Tag Archives: FDA

How to Help Students Understand the Risks of “Study Drugs”

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Contributed by Donna Wentworth

Drawing of prescription drug bottles

For college students facing the stress of final exams, taking a “study drug,” a medication usually used for ADHD, might seem like no big deal. After all, if their friends are taking it with no side effects, why shouldn’t they?

Daniel Gittins, AOD coordinator at Duquesne University, warns students that prescription medications are intended only for the individual they are prescribed to and no one else.

For “person A,” he explains, a medication like Ritalin® will have primary benefits, but also secondary effects such as “elevated blood pressure, faster heart rate, etc.” But if “person B” borrows the medication without considering their own medical history – such as a family history of high blood pressure, stress, or heart concerns – “the risks can be far more significant.”

How can you get this message across to students? Here are three strategies you can try:

  • Got Drugs? Take Them Back. Tackle the problem at the community level by participating in a take-back program such as the DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day last month. The FDA has additional information about the safe disposal of prescription medications.
  • Student, Know Thyself. MyStudentBody works at the individual level, using scientifically validated methods to help students understand the risks of misusing prescription medications. It also gives them practical information about how to safely manage their medications if they are using them for medical reasons.
  • Parental Guidance Suggested. Help prevent abuse of study drugs before next year’s freshmen show up on campus by reaching out to their parents. MyStudentBody-Parent, an important component of our program, is designed to help parents communicate effectively with students about alcohol and other drugs, including prescription medications. You can log in to the program to access a newly updated, print-ready companion guide, College-bound: Strategies for Parenting Your First-year College Student, and hand it out during orientation.

*MyStudentBody administrators -> If you have questions about how to use MyStudentBody to support your drug abuse prevention efforts, we encourage you to contact Amy Cavender, our Implementation Specialist, by email or phone at (800) 848-3895, ext. 205.

Overheard On Campus: Are e-cigarettes safe?

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Contributed by Beau Dooley, M.S., M.P.H., & Lisa Salazar, M.P.H, A.C.E.-C.P.T.
Introduction by Tyler Achilles

As I’ve mentioned before, I used to smoke when I was in college, which was not that long ago (really!). Luckily, I was able to quit cold turkey without the help of nicotine patches or gum or other methods. When I heard about e-cigarettes I was kind of confused. While there seems to be an inherent air of safety because e-cigarettes don’t involve inhaling a big puff of smoke that can damage your lungs, there have to be some drawbacks, right?

Girl using e-cigarette

One of our experts, Beau Dooley, Associate Director of Student Wellness and Outreach at James Madison University, has mixed feelings …

E-cigarettes are currently a hot topic of conversation. The short answer to your question is that the safety of e-cigarettes is being fiercely debated by public health experts, the tobacco industry, e-cigarette manufacturers, and the FDA.

E-cigarettes work by using a battery-operated heating element to vaporize nicotine (located in replaceable cartridges), which the user then inhales. There is neither tobacco nor smoke involved. E-cigarettes typically look like cigarettes, pens, or USB flash drives.

Supporters of e-cigarettes say that by isolating nicotine and not using tobacco, e-cigarettes are safer than cigarettes, which contain thousands of harmful chemicals. Additionally, supporters are comparing e-cigarettes to other proven nicotine replacement products that help smokers quit. Opponents of e-cigarettes say that a lack of FDA guidelines concerning their production could lead to inconsistency in safety among different brands. For instance, depending on the brand being used, consumers may get differing amounts of nicotine (which is highly addictive) and other chemicals that may be as harmful as those found in cigarette smoke.

So are e-cigarettes safe? I suppose it all depends on what you hope to get out of using the product. If you’re a smoker, they might be a safer alternative to cigarettes. If you’re a smoker and want to quit, know that there is no scientific evidence showing that e-cigarettes are an effective quit product (as compared to medication, nicotine patches, etc.). If you do not currently smoke and simply want to start by using a safer product, I would reconsider until the verdict is out among experts as to how safe e-cigarettes really are.

