Nearly half of the medical prescriptions in the US are that of generic drugs. Yet, there has been a considerable amount of debate relating to the safety and reliability on generic drugs vis-à-vis the brand-name drugs. Before going into the merits of the debate, it is pertinent to know a little about generic drugs. When a pharmaceutical company invents a drug that company is the only one allowed to make that drug in the same country for a certain number of years. After this time period, other companies are allowed to make the same drug. These drugs are called generic drugs. The original drug is called a brand name drug. Actually, a generic drug is a copy of brand-name drug that has exactly the same strength, dosage, effects, side effects etc. as the original drug. Its pharmacological effects are exactly the same as those of its brand-name counterparts. A very good example of generic drug is sildenafil citrate which is better known by its brand-name Viagra. The confusion in the minds of people is regarding the cost of generic drugs. They are usually much cheaper than their brand-name counterparts immediately raising the suspicion regarding their quality, safety and effectiveness. Price Factor Generics drugs can be legally produced under the following circumstances: • where the patent of the brand company has expired, • where the generic drug company proves that the brand companies’ patent is either invalid, unenforceable or will not be infringed, • if the drugs are not patented, or • In countries where such patent is not in force. The main reason for the reduced cost of generic drugs is that these are manufactured by smaller pharmaceutical companies which cannot invest in research and development into new drugs. The significant research and development costs incurred by the large pharmaceutical companies in bringing a new drug to the market is often cited as the reason for the high cost of new agents – they wish to recover these costs before the patent expires. Generic manufacturers do not incur these costs and are able to charge significantly less than the brand. Safety and Effectiveness The US FDA standards require that generic drugs should be as safe and effective as brand-name drugs. The FDA applies the same standards for all drug manufacturing facilities, and many companies manufacture both brand-name and generic drugs. So there’s no truth in the reports that generic drugs are manufactured in poor-quality facilities or are inferior in quality to brand-name drugs. In fact, the FDA estimates that 50% of generic drug production is by brand-name companies. Another common misbelief is that generic drugs take longer to work. The FDA guidelines require that generic drugs work in the same way and in the same amount of time as brand-name drugs. Physical Features In the US, the trademark laws do not allow a generic drug to look exactly like the brand-name drug. However, a generic drug must have the same active ingredients to ensure the same efficacy of the drug. Colors, flavors, and certain other inactive ingredients may be different to satisfy the trademark laws.
If you’ve thought about buying prescription drugs on the internet you may have found the whole experience rather confusing. — Are generic drugs as good as brand-names? — Are drug copies such as “generic viagra” safe to use? — Does it matter if a drug is not “FDA approved”? — Are you breaking US laws if you buy non-FDA-approved drugs on the internet? These are just some of the questions many people have about online pharmacies and online drugs. The purpose of this article is to answer some of these questions 1. What is a Generic Drug? In the US and many other countries, a “generic” drug is a copy of a brand-name drug. It has identical active ingredients as the brand-name version, and so it is the same as the brand-name version in dosage, safety, strength, quality, performance, and intended use. A generic version of a brand-name drug is not just similar to its brand-name counterpart. It is identical in all its important characteristics. It must not look like the brand-name version, and it may have a different flavor. But the amount of important active ingredients is the same, and therefore it has the same therapeutic characteristics as its brand-name counterpart. 2. Does every Brand-Name Drug have a Generic Counterpart? No, every brand-name drug does not have a generic counterpart. This is especially the case with newer drugs such as Viagra, Cialis, and Levitra. These brand-name formulations are patent-protected for 20 years from the date of the submission of the patent. That means that no other drug company can introduce a “generic” version of any of these drugs while its patent is in effect. This allows the original developer of the brand-name drug to recover research and development costs. When the patent for a specific drug expires, other companies — including the original developer of the brand-name drug — can apply to the FDA to sell generic versions. This also explains why legitimate generic drugs are cheaper than their brand-name counterparts. A generic manufacturer does not have to recover research and development costs and can therefore sell them for less. This also has a tendency to drive down the price of the brand-name version as well. 3. Do Generic Drugs have to be FDA-Approved? Yes, all prescription drugs, including all generic