Friday, August 8, 2008
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
adam n hafiz
The Freedom Patch is an anti-smoking herbal formulation. The patch is nicotine-free and contains natural ingredients (e.g. Lobelia Inflata, Nux Vomica) that help the person cope with the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal by cleansing the system of nicotine and other toxins. The active ingredients get into the bloodstream through the skin and produce a sensation similar to that of nicotine intake in that they keep the person calm and relaxed. Simultaneously, the formula detoxifies the blood and creates the feeling of disgust to the tobacco taste and smell. Typically, nicotine cravings drop drastically within the first 10-15 days of use.
azmer and frankie
Quit Smoking Products
Nicocure Health Supplement is a herbal anti-smoking treatment. The product’s formula includes a combination of plants and roots that help reduce nicotine craving. Lobelia Inflata, Licorice Root and Passion Flower work to calm the person and reduce the stress of the nervous system; Mullein Root improves the function of the respiratory tract; bioflavonoids found in Hawthorne Berries promote enhanced cardiac action. Nicocure Health also contains Bioperine®, which ensures effective bioavailability of the product’s herbal ingredients.
azmer and frankie
A Solution For Smokers
mokers may eventually have another available tool—an oral nicotine solution that can be added to their favorite beverage—to help them kick the habit, according to Eric C. Westman, assistant professor in the department of medicine at Duke Medical Center.
More Information
The American Cancer Society
The Truth campaign against tobacco companies
Tips on how to quit smoking
Westman and colleagues said the nicotine solution can be added to coffee, tea, soda, beer, lemonade, or other beverages and consumed orally several times a day in lieu of smoking. The solution was patented in April. After conducting a successful study of twenty-five smokers who used the solution, the researchers are seeking a pharmaceutical company to fund larger clinical trials.
“One of the advantages of the oral solution is that it involves a hand-to-mouth action, similar to that of smoking,” Westman says. “Also, the nicotine is metabolized fairly rapidly, providing a quicker nicotine boost than is provided by a nicotine patch. And unlike nicotine gum, which comes in regular, mint, and orange flavors, the oral solution can be flavored in almost any way the smoker chooses to flavor it.”
Results of the small pilot study will be published later this year.
Smokers in the study chose a “smoking quit date” and were given vials of the solution to mix into their beverages with instructions to use it as needed for smoking urges during a twelve-week period. The taste of the solution is masked by the beverage that is used. Participants consumed anywhere from 2.5 milligrams to 10 milligrams of the solution per drink. Three milligrams consumed orally is close to the one milligram amount of nicotine typically acquired by smoking a cigarette.
Westman says abstinence rates reported by the participants at four weeks, three months, and six months were 28 percent, 24 percent, and 20 percent, respectively. He says these rates are typical of most of the smoking-intervention tools currently available. Participants received only minimal behavioral counseling during the study.
Side effects from using the oral solution were minimal in the twenty-five participants studied. The only participant to drop out of the study complained of a burning sensation at the site of dental work.
“Nicotine-replacement therapy is the most widely used pharmacologic treatment for smoking cessation,” according to Westman. “It is thought to work by reducing withdrawal symptoms, or by separating the rewarding aspects of nicotine from the behavior of smoking.” Besides the patch and nicotine gums, the other forms of nicotine replacement available are the nasal spray, oral inhaler, a lozenge, and sublingual tablets.
“There are 435,000 deaths per year in the United States from cigarette smoking,” he adds. “Obviously, we must continue to research various methods of smoking cessation to provide as much assistance as we can to help people quit.”
Early research has shown that nicotine also may be useful for patients with ulcerative colitis, attention deficit disorder, and Alzheimer’s disease. If further research supports the benefits of nicotine in these patients, having a variety of methods for administering nicotine will be helpful, Westman says.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Frankie Question 4
Smoking Addiction – Stopping
The consequences of a smoking addiction -- from the health affects to the hardships on a smoker’s loved ones -- are strong reasons to quit. From the first moment a smoker rejects a cigarette, health benefits accrue. The question is this: how does one conquer a smoking addiction? If an addicted smoker quits cold turkey, he or she may experience powerful withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms are physical and mental changes following interruption or termination of drug use. When a drug that the body has grown accustomed to is no longer ingested, the body enters a period of re-adjustment. If an addicted smoker is unaware of this re-adjustment time, he or she will have a harder time overcoming the addiction. Therefore, an addicted smoker should not attempt to quit in ignorance. He must know what to expect.
Many people experience symptoms like irritability, aggression, depressions, restlessness, poor concentration, increased appetite, light-headedness, waking at night, and cravings. These symptoms generally last between 2 and 4 weeks, but an increased appetite continues for several weeks.
A well-thought plan to overcome a smoking addiction is vital for success. Here are some tips to keep in mind:
* Nicotine replacement therapy methods such as chewing gum, skin patches, tablets, nasal sprays, or inhalers ease withdrawal symptoms such as cravings and mood changes. Studies show that these methods can almost double the chances of breaking a smoking addiction.
* Bupropion (tradename Zyban), which does not contain nicotine, can help an addicted smoker resist the urge to smoke.
* Accountability lends support. Do not try conquering your smoking addiction on your own.
* Pinpoint habits or locations that are associated with smoking and change the routine.
* Keep an accessible list of reasons for freedom from a smoking addiction which can be read when tempted to restart.
* Don’t give up. Full victory may come after a relapse. Try again, bearing in mind what might have triggered the setback.
* Remember, God can help.
The consequences of a smoking addiction -- from the health affects to the hardships on a smoker’s loved ones -- are strong reasons to quit. From the first moment a smoker rejects a cigarette, health benefits accrue. The question is this: how does one conquer a smoking addiction? If an addicted smoker quits cold turkey, he or she may experience powerful withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms are physical and mental changes following interruption or termination of drug use. When a drug that the body has grown accustomed to is no longer ingested, the body enters a period of re-adjustment. If an addicted smoker is unaware of this re-adjustment time, he or she will have a harder time overcoming the addiction. Therefore, an addicted smoker should not attempt to quit in ignorance. He must know what to expect.
Many people experience symptoms like irritability, aggression, depressions, restlessness, poor concentration, increased appetite, light-headedness, waking at night, and cravings. These symptoms generally last between 2 and 4 weeks, but an increased appetite continues for several weeks.
A well-thought plan to overcome a smoking addiction is vital for success. Here are some tips to keep in mind:
* Nicotine replacement therapy methods such as chewing gum, skin patches, tablets, nasal sprays, or inhalers ease withdrawal symptoms such as cravings and mood changes. Studies show that these methods can almost double the chances of breaking a smoking addiction.
* Bupropion (tradename Zyban), which does not contain nicotine, can help an addicted smoker resist the urge to smoke.
* Accountability lends support. Do not try conquering your smoking addiction on your own.
