MarylandQuitter

Nope!

Newest Video Video discusses the use of the acronym H.A.L.T. in dealing with thoughts for cigarettes that may happen after having quit smoking.

NOPE!!

Congrats, Jillar. Looking forward to working with you.

Thank you all very kindly! Had a great day!

Very sweet picture! Please don't ever give up on your quit. You're quitting for you which I guarantee that is what your Dad wanted. Make the day you quit a very special day. Mark it on the calendar and have it mean something that you protect and keep it safe from everything, no matter what happens.

NOPE!

After vaping-related illness, teen now has lungs like 'a 70-year-old's' By Jacqueline Howard and Michael Nedelman, CNN Updated 5:06 PM ET, Fri September 13, 2019 https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/11/health/vaping-lung-illness-illinois-teen-profile/index.html (CNN)Adam Hergenreder's vaping habit almost killed him. Late last month, the 18-year-old student athlete in Gurnee, Illinois, was hospitalized after using e-cigarettes for more than a year and a half. Now his lungs are similar to those of a 70-year-old adult, doctors told him. "It was scary to think about that -- that little device did that to my lungs," Adam said, remembering the news from his doctors about his lung health. Adam is among the hundreds of e-cigarette users in the United States who have been sickened with mysterious vaping-related lung illnesses, many of them young people. Investigators haven't yet identified the cause of the illnesses. Amid calls for more regulation, the Trump administration now plans to remove flavored e-cigarettes -- except tobacco flavor -- from the marketplace. "Why is that important? We are seeing an absolute surge in high school and middle school kids using these flavored products," US Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said in a video statement on Wednesday. "Mint, menthol, fruit flavor, alcohol flavor, bubble gum." The US Food and Drug Administration announced on Wednesday that more than a quarter of high school students this year have reported using e-cigarettes and the "overwhelming majority" reference using popular fruit and menthol or mint flavors, according to preliminary data from the National Youth Tobacco Survey. Adam, who vaped nicotine and THC products, said he isn't sure his lungs will ever be back at 100% -- and he worries whether he will ever be able to wrestle again. "I was a varsity wrestler before this and I might not ever be able to wrestle because that's a very physical sport and my lungs might not be able to hold that exertion. ... It's sad," Adam said. 'We must act swiftly' There are more than 450 possible cases of lung illness associated with using e-cigarettes across the United States, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has called this an "outbreak." Health officials have also confirmed six deaths -- in California, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Oregon and Kansas -- in connection to vaping-related lung illnesses. While the illnesses and deaths have occurred in both young people and older adults, experts have warned of a rise in vaping among youth. "We must act swiftly against flavored e-cigarette products that are especially attractive to children," Acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Ned Sharpless said in the announcement, adding that the FDA will take additional steps to address youth use of tobacco-flavored products still on the market, if young people begin to use them. "The tremendous progress we've made in reducing youth tobacco use in the US is jeopardized by this onslaught of e-cigarette use. Nobody wants to see children becoming addicted to nicotine, and we will continue to use the full scope of our regulatory authority thoughtfully and thoroughly to tackle this mounting public health crisis." Separate surveys also suggest that most teens think e-cigarettes are safe. Adam certainly thought vaping was safe when he started using e-cigarettes, he said. One of his favorite flavors was mango. "It didn't taste like a cigarette," he said. "It tasted good," and provided a little buzz due to the nicotine. The vaping began about a year and a half ago, he said, and he would pick up e-cigarette products, such as those of the Juul brand, from his neighborhood gas station. "They didn't card me," he said. "He would wake up in the morning and would puff on that Juul and then cough," said Adam's mother, Polly Hergenreder. "He would hit it several times throughout the day. My son was going through a pod and a half every other day, or a day and a half." Experts say that one Juul pod -- a cartridge of nicotine-rich liquid that users plug into the dominant e-cig brand -- delivers the same amount of nicotine to the body as a pack of cigarettes. "That's smoking a lot of cigarettes," Polly said. Eventually, Adam said that he went from vaping over-the-counter e-liquids to vaping THC or tetrahydrocannabinol, which is the main psychoactive component of marijuana. Adam would get the THC from "a friend" or dealer. Over time, Adam said that he developed shivers and couldn't control them. Then, the vomiting began. "I was just nonstop throwing up every day for three days," he said. "Finally I went to the pediatrician." At first, doctors did not connect Adam's symptoms to his vaping. He was given anti-nausea medication, but he said that his vomiting did not stop. After visiting various physicians, he finally saw someone who asked if he was "Juul-ing" and using THC. "I answered honestly," Adam said. "I said I was." The team overseeing Adam's care performed a CT scan of his stomach and noticed something unusual about the lower portion of his lungs. The doctors then took an X-ray of his lungs. "That's when they saw the full damage," Adam said. "If I had known what it was doing to my body, I would have never even touched it, but I didn't know," he said about vaping. "I wasn't educated." 