drugs must be FDA approved. In order to be sold to the public, generic drugs must pass the same FDA inspections as their brand-name counterparts. They must be manufactured to the same high standards, and the facilities where they are produced are subjected to the same inspections. In fact, an estimated 50 percent of all generic drugs are produced by the same company that produces the brand-name version of the drug. 4. Is there such a thing as a Non-FDA-Approved Generic Drug? No, technically speaking, there is no such thing as a non-FDA-approved “generic drug.” As outlined above, legitimate “generic” drugs must have the same characteristics as their brand-name counterparts, and must pass through the same FDA approval process in order to be sold to the public. When an offshore company copies a brand-name drug before its patent expires it cannot get an FDA approval because it is breaking US law. 5. Problems with Offshore Copies of Brand-Name Drugs There are two major problems with so-called “generic” drugs that are not FDA approved. — It is illegal to sell these drugs in the US (and other countries) because buyers and sellers are ignoring US and international patent laws — It is dangerous to buy and use these drugs, because they are not subject to inspection and regulation. According to some sources, “many of these generics are created in unsanitary, make-shift labs and over half of these medications tested are cited for being unsafe for consumption.” In many cases they are found to contain “little to none or too much of the active ingredient.” 6. How Can You Be Sure You are Buying FDA Approved Drugs? — The website should say “FDA Approved” or “FDA Approved Pharmaceuticals” — Websites offering “generic” versions of newer drugs such as Viagra, Cialis, Levitra, and Propecia are selling non-FDA-approved versions of these drugs. These drugs have not been around long enough for their patent to have expired, so the “generic” copies are illegal copies. — Never buy from a website that has no phone number to call or physical address you can verify. — The online pharmacy should have knowledgeable licensed consultants able to answer your questions.
This drug has recently received a huge attention by media as being a miracle drug that can work miracles if one decides to loose some weight in a rapid manner; but there was a quite perfunctory regard to its side effects and dangers when used without medical supervision. Actually, when this drug is used according to an existent medical prescription, it can help the people suffering from respiratory distress or heart failure. Bit this is not a reason for you to rush in order to buy steroids that will improve the quality of your present life.
Off-level and unsupervised use can lead to various accidents that are strongly related to the side effects of this drug. But these effects have not been given the proper attention thus permitting this drug to make its way into the sports medicine where athletes have started to buy steroids in order to increase their strength. This skinny pill can actually be prescribed by a veterinarian regardless of the fact that it can be used in the case of the humans too. There were many people who have managed to get such a prescription from the veterinarian who was treating their horses.
This drug has a particular repartitioning effect that makes all the food you ingest go toward your muscles without transforming it into fat. The entire metabolic rate will be thus boosted and the fat will be burned and more muscles will be laid down. This repartitioning effect is the main one when it comes to using such a steroid on a daily basis. Adding muscles and burning calories seems to be a desirable process but there are some dangerous effects too. Before deciding to go and buy clenbuterol, you have to be aware of the fact that this substance can be taken up by other tissues too thus leading to detrimental effects. These effects have been well researched and documented by several experiment that have been made on animals; these experiments have shown the fact that clenbuterol may cause the so-called cell death in the muscular system thus leading to heart failure. There are other toxicities that are to be considered too before an athlete decided to buy steroids for his own use.
Clenbuterol is a stimulant drug; every user will experience a tremendous increase when it comes to his regular heart rate; he will sweat, shake and feel acute cardiovascular effects. Blood pressure will be increased too by the constant use of this drug and all these acute effects can be transformed into severe and chronic ones as soon as this chemical is taken up by other cells. Cellular changes are to be expected thus leading to cell death. Another negative feature of this drug is the fact that it can be transmitted to humans who are eating clenbuterol infested meat; research has shown the fact that this clenbuterol will not be a modified one because the animal metabolism is not likely to have changed its structure. Similar forms are to be expected when it comes to this transmission; the animals that were fed with this substance in order to gain some more weight will be infested with it and their meat will be dangerous for humans too. Actually, this substance was banned in some European countries in order to prevent people getting sick from eating this kind of infested meat.