* Pinpoint habits or locations that are associated with smoking and change the routine.
* Keep an accessible list of reasons for freedom from a smoking addiction which can be read when tempted to restart.
* Don’t give up. Full victory may come after a relapse. Try again, bearing in mind what might have triggered the setback.
* Remember, God can help.
Frankie Question 3
The dangers of and effects of secondary smoke have been widely publicized. It is now well known that victims of secondary smoke exposure are much more likely to develop smoke related illnesses including lung cancer, asthma and other cancers in the body. Secondary smoke has also been linked to lesser chronic lung problems like chronic bronchitis and pneumonia, heart disease, eye and nose irritation and sinus cancer. Although it is not clear what amount of second hand smoke must be inhaled in order to spark these illnesses, the link between a number of medical conditions and second hand smoke is clear.
People affected by second hand smoke are inhaling not only the smoke that is emitted to the air from the lit cigarette, but also the smoke being exhaled from the smoker themselves. They are inhaling and being exposed to many of the same carcinogenic chemicals as the smoker and can therefore develop similar health problems. If a person is forced into second hand smoke exposure, they may have a case against the workplace, person or organization that has forced this dangerous smoke upon them.
For instance, in some cases, workers have been forced into environments with smokers, although they are not smokers themselves. Flight attendants and wait staff are both good examples of employees who have been exposed to second hand smoke simply because of their profession. Today there has been a major movement to make these work environments safer for employees, now that the dangers of second hand smoke are known.
In some cases, employees exposed to long term second hand smoke have been able to sue their employers for creating and exposing them to a dangerous and unhealthy work environment. Just this year in fact, a lawsuit pending in Georgia was settled, to the benefit of the plaintiff, in regards to this issue. The man, a worker for the railroad, was consistently exposed to cigarette smoke in bunkhouses where smoking was permitted. He developed lung cancer and died and his widow pursued the claim. Although the case did not make it to court, the settlement did favor the plaintiff – an indication of where the case might have gone had it been completed.
There are also a number of class action lawsuits, brought by flight attendants, against various airlines for providing a dangerous work environment when smoking was allowed on flights. Specifically, in one case, a group of Northwest flight attendants banded together and brought a class action lawsuit against Northwest Airlines because they were exposed to secondhand smoke on long flights to Asia long after smoking was banned on domestic flights in the US.
If you feel you have been forced to endure second hand smoke and secondary smoke exposure and that it was beyond your control to leave the situation, you should consider contacting an experienced tobacco lawsuit attorney. Depending on your case, and any applied statutes of limitations, you might have a claim for compensatory damages. Tobacco lawsuits can be hard to win, but if you have been injured because of tobacco or cigarettes, and specifically secondary smoke exposure, you should contact an attorney as soon as possible.
* 1 day ago
People affected by second hand smoke are inhaling not only the smoke that is emitted to the air from the lit cigarette, but also the smoke being exhaled from the smoker themselves. They are inhaling and being exposed to many of the same carcinogenic chemicals as the smoker and can therefore develop similar health problems. If a person is forced into second hand smoke exposure, they may have a case against the workplace, person or organization that has forced this dangerous smoke upon them.
For instance, in some cases, workers have been forced into environments with smokers, although they are not smokers themselves. Flight attendants and wait staff are both good examples of employees who have been exposed to second hand smoke simply because of their profession. Today there has been a major movement to make these work environments safer for employees, now that the dangers of second hand smoke are known.
In some cases, employees exposed to long term second hand smoke have been able to sue their employers for creating and exposing them to a dangerous and unhealthy work environment. Just this year in fact, a lawsuit pending in Georgia was settled, to the benefit of the plaintiff, in regards to this issue. The man, a worker for the railroad, was consistently exposed to cigarette smoke in bunkhouses where smoking was permitted. He developed lung cancer and died and his widow pursued the claim. Although the case did not make it to court, the settlement did favor the plaintiff – an indication of where the case might have gone had it been completed.
There are also a number of class action lawsuits, brought by flight attendants, against various airlines for providing a dangerous work environment when smoking was allowed on flights. Specifically, in one case, a group of Northwest flight attendants banded together and brought a class action lawsuit against Northwest Airlines because they were exposed to secondhand smoke on long flights to Asia long after smoking was banned on domestic flights in the US.
If you feel you have been forced to endure second hand smoke and secondary smoke exposure and that it was beyond your control to leave the situation, you should consider contacting an experienced tobacco lawsuit attorney. Depending on your case, and any applied statutes of limitations, you might have a claim for compensatory damages. Tobacco lawsuits can be hard to win, but if you have been injured because of tobacco or cigarettes, and specifically secondary smoke exposure, you should contact an attorney as soon as possible.
* 1 day ago
Frankie Question 2
Smoking Damages Other Systems
Smoking adversely affects the reproductive system, especially in women. Many female smokers experience irregular or absent periods. Fertility is compromised, and menopause occurs one to two years earlier. The risk of cervical cancer is increased. For women over 35 taking oral contraceptives, there is a significantly increased risk of stroke or heart attack if they are smokers. Men, experience lower sperm count, more abnormal sperm with decreased motility. There is also an effect on the man’s level of sex hormones. Decrease circulations also predisposes male smokers to impotence as a result of overall compromised circulation and damage to the blood vessels in the penis. .
Smoker’s immune systems are impaired, leaving the smoker vulnerable to a host of minor infections. A smoker needs more time to recover from infections than a non-smoker. Coupled with diminished circulation, a smoker’s risk of infection from minor cuts or abrasions to the arms or legs skyrockets.
Cigarette smoking decreases bone density, promoting osteoporosis. Skin becomes dry and loses it’s elasticity as a result of poor circulation. Premature wrinkling is common. Irritation and inflammation of the stomach and intestines is frequently seen, including painful ulceration of the entire GI tract.
Even more serious are the risks to an unborn child if the mother smokes. Miscarriage is more common in women who smoke. Infants of smoking mothers are at increased risk of low birth weight, prematurity, cleft lip and palate, infections and SIDS.
Smoking adversely affects the reproductive system, especially in women. Many female smokers experience irregular or absent periods. Fertility is compromised, and menopause occurs one to two years earlier. The risk of cervical cancer is increased. For women over 35 taking oral contraceptives, there is a significantly increased risk of stroke or heart attack if they are smokers. Men, experience lower sperm count, more abnormal sperm with decreased motility. There is also an effect on the man’s level of sex hormones. Decrease circulations also predisposes male smokers to impotence as a result of overall compromised circulation and damage to the blood vessels in the penis. .
Smoker’s immune systems are impaired, leaving the smoker vulnerable to a host of minor infections. A smoker needs more time to recover from infections than a non-smoker. Coupled with diminished circulation, a smoker’s risk of infection from minor cuts or abrasions to the arms or legs skyrockets.
