Cigarettes Affect Addiction Recovery

cigarrette

In the world of addiction recovery, cigarettes are in many cases the last bastion of one’s disease. When people seek help for drugs and alcohol and successfully complete a substance use disorder treatment program—cigarettes often hold strong. While most treatment centers encourage clients to quit smoking while under their care and some don’t allow tobacco use of any kind, cigarettes are typically where clients put their foot down. Maybe using a vape, like the kind found at MagicVaporizers, would prove to be a valuable help.

Already anxious and depressed about saying bon voyage to drugs and alcohol, the thought of quitting smoking, too, is often more than one is willing to consider in early recovery. One says to themselves that tobacco did not make my life unmanageable, my wife didn’t leave me because of my addiction to Camels; so why do I need to give them up, and why should I do it at the same time I’m attempting to kick opioids or withdraw from alcohol?

The best counter to such musings is: for the sake of your health and your recovery. But, let’s start with the effect tobacco has on one’s health.

Cigarettes, In the End, Will Kill You

There is hardly a single adult in the United States who would find it surprising to learn that tobacco is deadly. Smokers are reminded of that fact on the side of every pack of cigarettes they purchase. Even though everyone is made aware of the risks, people still continue to smoke. No wonder why companies like Money Expert exist. Even “big tobacco” has admitted that they knew there was a correlation between premature death and their products, and chose to mislead the general public for profit. That being said, most smokers if asked the risks would likely respond by saying, “lung cancer.”

While it is true that years of smoking often results in the development of lung cancer, the reality is that the lists of cancers now associated with tobacco use is ever growing. There are about 36.5 million smokers in the United States, and just under half (16 million) of those individuals are living with some form of smoking related illness, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Cigarettes are currently the number one cause of preventable disease and death in America, and according to the National Cancer Institute smoking causes coronary heart disease, as well as cancer of the:

  • Esophagus
  • Larynx
  • Mouth
  • Throat
  • Kidney
  • Bladder
  • Liver
  • Pancreas
  • Stomach
  • Cervix
  • Colon
  • Rectum

What Are The Risks to My Recovery?

After seeing the lengthy list above, there is a chance that people in recovery will continue smoking regardless. The reasons for which are going to be subjective, but one of the major reasons is the fact that many addicts and alcoholics think that just because something is likely to happen—doesn’t mean that it will. When you have recovering heroin addicts who have survived an overdose, and alcoholics who have survived nearly fatal car wrecks, then it can give individuals a sense of invincibility, and thus they forget that they are eligible, too.

However, why someone does not heed the warnings about tobacco is not the focus of this article. We would like to discuss research which has shown that recovering addicts and alcoholics who continue to smoke whilst working a program of recovery are at a greater risk of relapse than their peers who have quit or didn’t smoke in the first place. If you are in recovery and still smoke, we implore you consider the study conducted at Boston University: School of Public Health which found that continuing or initiating cigarette use in recovery is associated with an increased likelihood of substance use relapse. The findings were published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

People working a program of recovery often say that their program is the most important thing in their life. Saying things like, “to drink is to die” or “I’m sure I have another drink or drug in me, but I’m not sure I have another recovery.” A testament to the deadly nature of addiction, and thinking that your next relapse could be your last is reinforced by the fact that the likelihood of a deadly overdose in today’s world is high. So, if your recovery is, in fact, paramount to your continued existence. Rethinking your relationship with cigarettes is not just healthy, your future depends upon it.

You are probably aware, there are a number of smoking cessation aids; patches, gums and lozenges to name a few. There are some medications that have been proven to be effective for some smokers, such as Chantix and Wellbutrin. Using any one of those aids in conjunction with step-work and talking with your peers in the program, could allow you to break free from the chains of tobacco use. And possibly prevent a relapse.

Your Addiction Recovery On Memorial Day

photo of psychologist and soldier during recovery PTSD treatment.jpg

This is Memorial Day weekend, a time to remember all the brave American men and women who gave their lives for our great nation. And like most American holidays, it also a time when friends and family gather to celebrate during the three-day weekend. If you are working a program of recovery and plan on attending such gatherings, it is important that you talk about it with your sponsor beforehand and have plan in place if things get shaky.