'If we did not bring Adam in ... his lungs would have collapsed' Adam was admitted to the hospital in late August. "If his mom had not brought him to the hospital within the next two to three days, his breathing could have worsened to the point that he could have died if he didn't seek medical care," said Dr. Stephen Amesbury, a pulmonologist and critical care physician at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Illinois, who was one of the doctors who saw Adam. "It was severe lung disease, especially for a young person. He was short of breath, he was breathing heavily," Amesbury said. "It was very concerning that he would have significant lung damage and possibly some residual changes after he heals from this." Adam's mother Polly spent the following six days in the hospital with her son, who was connected to IVs and was provided oxygen through nasal tubes. "The doctors did tell us that if we did not bring Adam in when we brought him in, his lungs would have collapsed and he would have died," Polly said. Yet, she added, "you should always try to find the silver lining," and for her family, that is to use Adam's experience to educate others about the risks of vaping. Adam is now home from the hospital and "it's still difficult to even do normal activities, like going upstairs. I still get winded from that," he said. Even though he is still recovering -- including doing breathing treatments -- Adam has focused on sharing his story. Through his advocacy, he said that he has even convinced some of his friends to stop vaping. "I'm getting better each day," he said. "I don't want to see anybody in my situation. I don't want to see anybody in the hospital for as long as I was." Lawsuit filed On Friday, Adam filed a lawsuit against Juul Labs and the gas station that allegedly sold him Juul products when he was underage. The lawsuit alleges Juul "sought to fill the void left by big tobacco by creating a new-age electronic cigarette." By using social media, the lawsuit alleges, "JUUL was able to easily target and manipulate youth by using advertisements designed to fulfill powerful psychological needs like popularity, peer acceptance, and a positive self-image -- the same techniques used by big tobacco in decades past." In a statement, Antonio Romanucci, an attorney at Romanucci & Blandin, the firm that filed the lawsuit, said, "To put it mildly, Adam didn't stand a chance to avoid getting hooked on these toxic timebombs." In response to the lawsuit, Ted Kwong, a spokesperson for Juul Labs, said the company is committed to eliminating combustible cigarettes, and that its product is intended to be a "viable alternative" for adult smokers. "We have never marketed to youth and do not want any non-nicotine users to try our products. We have launched an aggressive action plan to combat underage use as it is antithetical to our mission," the statement said, including halting the sale of non-tobacco and non-menthol-based flavors in traditional retail stores, enhancing online age verification and shutting down its Facebook and Instagram accounts, among other steps. "It was our hope that others in the category would self-impose similar restrictions to address youth usage," the statement said. There really isn't enough vaping history to say what's going to happen' The federal investigation into the link between vaping and severe lung illnesses is ongoing and has not identified a cause, but all reported cases have indicated the use of e-cigarette products and some patients have reported using e-cigarettes containing cannabinoid products, such as THC. There are also separate investigations being conducted in separate states. New York health officials said last week that extremely high levels of the chemical vitamin E acetate were found in nearly all cannabis-containing vaping products that were analyzed as part of the investigation. At least one vape product containing this chemical has been linked to each person who fell ill and submitted a product for testing in the state. Laboratory tests conducted at the New York State Department of Health's Wadsworth Center in Albany showed "very high levels" of vitamin E acetate in the cannabis-containing samples, the state health department announced. Vitamin E acetate is now "a key focus" of the state's investigation into the illnesses, the New York Department of Health said. Some of the products that have been found to contain vitamin E acetate are candy-flavored vapes. Juul has maintained that its products are intended to convert adult smokers to what it described in the past as a less-harmful alternative. In other communications, the company says it cannot make claims its products are safer, in line with FDA regulations. Scientists point out that they are still learning about the long-term health effects of e-cigarettes. One study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology in May found that e-cigarette flavors can damage the cells that line your blood vessels and perhaps your heart health down the line. Another study, published in the journal Radiology in August, foud that vaping temporarily impacts blood vessel function in healthy people. Using MRI scans, it found, for example, changes in blood flow within the femoral artery in the leg after just one use. The researchers couldn't determine which chemical might be responsible for the changes they observed. There are many questions that remain to be answered, according to Amesbury. "We're very early in the stages of finding out what problems may come up from vaping," he said. "We're finding these acute, severe illnesses now, but there really isn't enough vaping history to say what's going to happen 10, 20, 30 years down the road." CNN's Michael Nedelman and Arman Azad contributed to this report.