Cigarette smoking decreases bone density, promoting osteoporosis. Skin becomes dry and loses it’s elasticity as a result of poor circulation. Premature wrinkling is common. Irritation and inflammation of the stomach and intestines is frequently seen, including painful ulceration of the entire GI tract.
Even more serious are the risks to an unborn child if the mother smokes. Miscarriage is more common in women who smoke. Infants of smoking mothers are at increased risk of low birth weight, prematurity, cleft lip and palate, infections and SIDS.
Frankie Question 1
How Smoking Effects Your Health
Although the negative health effects of cigarette smoking cannot be debated, it remains the single most common cause of preventable deaths. Each year, over 430,000 people die as a result of a smoking related disease. Yet, over 50 million continue to smoke, including over 3 million teens. An estimated three thousand teenagers begin to smoke each day, and one thousand of them will eventually die as a result. According to the American Lung Association, cigarette smoking leads to 87% of lung cancers, emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Healthcare and lost productivity costs of $97.2 billion dollars per years arise from smoking related illnesses. Cigarettes contain over 19 known cancer-causing chemicals in addition to nicotine.
Quitting is a frustrating and difficult proposition for these people who despite the knowledge that they are seriously harming their bodies. Addiction to nicotine causes very uncomfortable symptoms of with drawl. Irritation, agitation and anxiety as well as loss of concentration, sleep disturbances, headaches, coughing and cravings.
Smoking cigarettes is so compelling because of the effects of nicotine. A stimulant, nicotine causes a temporary increase in alertness and a calm feeling. And it can be incredibly addictive. Some studies have found nicotine to be more highly addictive that cocaine or heroin. Additionally, it suppresses the appetite and smokers tend to keep weight off.
How Smoking Harms Your Body
Here’s why cigarette smoke causes so much damage to our bodies. While nicotine itself isn't thought to be carcinogenic, the highly addictive drug is toxic and potentially lethal in large doses. Long-term smokers have a much higher risk of developing a host of life threatening diseases. Just about any cancer you can think of, including cancer of the lung, mouth, nose, voice box, lip, tongue, nasal sinus, esophagus, throat, pancreas, bone marrow, kidney, cervix, liver, bladder and stomach can result from smoking.
Heart and lungs are most damaged by smoking
Lung diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema, are largely due to smoking. Heart disease, which includes coronary artery disease, heart attack and stroke are far more common in smokers. One of the effects of nicotine is constricting the blood vessels, which in turn causes high blood pressure. Another effect is raising your heart rate, which adds extra stress on your heart.
Not only does smoking affect the heart, but every part of your circulatory system. Your blood becomes thicker and stickier, further taxing the heart. The lining of the blood vessels is damaged, allowing fat deposits to adhere, and is most likely a significant cause of arteriosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries.
As a result, diminished circulation to the feet and hands leads to painful neuropathy, and impaired ability to fight local infections. This can lead to gangrene and sometimes requires amputation.
Although the negative health effects of cigarette smoking cannot be debated, it remains the single most common cause of preventable deaths. Each year, over 430,000 people die as a result of a smoking related disease. Yet, over 50 million continue to smoke, including over 3 million teens. An estimated three thousand teenagers begin to smoke each day, and one thousand of them will eventually die as a result. According to the American Lung Association, cigarette smoking leads to 87% of lung cancers, emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Healthcare and lost productivity costs of $97.2 billion dollars per years arise from smoking related illnesses. Cigarettes contain over 19 known cancer-causing chemicals in addition to nicotine.
Quitting is a frustrating and difficult proposition for these people who despite the knowledge that they are seriously harming their bodies. Addiction to nicotine causes very uncomfortable symptoms of with drawl. Irritation, agitation and anxiety as well as loss of concentration, sleep disturbances, headaches, coughing and cravings.
Smoking cigarettes is so compelling because of the effects of nicotine. A stimulant, nicotine causes a temporary increase in alertness and a calm feeling. And it can be incredibly addictive. Some studies have found nicotine to be more highly addictive that cocaine or heroin. Additionally, it suppresses the appetite and smokers tend to keep weight off.
How Smoking Harms Your Body
Here’s why cigarette smoke causes so much damage to our bodies. While nicotine itself isn't thought to be carcinogenic, the highly addictive drug is toxic and potentially lethal in large doses. Long-term smokers have a much higher risk of developing a host of life threatening diseases. Just about any cancer you can think of, including cancer of the lung, mouth, nose, voice box, lip, tongue, nasal sinus, esophagus, throat, pancreas, bone marrow, kidney, cervix, liver, bladder and stomach can result from smoking.
Heart and lungs are most damaged by smoking
Lung diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema, are largely due to smoking. Heart disease, which includes coronary artery disease, heart attack and stroke are far more common in smokers. One of the effects of nicotine is constricting the blood vessels, which in turn causes high blood pressure. Another effect is raising your heart rate, which adds extra stress on your heart.
Not only does smoking affect the heart, but every part of your circulatory system. Your blood becomes thicker and stickier, further taxing the heart. The lining of the blood vessels is damaged, allowing fat deposits to adhere, and is most likely a significant cause of arteriosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries.
As a result, diminished circulation to the feet and hands leads to painful neuropathy, and impaired ability to fight local infections. This can lead to gangrene and sometimes requires amputation.
Azmer Question 5
Anti-Smoking Campaign at Malaysian?
As a smoker, I have always thought about the damages done by smoking . Even as a smoker, I too support the government's move to discourage smoking among Malaysians.
As a smoker, I perfectly understand how smokers feel and think. The act of imposing higher Tax on ciggarettes can be considered as nonsense. I feel like smokers everywhere are being exploited by this act. Do you know how addicts feel? The ever increasing cost of ciggarettes is not going to stop their smoking habits. People will continue to smoke anyway. This upsets me most because Middle and low income families will be greatly affected, especially if their breadwinner is a smoke addict who will not stop at anything just for another puff.
The way 'they' think : "People are going to smoke anyway, why not make an extra profit out of it, plus, we can cover it up as an anti-smoking campaign". Thus my opinion that smokers are being exploited.
This is my single opinion on the act of increasing the tax imposed on ciggarettes. However, I think if the government is really serious about stopping Malaysians from smoking, they should make smoking illegal. Don't worry, Malaysians won't die if they don't smoke. But, they will if they have to cope with the price of today's ciggarettes.
Making smoking illegal would be an extreme step to take. I for one, haven't been able to completely analyse the consequenses if this step is taken. Hmm... Riots? Nah.. Unemplyoment? I'm sure there are many other better jobs than working in a ciggarette factory. Plus, it is not entirely impossible to provide an alternative industry for these guys.
If smoking is BAD, then why can't we make it illegal? Just as we did to other drugs. If not, let's not make anymore profits out of it. Agree?
