Newspaper articles and media have shown that the use of illegal weight loss compounds, such as ephedrine and Melanotan, is becoming more common among adolescent girls, who are at risk of becoming a new group of addicts. These girls are rarely aware of the risks that the use of these compounds entails and the consequences that could adversely affect their bodies, mentally and physically.   The aim of this paper was to investigate the use of and attitudes towards illegal weight loss compounds amongst girls in year three, at Swedish upper secondary schools. In order to do that, a questionnaire was sent out to 120 girls in five different high schools, with varying college preparatory and vocational program directions.   My research shows that the use of illegal weight loss compounds, particularly ephedrine, was found among girls in year three, at upper secondary schools. Seven percent of the girls claimed they use, primarily, ephedrine. This result exceeds earlier studies findings on boys' use of anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS). Throughout the survey a sense of how common the use of and attitudes towards illegal weight loss compounds were amongst these girls was formed. The girls' critical views of their bodies permeate my research, whereas almost half of all girls are experiencing dissatisfaction with their body weight and the majority of the girls want to lose body weight. Regarding the girls' attitudes towards the use of illegal weight loss compounds, one result accounted that almost half of all girls could think of using one if it guaranteed them to be thinner. My research also shows that more information needs to be targeted towards young girls; in order to make them conscious about the dangers of these illegal weight loss compounds. / Tidningsartiklar och media har belyst att bruk av illegala viktminskningspreparat såsom efedrin och Melanotan blir allt mer vanligt bland unga flickor och som riskerar att bli en ny grupp missbrukare. Dessa flickor är sällan medvetna om riskerna och följderna som negativt kan påverka deras kroppar både psykiskt och fysiskt vid bruk av dessa preparat.   Syftet med detta examensarbete var att undersöka förekomsten av bruk och attityd till illegala viktminskningspreparat bland flickor i årskurs tre på gymnasiet. För att kunna ge svar på syftet utfördes en enkätundersökning på 120 flickor på fem olika gymnasieskolor, med varierande studieförberedande och yrkesförberedande programinriktning. Genom undersökningen skapades en uppfattning om hur förekommande bruket av och attityder till illegala viktminskningspreparat var bland flickorna.   Min enkätundersökning visar att 7 % av respondenterna har använt ett illegalt viktminskningspreparat, främst efedrin. Detta resultat överstiger tidigare undersökningars och studiers resultat avseende pojkars bruk av anabola androgena steroider (AAS). Flickornas kritiska syn på sina kroppar genomsyrar min undersökning då nästan hälften upplever missnöje med sin kroppsvikt och majoriteten av flickorna önskar att gå ned i vikt. Avseende flickornas attityd gällande bruk av illegala viktminskningspreparat svarade nästan hälften att de inte är främmande till ett bruk ifall det garanterade dem att bli smala. Min undersökning visar också att mer information behöver riktas mot unga flickor för att medvetandegöra dem om farorna av dessa illegala viktminskningspreparat.

The aim of the thesis was to analyze the historical pharmaceutical preparations, including the determination of the active substance and identify theirs possible degradation products. A historical pharmaceutical preparation of naloxone was analyzed by mass spectrometry. Historical pharmaceutical preparations of adrenaline and ephedrine were analyzed by UHPLC-MS and were quantified using a calibration curve. In the historical injection solution of naloxone, "NARCAN", dated around 1980, there were no significant degradation products and the measured mass and UV spectrum was consistent with the spectrum of naloxone. The analyzed sample of naloxone was stable even after 35 years of storage. In the analyzed historical injection solution of adrenaline, "Adrenalin Hydrochlor., Dr. Heisler" (dated between 1917 and 1938) was determined 5.26 ± 0.11 % of the declared amount of adrenaline. In the measured spectras were noticeable degradation products, which have not been described in the literature yet and their identification was beyond the scope of this paper. The analyzed sample of adrenaline was almost completely degraded during about ninety years. The stability test carried out with four standard solutions of adrenaline proved influence of oxygen, light, temperature and time on the degradation of adrenaline. In...