has come to curb cigarette advertisements and promotions by the nicotine pushers and step up campaigns like the American Legacy Foundations effort to protect our nations children.
The Citizens Commission to Protect the Truth, a group of all former U.S. Secretaries of Health, Education, and Welfare and of Health and Human Services, all former U.S. Surgeons General, and all former Directors of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Republican and Democrat from every Administration over the last forty years, was formed in March 2004 to prevent youth from smoking. Among its efforts, the Commission shines a spotlight on the continued need to fund truthÒ, the only independent national youth counter- marketing campaign with demonstrated results in keeping children and teens from smoking. For more information on the Commission, visit its Web site at http://www.protectthetruth.org.

CASA is the only national organization that brings together under one roof all the professional disciplines needed to study and combat all types of substance abuse as they affect all aspects of society. CASA has issued 66 reports and white papers, published one book, conducted demonstration projects focused on children, families and schools at 204 sites in 76 cities and counties in 30 states plus Washington, DC and two Native American tribal reservations, and has been evaluating the effectiveness of drug and alcohol treatment in a variety of programs and drug courts. CASA is the creator of the nationwide initiative Family Day A Day to Eat Dinner with Your ChildrenTM — the fourth Monday in September the 22nd in 2008 that promotes parental engagement as a simple and effective way to reduce childrens risk of smoking, drinking and using illegal drugs. In May of 2007, CASA Chairman Joseph A. Califano, Jr. called for a fundamental shift in the nations attitude about substance abuse and addiction with the publication of his book, HIGH SOCIETY: How Substance Abuse Ravages America and What to Do About It. For more information visit http://www.casacolumbia.org/