Remember, I am a smoker. The Price is Ridiculously-Ridiculous. Guess I won't stop smoking till it's illegal, because I am a smoker, not a criminal. ^_^
As a smoker, I have always thought about the damages done by smoking . Even as a smoker, I too support the government's move to discourage smoking among Malaysians.
As a smoker, I perfectly understand how smokers feel and think. The act of imposing higher Tax on ciggarettes can be considered as nonsense. I feel like smokers everywhere are being exploited by this act. Do you know how addicts feel? The ever increasing cost of ciggarettes is not going to stop their smoking habits. People will continue to smoke anyway. This upsets me most because Middle and low income families will be greatly affected, especially if their breadwinner is a smoke addict who will not stop at anything just for another puff.
The way 'they' think : "People are going to smoke anyway, why not make an extra profit out of it, plus, we can cover it up as an anti-smoking campaign". Thus my opinion that smokers are being exploited.
This is my single opinion on the act of increasing the tax imposed on ciggarettes. However, I think if the government is really serious about stopping Malaysians from smoking, they should make smoking illegal. Don't worry, Malaysians won't die if they don't smoke. But, they will if they have to cope with the price of today's ciggarettes.
Making smoking illegal would be an extreme step to take. I for one, haven't been able to completely analyse the consequenses if this step is taken. Hmm... Riots? Nah.. Unemplyoment? I'm sure there are many other better jobs than working in a ciggarette factory. Plus, it is not entirely impossible to provide an alternative industry for these guys.
If smoking is BAD, then why can't we make it illegal? Just as we did to other drugs. If not, let's not make anymore profits out of it. Agree?
Remember, I am a smoker. The Price is Ridiculously-Ridiculous. Guess I won't stop smoking till it's illegal, because I am a smoker, not a criminal. ^_^
ADAM QUESTION 3
Effects on the baby when mother smokes
Smoking has been shown to cause low birthweight in babies. Some experts believe that since smoking constricts blood vessels, it can decrease the amount of oxygen getting to the baby. Women who smoke also increase their risk of miscarriage, placental abruption and pre-term birth.
Smoking during pregnancy pre-disposes the baby to SIDS. In fact, if the mother smokes, she increases her baby's risk of SIDS by three times. Smoking can also cause respiratory problems such as asthma, which can affect the baby even if the mother quits smoking after her baby is born.
What if the mother lives with a smoker?
Secondary smoke can also be a factor if you live with or spend a lot of time with someone who smokes. Risks from secondary smoke include increasing the chance of having a low birthweight baby. Research also shows that secondary smoke doubles the baby's risk of SIDS.
A smoking environment leads to more health problems for the child. Children who live in a smoking environment suffer from more illnesses such as bronchitis and pneumonia as well as chronic respiratory problems such as asmtha. If either of the parents smoke, it greatly increases the chances that the child will become a smoker when they are older. Obviously the risk of lung cancer is also higher in families who are affected by secondary smoke.
What should mothers do to prevent effects of secondary smoking?
As inconvenient as it might be for a heavy smoker, mothers should be adamant about protecting their baby from the effects of secondary smoking in the home. Smoking should not be allowed in the home at all or in the presence of infants or children. Mother should request to be seated in non-smoking areas in restaurants. If other patrons violate the non-smoking section, speak up politely and ask the server to be seated elsewhere or to ask the other patron to refrain from smoking in the non-smoking section.
There are fewer more important priorities than the health of our unborn babies and long-term health of our children.
Are you affected by secondary smoke? What have you done to manage it? Tell us.
For more about other substances to avoid, see the complete series.
Smoking has been shown to cause low birthweight in babies. Some experts believe that since smoking constricts blood vessels, it can decrease the amount of oxygen getting to the baby. Women who smoke also increase their risk of miscarriage, placental abruption and pre-term birth.
Smoking during pregnancy pre-disposes the baby to SIDS. In fact, if the mother smokes, she increases her baby's risk of SIDS by three times. Smoking can also cause respiratory problems such as asthma, which can affect the baby even if the mother quits smoking after her baby is born.
What if the mother lives with a smoker?
Secondary smoke can also be a factor if you live with or spend a lot of time with someone who smokes. Risks from secondary smoke include increasing the chance of having a low birthweight baby. Research also shows that secondary smoke doubles the baby's risk of SIDS.
A smoking environment leads to more health problems for the child. Children who live in a smoking environment suffer from more illnesses such as bronchitis and pneumonia as well as chronic respiratory problems such as asmtha. If either of the parents smoke, it greatly increases the chances that the child will become a smoker when they are older. Obviously the risk of lung cancer is also higher in families who are affected by secondary smoke.
What should mothers do to prevent effects of secondary smoking?
As inconvenient as it might be for a heavy smoker, mothers should be adamant about protecting their baby from the effects of secondary smoking in the home. Smoking should not be allowed in the home at all or in the presence of infants or children. Mother should request to be seated in non-smoking areas in restaurants. If other patrons violate the non-smoking section, speak up politely and ask the server to be seated elsewhere or to ask the other patron to refrain from smoking in the non-smoking section.
There are fewer more important priorities than the health of our unborn babies and long-term health of our children.
Are you affected by secondary smoke? What have you done to manage it? Tell us.
For more about other substances to avoid, see the complete series.
ADAM QUESTION 2
Health effects from a smoking addiction are numerous and begin once an individual smokes his first cigarette. Beginner smokers are two to six times more likely to suffer from health effects such as coughs, increased phlegm, wheezing, and shortness of breath than non-smokers.
The earlier teenagers become smokers, the greater the risk of dying prematurely from heart disease, lung cancer, and emphysema (abnormal dilation of air spaces in the lung). Other health effects experienced by adult smokers include accelerated osteoporosis, earlier menopause, and impaired reproductive capacity.
If a pregnant woman smokes, her baby’s brain development and birth weight is affected. The baby would also have a higher risk of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), hyperactivity, and behavioural problems. Chronic respiratory illnesses such as bronchitis, pneumonia, and asthma are significantly more common in infants and children who have one or two smoking parents.
Children with parents who both smoke receive a nicotine equivalent of smoking 80 cigarettes a year; this quota is based on continine levels (a standard nicotine test) in the saliva of these children. A child’s health is acutely affected by passive smoking.
The earlier teenagers become smokers, the greater the risk of dying prematurely from heart disease, lung cancer, and emphysema (abnormal dilation of air spaces in the lung). Other health effects experienced by adult smokers include accelerated osteoporosis, earlier menopause, and impaired reproductive capacity.
If a pregnant woman smokes, her baby’s brain development and birth weight is affected. The baby would also have a higher risk of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), hyperactivity, and behavioural problems. Chronic respiratory illnesses such as bronchitis, pneumonia, and asthma are significantly more common in infants and children who have one or two smoking parents.