You do not have to be in early recovery to experience cravings when you are around alcohol. Individuals with significant lengths of time, people who thought their program was strong, have convinced themselves that having just one or two beers at a barbeque was OK. And while such a slip may not lead to a full blown relapse that goes on for an extended period of time, such is often the case. Relapsing is easy, plugging oneself back into the program, having to identify as a newcomer once again is no small feat. But your life depends upon it.

With that in mind, let’s discuss a few things you can do to protect your recovery over the weekend.

Holidays Can Be Hard In Recovery

Whether it is Christmas, New Year’s Eve or Memorial Day—navigating any major holiday can be a real challenge and test in recovery. Even though we all want to believe that our program is secure enough to go anywhere and not pick up a drink or drug, such a belief can be a slippery slope. There is a reason why we talk about the various obstacles in our life on weekly basis with our peers in recovery. In many ways, it serves as a barometer, showing you if you are doing enough for your program. If you are not, your sponsors or others in your homegroup will enlighten you about what else you could be doing. They may ask you if you are volunteering? Are you extending your hand to newcomers? Are you spending enough time around people who have common goals? If not, some changes are likely in order.

If you answered “no” to any of those questions, it is a safe bet that you may not want to be in place or events typified by alcohol use. If you have committed yourself to attending a Memorial Day barbeque, you would be wise to ask another person in the program to go along with you. What’s more, your addiction does not take holidays. Make sure you get to at least one meeting, either before or after attending an event that involves alcohol. There is never any harm in going to two meetings in one day.

Have your phone charged and always by your side. Finding yourself on uncertain ground without a lifeline is precarious to say the least.

Relapse Back to Recovery

Sadly, there will be people in the program who do not take certain steps to protect their recovery this weekend. If that ends up being your story, please do not make the problem worse due to guilt or shame. That is the beauty of the program, your peers will welcome you back with open arms. Your seat at the table will always be there.

On another note, you may need to consider checking back into to treatment. Some relapses go on for a long time. If that is the case, please contact 10 Acre Ranch to for help.

Methamphetamine Related Overdose Deaths

Methamphetamine also known as crystal meth

Opioid overdose deaths are common. The family of drugs associated with the ever-rising death rates, causes severe respiratory depression. Simply put, a dose that is a little bit too much can cause individuals to stop breathing. Without intervention by way of the opioid overdose reversal drug naloxone, there is a high likelihood of death.

The health care system in America has been put, arguably, to its greatest test in modern times. Hospitals emergency departments have been increasingly bogged down in the last two decades due to opioid use disorder and all that can come with it. Anything from potentially deadly infections, blood-transmitted disease and overdoses. One could say that all other health problems related to other types of drugs had become an afterthought. After all, you don’t hear much in the news these days about stimulants.

However, make no mistake about it, cocaine and methamphetamine while not typically associated with overdose, have not gone anywhere. Kilogram after kilogram of stimulant narcotics makes its way into the United States via the southern border. Trafficked by Mexican drug cartels whose ability to operate with relative impunity is very real. In Mexico can be found huge super laboratories manufacturing methamphetamine on a scale never seen before. The days of Americans buying all the Sudafed available in local pharmacies to make the drug in clandestine labs are seemingly behind us, due to government crackdowns. But in Mexico, the meth manufacturing business is booming.

Methamphetamine Is Still a Threat

A number of states have seen a resurgence in meth use, and federal officials fear that the problem is only going to get worse, KTOO Public Media reports. More and more people are using the drug, and many of them are dying from it. Not just the slow death of addiction, people are overdosing on the stimulant in Arizona, New Mexico and Oklahoma to Montana, Wisconsin and Minnesota and beyond.

“The beginning of the opioid epidemic was 2000 and we thought it was just localized,” said Kimberly Johnson, director of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). “Now we know that drug outbreaks aren’t likely to stay localized so we can start addressing them sooner and letting other states know of the potential for it spreading.”

