There is troubling news from Alaska: a new study by the state health department finds a sharp rise in vaping and suicide among high school students. The report shows one in four students currently using e-cigarettes or vaping products, up from one in six in 2017.
The Alaska results match national surveys on vaping use among teens, an age group that is extremely susceptible to flavored vaping products and targeted advertising. The federal government has implemented a partial ban on some flavored vaping pods and nicotine, but that hasn’t stopped vaping companies continuing to pursue younger consumers.
Meanwhile, drug overdose deaths are spiking in Canada during the coronavirus pandemic, following a similar pattern in the U.S., as substance users face difficulties accessing treatment and critical medications, and travel bans have disrupted the flow of illicit drugs. And finally, cannabis real estate companies—which lease warehouses for the cultivation and processing of marijuana—are booming, thanks to strong demand for the drug during coronavirus pandemic. Pot sales surged despite the lockdown after most states deemed them to be essential services—alongside pharmacies and grocery stores—and pot enterprises ramped up production to meet pandemic-related demand.