Cannabis use doubles the risk of dying from heart disease, study finds
People who use cannabis or its synthetic cousin, cannabinoids, are twice as likely to die from heart problems as those who abstain from the drugs, new research has found.
Recreational cannabis use remains illegal in most of Europe, but it is the region's most commonly used drug. An estimated 8.4 per cent of adults – 24 million people – used cannabis in the past year, according to the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA).
Cannabis is generally stronger and more diverse than in past decades, with users having a choice between smoking marijuana, edibles, cannabis concentrates, and cannabinoids, which are synthetic psychoactive drugs with a high concentration of
Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in cannabis that makes people feel high.
That has prompted concern about the potential health consequences of modern cannabis – and the new study, published in the journal Heart, is the latest to show they carry weight.
In addition to the doubled mortality risks, cannabis use is tied to a 20 per cent higher risk of stroke and a 29 per cent higher risk of heart attacks or other types of acute coronary syndrome, which is when blood flow to the heart is severely restricted, the study found.
The findings raise 'serious questions about the assumption that cannabis imposes little cardiovascular risk,' Stanton Glantz and Dr Lynn Silver, researchers at the University of California at San Francisco who were not involved with the study, said in a written comment.
For the analysis, a French research team assessed real-world data from 24 studies conducted between 2016 and 2023.
Most participants were between the ages of 19 and 59, and cannabis users were more likely to be younger and male compared with people who did not use the drug.
Notably, most of the studies were observational, meaning researchers can't say that cannabis use causes heart problems directly. There was also a high risk of bias in most of the studies.
More research is needed to understand exactly how cannabis is linked to heart problems, and whether the risks differ based on the type of cannabis someone uses.
Despite the limitations, the study authors said their analysis is among the most comprehensive yet to probe the possible link between cannabis and heart problems in the real world.
Glantz and Silver pushed for health warnings on cannabis products and protections against secondhand smoke exposure, particularly as countries relax their cannabis laws and the drug becomes more easily available.
'Cannabis needs to be incorporated into the framework for prevention of clinical cardiovascular disease,' they said.
British lawmakers have voted to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales, following concerns about the number of women who are investigated for terminated pregnancies.
The House of Commons approved an amendment — it passed 379-317 — to a broader crime bill that would prevent women from being criminally punished under an antiquated law dating back to the mid-19th century.
Abortion has been legal in England and Wales for almost six decades but only up to 24 weeks and with the approval of two doctors.
The amendment means that women who terminate their pregnancy after 24 weeks will no longer be investigated by the police. Medical professionals or anybody assisting a woman with an abortion outside outside the 24-week limit could still face prosecution.
Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, the Labour member of Parliament who introduced one of the amendments, said the change was needed because police have investigated more than 100 women for suspected illegal abortions over the past five years, including some who suffered natural miscarriages and stillbirths.
'This piece of legislation will only take women out of the criminal justice system because they are vulnerable and they need our help,' she said. 'Just what public interest is this serving? This is not justice, it is cruelty and it has got to end.'
The House of Commons will now need to pass the crime bill, which is expected, before it goes to the House of Lords, where it can be delayed but not blocked.
Under current law, doctors can legally carry out abortions in England, Scotland and Wales up to 24 weeks, and beyond that under special circumstances, such as when the life of the mother is in danger. Abortion in Northern Ireland was decriminalised in 2019.
Changes in the law implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic allow women to receive abortion pills through the mail and terminate their own pregnancies at home within 10 weeks of conception.
That has led to a handful of widely publicised cases in which women were prosecuted for illegally obtaining abortion pills and using them to end their own pregnancies after 24 weeks or more.
Anti-abortion groups opposed the measures, arguing it would open the door to abortion on demand at any stage of pregnancy.
'Unborn babies will have any remaining protection stripped away, and women will be left at the mercy of abusers,' said Alithea Williams, public policy manager for the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, which describes itself as the UK's biggest pro-life campaign group.
The debate came after recent prosecutions have galvanised support to repeal parts of the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act.
In one case, a mother of three was sentenced to more than two years in prison in 2023 for medically inducing an abortion about eight months into her pregnancy.
Carla Foster, 45, was released about a month later by an appeals court that reduced her sentence. Judge Victoria Sharp said that case called for 'compassion, not punishment' and there was no useful purpose in jailing her.