Children with parents who both smoke receive a nicotine equivalent of smoking 80 cigarettes a year; this quota is based on continine levels (a standard nicotine test) in the saliva of these children. A child’s health is acutely affected by passive smoking.
ADAM QUESTION 1
The pharmacological effects of nicotine upon the body.
The mechanical steps involved in smoking include carrying cigarettes,
lighting them, placing them between the lips, sucking on them, inhaling
the smoke, exhaling, holding the lighted cigarette, and repeating the
maneuver. A physical need that is satisfied by these steps is the
achievement of a blood level of nicotine and other substances. This is
somewhat that habituated smoker's body comes to sense a worthwhile goal.
Psychological needs that are satisfied by the steps involved in smoking
are very basic and infantile, including ingesting, sucking, grasping, and
repetitive hand to mouth activity.
That the psychological needs of smoking are of as great importance as the
chemical ones is amply illustrated by consistent observations on persons
who have recently tried to quit. They eat more and gain weight, "do not
know what to do" with their hands, and experience extreme psychological
discomfort manifested as irritably. While the loss of chemical
satisfaction contributed to this by unknown and indirect mechanisms, the
substitution of food for smoking substitutes the importance of the sucking
and ingestion behavior.
Many preparations have been devised to combat tobacco habits. These prior
efforts have generally been directed to the concurrent use of tobacco and
silver salts, sulfides, sulfur, thioglycols, lobeline, sedatives,
anticonvulsant drugs, or other substances causing nausea or ill feeling to
the end of building up to a psychological response to tobacco that make
the same undesirable. Not only have such preparations proved unpopular
because of the lack of desire on the part of the individual deliberately
to make himself ill to cure the habit, they have also proved ineffective
to many instances even when faithfully employed. It is well known that the
habit-formula and health-deterring factor in tobacco (Nicotiana Tabacum)
is the Nicotine (C10 H14 N2) which is a very toxic
substance, the lethal unit dose for an average adult is about 60 mg; one
cigarette delivers about 1 mg. of nicotine. Nicotine is a volatile oil,
inflammable, powerfully alkaline, with an acrid smell and a burning taste.
Once nicotine enters the blood stream, it has been shown to cross the
blood brain barrier and bind to receptors in the brain, resulting in the
release of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the central nervous system's
neurohumoral pathways.
One constituent of tobacco smoke: nicotine, is a stimulant to the central
nervous system. Nicotine is one of the most powerful psychoactive drugs
known, with addiction occurring when doses reach high levels. Smokers
inhale approximately one milligram per cigarette, which quickly enters the
bloodstream through the lungs, going straight to the brain. Here, it
stimulates the brain, speeding up communication between cells. But by the
time a cigarette is finished, the nicotine level in the blood begins to
plunge, causing the body to urgently signal its need for more. Smoking a
cigarette every half an hour or so keeps nicotine levels elevated, but the
smoker pays a devastating price.
Nicotine probably is the reason why many people find smoking pleasurable
and the reason many people become dependent on tobacco. Withdrawal from
nicotine brings about unpleasant sensation likened to withdrawal from any
drug. Nicotine produces widespread effects on both the central nervous
system and the cardiovascular and peripheral systems. Nicotine addiction
is established more rapidly than addiction of heroin. Almost any smoker
claims that smoking helps him or her to calm down, to work better and to
meet the daily stress with its apparent tranquilizing effect, but that is
proved to be an illusion. Smoking doses not make a smoker less irritable
or vulnerable to annoyance. Smoking a cigarette introduces nicotine into
the system via the soft tissues of the mouth as well as through the lungs.
The body reacts violently, since nicotine is a psychoactive drug. The
reaction causes a flow of adrenaline and other hormones, which bring us to
a high alert and gives us (briefly) increased energy in a crisis by
elevating our blood-sugar level. This causes a momentary "lift", it is
followed, however, by a too rapid movement of glucose out of the blood
after the "danger" is past, and the result is a feeling of fatigue.
Fatigue causes anxiety, self-pity, low grade dissatisfaction and general
discomfort, which, for a smoker is a signal to reach for the pickup in a
cigarette.
Consider the fact that this process is repeated twenty, thirty or forty
times a day and for however many years a person smoke; if we could see
inside our body, we will see a lot of action. In addition to glands
squirting adrenaline, the pancreas is busily dealing with the glycogen and
the blood pressure, which increase the heartbeat rate by at least 9 beats
per minute (around 1000 extra beats per day), and all that activity
apparently influences the levels of fats circulating in the bloodstream.
At the same time, the red blood cells are obstructed for their mission of
carrying oxygen to the heart and brain because of the carbon monoxide and
other gases in the cigarette smoke. In fact, "as much as 20% of the blood
pushed around by the heart of the smokers is not working so far as
carrying oxygen is concerned. Since the heart has the highest oxygen
requirement per unit weight of any tissue, any change in the supply of
oxygen could affect the heart first, and thereby increase the risk of an
attack for the smoker". Since nicotine is addictive, since the body
requires that a certain level must be maintained in the blood-stream, the
smoker becomes uncomfortable when he or she has gone beyond the normal
time for another dose. Usually he or she reacts by reaching automatically
for another cigarette. Switching to low-nicotine cigarette supply causes
problem smokers to smoke more; zero-nicotine cigarettes are usually
rejected.
Let's consider why people continue to smoke. They don't quit because
smoking gives them certain benefits. Many campaigners for the elimination
of cigarette smoking have not realized that people would lose these
benefits, as well as the health risks. Tobacco has significant effects on
behavior and psychological state. Recent research has shown that cigarette
smokers (and others who use tobacco) find that tobacco use makes it easier
to cope with over-stimulation like city noise and overcrowding. That's
because the nicotine in cigarette smoke is a stimulus barrier, a substance
that makes it easier for a person to function in an over-stimulating
environment. Human brain-wave activity can be measured by putting
electroencephalograph electrodes on a person's head. When a subject is
subjected to a sudden unexpected stimulus (like a loud noise), you find
out how much the brain responds to these stimuli. The brain of a person
who has used nicotine responds less to these distracting stimuli than the
brain of someone who doesn't smoke. In this way, the nicotine makes it
possible for some people to cope with the over-stimulation found in most
cites by reducing their brain's reactions to the extraneous stimulation.
While nicotine's effect on the neurotransmission of serotonin, and the
receptors of the presynaptic membrane are poorly understood; it is
believed that the abstinence from tobacco and nicotine results in the
re-up-take and accumulation of serotonin in these neurohumoral pathways,
that when the release of which is not stimulated by nicotine, results in
the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal. The symptoms included restlessness,
irritability, anxiety, drowsiness, increasingly frequent waking from
sleep, impatience, confusion, impaired concentration, carbohydrate craving
and weight gain, impaired reaction time and a craving for tobacco; this
craving for tobacco is the overwhelming reason why so many individuals who
try to quit smoking fail to succeed. Pharmacological therapies are known
to help, those addicted to nicotine, but most of the therapies are
unsatisfactory because they have short term effect as well as numerous
undesirable side-effects.
