Health

Yaba or Methamphetamine Worse Than Heroin

Published

13 years ago

May 14, 2012

Bchcomber

It's called Yaba in Thailand and Shabu in Malaysia, but by whatever name methamphetamine drug is Asia's new high and as easy to buy as a bowl of noodles or rice.

CHIANGRAI TIMES – The Yaba pills come in pretty colours of dusky rose, green, red and orange. Placed in a palm, they look innocent enough, like pencil-eraser sized pieces of candy, – something a child would love. Closer inspection will show that there are imprints of these alphabets “R” or “WY” which tell you that what you’re looking at is the drug called Yaba – which is set to become, if not already, Thailand’s most abused drug after heroin.

Also called “crazy medicine” in Thailand, Yaba is a mayhem mix of Methamphetamine (Meth) and caffeine which is shaped into a circular bright-colored pill.

The Yaba pills come in pretty colours

Meth is also known as “Nazi Speed”, a reference to its widespread use (under the brand name “Pervitin”) by Hitler’s men during World War II. Malaysians would know it better by its street name, Shabu.

Call it what you may, the names do nothing except to claim more fans. The fact that it is sometimes flavoured – grape, vanilla and orange – and referred to by the Thais as “chocalee” helps with its popularity among children young as 10 years old.

Yaba is considered to be even deadlier than pure Meth, its counterpart more popular in the western hemisphere. Incidentally, Yaba has already made its entrance into the United States.

In 2005, that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said it had seized at least 12,000 Yaba tablets from mail facilities throughout the nation, manufactured by a single foreign organization.

Small enough to fit a regular drinking straw, which is incidentally how the drug is transported, Yaba can be swallowed as pill, or heated on an aluminum foil, its fumes inhaled – a technique which is also called “Chasing the Dragon.”

Children, teens are targets

The physiological effects of Yaba are nearly identical to methamphetamine, according to federal researchers. The only difference is, with Yaba the ‘high’ can last for days instead of hours.

Caffeine helps slow down the release of meth into the body. First, it starts with an adrenaline rush, like racing down the first hill of a roller coaster for hours.

Your body temperature rises. Chills shoot down your arms, legs and chest.

Yaba is considered to be even deadlier than pure Meth, its counterpart more popular in the western hemisphere.

Some users hallucinate sensations such as bugs crawling under their skin. They bite or pick at their skin to get the bugs out. Then, when the high is coming to an end, users clench their fists, their face gets rigid and the whole body may shake.

Some people will sleep for days following the high, known as “crashing.” Drug enforcers agree, however, that it’s not the length of the ‘high’ that makes Yaba more dangerous than meth, it’s who Yaba is marketed to – children.

According to the US National Drug Intelligence Center, the fact that the pills are bright colored and candy-flavored as well as distributed through legitimate pharmacists give the perception that it is safer than other drugs.

In Thailand, drug dealers are marketing this drug to the younger generation, getting children, teenagers and 20-somethings hooked on the drug to both increase demand and get younger, hipper dealers.

If you know which alleyway to head to in Thailand, don’t be fazed when men call after you in halting English, “Yaba. I have Yaba. Good quality. You want?”

Only 300-500 Baht a hit

A Yaba pills can cost between 300-500 Baht (RM30-RM50), sometimes more, depending on demand and sometimes, quality.

Since 2003, Thailand’s war on drugs has been more of a violent, physical war.

Responding to an epidemic of Yaba use in Thailand, its then-prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra approved measures to treat a drug pusher as “a dangerous person who is threatening social and national security.”

The ensuing campaign resulted in the homicides of 2,275 drug criminals in three months, more than double the number killed during any three-month period before it, according to Human Rights Watch.

The Thai government maintains they were killed by other drug criminals, but the human rights group remained skeptical and cited cases of police shootings and “extrajudicial killings.”

This has done nothing to deter the the Yaba pushers and addicts, not only in Thailand, but also all across Southeast Asia.

Wherever you go, be it to Laotian villages, Thai construction sites, nightclubs in Shanghai, Tokyo or Dhaka — methamphetamine which is Asia’s new high, is now as easy to buy as a bowl of noodles or a packet of rice.

