" tomorrow I will quit !! "
18/11/2004
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People need to be more aware of oral cancer, UMDNJ official says
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Associated Press Writer
November 10, 2004, 5:17 PM EST
WASHINGTON -- About 30,000 Americans each year contract oral cancer, and 8,000 of them will die, but people remain ignorant of a disease that can be cured if caught in the early stages, a University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey official said Wednesday.
"This is not a disease that strikes just old men anymore," said Arnold Rosenheck, assistant dean at UMDNJ's dental school, before he was to speak to health care professionals about oral cancer at the American Public Health Association's annual meeting here.
Oral cancer once struck mainly men in their 60s, but the largest increase in cases now is seen in people under 40 years of age, and in women. The survival rate remains unchanged from 50 years ago _ about 50 percent for someone diagnosed with the disease in its later stages.
Women began developing oral cancer when smoking became chic, said Rosenheck, referring to the well-known Virginia Slims ad campaign, "You've Come a Long Way, Baby," that ran from 1968 to 1986.
"As a result, women have taken their place alongside their male counterparts in developing the diseases that are prevalent to tobacco use," Rosenheck said. "And I think women are drinking more openly now, going out with the girls, so to speak, like the guys do."
As for cases in people younger than 60, the causes remain a mystery, but some cases may be due to a sexual transmission of a virus, Rosenheck added.
Drore Eisen, a dentist who is considered an oral cancer expert _ he has written two books and more than 40 articles on the subject _ said no one knows for certain what makes people at risk for the disease, other than excessive use of tobacco and alcohol.
"It can really strike at any age," said Eisen, also vice president and medical director of CDx Laboratories, based in Suffern, N.Y.
Five years ago, the lab developed a brush biopsy that enables dentists to scrape cells from a person's mouth, allowing them to catch oral cancer in its early stages. The procedure takes about one minute to complete and requires no local anesthetic or sutures.
Before that, patients had to undergo an invasive biopsy procedure done when the cancer was already in its later stages, Rosenheck said.
In its early stages, oral cancer is hard to detect. A person doesn't feel any pain and red and white bumps in a mouth that can be a precursor to oral cancer are commonplace. Eisen said that 5 to 10 percent of all Americans have spots in their mouths, and the overwhelming majority are harmless.
"There's no symptoms, no pain. They look like an ordinary-looking sore that you might get from a pizza burn or biting your lip," he said.
Treating oral cancer is expensive, costing more than $100,000 per person, Eisen said, citing surgery and chemotherapy as the big expenses. Nationally, the cost of treating people who have oral cancer runs nearly $2 billion a year, Rosenheck added.
Reducing those costs for patients and the nation's health care system is just one reason why Rosenheck and Eisen are engaged in their crusade for greater public awareness.
People should go to their dentists at least once a year for a screening, they said.
"They don't think about oral cancer because there really hasn't been a big breakthrough yet, although oral cancer now kills as many Americans as melanoma," Eisen said. "You can't pick up a newspaper, you can't watch TV without hearing about malignant melanoma. Because patients are aware of it now, they're screening for it now. The same is going to come true with oral cancer."
15/11/2004
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GIVE UP SMOKING, LOSE WEIGHT AND LIVE LONGER |
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| Chronic illness in Devon would fall dramatically if people quit smoking and lost weight, according to a new report. If every smoker in East Devon gave up the habit, coronary heart disease in the area would drop by about 20 per cent, according to East Devon Primary Care Trust’s annual public health report. It recommends that GPs note people’s smoking and obesity to enable them to offer patients advice and support in appropriate cases. With one fifth of East Devon’s population suffering from a long-term illness such as heart disease, osteoarthritis, cancer or diabetes, giving up smoking could mean people radically limiting their chances of developing a chronic disease, public health experts have said. Cases of lung cancer alone in East Devon could be reduced from about 75, to just five every year. And up to 80 per cent of obese people could avoid developing diabetes if they lost weight — cutting the number of people in East Devon with the condition by more than 2,000. Dr Ali Round, director of public health for the trust, said: “Lung cancer is the most common cancer in England, mainly as a result of the widespread uptake of smoking during the 20th century, but it could be almost eradicated if everyone stopped smoking. Diabetes is also becoming increasingly common, now affecting up to three per cent of people in East Devon, and obesity is a significant factor.” The report recommends investment in schemes to prevent and manage the problems of smoking and obesity. Other areas of healthcare in East Devon — such as immunisation rates — have been described as ‘very good’. Take-up rates of the MMR vaccination is 83 per cent — just above the national average. A PCT bid to encourage more women to undergo cervical cancer screening has also been hailed a success, with 82 per cent of women in the area having smear tests. |
Why smokers snore
The study found that tobacco use contributed 17.1 per cent to the risk of frequent snoring in people 25 to 54 years of age, compared to 4.3 per cent for obesity and 2.2 per cent for passive smoking. According to researchers, this is the first time that passive smoke was linked to increased risk of snoring.