Nicotine is readily absorbed by all of the body's tissues, including the
skin, the respiratory epithelium, and the mucous membranes of the mouth,
nose and intestines. The present invention Tobacco-Antioxidants
composition's absorption through the mouth, depends too on the pH level or
in effect, the acidity of the saliva present, with a more acidic saliva
changing nicotine molecules into a ionic form that is not well absorbed.
Similarly nicotine entering the acidic medium of the stomach cannot easily
move across cellular membranes, again reducing absorption, while in the
alkaline medium of the small intestine, the molecules reverts to soluble,
nonionic state, easily passing through the intestinal wall. From there
nicotine undergoes extensive metabolism in the liver, the resulting
products, or metabolites, of this process being primarily cotinine and
nicotine n-oxide. Consequently, only about 30% of nicotine from the
intestine reaches the bloodstream in a not metabolized form.
In contrast, inhalation of tobacco smoke allows a greater amount of active
nicotine to pass into the circulatory system. (As much as 90% of the
nicotine inhaled from a cigarette is absorbed into the bloodstream). From
the bloodstream the compound passes to the heart, which pumps a
significant portion of the nicotine directly to the brain, the transfer is
so rapid, in fact, that nicotine in tobacco smoke reaches the brain more
quickly than does nicotine injected directly into the bloodstream through
as vein.
After a brief rise, the brain's nicotine concentration quickly falls as the
compound is speedily redistributed to the other parts of the body. Some
researchers believe that the bolus of nicotine in each puff of tobacco
inhaled from a cigarette reinforces the nicotine habit in the brain,
probably by releasing a small amount of dopamine, so that hundreds of
puffs per day reinforces the addiction hundreds of times per day. Nicotine
readily crosses the placental barrier as well, resulting in fetal exposure
to the compound when women smoke during pregnancy. Additionally, nicotine
can pass into breast milk, albeit in very low levels. Possessing a
relatively short duration of action within the body, nicotine has a plasma
half-life of between 30 minutes and 2 hours (meaning that half of the
blood's nicotine levels disappear within this span of time). In
nicotine-dependent cigarette smokers, who typically smoke every 30 to 45
minutes, blood nicotine levels rise cumulatively during the day before
leveling off. Peak levels in the arteries, which deliver the drug to the
brain, often reach approximately 40 micro-grams per milliliter of blood.
Although most nicotine in the body is metabolized in the liver, the
compound is also eliminated through excretion in urine, passing into it
from the bloodstream according to changes in urinary acidity. Lowering of
the pH, that is, making the urine more acids, as happens in stressful
situations or through an increased intake of vitamin C, increases nicotine
excretion, decreasing the compound's levels more rapidly.
Since cotinine, nicotine's major metabolite, has a much longer half-life
than its parent compound, lasting from 10 to 40 hours, its presence in the
body is commonly used to determine whether an individual's smoking
cessation efforts have been successful.
As blood nicotine levels decline, the nicotine-dependent smoker begins to
experience sense of craving, this typically being a cue to reach for
another cigarette. Since inhaled nicotine is absorbed so rapidly, smokers
can adjust (titrate) their blood nicotine levels within a satisfying range
not only by controlling the timing and number of cigarettes consumed but
also by altering the way in which each cigarette is smoked, that is, the
duration of each puffs, the depth of smoke inhalation, and the length of
time that smoke is held in the lungs.
Nicotine may be tied to the onset of cardiovascular disease, based on the
ability of sharp increases in blood nicotine levels to encourage blood
clotting, inflation of blood lipid levels, and stimulation of a portion of
the accomplishes this last action by raising blood levels of
catecholamines, comprising adrenaline and similar compounds. Yet direct
evidence association low levels of nicotine with cardiovascular disease is
weak, and when nicotine is absorbed slowly, it does not appear to increase
cardiovascular risk or cause adverse cardiac effects, even in patients
with coronary artery disease.
During surveys conducted in industrialized nations, most participating
smokers expressed a desire to give up tobacco and in many cases, revealed
that they had tried to do so, with the first few attempts commonly ending
in relapse. This relapse can be traced at least in part to the nicotine
withdrawal syndrome, which exists when at least four of the following
signs occur within 24 hours of an abrupt cessation of a reduction in
nicotine use: (a) a dysphoric or depressed mood; (b) insomnia; (c)
irritability, frustration, or anger; (d) anxiety; (e) difficulty in
concentrating; (f) restlessness; (g) a decreased heart rate; and (h) an
increased appetite or weight gain.
Despite this litany of adverse effects, epidemiological studies also
indicate that smoking may afford some protection against the development
of both Parkinson's disease, caused by the death of certain dopamine
containing brain cells, and Alzheimer's disease. There is also some
evidence that smoking decreases the change of developing ulcerative
colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease.
On a more positive note, not necessarily speaking against tobacco and
according to my research for alternate use of tobacco in agriculture, I
have evaluated the potential of tobacco as a source of leaf protein and
use its protein for food plus as a safer alternative choice to smoking,
considering the yield by the hectare of leaf proteins can be at least four
times higher than that of seed proteins and that the proteins contained in
the amino acids are circa 9% Aspartic Acid, 5.2% threonine, 3.1% serine,
11.5% glutamic acid, 5.1% proline, 10.3% glycine, 9.4% alanine, 8% valine,
1.2% valine, 1.2% methionine, 4.5% isoleucine, 8.9% leucine, 4.4%
tyrosine, 4.1% phenylalanine, 6% lysine, 2.8% histidine, and 6.5arginine.
Leaves contain 0.6 to 0.9% alkaloids, including nicotine, nornicotine,
anabasine and anataline; roots also contain most of these alkaloids.
Leaves also contain the aromatic nicotianin (tobacco camphor).
By weight proteins are the major component of the dry material of a living
organism and they are among the most important functional components of
the living cells. Proteins are the building blocks of the body and are
required for the growth, repair and maintenance of cells, which are
constructed from proteins. Proteins are needed for the manufacture of
hormones, antibodies, enzymes and tissue. The major cause of poor
nutritional value is due to a low content or unavailability of one or more
of the indispensable amino acids.
More recent study of the smoking problem has led to the development of
Nicotine gums or patches, as anti-smoking aids. As a general practice that
alternative nicotine sources are only effective as anti-smoking aid when
an individual immediately stops smoking and substitutes the nicotine
source for the cigarette. The problem with nicotine substitution therapy
involves the administration of the psychoactive constituent of tobacco
indicates as a contributor to the diseases for which smoking is a risk
factor.
Administering just nicotine as a substitute of smoking have not been
successful because these methods do not recognize and address the
two-prong "addiction" of smoking. First, there are social and
psychological reasons for smoking that must be initially overcome.