A 7th person has died from vaping-related causes. The CDC is stepping up its probe of e-cigarette illnesses By Chuck Johnston and Hollie Silverman, CNN Updated 4:19 PM ET, Tue September 17, 2019 https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/17/health/seventh-vaping-related-death-california/index.html (CNN)A California man has become the seventh person to die from a vaping-related illness in the United States as the nation's leading health agency activates emergency operations to better investigate the outbreak of lung injuries associated with e-cigarettes. California will launch a $20 million ad campaign to warn against the dangers of vaping, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday, the same day health officials said a 40-year-old had died over the weekend from complications related to using e-cigarettes. Vaping-related illness recently killed another person in California, plus one person each in Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Oregon, officials have reported. In light of the outbreak of lung injuries, the US Centers for Disease Control has activated its Emergency Operations Center, the agency announced. Researchers are looking into 380 cases of lung illness associated with the use of e-cigarettes in 36 states and the US Virgin Islands, they have said. California weighs steeper vaping pod taxes. California, meantime, will focus on spreading the word about vaping risks while also boosting enforcement efforts on counterfeit products and weighing stricter package warning rules, Newsom said during a news conference. The state also will investigate tax policy regarding vaping pods. A pack of cigarettes carries a tax of $2.87, while a Juul pod, for example, gets only a $1.48 tax, the governor said. The intent of the investigation is to "substantially increase taxes to these products," said Newsom, who included the measures in an executive order he said is needed because of a lack of legislative efforts. As for flavored e-cigarettes, "they should be banned," Newsom said, adding he could not add that parameter to his order, though he didn't explain why. "Let's just dispense with any niceties," he said. "You don't have any bubblegum-flavored, mango-flavored tobacco products unless you're trying to target an audience that you were losing -- that's young people." The Trump administration is working to ban flavored e-cigarettes as health officials warn they're too appealing to teens. Tobacco companies claim flavored e-cigarettes help adults quit traditional cigarettes. 'Serious potential risk associated with vaping' The latest California victim had been sick for several weeks after he suffered a "severe pulmonary injury associated with vaping," Dr. Karen Haught, the Tulare County public health officer, said in a news release. "The Tulare County Public Health Branch would like to warn all residents that any use of ecigarettes poses a possible risk to the health of the lungs and can potentially cause severe lung injury that may even lead to death," Haught said. "Long-term effects of vaping on health are unknown. Anyone considering vaping should be aware of the serious potential risk associated with vaping," she said. County of Los Angeles Public Health staff earlier this month announced the death of a resident potentially related to the use of e-cigarettes. 'It is time to stop vaping' The first death identified as related to vaping was announced in August, when the Illinois Department of Public Health released a statement saying the person had been hospitalized with "severe respiratory illness" after recently vaping. Cases of vaping-related illness had been identified in 11 counties, the agency said. A person in Oregon who had recently vaped products containing cannabis purchased at a dispensary died in July, according to a statement released in early September by the Oregon Health Authority. The symptoms the patient suffered were similar to at least 200 cases in a national cluster that was mostly affecting teenagers and young adults, Oregon officials said. "We don't yet know the exact cause of these illnesses -- whether they're caused by contaminants, ingredients in the liquid or something else, such as the device itself," said Dr. Ann Thomas, public health physician at OHA's Public Health Division. Another death related to vaping was identified on September 6 by health officials in Indiana. The patient was older than 18 and died of a severe lung injury linked to a history of e-cigarette use. The same day, the Minnesota of Department of Health said a patient who was over 65 had died in August after a long and complicated hospitalization. The patient had a history of underlying lung disease and suffered a severe lung injury associated with vaping THC products, Minnesota state epidemiologist, Dr. Ruth Lynfield, said in a news release. Within a week, two more deaths were announced in Los Angeles County and Kansas. The Kansas patient was over 50 and had a history of underlying health issues with symptoms that quickly progressed, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment said. What type of products the patient had used wasn't known, a news release stated. "It is time to stop vaping," Kansas Department of Health and Environment Secretary Dr. Lee Norman said. "If you or a loved one is vaping, please stop. The recent deaths across our country, combined with hundreds of reported lung injury cases continue to intensify." CNN's Michael Nedelman, Jamie Gumbrecht, Cheri Mossburg

