Background
Our research will look at the trends in online information about cannabis and kratom on Facebook in Thailand, where there is currently debate about legalising these drugs.
Methods
Between April and November 2015, reviewers used common search engines to find cannabis and kratom Facebook pages in Thai. The tone of the post was used to categorise the contents of each page during content analysis (positive, negative or neutral). The contents were then compared in a one-year follow-up search.
Results
Initially, twelve Facebook pages were identified for cannabis and twelve for kratom. Cannabis pages had a higher number of followers. Kratom pages were less active but remained open for a longer period of time. Both drugs had posts with positive and neutral tones, but none with negative tones. Other drugs were mentioned on the cannabis pages, but they were not the same as the kratom pages. During the search, issues concerning drug legalisation were discovered on the cannabis pages but not on the kratom pages. One year later, the tone of the posts remained consistent, but page activity had increased.
Conclusions
The current information available on the sampled Facebook pages was favourable to the use of cannabis and kratom. Our search yielded no results regarding the dangers of these drugs.
Background
Cannabis (marijuana) and kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) are becoming more popular around the world. Excessive use of these substances has been linked to a variety of negative health effects, according to research. Cannabis use has been linked to a variety of psychological conditions, cardiovascular events, respiratory tract problems, and cognitive impairment, whereas kratom may have stimulant and opioid-like side effects. Weight loss, hyperpigmentation, tremor, insomnia, fatigue, poor concentration, and possibly seizures have been linked to long-term and high-dose kratom use. Because of the potential harm, as well as the possibility of user misuse, the Thai Narcotics Control Division has classified these plants as illicit drug category V, making it illegal to produce, dispose of, import, export, or possess them.
These two drugs have been linked to a variety of medical benefits. Cannabis has been used to treat nausea, vomiting, and spasticity, as well as to control pain and improve appetite. Kratom has also been shown to have anti-inflammatory, cough-reducing, anti-diarrheal, and pain-relieving properties. Many organisations or groups that advocate for legalisation use the potential medical benefits of these drugs to drive legislative changes. According to one study, cannabis that is legally used for medical purposes is also more likely to be used recreationally by the general population [19]. Thailand is still debating whether or not to legalise these drugs. People are influenced to obtain them through non-government channels because they are still illegal drugs. One of these routes is the online market.
Over the last decade, the internet has become a popular place for people to communicate and search for information, including drug-related information. Illicit drugs and illegal prescription drugs are available online in Thailand and other countries, with a wide range of information. Opiates and cannabis were the most commonly controlled psychoactive substances studied for online information in previous studies. To the best of our knowledge, kratom has not been studied for online content. This plant is typically only used in a small portion of the world, with Thailand being one of the most popular markets. Kratom is currently available in the European online drug market, and its legal status is being debated in the United States.
The Thai government has been considering changing the drug schedule for cannabis and kratom in recent years. The purpose of this study is to assess the trend of online information on cannabis and kratom pages on Facebook (the most popular and easily accessible social network site among Thai users) by categorising their content based on positive, negative, and neutral tones, determining page activities, and noting what other drugs are mentioned in conjunction with cannabis or kratom. These content analysis findings may aid in determining whether cannabis- and kratom-related content posted on Facebook is potentially harmful to social network users. The findings may also help to contextualise Thailand's current legal uncertainty regarding cannabis and kratom.
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What About Tobacco?
To what extent does smoking affect one's health?
In the United States, smoking accounts for more than one in five deaths that could otherwise have been avoided. About 480,000 preventable deaths annually in the United States can be attributed to cigarette smoking and secondhand smoke exposure (1). Some 36% are attributed to cancer, 39% to cardiovascular disease and stroke, and 24% to lung illness (1). Death rates are around three times as high for smokers as they are for never-smokers (6, 7).
A person's general health is negatively impacted by smoking, as it damages practically every organ and system in the body. Lung, oesophageal, laryngeal, oral, pharyngeal, nasopharyngeal, kidney, bladder, liver, pancreatic, gastrointestinal, cervix, colon, rectovaginal, and acute myeloid leukaemia are all cancers that can be caused by smoking (1–3).
In addition to worsening adult asthma symptoms, smoking is a leading cause of cardiovascular disease, stroke, aortic aneurysm (a balloon-like bulge in a chest artery), COPD (chronic bronchitis and emphysema), diabetes, osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, age-related macular degeneration, and cataracts. Airway infections, such as pneumonia and TB, are more common in smokers (1–3). Further, smoking is associated with increased inflammation and impaired immunological function (1).
Even though the average smoker now smokes less cigarettes than they did in the 1960s, their risk of developing lung cancer or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has grown since then (1). The types of lung cancer that smokers get have also changed over time, with a decrease in squamous cell carcinomas and an increase in adenocarcinomas. Both of these modifications may have resulted from improvements in cigarette technology, modifications to curing processes, and increased cigarette smokers' ability to inhale smoke and its noxious byproducts (1, 8).
A woman's ability to conceive is negatively impacted by her smoking habits. Miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, preterm delivery, low birth weight, and cleft lip/palate are all more likely in a pregnant smoker (1). When a mother smokes, either before, during, or after her pregnancy, she puts her unborn child at risk for SIDS (2, 3). Cigarette smokers are more likely to have problems maintaining an erection (1, 9).
The larger a smoker's cumulative time spent puffing, the higher their risk of terminal illness and early demise (7). However, smokers of any age who choose to quit greatly lower their danger of developing cancer and other illnesses.
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