The long-term effects will be scarier than the acute ones; therefore, all the doctors should refuse their patients who are asking for clenbuterol prescriptions in order to go and buy steroids. All the potential side effects have to be regarded as quite dangerous and more legitimate ways are to be considered when it comes to loosing or gaining weight. This drug is not an approved one and human use is forbidden in USA. But this aspect will not prevent people who are interested in using this drug from buying it from the Internet or from other countries where this drug is an approved item. All its side effects are predictable and hands shakiness and tremor will be observed in any clenbuterol user. The overdose is to be avoided because it can be quite uncomfortable even if the user is a healthy person; the blood pressure can be reduced to a lower level thus enhancing the risks when it comes to developing a future heart failure. So, you have to think twice before going to a pharmaceutical store in order to buy steroids because all the previous information should be considered in order to make you acknowledge the possible risks.
Many manufacturing and marketing companies who are into drug businesses see this as an opportunity to cash on and come out with new drugs every now-and-then. But the pertinent question is whether the users of these drugs are aware about the legal aspects of these drugs and whether they know what are the ingredients used in these drugs and its side effects?
Let us get to the basics of this question. Generally, these drugs are not prescribed by any physician. Then how come they are widely used? It is because those who use it initially recommend it to their friends and acquaintances. They, in turn, pass their views about these drugs to their friends and acquaintances. In short, the information about the drugs spreads through word-of-mouth and not through any formal media like the physician or researcher. No one is any wiser as to the content of these drugs and its legality. Just because it is sold at a reputed drug store or it is manufactured by a good-sounding company, people purchase it. This is a dangerous trend and can lead to many complications.
Party Pills are known by various names like Pep Pills, Herbal Highs, Natural Power, Dance Pills etc. and most of these recreational drugs have Benzylpiperazine (BZP) as their main ingredient. It is one of the derivatives of piperazine. BZP along with other such derivatives like Trifluoromethylphenylpiperazine (TFMPP), methoxyphenylpiperazine (MeOPP) and Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) are generally mixed with caffeine along with host of binders and vitamins to prepare party pills. These party pills act by effecting changes in brain’s neurotransmitters 5-HT (serotonin) and dopamine. This makes the user loose inhibitions and he gets artificial euphoria and feeling of general well-being.
But these party pills pose a great deal of health hazards. If taken on regular basis for longer period of time, these drugs can cause nausea, drying of mouth, increased heart rate and decreased appetite. These side effects can cause damage to major organs like heart, kidney, eyes and lead to permanent disability in some cases.
So, it is necessary to have genuine information about the drugs, their legality, their price and last but not the least, ingredients used in them and their side effects. This information can be collected from physicians or from various websites devoted towards this information. One must be fully equipped with precise information about these drugs so as to avoid further health complications if one intends to use them. It is better not to go for them, but if you cannot do without these drugs, check out with your physician as to the dosage you should take.
Publicity about anything that might help alcoholics is bound to get attention. What better way for a drug maker to boost sales of one of its drugs than by publishing a study that makes just such a claim? The problem is that it is misleading and even unethical to suggest that a pill can be a substitute for genuine alcohol rehab.
Just such a study, paid for by Ortho-McNeil Neurologics, a division of Johnson and Johnson, and conducted by many Ortho-McNeil consultants, was published in the Oct. 10 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association. The study concluded that its seizure and migraine medication Topamax (topiramate) “is a promising treatment for alcohol dependence.” However, treatment for alcohol dependence is more than getting a fractional reduction in heavy drinking, which is what the study accomplished with its drug. Treatment for alcoholism requires getting the alcoholic through alcohol detox, then through alcohol rehab, and then through months rebuilding one’s life without an alcohol problem.
The results of the study, however, were ballyhooed in the national media, and Ortho-McNeil got new publicity that may well result in a lot of doctors prescribing Topamax for their alcoholic patients instead of getting them into a proper and effective long-term alcohol rehab program.
It is illegal for a drug company to promote the use of a drug for any other than its FDA approved use – FDA approvals for Topamax were only for migraine and seizure. However, individual physicians can legally prescribe a drug for non FDA approved “off-label” use. The problem facing any drug company is how to get doctors to prescribe their drug off label, without breaking the law by promoting that to them.
Ortho-McNeil could apply to the FDA for approval of Topamax for alcoholism “treatment” but it has been reported that the company doesn’t intend to do so because their patent on Topamax will soon expire. Of course, this begs the question as to why the company would pay for a study at this point.