The research was done on people in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Estonia and Iceland.
14/11/2004
Law stresses ban on underage
booze, cigarettes sales
By Cao Li (China Daily)
Updated: 2004-11-08 21:45
Signs warning people of strict penalties for anyone caught selling alcohol or cigarettes to under 18s are to be prominently displayed by law.
A new amendment has been added to the city's existing regulations for protecting local minors and will be submitted to the Standing Committee of the local People's Congress for its third review at the end of this month. Voting will then take place for final approval.
"The maximum penalty is currently set at 500 yuan (US$60), but it is subject to further change," said Huang Jue, an official from the Shanghai Municipal People's Congress.
"This new rule warns both shopkeepers and children about the laws around selling alcohol or cigarettes to children."
A Chinese law implemented in 1999 forbade the sale of booze or cigarettes to minors.
Many shops are still ignoring the law.
"The law doesn't include specific punishments for doing so," said Huang.
"So we are trying to make sure it happens." "What we are trying to do now is to carry out it in exact measures."
Statistics shows that among the 320 million smokers in the country, more than 5 million are high school students or primary school children, Their average age is 14 and a half.
"Every day, about 80,000 children start smoking," said an official from the Shanghai Association of Smoking and Health.
More than 95 per cent of juvenile delinquents apparently started their lives of crime because of smoking.
"When they can't find money for smoking, they try to get it in inappropriate ways," said the official.
There are still difficulties in how to actually enforce the regulations. But challenges exist like how to carry out the regulation.
Random visits to some 15 local shops that sell alcohol or cigarettes discovered that just five of them displayed an obvious sign stating the illegality of selling the products to minors.
Even shops that did display signs were seen still selling to schoolboys.
Shopkeepers claim there are no laws requiring them to demand identity cards from customers and that they find it difficult to tell.
"Some of them say they're buying the products for their parents," said one cigarette shop owner.
Great American Smokeout is Nov. 18
Friday, November 5, 2004
11/11/2004
| Stop smoking By S.S. Sultana Nov 3, 2004, 12:10 |
Another suprising matter is that Tobacco is our 3rd cash crop. But tobacco is the main element of cigarette. So, if we grow tobacco, how can we stop smoking? In the cigarette factories many women and children are working day and night. So they are attacked by various diseases. A large number of village women and children spend their time in making cigarettes in their home.
Many TV channels show the advertisement of cigarettes. Many popular actors and actresses such as Zahid Hassan participate in these advertisements.
Cigarette is expensive than rice. We spend much money for smoking. So, how can we stop smoking? If we don't stop the cultivation of tobacco, cigarette industries' advertisement and poster in favour of cigarette then we can't stop smoking. It's impossible.
So, the cultivation of tobacco, advertisement and industries of cigarette should be banned. Effective law should be enforced. It is time for the relevant administration to take necessary action against it.
I would like to say to the public "Please be conscious about smoking. It is enemy for me, enemy for you and enemy for all."
Halima Begum Academy Bheramara, Kushtia.
In 1951, 34,439 male British doctors joined a study on the health effects of smoking. In June 2004, researchers published a 50-year follow-up on the original docs, 6,000 of whom were still alive and in the study.
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What the researchers wanted to know: So, really: How bad are cigarettes?
What they did: Every few years, the doctors filled out a questionnaire on their smoking habits. The researchers kept tabs on doctors' deaths. Cigarettes didn't become popular until the early 20th century, so men born later were more likely to have started smoking lots of cigarettes young.