Meth Overdose

When most people think of the ugly side effects of meth use, they typically envision weathered looking individuals with bad skin and rotting teeth. This the result of the caustic chemical used to make the drug in inexpensive ways. Beneath the surface, methamphetamine addicts suffer from heart and kidney failure, according to the article. To be sure, the chance of an overdose from opioids is much greater than meth. Yet, people do, in fact, fatally overdose on methamphetamine.

Here are some numbers to consider. Around 3,700 Americans died of a meth-related overdose in 2014, more than double the number of deaths in 2010, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). If 3,700 deaths were not alarming enough, nearly 4,900 meth users died of an overdose in 2015, an increase of 30 percent.

Treating Stimulant Addiction

Are you struggling with meth addiction, please contact 10 Acre Ranch. We have helped a significant number of people break the cycle of meth addiction and go on to live a rewarding life in recovery.

Dark Web Drug Sales On The Rise

a man at a computer disguised as an anonymous wearing a mask working on dark web drug sales

Earlier this week, we discussed the important topic of synthetic drug use, a trend that is both dangerous and indicative of the ever-changing landscape of drug addiction in America. The people making these dangerous drugs are usually one step ahead of government organizations responsible for mitigating the impact of drug use across the country, such as the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).

Part of the problem, or the difficulty, in policing synthetic drugs is that the chemicals that are sprayed on benign plant matter to make synthetic cannabis and salts to make “bath salts” are synthesized in China. An enormous country that lacks the kind of oversight that we find in our own country, at least when it comes to laboratories. While China has made efforts to curb the problem and commitments to the United States to do a better job at policing the manufacturing and distribution of such chemicals, the deadly chemicals are still being made and escaping the country’s borders.

In many cases, acquiring the chemical needed is as easy as opening a laptop and venturing into what is known as the “dark web.” Perhaps you have heard of the former online marketplace known as the Silk Road. If not, it was a website that operated in the darkest regions of the internet, a place where one can by heroin, passports and various chemicals to make drugs like synthetic marijuana.

The Dark Web

Once inside the Internet’s shadowy underworld, the possibilities are endless. What’s worse, people journeying into the dark web can do so anonymously, paying for goods and services with a virtually untraceable currency known as Bitcoins. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has been working tirelessly to shut down black markets residing in the dark web.

In 2015 Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the Silk Road was sentenced to life without parole after being arrested by the FBI. But as was mentioned earlier, the ever-changing landscape of drug use in America, such as buying drugs online, allows for others to do the same. Just as when a cartel head is arrested, another moves into a position of power. The Hydra Effect. Cut off one head, only to face another.

The sentence Ulbricht received was arguably harsh. While he got rich off illegal drug sales, et al., he wasn’t in fact the one selling the drugs. He just received a percentage of all sales. The stiff sentence was intended to deter others from creating similar dark marketplaces.

However, a new study published in the British Journal of Criminology, shows that in the two years since the Silk Road saw its end, Boston College sociologist Isak Ladegaard found that sales on the dark web actually increased, Wired reports. And the reasons for the rise in overall sales in the marketplaces that replaced Ulbricht’s site might be linked to a greater awareness in the public about online illegal drug sales due to the media coverage of the Silk Road.

“The timing suggests that people weren’t discouraged from buying and selling drugs,” says Ladegaard. “The data suggests that trade increased. And one likely explanation is that all the media coverage only made people more aware of the existence of the Silk Road and similar markets.”

A Dangerous Way to Buy Drugs

Setting aside the potential for arrest, buying drugs online could lead to the purchase of substance that might contain deadly ingredients. As was mentioned in other posts, fentanyl is often mixed with heroin to increase potency. The chemicals used to make synthetic drugs have unpredictable side effects, some of which can be deadly.

If you are addicted to drugs, seeking help is a lifesaving decision. Please contact 10 Acre Ranch today to end the cycle of addiction.

Synthetic Marijuana: Deadly Side Effects

Synthetic Marijuana

The news of late has been dominated by talk of opioid narcotics, prescription drugs like oxycodone and illicit ones like heroin. Recently there has been a lot of talk about powerful synthetic opioids like fentanyl and carfentanil, around 100 times and 10,000 times more potent than morphine respectively. In many ways, taking synthetic opioids can be a death sentence. Fentanyl was never meant to be used illicitly, and carfentanil was meant for elephants not humans.