Meanwhile, the consumer advocate group Public Citizen has publicized a letter urging the FDA to take action against Ortho-McNeil’s “illegal and dangerous promotional campaign” for off-label Topamax prescriptions. Ortho-McNeil, the letter claims, released a media kit with a Q & A sheet that says, “Since topiramate is currently FDA-approved for seizures and migraines, it is available to your doctor to prescribe it to you off-label.” Public Citizen asserts that this clearly violates the prohibition of off-label promotion, since patients are being “explicitly urged/promoted to ask their doctor for topiramate to treat their serious alcohol addiction.” In any event, family doctors are not addiction specialists, and should be sending alcoholic patients for professional alcohol rehab, not prescribing off-label pills.
Also, current FDA labeling for Topamax states: “You should avoid drinking alcohol while taking Topamax. Alcohol with Topamax can make side effects such as sleepiness and dizziness worse.” The list of other side-effects include eye problems, kidney stones, decreased sweating leading to dangerous overheating, and tingling in the limbs. The study, says Public Citizen, found a significant increase in dizziness (doubled), injury (almost tripled), and difficulty with concentration and attention (quadrupled) in the subjects receiving Topamax, compared to subjects getting a placebo. The group also pointed out that both test groups were still “heavily drinking at the end of the study” and that more subjects taking Topamax quit the study than the placebo group. The study showed “only a modest improvement in the percentage of days of heavy drinking in people using Topamax compared with people using a placebo,” the group said. Even more reasons for doctors to avoid off-label prescriptions and stick to encouraging their a
lcoholic patients to enroll in recognized alcohol rehab programs.
Drugs for alcoholism have failed to make any significant dent in the drinking habits of the 15 million or more alcoholics in this country. Fueling additional sales of a drug by promoting “off label” prescriptions, especially by physicians who are not trained in addiction treatment, is not a substitute for alcohol rehab. And who’s going to manage the worrisome side-effects? Pills are not the answer to alcohol addiction. Whether someone’s addiction is to drugs or alcohol, the solution is a bona fide drug or alcohol rehab program.
There are a range of areas that the term ‘digital media courses’ contain. Areas such as the making of film, video, animation, gaming, music and other related areas all come under the banner. There are a number of providers for these digital media courses but care must always be undertaken by the students when they are making their decision. Decisions should not solely factor on cost, but experience and reputation are nearly always worth the extra investment. Digital media production can teach students a vast array of useful skills that typically are broken down into digital video, videography and media production. Although they are all interrelated in some form or another, when you specialize, each one is very focused and unique. Depending on passion, students have the flexibility to decide on which area they would prefer to concentrate on. Generally speaking, these three disciplines pave the way to the career trajectory of editors, videographers, producers, directors, designers, multimedia artists and a whole lot more besides. When students participate in digital video, they tend to start by covering the primary focuses of the course. Students should have firsthand use of the technology, equipment and procedure of production. No matter what aspect or what digital media course that you decide to focus on, learning should always cover the entire production process, from conception to completion, from script to the fully edited end. The providers should always have the most modern technology and equipment and teach the students everything from camera operation, sound testing, production methods, camera direction and many other areas as well. Digital media courses, depending on the standard, should include the whole range of disciplines. Say for example you decided to do a digital media course that specializes in music production. When you are choosing where you would like to go to, they absolutely must have all the latest editing and recording equipment in the industry. Ideally, they would also have access to their own studios and provide students with the potential of recording their own sessions. Always check the credentials of the tutors. How long have they worked in the music industry? What kind of music do they specialise in and does it reflect your interests? What kind of artists have they worked with? Don’t be afraid to ask for a sample of their work and make up your own mind as to how good they actually are. For other students, enrolling in film production is more their choice of digital media courses. Regardless of whether your ambitions lie within television or the film industry, again always check the credentials of the teachers. Have they worked on shows or movies that you recognise? How long have they been in the industry? Again, never be afraid to ask for a sample of their work. And it should go without saying that you should be able to record your own work and have a show reel at the end in order to show case your work. No matter what digital media course you decide on and no matter in what discipline, always do your research before deciding who to go with. And as the old saying goes ‘a penny wise and a pound foolish’, don’t sacrifice money savings for quality, in the long run it will not stand to you. Published at: https://www.isnare.com/?aid=1378972&ca=Computers+and+Technology
Once you’ve been diagnosed as being diabetic, likely you’ve been put on a diet of drugs to control your blood sugar. What you don’t know is that drugs do nothing to prevent the complications of diabetes.
