This is an order of magnitude greater moral offense...because what is at stake is the fate of the planet, humanity, and the future of civilization, not to be melodramatic.

—Alyssa Bernstein, ethics expert at Ohio U, comparing Exxon's funding deniers (despite knowing about climate change since the 80's) to the tobacco industry denying the link between smoking and cancer.

Statistics show that the "stroke belt" is also where you have the highest likelihood (in the US) of dying of cardiovascular and lower respiratory disease (smoking), cancer and accidents. Obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome are probable causes, but what about accidents? Why do southerners have the most accidents? Bless their dangerous little hearts....

SOURCE
http://consumer.healthday.com/cardiovascular-health-information-20/heart-attack-news-357/southeastern-states-have-highest-number-of-preventable-deaths-687436.html

OK, maybe that's a little exaggerated, but basically any drug causes a dopamine surge that changes your brain such that the rewards of normal life don't seem good enough anymore. This study actually found that pot smokers have a bigger nucleus accumbens (the brain area associated with pleasure, reward, and reinforcement learning). They say that 19 million Americans have smoked pot recently. That's a lot.

Here's the article:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/04/16/even-casually-smoking-marijuana-can-change-your-brain-study-says/
( textCollapse )

This study had a sample size of nearly 400,000 adults and lasted for 13 years. They had to adjust the findings for cigarette smoking, which is of course prevalent among coffee drinkers.
( notesCollapse )

http://www.medscape.org/viewarticle/745887?src=cmemp
1 in 10 people on Varenicline/Chantix quit smoking
number needed to harm = 28

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/745359?src=mp&spon=34
is a review on this study:

Wilson KM, Kasperzyk JL, Rider JR, et al. Coffee consumption and prostate cancer risk and progression in the health professionals follow-up study. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2011;103:876-884. Epub 2011 May 17.

but this study
http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/50/21/6836.short
found no correlation at least for survival of fatal prostate cancer, between coffee drinkers or not.

( ...and... coffee drinkers have higher testosterone! text here. video at link above.Collapse )

What causes a granular surface on the kidneys?
benign nephrosclerosis-->patchy ischemic atrophy-->focal loss of parenchyma-->granular surface
common in diabetics, also dt HTN
( from Miller's notesCollapse )

If you die 5 years and 1 day after a cancer diagnosis, what are you?
( notes from Dr Thom's lectureCollapse )