Lisa Salazar, Director of the Wellness Center at Idaho State University, still isn’t convinced …

Electronic cigarettes, also known as e-cigarettes, are one hot topic in the health and safety world. Not unlike traditional cigarette companies, companies producing and selling the e-cigarettes are making wide claims of their product being a safer alternative to cigarettes. In addition, there are claims and hundreds of testimonials that e-cigarettes are instrumental in helping traditional smokers quit. The manufacturer of one popular brand has even fortified its product with extra vitamins to make it “more healthy.”

While they may be safer than a traditional cigarette, they still deliver nicotine, which remains a very addictive substance. In addition, testing by the FDA has shown that e-cigarettes still contain cancer-causing substances and toxins including diethylene glycol, an ingredient found in antifreeze.  There are simply too many unknowns in the contents and long-term effects of e-cigarettes to be certain as to whether or not e-cigarettes are safer than their traditional cigarette counterparts. It could simply wind up being a matter of the lesser of two evils. Thus, despite having some very appealing flavors (including coffee, cherry, mint, and chocolate) to choose from, the bottom line is that e-cigarettes simply are not very safe.

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It sounds like there isn’t enough information yet to really say whether or not e-cigarettes are safe. Maybe safe isn’t a word we should be using to describe any type of addictive substance, even if the risks are lowered. Have you tried e-cigarettes? If so, what do you think about them? Write a comment in the section below. Click here for more Overheard On Campus posts.

Body Sense: Staying sane about being skinny

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Contributed by C. Claire Armagnac, B.S.

It seems as though diet and exercise are the latest celebrities when it comes to headline news. We can hardly go a few days without hearing about the newest cookbook published by a celebrity, the fad diets that are taking over Hollywood, and the number of Americans who are diagnosed with diabetes each day. With so much attention focused on dieting and a plethora of information coming from a wide variety of sources, it seems as though we end up more confused than confident when it comes to what we know about how to stay healthy. Sorting through all of the publicized information and separating fact from fiction can turn into a full-time job, if not an obsession.

Smiling girl focused on working out

You can drive yourself crazy trying to analyze all of the diet and exercise information that’s publicized by the media, or you can decide to be more selective about where and how you get your information, which is what I prefer to do. For example, many college campuses and health departments have nutritionists who will speak to students for free or at a reduced cost. Over the course of a few meetings, a nutritionist can provide you with unbiased advice, assess your current diet, and create dietary guidelines that are safe, concise, and easy to follow.

If you prefer to get information online, look for articles that were written by medical doctors, certified personal trainers, or nutritionists who display their credentials in the article’s byline. The FDA’s new website, www.mypyramid.gov, is interactive and is also helpful if you’re trying to determine how much to eat. Other useful websites include www.cdc.gov and www.mayoclinic.com, which have a “search” function that can quickly get you to the information that you need. If you’re looking for healthy recipes, my favorite websites are www.hungry-girl.com (it has recipes that guys will like too, I promise!) and www.cookinglight.com.

If you’re new to exercise or if you’re looking to revamp your workout routine, taking group fitness classes is a great idea. Group strength-training classes will teach you moves that you can later do at the gym by yourself, and group cardio classes (such as Zumba, spinning, and step aerobics) can provide a much-needed break from the treadmill. Group classes can also help you to challenge yourself and are often included as part of a normal gym membership or are available for free at gyms on college campuses. If you’re looking for a more targeted workout plan, a few sessions with a personal trainer can help you to set goals and get on the right track. Personal training sessions can be expensive, so you may want to ask a family member to give you a gift certificate for a session as a birthday or holiday gift.

I hope these tips are helpful. If you have any questions, email me at carmagna@stetson.edu!

“Physical fitness can neither be achieved by wishful thinking nor outright purchase.” – Joseph Pilates, fitness expert and creator of the Pilates workout program

Scare tactics: Are new cigarette labels effective?

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The AP recently ran a story about an FDA proposal to use scary images of the effects of smoking on the labels of cigarette packages.

I am of two minds on this. On the one hand, I am a big fan of ANYTHING that might encourage even one person to quit smoking, as I think it is a really horrifically bad habit. On the other hand, though, I have a strong aversion to scare tactics, and this seems to fall pretty solidly in that category.

What do you think?