Last month, a jury acquitted Nicola Packer on a charge of unlawfully self-administering poison or a noxious thing with intent to procure a miscarriage. Packer, who took abortion medicine when she was about 26 weeks pregnant, testified that she did not know she had been pregnant more than 10 weeks.
Supporters of the bill said it was a landmark reform that would keep women from going to prison for ending their pregnancy.
'At a time when we're seeing rollbacks on reproductive rights, most notably in the United States, this crucial milestone in the fight for reproductive rights sends a powerful message that our lawmakers are standing up for women,' said Louise McCudden of MSI Reproductive Choices.
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Euronews
5 hours ago
- Euronews
Cannabis use doubles the risk of dying from heart disease, study finds
People who use cannabis or its synthetic cousin, cannabinoids, are twice as likely to die from heart problems as those who abstain from the drugs, new research has found. Recreational cannabis use remains illegal in most of Europe, but it is the region's most commonly used drug. An estimated 8.4 per cent of adults – 24 million people – used cannabis in the past year, according to the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA). Cannabis is generally stronger and more diverse than in past decades, with users having a choice between smoking marijuana, edibles, cannabis concentrates, and cannabinoids, which are synthetic psychoactive drugs with a high concentration of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in cannabis that makes people feel high. That has prompted concern about the potential health consequences of modern cannabis – and the new study, published in the journal Heart, is the latest to show they carry weight. In addition to the doubled mortality risks, cannabis use is tied to a 20 per cent higher risk of stroke and a 29 per cent higher risk of heart attacks or other types of acute coronary syndrome, which is when blood flow to the heart is severely restricted, the study found. The findings raise 'serious questions about the assumption that cannabis imposes little cardiovascular risk,' Stanton Glantz and Dr Lynn Silver, researchers at the University of California at San Francisco who were not involved with the study, said in a written comment. For the analysis, a French research team assessed real-world data from 24 studies conducted between 2016 and 2023. Most participants were between the ages of 19 and 59, and cannabis users were more likely to be younger and male compared with people who did not use the drug. Notably, most of the studies were observational, meaning researchers can't say that cannabis use causes heart problems directly. There was also a high risk of bias in most of the studies. More research is needed to understand exactly how cannabis is linked to heart problems, and whether the risks differ based on the type of cannabis someone uses. Despite the limitations, the study authors said their analysis is among the most comprehensive yet to probe the possible link between cannabis and heart problems in the real world. Glantz and Silver pushed for health warnings on cannabis products and protections against secondhand smoke exposure, particularly as countries relax their cannabis laws and the drug becomes more easily available. 'Cannabis needs to be incorporated into the framework for prevention of clinical cardiovascular disease,' they said. British lawmakers have voted to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales, following concerns about the number of women who are investigated for terminated pregnancies. The House of Commons approved an amendment — it passed 379-317 — to a broader crime bill that would prevent women from being criminally punished under an antiquated law dating back to the mid-19th century. Abortion has been legal in England and Wales for almost six decades but only up to 24 weeks and with the approval of two doctors. The amendment means that women who terminate their pregnancy after 24 weeks will no longer be investigated by the police. Medical professionals or anybody assisting a woman with an abortion outside outside the 24-week limit could still face prosecution. Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, the Labour member of Parliament who introduced one of the amendments, said the change was needed because police have investigated more than 100 women for suspected illegal abortions over the past five years, including some who suffered natural miscarriages and stillbirths. 'This piece of legislation will only take women out of the criminal justice system because they are vulnerable and they need our help,' she said. 