Secondly, there is the more powerful psychological than pharmacological
reason (nicotine addiction) that must then be conquered. Both the social
and psychological causes of smoking, as well as the pharmacological
nicotine dependence must be addressed in sequence, if a truly successful
method of eliminating an individual's tobacco smoking habit and associated
nicotine dependence is to be provided.
Caffeine--The stimulant effects that are attributed to nicotine, including
those characterizing its addictive nature, are also attributed to
caffeine, hooked. One-half of the world's population, consumes caffeine in
tea, and another one third get their fix from coffee. Millions more find
daily doses in soft drinks. Caffeine's origin in soft drinks has a
botanical basis: caffeine is a component of the kola nut from which Coca
Cola was originally derived. However, modem beverages of many brands are
purposely spiked with the drug. Like nicotine, caffeine is found naturally
in plants, like tea, coffee, kola, nuts, and cacao beans (from which cocoa
and chocolate are made). In fact, it is even placed in the same general
chemical class as nicotine. But the similarities do not end there. The
table below compares the effects of nicotine with those of caffeine, the
similarity is self explanatory.
The mechanical steps involved in smoking include carrying cigarettes,
lighting them, placing them between the lips, sucking on them, inhaling
the smoke, exhaling, holding the lighted cigarette, and repeating the
maneuver. A physical need that is satisfied by these steps is the
achievement of a blood level of nicotine and other substances. This is
somewhat that habituated smoker's body comes to sense a worthwhile goal.
Psychological needs that are satisfied by the steps involved in smoking
are very basic and infantile, including ingesting, sucking, grasping, and
repetitive hand to mouth activity.
That the psychological needs of smoking are of as great importance as the
chemical ones is amply illustrated by consistent observations on persons
who have recently tried to quit. They eat more and gain weight, "do not
know what to do" with their hands, and experience extreme psychological
discomfort manifested as irritably. While the loss of chemical
satisfaction contributed to this by unknown and indirect mechanisms, the
substitution of food for smoking substitutes the importance of the sucking
and ingestion behavior.
Many preparations have been devised to combat tobacco habits. These prior
efforts have generally been directed to the concurrent use of tobacco and
silver salts, sulfides, sulfur, thioglycols, lobeline, sedatives,
anticonvulsant drugs, or other substances causing nausea or ill feeling to
the end of building up to a psychological response to tobacco that make
the same undesirable. Not only have such preparations proved unpopular
because of the lack of desire on the part of the individual deliberately
to make himself ill to cure the habit, they have also proved ineffective
to many instances even when faithfully employed. It is well known that the
habit-formula and health-deterring factor in tobacco (Nicotiana Tabacum)
is the Nicotine (C10 H14 N2) which is a very toxic
substance, the lethal unit dose for an average adult is about 60 mg; one
cigarette delivers about 1 mg. of nicotine. Nicotine is a volatile oil,
inflammable, powerfully alkaline, with an acrid smell and a burning taste.
Once nicotine enters the blood stream, it has been shown to cross the
blood brain barrier and bind to receptors in the brain, resulting in the
release of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the central nervous system's
neurohumoral pathways.
One constituent of tobacco smoke: nicotine, is a stimulant to the central
nervous system. Nicotine is one of the most powerful psychoactive drugs
known, with addiction occurring when doses reach high levels. Smokers
inhale approximately one milligram per cigarette, which quickly enters the
bloodstream through the lungs, going straight to the brain. Here, it
stimulates the brain, speeding up communication between cells. But by the
time a cigarette is finished, the nicotine level in the blood begins to
plunge, causing the body to urgently signal its need for more. Smoking a
cigarette every half an hour or so keeps nicotine levels elevated, but the
smoker pays a devastating price.
Nicotine probably is the reason why many people find smoking pleasurable
and the reason many people become dependent on tobacco. Withdrawal from
nicotine brings about unpleasant sensation likened to withdrawal from any
drug. Nicotine produces widespread effects on both the central nervous
system and the cardiovascular and peripheral systems. Nicotine addiction
is established more rapidly than addiction of heroin. Almost any smoker
claims that smoking helps him or her to calm down, to work better and to
meet the daily stress with its apparent tranquilizing effect, but that is
proved to be an illusion. Smoking doses not make a smoker less irritable
or vulnerable to annoyance. Smoking a cigarette introduces nicotine into
the system via the soft tissues of the mouth as well as through the lungs.
The body reacts violently, since nicotine is a psychoactive drug. The
reaction causes a flow of adrenaline and other hormones, which bring us to
a high alert and gives us (briefly) increased energy in a crisis by
elevating our blood-sugar level. This causes a momentary "lift", it is
followed, however, by a too rapid movement of glucose out of the blood
after the "danger" is past, and the result is a feeling of fatigue.
Fatigue causes anxiety, self-pity, low grade dissatisfaction and general
discomfort, which, for a smoker is a signal to reach for the pickup in a
cigarette.
Consider the fact that this process is repeated twenty, thirty or forty
times a day and for however many years a person smoke; if we could see
inside our body, we will see a lot of action. In addition to glands
squirting adrenaline, the pancreas is busily dealing with the glycogen and
the blood pressure, which increase the heartbeat rate by at least 9 beats
per minute (around 1000 extra beats per day), and all that activity
apparently influences the levels of fats circulating in the bloodstream.
At the same time, the red blood cells are obstructed for their mission of
carrying oxygen to the heart and brain because of the carbon monoxide and
other gases in the cigarette smoke. In fact, "as much as 20% of the blood
pushed around by the heart of the smokers is not working so far as
carrying oxygen is concerned. Since the heart has the highest oxygen
requirement per unit weight of any tissue, any change in the supply of
oxygen could affect the heart first, and thereby increase the risk of an
attack for the smoker". Since nicotine is addictive, since the body
requires that a certain level must be maintained in the blood-stream, the
smoker becomes uncomfortable when he or she has gone beyond the normal
time for another dose. Usually he or she reacts by reaching automatically
for another cigarette. Switching to low-nicotine cigarette supply causes
problem smokers to smoke more; zero-nicotine cigarettes are usually
rejected.
Let's consider why people continue to smoke. They don't quit because
smoking gives them certain benefits. Many campaigners for the elimination
of cigarette smoking have not realized that people would lose these
benefits, as well as the health risks. Tobacco has significant effects on
behavior and psychological state. Recent research has shown that cigarette
smokers (and others who use tobacco) find that tobacco use makes it easier
to cope with over-stimulation like city noise and overcrowding. That's
because the nicotine in cigarette smoke is a stimulus barrier, a substance
that makes it easier for a person to function in an over-stimulating
environment. Human brain-wave activity can be measured by putting
electroencephalograph electrodes on a person's head. When a subject is
subjected to a sudden unexpected stimulus (like a loud noise), you find
out how much the brain responds to these stimuli. The brain of a person
who has used nicotine responds less to these distracting stimuli than the
brain of someone who doesn't smoke. In this way, the nicotine makes it
possible for some people to cope with the over-stimulation found in most
cites by reducing their brain's reactions to the extraneous stimulation.