What they found: Of the persistent smokers—men who didn't quit—who were born between 1900 and 1930, about half were killed by their habit. Mortality rates were even higher among men born in the 1920s. The persistent smokers lost an average of 10 years of life, compared to nonsmokers. Some, the researchers say, lost decades of life to smoking. Men who stopped smoking at 30 gained about 10 years of life. Oh, and two men died in fires because they were smoking in bed.
What the study means to you: Yes, it seems kind of silly to have yet another study showing that smoking is bad for you, but back in the 1950's, this was one of the first studies to show it, and it's incredibly useful to have this solid, long-term data.
Caveats: Cigarettes may be safer now. Many of the smokers also drank, and it's impossible to separate the effects of the two in this study.
Find out more: Read the Surgeon General's 1964 report that raised the alarm on smoking.
Read the article: Doll, R., Peto, R., Boreham, J., and I. Sutherland. "Mortality in Relation to Smoking: 50 Years' Observations on Male British Doctors." British Medical Journal. June 26, 2004, Vol. 328, p. 1519.
Article online: bmj.bmjjournals.com
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Parents who smoke cause colic in babies
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BANGKOK, Nov 4 (TNA) - Parents who smoke have a higher risk of having their babies suffer from colic, a local anti-smoking foundation warned. Smoke fumes from parents can cause colic in babies, according to the latest research by the USA-based Harvard Public Health Sciences University, the Action on Smoking and Health Foundation told TNA. When smoke fumes are inhaled into a baby’s body, it triggers the release of a hormone which causes the hard contraction of the baby’s intestines and Babies with these symptoms often cry for hours. One in three new born babies develop colic symptoms. For sometime doctors were unable to figure out what caused the symptoms. Parents should be aware that their smoking habits could cause children physical pain, and must refrain from such habits, warned the foundation's chief, Dr. Prakit Watheesatokkit. Smoke also causes others diseases in children including tonsillitis, ear infections and respiratory diseases, he said. (TNA)--E112
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10/11/2004
Anti-smoking haunted house
Sure, you'll get a scare. But those who pass through will most likely get a "Reality Check" about the dangers of smoking. In partnership with the Reality Check anti-youth-smoking program, the Rensselaer County Health Department is sponsoring a haunted house.
The house is located at 12 Cooper Avenue in Troy and will be open through 8:30 p.m. tonight. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
First Published 2004-11-01, Last Updated 2004-11-01 14:45:27
Smoking is one of the country's favourite habits
Iran bans smoking in public places
Parliament passes bill banning smoking in public places in bid to prevent youngsters from becoming addicted.
The anti-smoking bill states the government is obliged to fight smoking by campaigning against financial, health and social hazards of the habit in order to prevent youngsters from becoming addicted.
The places where smoking will no longer be allowed under the bill include mosques, cinemas, restaurants, department stores, public transport and stadiums.
The bill also requires the government to ban all tobacco advertising, while anyone who induces people to smoke will be prosecuted.
Health warnings should cover at least 50 percent of imported and domestically produced packs, and they must not carry categorizations such as light, ultra-light and mild. The government must also impose a tax on every pack.
The spokesman for the health commission of Iranian parliament, Nour-el Dinn Peer Moazen, said: "Each year smokers spend around 60,000 billion rials (6.8 billion dollars) on smoking, three-fold what we spend on the country's health."
"Every year around 50,000 people die in the country of smoking, which in coming years will soar to 200,000," he added.
According to unofficial estimates, one in every six Iranians is a smoker.
TEHRAN - Iran's parliament on Monday passed a bill prohibiting smoking in public places in the hope of stemming the popularity of one of the country's favourite habits, state media reported.
Smokers face a significant risk of developing colon polyps | |||||
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Cigarette smoking can dramatically affect appetite and weight control | |||||
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09/11/2004
The University of Toronto’s Ontario Tobacco Research Unit finds that in workplaces with smoking bans, 18 percent of employees smoke at least once a day--and puff up on about 15 cigarettes. In companies without a ban, 40 percent of employees smoke, and average about 20 cigarettes.