While drugs do help to keep your glucose on an even keel they do not address the underlying causes of the disease nor do they help prevent the complications of retinopathy, neuropathy and weight gain that strike so many with diabetes. Controlling blood sugar is an important step but they miss out on that one crucial step that can still lead you down the road to blindness, amputation and kidney failure.
Much of the reason for these complications stems from the lack of certain nutrients that are lacking in the diabetic diet.
The majority of Americans are woefully deficient in many essential vitamins and minerals. In fact most don’t even meet the RDA recommendations as set by government health agencies. It’s hardly surprising that heart disease, cancer, arthritis, Alzheimer’s and many of the degenerative diseases we see around us afflict so many.
If the levels of vitamins and minerals is low among so many average people, it goes double for the diabetic. Since the diabetic kidney is stressed as it attempts to rid the body of excess glucose, it unfortunately flushes out many nutrients too. It’s the lack of these essential nutrients that leads to diabetic complications, not necessarily the result of high blood sugar.
Supplementation for diabetics is an absolute necessity. You need to replace what you lose. The fact is that you can suffer the same symptoms of a diabetic even if you are not diabetic. Just neglect to take the right nutrients and you are well on your way toward eye, foot and organ problems.
You might be asking yourself why your doctor doesn’t mention the need for supplementation? Obviously, if there’s no profit in it, it’s not worth mentioning. The medical community and the media often publish the need for eating a proper diet and exercise. But a proper diet is next to impossible. Our highly refined foods have been stripped of nutrients so most of what you eat are empty calories with high fat and sugar.
Most of the produce on your supermarket shelves have been grown on farms whose soil is largely devoid of nutrients. And if that wasn’t enough, that produce has been chemically treated with herbicides, pesticides, coloring and many other unwholesome ingredients.
Supplementation is not just for diabetics. Everyone needs to supplement.
What vitamins should you be taking to avoid diabetic complications? For the diabetic, they are:
-Vitamin C. A lack of it leads to poor wound healing. Foot ulcers and gangrene are the symptoms of a lack of this important vitamin.
Among the essential minerals you need to supplement with are:
-Potassium (A better substitute for sodium).
Clearly, without these important vitamins and minerals in your diet, you are likely to lose your eyesight and lose feeling in the feet that can lead to amputation. Simply by not getting the essential nutrients, you are vulnerable to many diseases that no drug can address.
Mr.Sanjay Mathur, Director of Roarwellness(Nasha Mukti Kendra-Alcohol & Drug Rehabilitation Centre/Clinic in Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Ghaziabad). When a Individual/Person gets addicted and starts consuming Alcohol on a Daily Basis or frequently in a habit of taking alcohol it’s called stage of Addiction. It’s ultimately damage your life as well as your Family Life. And to Quit Alcohol, Drug and others addictions will harm your body very badly.
What you need to Do –
1. Consult with Doctor without delay
2. Try to Change your Friends Circle
3. Attitude Problem- Need to Change
4. Get Rid of Wines, Alcohol, Vodka, Rum, Whisky and Beer also.
5. Look at your family- what will happen after you- Try to minimize the Quantity of alcohol
6. Try to take food before you start drink
7. Drink a lots of water as much as you can
8. Try to Change you DAILY Routine.
9. Never Give up – Be Confident always
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Medication techniques absolutely in light of normal comprehensive steps ought to be utilized for guaranteeing delayed achievement. Rehab centre in Delhi for alcohol ordinarily tell the Medication techniques followed by over our websites. Holistic medication techniques which uniformly look since the body and life are highly impressive without the negative side effective associated with medication techniques. My work not done the body cleaned up rather mind is also taught to look the performance of the body in its regular and suitable way.
One time the addict rouse to the enjoyments of the world, he or she is free to go out and enjoy the whole of life. But sustained counselling for a stage of time lessens the chances of a free addict falling once again into drug misapplication and thereby, extermination.
So, look for a Rehab centre in Delhi for drugs which has a particular identity for excellence. Admiring announcement as of well respected personality and other luminaries can deeply help in choosing the Rehabilitation centre in Delhi for drugs.
The sponsors of a medical cannabis initiative appearing on South Dakota’s ballot in November are suing the state Attorney General over his misleading summary of the initiative, apparently designed to encourage a negative reaction in voters. The AG must write a neutral summary of each state ballot initiative. In this case, his first act was to rename the measure.