Its popularity is a symptom of the region’s astonishing economic growth. This new prosperity has liberalized trade, reduced transportation costs, accelerated the movement of people and products, and created a vast middle class with cash to burn.

Mobile methamphetamine labs

All this has helped traffickers shift their product to millions of fresh consumers.

Add to this is the fact that Meth is cheap and easy to make. Unlike opium fields in highland Southeast Asia, meth labs can’t be detected by satellite.

Something that grows out of the ground can be much more easily detected than a mobile ‘laboratory’ that can be dismantled and moved within a couple of hours.

Meth is cheap and easy to make with Simple Cold Pills

And these ‘laboratories’ are reputedly capable of producing huge amounts of methamphetamine.

Asia’s appetite for narcotics is now so prodigious that it attracts criminal organizations from across the planet. Iranian and West African drug mules are now routinely arrested at Asian airports.

Meth can be eaten, smoked, snorted or injected. It is said to boost energy, self-esteem and sexual pleasure, but can also cause paranoia and aggression.

It is highly addictive and withdrawal symptoms include fatigue, anxiety and long-term depression.

That addiction is difficult to treat, partly because the drug’s popularity straddles social and economic divides, town and country, work and leisure.

Yaba’s high and low

The same drug that helps laborers endure back-breaking work in the fields allows affluent urbanites to party till dawn.

Eighteen-year-old Chaiya Charoen is one among thousands of teenagers who rely on Yaba to get through the day. He asks to be called Chai, a curt dismissal to his full name which translates as victorious and triumphant in Thai.

A Yaba addict since he was 17-years old, the sprite-faced teenager gamely shared what got him hooked on the drug.

Chai tells us that he comes from an average family in terms of finances. He is the fourth of five children.

He had his sights set on a university education and the competition for a scholarship was fierce. There were many times that Chai felt he couldn’t keep up with the demands of maintaining a consistently good grade.

One day, a friend told him about a pill that could help him stay awake and give him the surplus energy he needed to study and keep up with the competition as it were.

“This was an ex-schoolmate of mine and he gave me the pill and explained how it can be taken. I was falling back on my grades and I needed to do something about it. I thought, how bad could just one pill be? So I took it,” he said, shoulders shrugging in apathy.

Chai confessed that the initial phase was great and he began taking Yaba more often than not.

He would study after every Yaba hit and initially scored good grades. But as the days progressed, his grades began dropping and eventually he stopped thinking about his education altogether, not caring in the least about the consequences.

‘It destroyed my life’

As for the money to buy Yaba, Chai unabashedly admits to stealing from his parents and older siblings. This is something he still does.

He said that his parents probably know what he’s doing, but are just too tired to punish him or scold him any more.

“So they just leave me to my devices, which suits me fine,” he added apologetically.

More so that he said this while placing a pretty pink pill on a ready piece of aluminum, lighter expertly held in the other hand

Chai is also unrepentant. He doesn’t see a reason to quit Yaba; in fact he doesn’t want to and knows that he will never be able to give it up.

His need to “chase” Yaba is too great.

“If I don’t do this daily, how am I going to continue my day? I know that this has destroyed my life. I have no interest in anything else and I don’t care about what it does to my family because all I care about is where am going to get the money for my next hit.

“I know I’m going to die in a couple of years and I have no more friends. No one wants to talk to me anymore and this includes my family. So what’s there to live for?

“I might as well just keep on doing this – like a slow suicide until my time time comes,” he said, face hard but with eyes spilling out tears.

“I have nothing else but this,” he continued, taking out a straw which contained four Yaba pills – enough for a two-day hit.

Even as Chai now admits, “I wish I hadn’t listened to my friend that day, when he suggested I take Yaba,” one wonders if there is truth in his words.

More so that he said this while placing a pretty pink pill on a ready piece of aluminum, lighter expertly held in the other hand.

“Maybe I’ll give this up one day,” he smiled through glazed eyes as he claimed the first wafts of smoke

Health

Report Causes Pfizer Stock to Climb Approximately $1 Billion Acquired by Starboard

Published

2 months ago

October 7, 2024

Salman

(VOR News) – According to a rumor that activist investor Pfizer Starboard Value has taken a holding in the struggling pharmaceutical business that is expected to be worth around one billion dollars, the stock of Pfizer (PFE) is on the increase in premarket trading on Monday.

