Heroin users warned about danger of tin foil

[BA]

CANADA - While not conclusive, a possible link between smoking heroin and a brain disease known as leucoencephalopathy has a Kelowna neurologist warning local users to be careful.

“At this point, it’s only an association but at least they should be aware of it,” said Dr. Barry Jones.

“If that causes them to mend their ways, so much the better.”

Jones said there is currently a patient in Kelowna General Hospital suspected of having the condition.

That patient is one of 19 reported since 2002, including 15 this year.

Most of the cases are confined to the Lower Mainland but have shown up in people from 19 to 51 from within various racial groups.

Almost 50 per cent of those patients have died from the condition and Jones said the prognosis for recovery for the Kelowna patient is low.

Smoking heroin from tinfoil is a practice known as chasing the dragon.

“Leucoencephalopathy has only been diagnosed in people who sniff the fumes,” said Jones.

“We haven’t seen it in IV drug users.”

What’s not known is whether the disease has been caused by the burning tinfoil or adulterants within the heroin itself.

“That’s the big question they’re trying to answer,” said Jones.

“This connection has only been recognized in the last couple of years.”

Health officials in the Lower Mainland are working with the Vancouver Police Department to try to obtain samples of the heroin smoked by the victims there so chemical analysis can be conducted on it.

Jones said he plans to talk to the patient and family of the local victim to see if it’s possible to obtain a heroin sample which would be sent to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.

“It might help them be able to put two and two together,” Jones added.

Leucoencephalopathy causes victims to lose their sense of balance, and have difficulty speaking plus muscle weakness.

Victims may also behave inappropriately or be unaware of their surroundings.

The provincial medical health officer Dr. Perry Kendall issued a province-wide alert to all neurologists last Friday about a connection between leucoencephalopathy and heroin use.

Kendall urged doctors to notify Dr. Lorne Clearsky, a community medicine resident at the University of British Columbia, if they suspect one of their patients may have the condition.

By John McDonald, staff reporter
6/2/2003
story link

 

[collective_vision]

Is this really anything new? I could've sworn I saw the warning about this on erowid quite a while ago....

 

[alostlittlebird]

I am aware of this link as well as aluminum foil to alzheimer's - but are either of these findings substantial enough to be considered factual (ie, that smoking from these materials will produce these effects?)

 

[collective_vision]

Warning - Contaminant in Heroin When Smoked

 

[mashmetaller]

Is it just me, or does anyone see a huge irony in the fact that these people are smoking one of the most dangerous street drugs, and its the aluminium foil that kills them??

 

[tokey]

Did you miss the erowid link? It seems more likely to be an adulterant in the heroin not the foil per se.

 

[BA]

thank you for the link, collective vision!

 

[Symmetrical Daze]

Is tin foil different than aluminum foil?

 

[outrigger]

Relative harms- don't blame the heroin!

I find it hard to believe that an adulterant is responsible for this condition- street heroin is usually cut with glucose. In some parts of the world paracetamol is used, (because it vaporises at the same temperature as smack and so doesn't leave a noticeable residue when people smoke it). If you're trafficing or distributing illicit drugs for a living, you need reliable return custom, and you don't get that by poisoning your clientelle. Now if you're a tobacco company, on the other hand...
There's several studies linking aluminium to brain disorders, and the subject is highly contentious, perhaps because of the huge profits of bauxite/aluminium industries. If these links are evidence of a causal relationship, what about all those aluminum cooking pots and soda cans!

Many heroin users who 'chase the dragon' believe that this is a safer means of administration than injecting. Quite a few people I've spoken to have heard about the possibility of aluminium causing brain damage, and believe that burning the foil first removes either a chemical coating, or an oxidised layer, that causes the problem. I haven't encountered any evidence to support this belief, but the practice of preparing the foil for 'chasing' in this way is very widespread in Australia and South East Asia generally.

In Australia a lot of young cannabis smokers use a field-expedient implement called a 'can-bong'. (Squash an aluminum coke can, poke a hole near the bottom end for the cone, the hole from the ringpull is the mouthpiece). Sometimes this is just an occasional practice, when there is no purpose built implement around, but some smokers use the can reguarly, so they don't have an identifiable implement in the house when the police come to visit. I've been quite concerned that this practice might have analogous consequences to 'chasing' off aluminium foil.
Another similar practice is making a cone piece for a bong or bucket bong from a piece of aluminium can.
If 'chasing' off foil is causing problems, what might twisting and tearing, then heating the Al do to the smoker?

With a lack of definitive evidence either way, try to encourage people to use smoking implements constructed of nonreactive materials; glass, steel, brass and ceramics. On this subject, smoking implements made of plastic drink bottles, garden hose etc are almost certainly adding greatly to the harms of inhaling any substance, and should also be avoided.

And while I'm having a bit of a rant, what makes heroin one of the most dangerous street drugs?

