Health
Drinking alcohol can lead to other substance use, addiction experts warn
A vast majority of American adults say they have consumed alcohol at some point — yet experts warn that alcoholic beverages could be a “gateway drug” to more harmful substances.
More than 84% of adults in the U.S. report having drunk alcohol in their lifetime, according to the 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH).
That same survey found that among underage Americans (12 to 17 years of age), more than 21% had consumed alcohol.
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What is a ‘gateway drug’?
Dr. Kenneth Spielvogel, senior medical officer at Carrara Treatment in California, defined a “gateway drug” as a substance that exposes someone to other drugs.
More than 84% of adults in the U.S. report having drunk alcohol in their lifetime, according to the 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. (iStock)
Marijuana is often pegged as a “classic gateway drug,” he told Fox News Digital, as it can lead to cocaine, heroin and other “harder drugs” that present a greater threat to loss of life via impaired driving and other volatile behaviors.
“Alcohol maintains a firm grip on a large portion of the adult population.”
“Any substance that impairs judgment is potentially a gateway drug, in my opinion — however, alcohol is the king of this,” Spielvogel said. “It maintains a firm grip on a large portion of the adult population.”
“I personally have seen the ravages of this — hungover victims turn to meth, cocaine and other drugs for the ‘pick me up’ they feel they need.”
Why alcohol can be a ‘gateway’
For many young people, alcohol is the first substance they try, according to Chris Tuell, a clinical psychotherapist and a chemical and behavioral addiction specialist at the Lindner Center in Mason, Ohio. This makes them more likely to experiment with other drugs later.
“Most people can use alcohol and it does not become problematic — but for some, it is destroying their lives,” he said in an interview with Fox News Digital.
Marijuana is often pegged as a “classic gateway drug,” but one expert said that “alcohol is the king” when it comes to impairing judgment. (iStock)
Consumption of alcohol impairs judgment and decision-making, which can lead to riskier behaviors, including trying other substances, Tuell noted.
“Studies indicate that alcohol alters brain chemistry in ways that increase susceptibility to drug addiction,” the expert cautioned.
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Jeremy Klemanski, addiction specialist and CEO of Gateway Foundation in Chicago, echoes his belief that alcohol is a gateway drug.
“We often hear reports from patients that they only use or started using while drinking, or that they were first exposed to alcohol and then tried other drugs for greater physical symptoms and feelings,” he told Fox News Digital.
Research from the National Institute of Drug Abuse suggests that early exposure to alcohol can “prime the brain” for heightened responses to other drugs. (iStock)
“It is also important to note that once a person has used one mind-altering substance, their general thinking skills are impaired on some level,” he went on. “Other things they might not normally do become easier to justify or accept as an idea to act on.”
There is also a neurological element that comes into play, according to Dr. David Campbell, clinical director and program director at Recover Together Bend in Oregon.
“Alcohol affects neurotransmitter systems that are involved in the reward pathways that are similarly targeted by other drugs,” he told Fox News Digital.
Research from the National Institute of Drug Abuse suggests that early exposure to alcohol can “prime the brain” for heightened responses to other drugs, perhaps increasing the risks of the “gateway effect,” Campbell added.
Other factors at play
Experts emphasized that correlation does not equal causation.
“Just because people who use harder drugs often drink alcohol first does not necessarily mean alcohol caused their drug use,” Tuell noted.
“There are few drugs where the sudden stoppage of their use can be deadly — alcohol is one of these,” an addiction specialist warned. (iStock)
Campbell agreed, noting that many “contextual factors and psychosocial stressors” should be considered within the broader context of someone’s life.
“Social environment, stressors, ease and proximity to access, social influences, mental health conditions, childhood trauma, genetics and other biological factors may all play a role,” he told Fox News Digital.
When and how to stop
Spielvogel shared some warning signs that someone may be dependent on alcohol and more susceptible to trying other harmful substances.
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“One sign is if they have ever tried to cut down on their drinking and failed,” he said. “Also, they may be annoyed when asked about their alcohol consumption.”
People with alcohol dependency may also feel guilty when they drink, or they might consume alcoholic beverages in the morning, he added.
“It is very important that if someone has a use disorder, they seek professional help for their detox and recovery.”
Stopping “cold turkey” may not be the healthiest route, Spielvogel cautioned.