This comes after the report was made public. The report was made available to the general public following this. Starboard Value was successful in moving forward with the acquisition of the position.

Starboard is said to have approached Ian Read, a former chief executive officer of Pfizer, and Frank D’Amelio, a former chief financial officer, in order to seek assistance with its goals of boosting the performance of the company, according to the Wall Street Journal. Read and D’Amelio are both former Pfizer executives.

The purpose of this is to facilitate the accomplishment of its objectives, which include enhancing the overall performance of the firm.

In their previous jobs, D’Amelio and Read were chief financial officers.

It is stated in the report that the hedge fund is of the opinion that Pfizer, which is currently being managed by Albert Bourla, who succeeded Read as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in 2019, does not demonstrate the same level of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) discipline that Read did. Bourla took over for Read in 2019. Read was succeeded by Bourla in the year 2019.

Pfizer, a multinational pharmaceutical conglomerate, has made substantial investments in the acquisition of more companies that are involved in the research and development of cancer medicines.

These businesses have been acquired for billions of dollars. The biotechnology company Seagen, which was acquired by Pfizer in the previous year for a price of $43 billion, is included in this category. One of the businesses that can be classified as belonging to this category is Seagen.

In spite of the fact that the S&P 500 Index experienced a 21% increase in 2024.

No major trading occurred in Pfizer stock that year.

Due to the fact that the demand for Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccines fell after the firm reached its pandemic peak in 2021, the share price of the corporation has decreased by over fifty percent since that time.

This drop has occurred ever since the company’s shares reached their maximum peak, which was during the time that this decline occurred. Not only have they not changed at all, but they have also remained essentially stable. This is in contrast to the S&P 500, which has gained 21% since the beginning of this year.

Recently, the corporation was forced to take a hit when it decided to recall all of the sickle cell illness medications that it had distributed all over the world.

Fears that the prescription could lead patients to experience severe agony and possibly even death were the impetus for the decision to recall the product. In spite of the fact that Pfizer’s stock is increasing by almost three percent as a result of the news that followed the company’s decision, this is the circumstance that has come about.

SOURCE: IPN

Health

New Study Reveals Drinking Soda Pop Increases the Risk of Stroke

Published

2 months ago

October 6, 2024

VORNews

If you drink too much soda, fruit juice and coffee, beware!

A recent report from global research indicates that excessive consumption of coffee or soda pop is associated with an increased risk of stroke, although the intake of black and green tea is correlated with a reduced risk. Excessive consumption of soda pop or coffee warrants caution!

Recent research indicates that it may substantially elevate the risk of stroke.

Consuming four cups of coffee daily elevates the risk of stroke, according to studies, although ingesting 3-4 cups of black or green tea daily typically offers protection against stroke. Additionally, consume more coffee; it may reduce your risk of mortality.

Recent findings from global research studies co-led by the University of Galway and McMaster University, alongside an international consortium of stroke researchers, indicate that soda, encompassing both sugar-sweetened and artificially sweetened variants such as diet or zero sugar, is associated with a 22 percent heightened risk of stroke. The risk escalated significantly with the consumption of two or more of these beverages daily.

Stroke Risk Fizzy Drinks and Soda Pop

The correlation between fizzy drinks consumption and stroke risk was most pronounced in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and South America. Women exhibit the most elevated risk of stroke from bleeding (intracranial hemorrhage) associated with fruit juice beverages. Consuming over 7 cups of water daily diminishes the likelihood of stroke due to a clot.

Researchers observed that numerous items advertised as fruit juice are derived from concentrates and have added sugars and preservatives, potentially negating the advantages often associated with fresh fruit and instead elevating stroke risk.

Fruit juice beverages were associated with a 37 percent heightened risk of stroke resulting from bleeding (intracranial hemorrhage). Consuming two of these beverages daily increases the risk thrice.

