Ecstasy, LSD and cannabis are less dangerous than alcohol and cigarettes, the Government’s chief drug adviser claims today.

Professor David Nutt is calling for a new ‘index of harm’ to warn the public about the relative dangers of various substances.
He says alcohol should rank fifth, behind only cocaine, heroin, barbiturates and methadone, while tobacco should rank ninth, ahead of cannabis, LSD and Ecstasy.

His comments are likely to prove explosive, given the seniority of his position. Professor Nutt has also courted controversy in the past – by suggesting taking ecstasy was no more dangerous than riding a horse.

But, defending his position, Professor Nutt says: ‘I think we have to accept young people like to experiment – with drugs and other potentially harmful activities – and what we should be doing in all of this is to protect them from harm at this stage of their lives.
‘We therefore have to provide more accurate and credible information. If you think that scaring kids will stop them using, you’re probably wrong.’

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Everyone is familiar with the recent smoking regulations that have affected smokers all over the world. In 2004 Ireland became the first country to prohibit smoking in all indoor workplaces including restaurants and bars. In 2008 a small mountainous kingdom between India and China called Bhutan was the first to ban smoking and tobacco sales outright. Authorities celebrated the ban by igniting a bonfire of cigarettes in the capital city and hanging banners across the main thoroughfare urging people to kick the habit. Violators in Bhutan are fined $232 (more than two months’ salary) The Ban on tobacco has caused an increase in the illegal trade of tobacco products to Bhutan. No other country so far has banned smoking and tobacco outright.

Interesting Fact: The first modern, nationwide tobacco ban was imposed by the Nazi Party. Smoking was prohibited in every German university, post office, military hospital, and Nazi Party office. The Institute for Tobacco Hazards Research was created in 1941 under orders from Adolf Hitler. Major anti-tobacco campaigns were widely broadcast by the Nazis until the end of the regime in 1945.

[VIA]

The humble office laser printer can damage lungs in much the same way as smoke particles from cigarettes, a team of Australian scientists has found.

An investigation of a range of printer models showed that almost a third emit potentially dangerous levels of toner into the air. The Queensland University of Technology scientists have called on ministers to regulate these kinds of emissions. They say some printers should come with a health warning.

Almost one-third were found to emit ultra-tiny particles of toner-like material, so small that they can infiltrate the lungs and cause a range of health problems from respiratory irritation to more chronic illnesses. Conducted in an open-plan office, the test revealed that particle levels increased five-fold during working hours, a rise blamed on printer use. The problem was worse when new cartridges were used and when graphics and images required higher quantities of toner.

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