“There are few drugs where the sudden stoppage of their use can be deadly — alcohol is one of these,” he said.
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“I cannot stress this enough; it is very important that if someone has a use disorder, they seek professional help for their detox and recovery, whether it’s a private treatment facility or going to a medical professional.”
“Do not do this on your own.”
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Eating too much salt has long been linked to high blood pressure, but new research suggests it could trick the immune system into prematurely aging the blood vessels.
A preclinical study recently published in the Journal of the American Heart Association has identified a biological chain reaction that links a salty diet to cardiovascular decay.
Scientists at the University of South Alabama observed that mice on a high-salt diet experienced rapid deterioration in their blood vessel function.
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After just four weeks of high sodium intake, the small arteries responsible for regulating blood flow lost their ability to relax, according to a press release.
The team found that the cells lining these vessels had entered a state of cellular senescence, a form of premature cellular aging in which cells stop dividing and release a mix of inflammatory signals that can damage surrounding tissue.
Excess salt has long been linked to high blood pressure, but a new study goes deeper into its effects on the cardiovascular system. (iStock)
The researchers tried to replicate this damage by exposing blood vessel cells directly to salt in a laboratory dish, but the cells showed no harmful effects.
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This suggests that salt isn’t directly causing damage to the vascular lining but that the real culprit may be the body’s own defense mechanism, the researchers noted.
Excess salt may trigger the immune system to release a molecule called interleukin-16 (IL-16), which acts as a messenger that instructs blood vessel cells to grow old before their time, according to the study.
Excess salt may trigger the immune system to release a molecule called interleukin-16, which acts as a messenger that instructs blood vessel cells to grow old before their time, according to the study. (iStock)
Once these cells age, they fail to produce nitric oxide, the essential gas that tells arteries to dilate and stay flexible.
To test whether this process could be reversed, the team turned to a class of experimental drugs known as senolytics.
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Using a cancer medication called navitoclax, which selectively clears out aged and dysfunctional cells, the researchers were able to restore nearly normal blood vessel function in the salt-fed mice, the release stated.
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By removing the decaying cells created by the high-salt diet, the drug allowed the remaining healthy tissue to maintain its elasticity and respond correctly to blood flow demands.
Excess salt may trigger the immune system into stopping the cells from dividing, the study suggests. (iStock)
The study did have some limitations. The transition from mouse models to human treatment remains a significant hurdle, the team cautioned.
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Senolytic drugs like navitoclax are still being studied for safety, and the team emphasized that previous trials have shown mixed results regarding their impact on artery plaque.
Additionally, the researchers have not yet confirmed whether the same IL-16 pathway is the primary driver of vascular aging in humans.
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Eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables was found to have a surprising link to lung cancer among younger non-smokers, early research suggests.
The observational study, led by Jorge Nieva, M.D., of the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center at Keck Medicine, was presented this month at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting in San Diego. It has not yet been peer-reviewed.
Researchers looked at dietary, smoking and demographic data for 187 patients who were diagnosed with lung cancer at age 50 or younger.
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They found that among non-smokers, there was a link between healthier-than-average diets – rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains – and the chance of lung cancer development.
Young lung cancer patients ate more servings of dark green vegetables, legumes and whole grains compared to the average U.S. adult, the researchers found.
Eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables was found to have a surprising link to lung cancer among younger non-smokers, early research suggests. (iStock)
The researchers hypothesized that pesticides applied to conventionally grown produce could be a possible factor in the disease association.
“Commercially produced (non-organic) fruits, vegetables and whole grains are more likely to be associated with a higher residue of pesticides than dairy, meat and many processed foods,” according to Nieva. He also noted that agricultural workers exposed to pesticides tend to have higher rates of lung cancer.
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“There is a large subset of lung cancer patients whose disease is not caused by smoking,” Nieva told Fox News Digital.
The disease is becoming more common in non-smokers 50 and younger, especially women – despite the fact that smoking rates have been falling for decades, the researcher noted.
The researchers hypothesized that pesticides applied to conventionally grown produce could be a possible factor in the disease association. (iStock)
“These patients tend to have eaten much healthier diets before their diagnosis than the average American,” he went on. “We need to support research into understanding why Americans – and women in particular – who no longer smoke very much are still having lung cancer,” he said.