Consuming over four cups of coffee daily elevates the risk of stroke by 37 percent, although lower consumption levels do not correlate with stroke risk. Conversely, tea consumption was associated with an 18-20 percent reduction in stroke risk. Additionally, consuming 3-4 cups daily of black tea, such as Breakfast and Earl Grey varieties, excluding green and herbal teas, was associated with a 29 percent reduced risk of stroke.

Consuming 3-4 cups of green tea daily was associated with a 27 percent reduction in stroke risk. Notably, the addition of milk may diminish or inhibit the advantageous effects of antioxidants present in tea. The lower risk of stroke associated with tea consumption was negated for individuals who added milk.

Disclaimer: This article is intended solely for informational reasons and should not be considered a replacement for professional medical counsel. Consistently consult your physician regarding any inquiries pertaining to a medical problem.

Starbucks Faces Sales Decline Amid Price Fatigue and Rising Competition

Starbucks Faces Sales Decline Amid Price Fatigue and Rising Competition

Health

Following a Diagnosis of Breast Cancer, What Else Should You Know?

Published

2 months ago

October 5, 2024

Salman

(VOR News) – Even though breast cancer affects one in eight American women, receiving a diagnosis can make a woman feel isolated.

Experts in breast cancer from the American College of Physicians (ACS) advise patients on how to manage their disease so that they may better cope with this awful information.

First, the kind and stage of breast cancer dictates the course of your care.

In addition to immunotherapy and chemotherapy, there are various surgical options available for the treatment of breast cancer.

Women of African descent are disproportionately affected by triple-negative breast cancer, an extremely aggressive form of the disease that has never proven easy to treat.

According to the American Cancer Society, pembrolizumab (Keytruda), an immunotherapy, has been shown to be helpful when combined with chemotherapy and is currently the recommended course of treatment for certain combinations of triple-negative breast cancer.

In her presentation, Dr. Katharine Yao said, “It’s really important that the patient and physician discuss the patient’s preferences and values when deciding what type of treatment to pursue and that they have an honest, individualized discussion with their care team.”

She is currently responsible for developing breast cancer treatment recommendations for more than 575 hospitals and institutions nationwide in her role as chair of the American College of Surgeons’ National Accreditation Program for Breast Institutions (NAPBC).

Yao, vice chair of research at Endeavor Health NorthShore Hospitals in New York, pointed out that each decision made about a patient’s treatment plan should take her preferences and diagnosis into consideration.

She ought to think about whether she would prefer a mastectomy—a surgical procedure that involves removing the entire breast with or without reconstruction—or a lumpectomy, which involves a surgical procedure that spares part of the breast tissue.

She stated that “the breast cancer you have may be very different from the breast cancer you hear about in your neighbor, colleague, or friend” in a press release issued by the American Cancer Society (ACS).

“Consider that while discussing breast cancer with others.”

Throughout your journey, it is critical that you look after your emotional health because having breast cancer may have a detrimental impact on your mental health.

“Getting a cancer diagnosis does not mean that everything in your life stops to be normal.” Director of the Fellowship in the Diseases of the Breast program at the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute at the University of Arkansas and state head of the American Cancer Society Commission on Cancer for Arkansas, Dr. Daniela Ochoa She thinks adding the burden of a cancer diagnosis and treatment to all the other pressures in life may be taxing.

“Managing stress and emotional health is vital component of a treatment plan.”

Ochoa recommends clinically trained psychologists and social workers who have assisted people in coping with cancer to anyone receiving treatment. Learning coping techniques might also be facilitated by joining cancer support groups or cancer wellness initiatives.

Breast cancer specialists say your care team is crucial.

The American Cancer Society (ACS) defines comprehensive care as having support at every stage of the procedure from surgeons, oncologists, patient navigators, nurses, social workers, psychologists, and other specialists.

After receiving a breast cancer diagnosis, women should see a surgeon or medical oncologist to explore their options; nevertheless, treatment shouldn’t be discontinued after just one appointment or after surgery is over.

Additionally, you can ask trustworthy friends or family members to accompany you to appointments and aid you with research or notes. They could serve as a network of support for you.

Yao stated in his talk that “one of the most important things is that patients should search out a team they have confidence in, that they trust will have their back when they need it, and a team they feel they can get access to and that will help them when they are in need.”

SOURCE: MP