'Just what public interest is this serving? This is not justice, it is cruelty and it has got to end.' The House of Commons will now need to pass the crime bill, which is expected, before it goes to the House of Lords, where it can be delayed but not blocked. Under current law, doctors can legally carry out abortions in England, Scotland and Wales up to 24 weeks, and beyond that under special circumstances, such as when the life of the mother is in danger. Abortion in Northern Ireland was decriminalised in 2019. Changes in the law implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic allow women to receive abortion pills through the mail and terminate their own pregnancies at home within 10 weeks of conception. That has led to a handful of widely publicised cases in which women were prosecuted for illegally obtaining abortion pills and using them to end their own pregnancies after 24 weeks or more. Anti-abortion groups opposed the measures, arguing it would open the door to abortion on demand at any stage of pregnancy. 'Unborn babies will have any remaining protection stripped away, and women will be left at the mercy of abusers,' said Alithea Williams, public policy manager for the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, which describes itself as the UK's biggest pro-life campaign group. The debate came after recent prosecutions have galvanised support to repeal parts of the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act. In one case, a mother of three was sentenced to more than two years in prison in 2023 for medically inducing an abortion about eight months into her pregnancy. Carla Foster, 45, was released about a month later by an appeals court that reduced her sentence. Judge Victoria Sharp said that case called for 'compassion, not punishment' and there was no useful purpose in jailing her. Last month, a jury acquitted Nicola Packer on a charge of unlawfully self-administering poison or a noxious thing with intent to procure a miscarriage. Packer, who took abortion medicine when she was about 26 weeks pregnant, testified that she did not know she had been pregnant more than 10 weeks. Supporters of the bill said it was a landmark reform that would keep women from going to prison for ending their pregnancy. 'At a time when we're seeing rollbacks on reproductive rights, most notably in the United States, this crucial milestone in the fight for reproductive rights sends a powerful message that our lawmakers are standing up for women,' said Louise McCudden of MSI Reproductive Choices.
Euronews
11 hours ago
- Euronews
British lawmakers vote to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales
British lawmakers have voted to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales, following concerns about the number of women who are investigated for terminated pregnancies. The House of Commons approved an amendment — it passed 379-317 — to a broader crime bill that would prevent women from being criminally punished under an antiquated law dating back to the mid-19th century. Abortion has been legal in England and Wales for almost six decades but only up to 24 weeks and with the approval of two doctors. The amendment means that women who terminate their pregnancy after 24 weeks will no longer be investigated by the police. Medical professionals or anybody assisting a woman with an abortion outside outside the 24-week limit could still face prosecution. Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, the Labour member of Parliament who introduced one of the amendments, said the change was needed because police have investigated more than 100 women for suspected illegal abortions over the past five years, including some who suffered natural miscarriages and stillbirths. 'This piece of legislation will only take women out of the criminal justice system because they are vulnerable and they need our help,' she said. 'Just what public interest is this serving? This is not justice, it is cruelty and it has got to end.' The House of Commons will now need to pass the crime bill, which is expected, before it goes to the House of Lords, where it can be delayed but not blocked. Under current law, doctors can legally carry out abortions in England, Scotland and Wales up to 24 weeks, and beyond that under special circumstances, such as when the life of the mother is in danger. Abortion in Northern Ireland was decriminalised in 2019. Changes in the law implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic allow women to receive abortion pills through the mail and terminate their own pregnancies at home within 10 weeks of conception. That has led to a handful of widely publicised cases in which women were prosecuted for illegally obtaining abortion pills and using them to end their own pregnancies after 24 weeks or more. Anti-abortion groups opposed the measures, arguing it would open the door to abortion on demand at any stage of pregnancy. 'Unborn babies will have any remaining protection stripped away, and women will be left at the mercy of abusers,' said Alithea Williams, public policy manager for the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, which describes itself as the UK's biggest pro-life campaign group. The debate came after recent prosecutions have galvanised support to repeal parts of the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act. In one case, a mother of three was sentenced to more than two years in prison in 2023 for medically inducing an abortion about eight months into her pregnancy. Carla Foster, 45, was released about a month later by an appeals court that reduced her sentence. Judge Victoria Sharp said that case called for 'compassion, not punishment' and there was no useful purpose in jailing her. Last month, a jury acquitted Nicola Packer on a charge of unlawfully self-administering poison or a noxious thing with intent to procure a miscarriage. Packer, who took abortion medicine when she was about 26 weeks pregnant, testified that she did not know she had been pregnant more than 10 weeks. Supporters of the bill said it was a landmark reform that would keep women from going to prison for ending their pregnancy. 