Synthetic opioids are a major concern, to be sure, but there are other synthetic drugs that have been plaguing American streets for some time now. And there is a good chance that you have heard or read about many of them. Spice, K2, Flakka and bath salts may come to mind. In many parts of the world the chemicals used to make synthetic marijuana and bath salts are not outlawed. When governments to ban the ingredients used to make them, chemists are quick to alter the formula in order to circumvent the blacklist.

If you are working a program of addiction recovery, or have a vested interest in understanding these chemicals, you may be wondering what the attraction is to a family of drugs that has been linked to hundreds of terrifying news stories? The easiest way to answer that question is that they are easy to acquire, relatively inexpensive and often go undetected on standard drug screens. But despite the perceived benefits of synthetic drugs, the potential side effects are not worth the risk.

Unpredictable Synthetic Drugs

For the time being, let’s just spotlight synthetic cannabinoids; which, despite the moniker have little in common with traditional marijuana. To be sure, marijuana despite its benign reputation is not without risk. Yet, when you compare marijuana to synthetic cannabis—apples and oranges is what you find.

The chemical makeup of what is sprayed on herbal matter to be smoked by users is constantly being changed. A user hasn’t any way of knowing what to expect, and what they experience can be deadly. Common side effects of synthetic marijuana, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), include extreme anxiety, confusion, paranoia and hallucinations. And even more concerning:

  • Rapid Heart Rate
  • Vomiting
  • Violent Behavior
  • Suicidal Thoughts

In order to combat the synthetic drug crisis in America, lawmakers and government agencies have banned certain chemicals and begun targeting people distributing the dangerous drugs. Just this week, 42-year-old Ramsey Jeries Farraj from Bakersfield, pleaded guilty to a charge related to more than $4 million in synthetic drug-sale proceeds, Bakersfield Now reports. For his crimes related to selling spice and K-2 online, Farraj is looking at five years in prison and a fine.

Synthetic Marijuana is Dangerous

Young people are often drawn to synthetic drugs for the reasons mentioned earlier. They frequently do not know about the synthetic drugs deadly nature and that they can be addictive. If you are young adult male who is using synthetic drugs of any kind on a regular basis, there is a good chance that you have become dependent. With each week that passes, there is no way of knowing what changes chemists will make to the drugs you are consuming, the next batch may be your last. Please contact 10 Acre Ranch to break the cycle of addiction and begin the journey of recovery.

How to Stop Negative Thinking

Sad woman sitting on sofa at home having negative thoughts

Many people in recovery from addiction continue to struggle with negative thinking from time to time. This is because you likely spent a good portion of your life indulging in negative thoughts – plus, just because you’re sober, it doesn’t mean that you’ll automatically gain a sunny outlook.

Luckily, breaking a negative cycle is possible. It just may take a bit of time, patience and practice to think more positively. These strategies can help brighten your perspective.

  • Reach out to a friend. Talking to a loved one (preferable someone who is optimistic) is the perfect healthy distraction to quiet the negative chatter in your mind. By the end of your conversation, you may even forget what you were upset about in the first place.
  • Step outside. Stuck inside with your negative thoughts? Put on those shoes and head outside. The sunshine and fresh air will automatically give you a sunnier outlook.
  • Meditate: Taking a minute to be still and focus on your breath will help you clear your head so you can control your negative thinking.
  • Exercise: This works by helping to release feel-good endorphins and by keeping you in the moment, where negative thoughts are less likely to thrive.
  • Help someone: An act of altruism is often the wake-up call needed to stop dwelling on the bad and start focusing on the good.

Self-Realization at 10 Acre Ranch
Many addicted individuals believe that they are on a dead-end road with no hope in sight, and no ability to solve their problems or fulfill their most basic needs. The credentialed 10 Acre Ranch team helps residents and outpatients separate personal potential from chemical dependency and learn to love themselves again. To learn more, call 877-228-4679.