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The study did have some limitations, Nieva acknowledged, primarily that it relied on survey data and was limited by the participants’ memories of their food intake.
“Also, the survey participants were self-selected, and this could have biased the findings,” he told Fox News Digital.
“There is a large subset of lung cancer patients whose disease is not caused by smoking.”
The researchers did not test specific foods for pesticides, relying instead on average pesticide levels for certain types of food. Looking ahead, they plan to test patients’ blood and urine samples to directly measure pesticide levels, Nieva said.
Although the study shows only an association and does not prove that pesticides caused lung cancer, Nieva recommends that people wash their produce before eating and choose organic foods whenever possible.
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“This work represents a critical step toward identifying modifiable environmental factors that may contribute to lung cancer in young adults,” said Nieva. “Our hope is that these insights can guide both public health recommendations and future investigation into lung cancer prevention.”
“It is possible that the increased lung cancer risk could be due to pesticide exposure in whole farmed foods, but is by no means certain,” a doctor said. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst, said the study is “interesting,” but that it “raises far more questions than it answers.”
“It is a small study (around 150) and observational, so no proof,” the doctor, who was not involved in the research, told Fox News Digital.
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“It is possible that the increased lung cancer risk could be due to pesticide exposure in whole farmed foods, but it is by no means certain,” Siegel went on. “How much exposure is needed? How much of it gets into food and in which areas? This requires much further study.”
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Kayla Nichols, communications director for Pesticide Action & Agroecology Network, a distributed global network, said the organization agrees with the study’s conclusion that more research should be done on the rise in lung cancer, particularly in individuals eating diets higher in produce and fiber.
“There is a large subset of lung cancer patients whose disease is not caused by smoking,” the researcher told Fox News Digital. (iStock)
“There is a bounty of existing research that already links pesticide exposure to increased risk of multiple types of cancers,” Nichols, who was also not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital. She called for more research on chronic, low-level exposures to pesticides, as well as more effective policies to protect the public from pesticide residues on food.
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The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute, as well as industry partners including AstraZeneca and Genentech, among others.
Fox News Digital reached out to several pesticide companies and trade groups for comment.
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Colorectal cancer, once considered a disease of older age, is becoming a crisis for younger adults. New research shows one group getting hit the hardest – those without a college degree.
A recent study from the American Cancer Society analyzed data from over 101,000 adults aged 25 to 49 who died from colorectal cancer between 1994 and 2023.
While death rates remained stable for college graduates, they climbed significantly for those without a bachelor’s degree, the findings showed.
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For young adults with a high school education or less, the mortality rate rose from 4.0 to 5.2 per 100,000 people, while the rate for those with at least a bachelor’s degree stayed flat, at approximately 2.7 per 100,000.
This does not mean that a degree offers some kind of biological protection, researchers cautioned.
Colorectal cancer, once considered a disease of older age, is becoming a crisis for younger adults. (iStock)
The difference is likely driven by the conditions in which people live and work, which often correlate with education levels, the researchers noted.
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The study suggests that the higher death rates are likely driven by differences in the prevalence of risk factors, including obesity, physical inactivity, smoking and diet, which are “known to be elevated among children and young adults with lower [socioeconomic status].”
Because the study relied on death certificates, researchers couldn’t say exactly why college graduates had better outcomes.
Because the researchers didn’t have the patients’ actual medical records, they couldn’t see things like frequency of screenings or treatment options, which would impact survival outcomes. (iStock)
Certificates typically list the cause of death, age, race and education level, but they do not include a person’s full medical history.
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Because the researchers didn’t have the patients’ actual medical records, they couldn’t see things like frequency of screenings or treatment options, which would impact survival outcomes.
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Colorectal cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death for men under 50 and the second leading cause for women in the same age group, according to recent statistics.
While colorectal cancer death rates remained stable for college graduates, they climbed significantly for those without a bachelor’s degree, the findings showed. (iStock)
Because the disease is highly treatable when caught early, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) lowered the recommended screening age from 50 to 45 in 2021.
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Common signs and symptoms of colorectal cancer can include a change in bowel habits, such as diarrhea, constipation or narrowing of the stool, that lasts for more than a few days, according to the American Cancer Society.
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Other signs that warrant seeing a doctor include blood in the stool or a persistent feeling of needing to go to the bathroom but being unable to go.
The research was published in JAMA Oncology.
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