'At a time when we're seeing rollbacks on reproductive rights, most notably in the United States, this crucial milestone in the fight for reproductive rights sends a powerful message that our lawmakers are standing up for women,' said Louise McCudden of MSI Reproductive Choices. Smokers in the Netherlands pay more for cigarettes than almost anywhere else in the European Union – and the country hiked taxes again last year, to the delight of public health and anti-smoking advocates. But new research indicates that raising tobacco taxes may no longer work in small, wealthy countries where people can easily cross borders to load up on cheaper products abroad. After the Netherlands increased prices by 24 per cent on cigarettes and 45 per cent on rolling tobacco in 2024, about 7 per cent of smokers quit, according to the analysis from the Dutch public health agency. Meanwhile, 22 per cent of smokers cut down on cigarettes and 14 per cent switched to a cheaper brand. But many smokers simply looked across the border to get their fix. Dutch smokers bought an estimated 60 per cent of their tobacco products in other countries after the tax was introduced, the study found, up from 40 per cent in 2023 and 30 per cent in 2020. 'Policy must focus on reducing purchases of tobacco products made abroad,' the agency said. It recommended restrictions on the number of cigarettes and other tobacco products that can be brought into the country. The health agency also wants excise taxes on e-cigarettes to make it less likely that young people will become addicted to vaping before switching to traditional cigarettes. The World Health Organization (WHO) says raising tobacco taxes is one of the fastest ways to curb smoking and other tobacco use, which kill more than eight million people worldwide every year. The WHO recommends a minimum tax rate of 75 per cent. Price controls appear to be more effective in lower-income countries, where tobacco taxes were associated with a 9 per cent reduction in cigarette smoking between 2014 and 2020, according to a study published last year. In wealthy countries, taxes were tied to a 6 per cent decline. The latest data from the Netherlands indicates that 'given the availability of cheap tobacco from abroad, the price policy is becoming less and less effective,' the Dutch health agency said. 'As long as tobacco prices in neighbouring countries do not increase, the [agency] expects that the share of people who quit or attempt to quit will decrease'. That could soon change. The European Commission, the EU's executive body, is reportedly considering raising taxes on rolling tobacco by 258 per cent and on cigarettes by 139 per cent, amid pressure from member states to tackle tobacco consumption. Last year, the Netherlands and 15 other countries urged the Commission to act on an EU-wide basis, saying the wide variation in tax rates across the bloc is undermining its single market. Across the EU, taxes on a 20-pack of cigarettes range from €1.92 in Bulgaria to €9.92 in Ireland, according to a 2024 analysis from the Tax Foundation. The Netherlands has the second-highest tax rate, at €7.66.
Le Figaro
2 days ago
- Le Figaro
Does Lady Macbeth Have Brain Cancer? A Psychiatrist Decodes the Mental Health of Writers and Their Characters
Literature is filled with characters suffering from mental health issues… and with authors who weren't necessarily much better off. In a fascinating book, a psychiatrist and a journalist attempt to unravel the mysteries of these minds. Does Lady Macbeth suffer from a brain disorder? Is Don Quixote delusional? Did Montaigne experience post-traumatic stress disorder? Did Baudelaire really have 'spleen'? And we —who delight in delving into the flaws and wanderings of great authors and their characters — might we all be a bit depressed, perverse, voyeuristic or addicted? It certainly seems that way: psychic suffering, often taboo in real life, 'erupts from all sides in literary masterpieces,' where it is not only 'tolerated' but 'magnified, sublimated,' notes psychiatrist Patrick Lemoine. After examining The Psychological Health of Those Who Made the World in his 2019 book, he now joins journalist Sophie Viguier-Vinson in exploring The Psychological Health of Writers and Their Characters. Together, they analyze some of literature's most beautiful pages to unearth madness. Are geniuses mad? Probably a little — otherwise, their works might be more reasonable — and probably far less beautiful. 'Literature reflects the world's complexity' and how each era and society perceives it. 