Nicotine shown to have half the constrictive properties on veins as alcohol, and marijuana actually will make them bigger (with vasorelaxatory properties identified in THC)!

Nicotine and vein constriction:

"Smoking was associated with significant changes in the aortic pressure-diameter relation that denote deterioration of the elastic properties and were maintained during the whole study period: the slope of the pressure-diameter loop became steeper (baseline, 35.43±1.38; minute 1, 45.26±1.65; peak at minute 10, 46.36±1.69 mm Hg/mm; P<.001) and aortic distensibility decreased (baseline, 2.08±0.12; minute 1, 1.60±0.08; nadir at minute 5, 1.54±0.07×10⁻⁶ cm²·dyne⁻¹; P<.001). In contrast, no changes in aortic elasticity indexes were observed with sham smoking."

http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/95/1/31.short

Alcohol and vein constriction:

"Blood ethanol levels achieved at 60, 120, and 180 minutes were 649+-48, 1,285±81, and 2,546+-130jug/ml, respectively. LAD cross-sectional area was reduced significantly from control at the end of each of the three dosing periods (-24± 5%, -40± 3%, and -53±.3%; p<0.004). a-Adrenergic blockade had no effecton LAD cross-sectional area, while nicardipine partially reversed the ethanol-induced vasoconstriction. No significant change in vessel cross-sectional area took place in control dogs."

 http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/78/1/165.full.pdf

Marijuana and vein relaxation:

"The present results provide strong evidence that THC is a PPARγ ligand, stimulation of which causes time-dependent vasorelaxation"
This results in a lower blood pressure and better athletic performance.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006291X05021352

Health Class 2007?

Paul Andreas Fischer

Today I analyzed my dietary and physical wellness using a new program called MyPyramid.gov. My total caloric intake was well under the recommended level (or even what I thought would be reasonable) and unfortunately, so were many food group levels.  The most important piece of information that I acquired from the activity was that I need three pieces of pizza (which I could barely eat) just to receive the -_- rating in several food groups from My Pyramid. Despite the fact that many food groups are below recommended levels, I realize that fluctuations in my daily routine make up for this. The only group that sincerely worried me was the sodium (most commonly found in salt) that was over six hundred and fifty mg in excess of the recommended amount (2300 mg). My overall conclusion from this report, however, is that I need at least one more meal in my day if I continue the physical activities in which I am currently engaged.

This is especially important: while my diet fluctuates so that occasionally milk intake will be high and fruit low, or my vegetable intake high and the meat intake low my physical exercise is nearly the same every. This means that I need to intake four thousand calories each day to maintain good health. If I were to shave another two hundred calories off my daily diet, then my growth would be stunted and I would face substantial weight loss. Another grave risk that my diet is presenting me with is my system’s overloading of sodium. This chemical commonly found in salt can cause heart attacks and must be approached with caution.

In the future I prepare to eat more healthily by eating more. The most important change I will make to my diet include eating three extra pieces of pizza and one fruit as a standard staple meal in my diet. This would give me necessary calories that I need to fulfill my growth potential. The other change that I would make is the increased expenditure of my physical ability. This is important to assuring that I can continue to intake the amount of food that I plan for. A healthy life style would be to have cereal in the morning, bike to school, go downtown and eat Chinese food and then bike home and have three pieces of pizza.