“An act to provide safe access to medical marijuana for certain qualified persons,” became “An Initiative to authorize marijuana use for adults and children with specified medical conditions.”
It’s curious that the greatest – or at least the loudest – love for children is proclaimed by those who display a general distrust of progress and freedom.
Groups seeking to control individual behaviour, undermine civil rights or impose a moral code on society will frequently broadcast their own sincere desire to protect young folk from real or imaginary threats, habitually invoking ‘the children’ to justify each new restriction.
If the safety of children is at stake, who could possibly object to laws that curtail privacy, individual choice and basic liberty?
The need to protect the young is biological, a basic principle of survival seen in most animals. In people, the instinct is more refined; it applies to our species in general and is not limited to our own children. Because it is a rational decision based on a powerful unconscious imperative, the protective urge can be irrational in its expression and has a long and unfortunate tradition of being used to manipulate people.
As cannabis becomes more tolerated, propaganda has shifted from its traditional attack on the plant to a coordinated attempt to defend prohibition. Naturally, ‘protecting the children’ is the central theme of efforts to justify the unjustifiable.
– Dope-smoking dads double risk of cot death
– Marijuana may cause pregnancies to fail
– Why teenagers should steer clear of cannabis
– Alarming rise in number of child cannabis victims
It’s tempting to see this as a tactic of last resort – a laughable ploy to demonise cannabis and “re-brand” it as specifically threatening to children. Perhaps the campaign to scare adults about their own use of cannabis has finally been abandoned, as it is clearly contradicted by reality?
Even so, the tactic of shifting the focus to ‘the children’ and playing on parents’ anxieties is abhorrent. It exploits children for propaganda and is effective in distracting attention from more significant threats to the health of young people.
One example is the disturbing push to control children’s mood and behaviour with powerful psychiatric drugs such as Prozac and other SSRIs, which are designed to alter levels of serotonin in the brain.
This trend endangers young people as much as it enriches drug manufacturers and its scope is unprecedented – the numbers of children being medicated, the absurdly young ages at which they’re diagnosed as depressed or mentally unbalanced and the potency of the psychotropic drugs they’re prescribed.
European doctors have received strong warnings against prescribing SSRIs to children, but the practice has not been banned. In the US, the country with most strident anti-cannabis propaganda and the loudest devotion to protecting ‘the children’, the practice of drugging the young in order to regulate their behaviour is both an industry and an epidemic.
Currently, 2% of US children aged 6-16 are taking SSRIs and up to 10% are on stimulants such as Ritalin. Despite the FDA ordering “black boxes ” for SSRI packaging – the most severe class of safety warnings – around 9 million prescriptions were written for US children in 2005, with under-fives the fastest-growing segment of children using antidepressants.
An estimated 17 million children worldwide are prescribed some form of behaviour-modifying drug. Worldwide sales of antidepressants to all age-groups reached more than $19.5 billion in 2002.
For one example of media misdirection regarding children, drugs and mental health, consider the following facts:
1. Cannabis is a powerful, effective, low-risk medicine that provides relief for an enormous range of conditions and improves quality of life for millions of people. It has an unparalleled safety record, having been used safely for thousands of years. Cannabis is effective in its natural form and can grow virtually anywhere with minimal effort, making it potentially free for anyone.
2. Conversely, the trend of medicating the young with powerful psychiatric drugs is highly profitable and unique in history. The idea of moderating children’s mood or behaviour with pharmaceuticals would have been unthinkable a generation ago, yet today it is presented as a normal solution by large sections of the media.
Rather than a hypothetical and unproven risk of altering brain chemistry in sensitive individuals, as is said of cannabis, SSRIs are specifically designed to change brain chemistry in order to modify mood and behaviour.
3. The sudden increase in prohibitionist propaganda associating cannabis with danger to children amounts to a co-ordinated media campaign. The obvious intention is to heighten fears that cannabis may cause schizophrenia, depression, suicidal thoughts or general unspecified mental illness in children, despite the usual lack of evidence. The fragile, developing chemical structure of young brains is frequently mentioned, as are false claims about massive increases in cannabis potency.