Heroin isn't toxic guys, pure dicaetyl morphine doesn't have any serious side effects apart from the fact that if you take too much you might stop breathing. This is a pretty serious negative consequence, and I don't want to minimise the human cost of opiate ODs, but it is a preventable harm.
If someone is habituated to heroin, they can take 5-10 times their usual dose without serious danger of 'dropping'. The problem is that if the person has any other CNS depressants on board, OD becomes much more likely. Depending on what country we're looking at, between 80 and 95% of fatal opiate overdoses involve significant amounts of alcohol and/or benzodiazipines. These are in fact Poly-drug overdoses.

Opiate OD is usually pretty easy to manage if there is someone present who knows basic resus, (expired air resusitation). In most cases clearing someones airway and giving them a few breaths starts them up again. If it doesn't, you can breathe for them till an ambulance arrives. Narcan, (naloxone hcl), administered IV or IM, will quickly reverse an overdose if EAR doesn't work.

The vast majority of illicit-opiate related deaths result from people using other drugs to enhance heroins effect, (or to mediate withdrawl, then getting on).
The vast majority of these deaths take place when the user is alone, because they're hiding what they're doing, or with people who don't know what to do and are too scared to call for paramedic assistance.

The only other physical health problem opiates directly cause is mild constipation.

Don't get the impression that I'm saying a heroin habit is fun- being addicted to any substance can create all sorts of problems, and heroin is definitely one of the most addictive and expensive substances in existance.
I just want to make it clear that other, frequently cited, negative consequences of regular heroin use, (like poverty, homelessness, malnutrition, dental problems, employment and relationship hassles, 'criminality' etc.), usually have a lot more to do with heroin's legal status, and resulting prohibitive cost, and societal attitudes to 'junkies', than anything implicit in the chemical nature of the substance.

Obviously tobacco and alcohol are implicated in many more deaths and disabilities than heroin, in fact many more than all illicit drugs combined.
Now I'd better stop writing before I start ranting about drug law reform!

Play safe folks!

 

[Scatteredasfuck]

Obviously tobacco and alcohol are implicated in many more deaths and disabilities than heroin, in fact many more than all illicit drugs combined.

Strange how illegallities still seem to harbour societies main beliefs...

Should any thing be illegal?

As for the tin foil, it has to be tested on a wider scale before we can make any concrete decisions

 

[DjMiro]

that was really shocking for me since i am smoking weed from foil and for some time now i have no balance and unaware of the surroundings.
can anyone tell me if that is serious? i am smoking from foil for long time now and i am really scared. .........

 

[smokie]

edit: Offensive talk removed

 

[SpindleFlesh]

Everybody has the occasional "we have no pipe" soda can, but always smoking out of foil? Perhaps for convenience's sake?

 

[smokie]

edit: Offensive talk removed

 

[SpindleFlesh]

I did, I'm trying to figure out what possesses him to smoke his weed out of tin foil all the time. Perhaps it's for convenience's sake, since you can always get a sh*tload of it for cheap at the grocery store, and it's disposable so no paraphenalia charge. Hmm, I might look into this.....

edit: more offensive talk removed

 

[outrigger]

Maybe he buys his pot in foils?

The links between 'chasing the dragon' and leucoencephalopathy are quite clear, in that only heroin users who smoke off foil come down with it. As yet there isn't clear evidence of a causal relationship, but there is a very strong association. In the post above I stated why I think it's unlikely to be the result of adulterants, we know it's not the heroin, so that really just leaves the aluminium, or the fumes from the lighter?

The current knowledge around aluminium and Alzeimers is similar, in that there is strong evidence of a link between Alzeimers and unusual deposits of aluminium at specific locations in the sufferers brain, but as yet no evidence of a direct causal relationship.
It is statiscally VERY unlikely that this association is the result of coincidence, but it may be that the aluminium deposits are a symptom of, rather than a causal factor, in Alzeimers. It may even prove that these deposits are actually part of the body's response to the effects of Alzeimers.
Occams razor would suggest a more direct mechanism, but the interactions between ingested chemicals and our metabolism and nervous systemn are seldom simple...

Given the current state of medical knowledge around these issues, best practice is to advise smokers of any substance to use implements made of nonreactive materials, and especially to avoid chasing off foil.

It's also a good idea to discourage people from smoking from bongs or pipes that contain plastics or glues, (like the plastic drink bottle with a piece of garden hose as a stem). Glass, ceramic, brass and steel implements at least don't add to the possible harms of inhaling smoke. If it's a water pipe, make sure the mouthpiece is at least 12cm,(5 or 6 inches), above the waterline, or the smoker is usually inhaling significant quantities of water vapour. This is often a major factor in 'bong smoker's cough'.
In terms of reducing health hazards associated with inhaling smoke, a well designed vaporiser is definitely the safest way to smoke. Well-rolled joints, and pipes longer than 6cm, (2 or 3 inches), generally do less damage than improvised water pipes,(like bongs or buckets). If smoking powders or crystalline substances, best practice is to use glass.
Play safe folks!

