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People Who Smoke and Use Drugs During COVID-19 Pandemic Face Unique Risks: NIDA

Texas Town Orders Residents to Wear Masks or Face $1,000 Fine

Authorities in a South Texas border town said that anyone aged 5 and above not wearing a mask in a range of settings like pumping gas or going into a store could be fined up to $1,000. The Laredo City Council said in a press release Wednesday that, starting Thursday, people “entering into or inside of any building open to the public; when using public transportation, taxis, or ride shares; or when pumping gas,” would have to don masks. Authorities said people would be required to wear “some form of covering over their nose and mouth,” with homemade masks, scarfs, bandanas, or handkerchiefs all considered acceptable. Violation of the new rule will be considered a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $1,000. The move comes as another 26,000 Americans…

People Who Smoke and Use Drugs During COVID-19 Pandemic Face Unique Risks: NIDA

The serious health risks of COVID-19 pose unique challenges to people who smoke or are struggling with substance use disorders (SUD),聽according to Dr. Nora Volkow, director of National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).

“Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is causing untold challenges to health care and wider social structures,”聽Volkow wrote in an article in the Annals of Internal Medicine, noting that especially vulnerable are people who smoke or vape, use opioids, or have a history of drug abuse.

The risk from COVID-19 is elevated for people with underlying health conditions, including respiratory diseases, which are often associated with lung damage due to smoking.

“Data from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention have suggested that COVID-19 has a case fatality rate of 6.3 percent for individuals with chronic respiratory disease, compared with 2.3 percent overall,” Volkow wrote.

People Who Smoke and Use Drugs During COVID-19 Pandemic Face Unique Risks: NIDA

She said people who vape nicotine or聽tetrahydrocannabinol, the active substance in marijuana, may also be at higher risk of complications from COVID-19.

“Preclinical studies show that e-cigarette aerosols can damage lung tissue, cause inflammation, and diminish the lungs’ ability to respond to infection,” she noted.

People who have a history of abusing opioids, methamphetamine, or other psychostimulants are also at risk due to compromised lung function, she said.

“At least 2 million persons in the United States have OUD [opioid use disorder], and more than 10 million misuse opioids,” Volkow wrote, adding, “these individuals may be at increased risk for the most adverse consequences of COVID-19.”

People Who Smoke and Use Drugs During COVID-19 Pandemic Face Unique Risks: NIDA

She also noted that because of challenges to delivering care to people with substance use disorders, they may find it harder to get health care when they develop the new respiratory disease.

Social distancing measures, while important for reducing COVID-19 transmission, pose additional challenges to people struggling to recover from addiction.

“Social distancing will increase the likelihood of opioid overdoses happening when there are no observers who can administer naloxone to reverse them and thus when they are more likely to result in fatalities,” Volkow wrote.

Social isolation is also a risk factor for relapse into addiction.

“Persons who are isolated and stressed鈥攁s much of the population is during a pandemic鈥攆requently turn to substances to alleviate their negative feelings. Those in recovery will face stresses and heightened urges to use substances and will be at greatly increased risk for relapse,” she wrote.

Volkow also argued emergency department physicians with increased caseloads amid the COVID-19 outbreak may also be less likely to initiate certain types of therapy for patients with OUD, or deprioritize care for them entirely.

“When hospitals are pushed to their capacity, there is added danger of persons with SUD being deprioritized for care if they present with COVID-19 symptoms,” Volkow noted.

People Who Smoke and Use Drugs During COVID-19 Pandemic Face Unique Risks: NIDA

While noting that much remains unknown about COVID-19, people who smoke, vape, or use certain drugs will be at increased risk for infection and its more severe consequences, she concluded.

She urged policymakers to consider new ways of meeting treatment and recovery needs of this population, including through measures ranging from enhancing virtual resources to minimizing office visits.

“Under no circumstances can we forget or marginalize persons with SUD during this new public health crisis,” she said.

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Feds Distribute Thousands of Masks, Gloves Seized From Hoarders to Healthcare Workers

The Justice Department (DOJ) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on Thursday that more than half a million boxes of medical supplies, including N95 respirator masks, that were seized from a price gouger have been distributed to healthcare workers combating the CCP virus. The supplies were discovered by the FBI during an enforcement operation on March 30, the department said. They include about 192,000 N95 respirator masks, 598,000 medical grade gloves, and 130,000 surgical masks, procedure masks, N100 masks, surgical gowns, disinfectant towels, particulate filters, bottles of hand sanitizer, and bottles of spray disinfectant. HHS used its power under the Defense Production Act to order that the supplies be immediately given to the federal government. The owner of the hoarded supplies will be paid pre-pandemic fair market value for the…