"A lot of people assume smokers in smoke-free workplaces compensate for being without cigarettes while at work by smoking more at lunch, during breaks or after work--but overall they don’t," says the University of Toronto’s Thomas Stephens. "People are more likely to cut down or to give up cigarettes."
The University of Toronto surveyed adults between ages 20 and 64. The results were "controlled," so that they weren’t influenced by such factors as stress, depression or attempts to quit smoking.
More information is available online, including case studies in managing health costs; a workplace-wellness checklist; as well as information from an attorney on smoking bans.
Anti-Smoking Roadshow Continues In The Sultanate
Bandar Seri Begawan – The Ministry of Health continues to organize roadshows to highlight the "30 days Without Cigarette Campaign" launched in conjunction with the World No Tobacco Day 2004.
A similar roadshow stopped at the Ministry of Religious Affairs yesterday.
Present at the roadshow was Awang Haji Abdullah bin Haji Metassim, the Acting Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, as well as senior officers and staff members of the ministry.
During the roadshow, a talk was delivered by Dr Haji Rozaimee bin Haji Tengah, a senior medical officer from the Ministry of Health. He spoke on "The Danger of Cigarettes and Smoking".
This was followed by another talk on "Cigarette from the Islamic Perspective" by Awang Haji Abdul Aziz bin Haji Akop, the Acting Senior Religious Education Officer, the Syariah Affairs Department.
To celebrate the World No Tobacco Day 2004 last June, Brunei held the Cigarette and Smoking Risk Awareness Campaign.
One of the campaign activities was a roadshow to ministries, district offices, schools and private sectors where talk sessions and exhibitions were held.
Among the objectives of the roadshow is to upgrade and strengthen the joint action of government agencies in the effort to prevent consuming tobacco, cigarettes and smoking as well as to drum up awareness among the public about the risk of cigarette and smoking.-- Courtesy of Radio television Brunei
04/11/2004
Finnish study indicates smoking increases risk of asthma
Smokers’ risk 33% higher than that of non-smokers
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Women face a clearly greater risk of asthma than men do.
The study, by pulmonary specialist, Dr. Ritva Piipari, is to be published in the European Respiratory Journal today, Tuesday.
Piipari works at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health.
Data for the two-year study was gathered in the Pirkanmaa health care district in 1998 - 2000. Included in the study were all of the area's new asthma patients aged 21-63 - a total of 518 individuals.
Excluded were all patients suffering from other pulmonary ailments, or whose asthma had been diagnosed earlier. A group of 930 people without asthma served as a control group.
"The study showed that smokers had a 33% higher risk of getting asthma, compared with non-smokers. The added risk was even greater - 49% - among those who had stopped smoking over a year ago", Piipari says.
There was a clear correlation between the increased risk of getting asthma, and both daily smoking and cumulative smoking over a person’s whole lifetime.
Piipari says that the increased risk experienced by those who have already stopped smoking can be explained by noting that the heightened risk of asthma remains for several years after a person has quit.
She nevertheless emphasises that it is always worthwhile to stop.
Somewhat counterintuitively, the study shows that smoking seemed to have a relatively small impact on the risk to get asthma among the heaviest smokers.
This group included those who smoked more than 15 cigarettes a day, or whose daily number of cigarettes multiplied by the number of years the person has smoked was 200 or more.
Piipari says that this suggests that there are individual differences among people in their ability to tolerate tobacco, but that they cannot be known in advance. Therefore, she says that it is always a risk to start smoking.
Women who smoked were found to be at greater risk of asthma than men. According to the study, the asthma risk for smoking women, and those who stopped over a year earlier was about 140% higher than for men.
Piipari notes that both the prevalence of asthma, and that of smoking by women and girls, are on the increase in many Western countries.
Women who do not smoke also have a higher risk of asthma than men do.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Social Services, Liisa Hyssälä (Centre), is wary about new graphic warning labels proposed for cigarette packages. Hyssälä says that the images of disease and death contained in a series of pictures which European Commissioner David Byrne proposes should be printed on cigarette packages are not compatible with the Finnish style of health education.
She added that although Finland would not introduce the images yet, the matter would probably be reconsidered if they become widespread in the rest of the EU, Finland would probably reconsider the matter.