 

[DarkieX]

A quick thought

It seems only Heroin users smoking from aluminium foil are coming down with these symptoms. Shouldn't meth users and other habitual drugs users smoking from aluminium foil have the same problem if it was the aluminium foil?

 

[outrigger]

Chasing other drugs...

Okay- that's a good point!

I guess the most obvious difference between people who smoke heroin and other drugs is the frequency of dosing.

If you have a serious heroin habit, you take heroin EVERY day, 365 days/year.
Heroin has a relatively short half-life, compared to other opiates. Most injecting heroin users take it more than once a day. I've known lots of people who inject smack twice/day, (say, a small shot in the morning and a bigger one at night). I've also known heaps of people who have 3, 5, 8, even 12-15 shots on an average day. Most opiate users progress through a variety of habits over time.
Injecting every 5-8 hours keeps most users on a pretty even keel. If you use this often, it only takes about 12 hours without a taste to begin WITHDRAWL!

For most heroin users who 'chase the dragon', this is their usual and preferred means of administration. Chasing is promoted as a safer route than injecting, because of BBV risks etc.
Inhaling the vapour makes almost as much heroin available to your brain, almost as quickly, as having a shot.
It seems to make little difference to the potential for habituation, ('addiction'), where as oral administration of opiates is allegedly 'less habit forming'. (Though maybe not really- it just takes longer for the habit to develop).

Smoking is a slightly less effecient means of administering heroin than injecting. (You end up with slightly less heroin available in your bloodstream). This may be why most daily heroin smokers dose more often than your typical 'injector'. (Yeah, I know there's no such thing as a typical drug user!)
The point is that most people who chase the dragon on a habitual daily basis, would lie towards the top end of the 'Frequency of Administration' chart.

If someone chooses to 'chase' their heroin, and they are a regular, habitual user, then they are almost certainly smoking their heroin off foil pretty much EVERY time they take it. And they are probably taking it several times a day, every day of the year.

Generally speaking, when users of any other drug 'chase' off foil, it's an improvised expediency. I've met a few people who smoke methamphetamine off foil, but most crystal or ice smokers use a glass pipe most of the times they smoke.
The only pot smoker I've ever heard of making a regular practice of smoking off foil is the guy who posted a message above. And he said he was having problems with balance and vision. Shit- are you okay mate?
We don't get much crack here in Australia, and I've only seen people smoke it in glass pipes. Can any bluelighters out there let me know if many people 'chase' crack?

So I would suggest that of all the many drug users who sometimes 'chase' their drugs, by far the largest population, globally, would be heroin smokers. Further, I'd suggest that on average any individual heroin smoker is going to 'chase' off foil more often, or with much greater consistency and regularity, than individuals who 'chase' other drugs.

The fact is, we don't know what causes leucoencephalopathy, or alzeimers. We do know that there is a strong, but not necessarily causal, relationship between both these degenerative neuronal diseases and aluminium.
This doesn't mean aluminium is bad for you.
Even if the aluminium is the culprit, there may be complicating factors. Maybe it interacts with something else to cause the damage? Maybe only a certain %-age of the population are suseptable?Or amybe some other pathogen or neurotoxin is being introduced accidentally at point of manufacture. We just don't know.

XXX update- I've re-read a study on this issue and note that one of the 8 cases reported in this study was a cocaine "chaser", not a heroin user. So this doesn't occur exclusively amongst heroin users. XXX

Obviously using a can-bong occasionally,when needs must, is unlikely to cause anyone significant health problems.
But given the lack of clear evidence either way, best advice is to avoid making a regular practice of this. And if you're 'chasing the dragon' 5-10 times a day, you may wish to find a less reactive material to make your smoking implement out of, at least until there is some more conclusive information about this issue!

 

[Symmetrical Daze]

uh o

damn.. back when i was 14 and 15 i kept a popcan in the woods and smoked out of them a few hundred times. plus even within the past 2 years i have used aluminum foil to vaporize 5-meo-dmt.

do i got brain problems? well, hard to say... i got some thinking and memory trouble but that could easily be related to other drugs i have done.

am i worried? no, whats done is done, i just won't do it anymore and hope more research comes out on this topic, so i know what i have done to myself.

*oh and what the hell is up with this? the topic is about tinfoil not aluminum... have we gotten them confused or are they the same thing, just called different names?

 

[outrigger]

Tin foil- Aluminium foil

DMT! Lucky you!

Well Daze I wouldn't loose any sleep about the can you smoked out of as a kid- If you had any significant degenerative neuronal problems as a result you'd know about it by now...

Although the articles from Europe and Canada mention 'tinfoil', it's aluminium foil they're talking about. People often refer to Alfoil as tin foil, it's a colloquialism dating from the first half of the 20th century, before aluminium became so widely used.

I don't know about in other countries, but here in Australia all cooking foil is made of aluminium. I suspect that in most regions of the world aluminium replaced tin foil in household use about fifty years ago, (cheaper to make, more durable), but I'm not sure- can anyone out there tell us whether tinfoil is sold where they live?