‘Adolescents are at highest risk for marijuana addiction … marijuana use has been linked with depression and suicidal thoughts, in addition to schizophrenia…marijuana use among teens doubles the risk of developing depression and triples the incidence of suicidal thoughts’
– DEA Website –
4. SSRIs have repeatedly been found to pose significant risks to the mental and physical health of children.
* 2005 – The European Medicines Agency concluded SSRIs should not be used in children and adolescents … suicide-related behaviour (suicide attempt and suicidal thoughts), and hostility (aggression and anger) were more frequently observed in children and adolescents treated with SSRIs.
* The FDA has admitted that children who use SSRIs are 180 percent more likely to have suicidal tendencies.
* British Journal of Psychiatry reports that Prozac creates “the highest risk of deliberate self-harm.”
A century of attempting to prove the dangers of cannabis has yielded no results but vague hypotheses with no relation to the real world. Whatever alarming conclusions are suggested, cannabis is very widely used in most countries and causes few discernable health problems. Within a few years of their introduction, SSRIs have raised serious concerns all over the world.
Yet cannabis is relentlessly presented as a major threat to the mental health of children, while psychoactive drugs designed to change brain function are promoted as a solution.
Any sane person will agree that children should not take drugs, whether legal or illegal, but, in the mainstream media, the principle does not seem to apply to drugs made by certain powerful interests.
It is not surprising that prohibitionists exploit the need to protect children. What is unbelievable is that dire warnings about the effect of ‘drugs’ on developing brains can coexist in the media with the promotion of mind-altering pharmaceuticals for those same sacred children. This demonstrates either an enormous logical disconnect or an effective and coordinated campaign of diversion and misinformation.
You can find modern drugs that very well treat all symptom of acne: Fatty deposits clogging the pores (comedones), infection by bacteria, inflammation, tissue damage and scarring. These products can be made of wholly natural ingredients, pharmacologically synthetic chemicals or a blending of both.
They can broadly be divided in topical rinsing media, topical treatment creams and oral pills. If you need products in one, two or all tree categories, depends upon the seriousness and nature of the acne attack. The consistencies of the products vary very much and the producents often use their own terminology to name the products.
There are several types of rinsing products to choose from.
The simplest of these are acne treatment bars to be used by the daily wash. These bars contain substances soluted in the soap that can help to dissolve the plugs in the pores and substances that fight bacteria.
Then you have rinsing solutions, usually called acne wash or acne cleansers, especially made to dissolve the comedones in your pores, and to make the environment in your skin unfriendly to bacteria causing infection. Some of these products are meant to rinse your skin with one or more times a day after the regular wash and then to be flushed away. Others are meant to remain on your skin until the next regular wash.
If your skin is heavily clogged by comedones or the acne process has produced heavy amounts of fatty deposits on your skin you can occasionally use stronger rinsing media, called acne peels or acne shrubs. With these media you can dissolve and shrub away the stuff clogging the pores, and also take away excessive horny layers and hard fatty deposits that make your skin surface irregular. These media contain strong dissolving substances and mineral powders with an abrasive effect, and should be used cautiously so that you do not hurt your skin.
ACNE TREATMENT GELS OR CREAMS
After the wash or rinsing, you can apply some treatment product that shall remain on your skin during the day or during the night. Many of these products are also good as foundation for make-up. The products have varying physical consistency and are often called acne lotions, acne creams or acne gels. The products have these effects:
Making your skin soft and elastic.
Protecting your skin against the environment.
Acting further to dissolve the clogging of your pores.
Alleviating inflammation and soothing itching or burning sensations.
Killing the bacteria causing infection or making an environment hostile for the bacteria.
Stimulating the skin to clean itself from within.
Stimulating the skin to heal.
To be used as a isolating layer between the skin itself and cosmetics
ORAL DRUGS OR SUPPLEMENTS
You can also find drugs to be taken by mouth against acne. Many of these drugs kill the bacteria infecting the skin by acne. Others are designed to give a broader range of effects, like:
Making your skin produce more fluid sebum so that the comedones dissolve from within.
Stimulating the immune system to fight bacteria and to clear out impurities in the skin tissues.
Stimulating your skin to heal.
Giving your skin building nutrients necessary to heal.
NATURAL INGREDIENTS USED IN ACNE TREATMENT PRODUCTS
In modern acne treatment drugs natural ingredients are extensively used because many of these often give less side effects than syntetic pharmacological substances.
– Aloe Vera extract, Viola tricolor extract and Rose hip oil, are often used in oral and topical products to reduce inflammation and to stimulate healing.