I see that. Thanks for letting me know. I'll contact the person I paid to write the script and have it fixed.

Juan, you know the drill.

Video explains why inhaling a drug like nicotine is the fastest way to deliver it to the brain and also how cigarette companies and now vaping manufacturers have manipulated their products to make them even easier to lead to addiction.

Video explains why inhaling a drug like nicotine is the fastest way to deliver it to the brain and also how cigarette companies and now vaping manufacturers have manipulated their products to make them even easier to lead to addiction.

CDC Launches Probe Into Surge Of Severe Lung Disease Cases Linked To Vaping The federal health agency reported 94 cases in 14 states and said the number is climbing. By Mary Papenfuss https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_5d5b6ec4e4b0f667ed679101?utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=main_fb&ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000063&utm_campaign=hp_fb_pages&guccounter=1 The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating the sudden emergence of severe lung disease linked to vaping in 14 states. Ninety-four possible cases of severe lung illness associated with vaping were reported from the end of June to Aug. 15, the CDC reported on Saturday. Thirty of those cases were in Wisconsin alone. Other states that appear to be especially affected are Illinois, California, New York, Indiana and New Jersey. A survey of state health departments by CNN found at least 120 possible cases, the network reported Monday. The largest number of cases, in Wisconsin, was first seen in teens and young adults, but the illness has now also appeared in older adults, according to a CDC statement. Patients experience shortness of breath, coughing, fatigue, chest pain and weight loss. Symptoms worsen over time, and some patients need ventilators to breathe and intensive care. Some have been hospitalized for several weeks. The illness could be linked to permanent lung damage. All patients reported vaping in the weeks or months before hospitalization, said the CDC. Investigators don’t yet know if only certain vaping brands are involved, or what specific ingredient had been consumed by those who were sickened. Products may include nicotine, THC, synthetic cannabinoids or some combination, the CDC reported. There is so far “no conclusive evidence that an infectious disease is causing the illnesses,” according to the health agency. “While some cases in each of the states are similar and appear to be linked to e-cigarette product use, more information is needed to determine what is causing the illnesses,” the CDC said in a brief statement. “This is the headline we’ve been trying to prevent,” Joseph Allen, an environmental health scientist at Harvard University, told Popular Science. Allen is a co-author of a study published earlier this year that found fungi and bacteria in some popular brands of e-cigarette liquid. Allen also warned that flavors in vapes that may be safely ingested through the digestive tract aren’t tested for safety when aerosolized and inhaled. “When you have millions of kids inhaling this cocktail of chemicals that were never tested for inhalation safety, this type of headline is predictable, and also avoidable,” Allen said. The CDC has sent notices and emails to physicians, hospitals and clinics providing background about the cases, and requests that they determine what vaping devices and brands people are using, what is being consumed — and to obtain samples if possible. The agency also asked whether people are sharing devices and ingredients. Earlier this month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it had received more reports of e-cigarette users experiencing seizures and was investigating a possible link between vaping and neurological symptoms.

The cravings will pass and it's important not to dwell on them by doing just what you're doing. Taking a brisk walk and breathing dinne fresh air does wonders.