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8 - Legal but Harmful: Prescription Medications, Tobacco, Vaping and Alcohol

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 February 2025

Owen Bowden-Jones
Affiliation:
University College London
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Summary

  • Prescription medications are highly regulated to make sure they are as safe and effective as possible.

  • The last decade has seen an emerging black market for prescription medications particularly from unscrupulous online pharmacies,

  • Some of the products sold illegally by these pharmacies are poor quality counterfeits

  • Tobacco is the largest killer of all the psychoactive drugs, but smoking rates are now falling.

  • Electronic cigarettes are safer than tobacco smoking because they only contain nicotine and none of the other harmful chemicals found in tobacco.

  • The aggressive marketing of electronic cigarettes to young people has rapidly driven up their use causing concern that they will result in a new generation addicted to nicotine.

  • If you don’t smoke, don’t vape!

  • Young people are drinking less, but tend to binge drink when they do drink

  • Reduce the many risks of alcohol intoxication but pacing drinking, avoiding drinking, understanding alcohol ‘units’ and knowing how to put a friend in the recovery position.

  • There is emerging research suggesting that some illegal psychoactive drugs, such as cannabis and some hallucinogens, may have therapeutic value, but further research is needed to understand their potential benefits.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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