– Azelaic acid: The substance is a carboxylic acid found in some corn species and also produced by yeasts normally found on the skin. This substance stimulates the division and renewing of cells in the follicles and the skin. Thereby it causes the comedones to be pushed out. It also works against the bacteria infecting the skin by acne and reduces inflammation. It can however produce skin irritation in strong solutions. It is used in topical products.
– Bioflavonoids: These are antioxidant substances produced by plants that protect against tissue damage. Many of these give fruits or other plant parts bright colors. Bioflavonoids are often included in oral acne treatment drugs to counteract tissue damage and ease healing.
– Echinache extraxt: Extract of the herb Echinachea is a mild ingredient often used in topical products to dissolve the comedones and to counteract bacterial growth.
– Gum guggul extract: Gum guggul is the resin from the indian Commiphora mukul tree. Gum guggul extract used in oral products have an anti-biotic effect against the bacteria infecting the skin by acne and alleviates inflammation. It also seems to reduce pus formation and tissue destruction by severe acne.
– Methylsulphonyl methane: This substance furnishes sulphur in a form usable in the rebuilding of skin damage. It is often combined with molybdenium to ease the use of this sulphur. It is mostly used in oral products.
– Plant oils: Evening primrose oil, olive oil, flax seed oil, borage oil, soy oil and wheat germ oil are used in oral and topical products for several purposes. They contain essential fatty acids and vitamins that stimulate healing. The oils can also help to dissolve the comedones. They are also used to give topical products the right consistency.
– Lecithine: Lecithine is a blending of phospholipids. These phsopholipids are very important building blocks of the cells in the body and also contain smaller elements used as effector tools and hormons in many processes. Lecithine is used in oral products to stimulate rinsing processes in the skin and to stimulate skin reduilding after damage.
– Salicylic acid: This substance is an antibacterial effector found widespread in the nature. It is used in topical products to dissolve comedones in the pores and to help fight bacteria. Salicylic acid is perhaps the most frequently used ingredient in topical acne products.
– Sulphur: Sulphur is used in topical cleansing products to dissolve comedones, dry up the skin and to rub away irregularities. It can sometimes cause too much peeling and can irritate the skin.
– Tea tree oil: This is an oil containing essential fatty acids obtained by steam distillation of leaves of the Australian plant Melaleuca alternifolia. The oil helps to dissolve the comedones and works against bacteria and fungi. Tea tree oil has very few side effects.
– Vitamins and minerals: Both oral and topical acne treatment drugs often contain vitamins, vitamin-like susbstances or minerals, as vitamin A, C, B1, B2, B3, B6, C, D, E, folic acid, beta-carotene, copper, zink and selenium. These substances are working tools in the body, and they may effectivize cleaning processes, the immune defence and the regeneration from damages exerted by acne. In addition many of these substances are anti-oxidants that protect the skin against damages. Vitamin E and A also help to reduce inflammation. Zinc seems to be the most effective mineral for acne treatment.
PHARMACOLOGICAL SYNTHETIC INGREDIENTS USED IN ACNE TREATMENT PRODUCTS
Pharmacologically synthetic substances are traditionally used in acne medicines. These are very effective, but carry a heavier risk for side effects. Drugs containing these substances are often bound to prescription.
Antibiotics: Antibiotics are used both in topical and oral products to fight the infectious element of acne. Topical antibiotcs have fewer side effects than oral ones. Antibiotics used against acne are tetracycline variants, erythromycin, clindamycin, stivamycin, sulfacetamide and trimethaprim.
Bezoyl peroxide: The substance is mostly used in topical acne products to kill bacteria and dissolve comedones. Benzoyl peroxide often produce dryness and irritation in the skin. These side effects may however go away after some times use.
Resorcinol: Resorcinol is used in topical products to kill bacteria and to dissolve comedones and other deposits. It is also effective against itching. It can cause too much peeling and can irritate the skin.
Vitamin-A-like compunds (retinoids) – Tretinoin, isotretinoin (Accutane), tazarotene, adapalene and others: These stimulate the cells in the outer skin layer and in the lining of the pores to divide. This cell proliferation has the effect of pushing out the comedones clogging the pores. They may also stimulate healing of damages caused by acne and of other types of skin damage. The substances can however themselves cause side effects like itching, burning, redness, scaling and thin skin if not used with caution.