'But it also reveals… the inner self and its fractures… Many writers were at the forefront of modern psychiatry,' the authors emphasize. Some because they could describe the depths of the human soul with astonishing precision; others because they were fascinated by the emerging science of mental illness; and some because they personally lived through the very torments they described. Each gets a diagnosis and prescription Just as a doctor questions a patient to understand their suffering, the authors delve into the works of Charles Baudelaire, Franz Kafka, Louis-Ferdinand Céline, Stefan Zweig, Toni Morrison and others to find signs of mental illness. For each, the psychiatrist offers a diagnosis and a prescription — an original way to reread works everyone claims to know by heart… and discover surprising insights. In some cases, the ailment is clear. Unsurprisingly, the book opens with French poet Baudelaire. Drug-addicted, syphilitic, the author of Les Fleurs du mal (The Flowers of Evil) lays bare his distress, starting with the spleen born of the 'low heavy sky [which] weighs like a lid.' Did the brilliant poet suffer from seasonal depression? From a neurological complication from syphilis, which a simple course of antibiotics could have spared him if only antibiotics had existed in his day? Or perhaps from bipolar disorder, explaining his creative bursts, disdain for norms, and reckless spending? As for Lady Macbeth — William Shakespeare's guilt-consumed heroine who becomes obsessive and sleepwalks — the diagnosis is more surprising: 'I think Lady Macbeth suffers from RBD,' or REM sleep behavior disorder, 'very often a warning sign of a serious neurological disease such as brain cancer, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, etc.' The prescription? Unfortunately, not much: perhaps an MRI to detect a possible early-stage neurological disorder, and melatonin to help with sleep disturbances. Gregor Samsa, the young man who turns into a cockroach in Kafka's Metamorphosis, could have been treated. He clearly suffers from early-stage schizophrenia, observing with horror his body's transformation and falling into neglect while his family gradually gives up on him. Madness or rebellion? In other cases, the diagnosis is murkier, and the line between illness and rebellion against societal norms becomes blurred. Take Don Quixote: He doesn't seem to be lying, as a liar knows what he's doing. A mythomaniac? Maybe, but that's tricky to treat. There's no medication, and you shouldn't confront the mythomaniac with the truth (lest they mentally collapse), nor should you encourage the delusion. So let's keep believing that the man of La Mancha is a gentle dreamer, who harms only windmills and scientific rationality. The Marquise de Merteuil in Choderlos de Laclos's Dangerous Liaisons is probably a narcissistic pervert 'and the term sadomasochism must be mentioned'; but she is also (above all?) a woman rebelling against male dominance, even if it means leaving victims in her wake. Elsewhere, the psychiatrist has fun, as literature reflects our own inner flaws. Take French playwright Molière's Monsieur Jourdain: dreamy, naïve, a bit foolish but not mentally ill. Unless Alzheimer's is 'lurking,' which would explain a lot... Or the clients in Émile Zola's Au Bonheur des Dames (The Ladies' Paradise), caught in a shopping frenzy (with one even resorting to theft), which we can't entirely mock — especially during sale season. With Michel de Montaigne, it was a fall from a horse, recounted in Essays, that triggered a 'vertigo of death.' Yet after discussing PTSD, which traps the sufferer in a loop of traumatic reliving, the psychiatrist concludes Montaigne likely had sound mental health. He may have experienced 'a certain form of traumatic dissociation' — but recovered and transformed it into the basis of his introspective philosophy. Lemoine is less sure, however, about Blaise Pascal's mental integrity. The mathematician became a philosopher after a serious carriage accident in which he almost fell off the Neuilly bridge. Could his Pensées (Thoughts) have been erased with a simple stroke of the pen by a psychiatrist prescribing EMDR sessions? Lifting us out of our inner turmoil 'The mark of literary genius is the ability to convey a clinical truth with extreme accuracy and precision, as if it had been lived, even by those who may never have experienced it,' Lemoine writes. Zola describes delirium tremens in L'Assommoir, while Zweig and Fyodor Dostoevsky masterfully depict gambling addiction. Guy de Maupassant and Edgar Allan Poe likewise brilliantly portray madness — Le Horla's psychosis and The Black Cat's alcoholic downfall — probably drawing from their own hallucinatory experiences. 'Of course, reading doesn't cure... but it can help us project ourselves beyond the torment,' Lemoine and Viguier-Vinson conclude. 'Because an author has turned suffering into something more: a moment of humanity and beauty to be shared.' Literature also gives us hope, the psychiatrist adds, when its characters 'strangely adapt to their quirks, flaws and misadventures… These are all valuable lessons about the strengths of the psyche that give us hope and set us on our path.' According to the World Health Organization, mental illness affects one in five people. That does not include the everyday disappointments that depress, sadden, exhaust or anger us. And literature, in all this? It's here to make us 'a little freer, perhaps'…