While nicotine's effect on the neurotransmission of serotonin, and the
receptors of the presynaptic membrane are poorly understood; it is
believed that the abstinence from tobacco and nicotine results in the
re-up-take and accumulation of serotonin in these neurohumoral pathways,
that when the release of which is not stimulated by nicotine, results in
the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal. The symptoms included restlessness,
irritability, anxiety, drowsiness, increasingly frequent waking from
sleep, impatience, confusion, impaired concentration, carbohydrate craving
and weight gain, impaired reaction time and a craving for tobacco; this
craving for tobacco is the overwhelming reason why so many individuals who
try to quit smoking fail to succeed. Pharmacological therapies are known
to help, those addicted to nicotine, but most of the therapies are
unsatisfactory because they have short term effect as well as numerous
undesirable side-effects.
Nicotine is readily absorbed by all of the body's tissues, including the
skin, the respiratory epithelium, and the mucous membranes of the mouth,
nose and intestines. The present invention Tobacco-Antioxidants
composition's absorption through the mouth, depends too on the pH level or
in effect, the acidity of the saliva present, with a more acidic saliva
changing nicotine molecules into a ionic form that is not well absorbed.
Similarly nicotine entering the acidic medium of the stomach cannot easily
move across cellular membranes, again reducing absorption, while in the
alkaline medium of the small intestine, the molecules reverts to soluble,
nonionic state, easily passing through the intestinal wall. From there
nicotine undergoes extensive metabolism in the liver, the resulting
products, or metabolites, of this process being primarily cotinine and
nicotine n-oxide. Consequently, only about 30% of nicotine from the
intestine reaches the bloodstream in a not metabolized form.
In contrast, inhalation of tobacco smoke allows a greater amount of active
nicotine to pass into the circulatory system. (As much as 90% of the
nicotine inhaled from a cigarette is absorbed into the bloodstream). From
the bloodstream the compound passes to the heart, which pumps a
significant portion of the nicotine directly to the brain, the transfer is
so rapid, in fact, that nicotine in tobacco smoke reaches the brain more
quickly than does nicotine injected directly into the bloodstream through
as vein.
After a brief rise, the brain's nicotine concentration quickly falls as the
compound is speedily redistributed to the other parts of the body. Some
researchers believe that the bolus of nicotine in each puff of tobacco
inhaled from a cigarette reinforces the nicotine habit in the brain,
probably by releasing a small amount of dopamine, so that hundreds of
puffs per day reinforces the addiction hundreds of times per day. Nicotine
readily crosses the placental barrier as well, resulting in fetal exposure
to the compound when women smoke during pregnancy. Additionally, nicotine
can pass into breast milk, albeit in very low levels. Possessing a
relatively short duration of action within the body, nicotine has a plasma
half-life of between 30 minutes and 2 hours (meaning that half of the
blood's nicotine levels disappear within this span of time). In
nicotine-dependent cigarette smokers, who typically smoke every 30 to 45
minutes, blood nicotine levels rise cumulatively during the day before
leveling off. Peak levels in the arteries, which deliver the drug to the
brain, often reach approximately 40 micro-grams per milliliter of blood.
Although most nicotine in the body is metabolized in the liver, the
compound is also eliminated through excretion in urine, passing into it
from the bloodstream according to changes in urinary acidity. Lowering of
the pH, that is, making the urine more acids, as happens in stressful
situations or through an increased intake of vitamin C, increases nicotine
excretion, decreasing the compound's levels more rapidly.
Since cotinine, nicotine's major metabolite, has a much longer half-life
than its parent compound, lasting from 10 to 40 hours, its presence in the
body is commonly used to determine whether an individual's smoking
cessation efforts have been successful.
As blood nicotine levels decline, the nicotine-dependent smoker begins to
experience sense of craving, this typically being a cue to reach for
another cigarette. Since inhaled nicotine is absorbed so rapidly, smokers
can adjust (titrate) their blood nicotine levels within a satisfying range
not only by controlling the timing and number of cigarettes consumed but
also by altering the way in which each cigarette is smoked, that is, the
duration of each puffs, the depth of smoke inhalation, and the length of
time that smoke is held in the lungs.
Nicotine may be tied to the onset of cardiovascular disease, based on the
ability of sharp increases in blood nicotine levels to encourage blood
clotting, inflation of blood lipid levels, and stimulation of a portion of
the accomplishes this last action by raising blood levels of
catecholamines, comprising adrenaline and similar compounds. Yet direct
evidence association low levels of nicotine with cardiovascular disease is
weak, and when nicotine is absorbed slowly, it does not appear to increase
cardiovascular risk or cause adverse cardiac effects, even in patients
with coronary artery disease.
During surveys conducted in industrialized nations, most participating
smokers expressed a desire to give up tobacco and in many cases, revealed
that they had tried to do so, with the first few attempts commonly ending
in relapse. This relapse can be traced at least in part to the nicotine
withdrawal syndrome, which exists when at least four of the following
signs occur within 24 hours of an abrupt cessation of a reduction in
nicotine use: (a) a dysphoric or depressed mood; (b) insomnia; (c)
irritability, frustration, or anger; (d) anxiety; (e) difficulty in
concentrating; (f) restlessness; (g) a decreased heart rate; and (h) an
increased appetite or weight gain.
Despite this litany of adverse effects, epidemiological studies also
indicate that smoking may afford some protection against the development
of both Parkinson's disease, caused by the death of certain dopamine
containing brain cells, and Alzheimer's disease. There is also some
evidence that smoking decreases the change of developing ulcerative
colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease.
On a more positive note, not necessarily speaking against tobacco and
according to my research for alternate use of tobacco in agriculture, I
have evaluated the potential of tobacco as a source of leaf protein and
use its protein for food plus as a safer alternative choice to smoking,
considering the yield by the hectare of leaf proteins can be at least four
times higher than that of seed proteins and that the proteins contained in
the amino acids are circa 9% Aspartic Acid, 5.2% threonine, 3.1% serine,
11.5% glutamic acid, 5.1% proline, 10.3% glycine, 9.4% alanine, 8% valine,
1.2% valine, 1.2% methionine, 4.5% isoleucine, 8.9% leucine, 4.4%
tyrosine, 4.1% phenylalanine, 6% lysine, 2.8% histidine, and 6.5arginine.
Leaves contain 0.6 to 0.9% alkaloids, including nicotine, nornicotine,
anabasine and anataline; roots also contain most of these alkaloids.
Leaves also contain the aromatic nicotianin (tobacco camphor).
By weight proteins are the major component of the dry material of a living
organism and they are among the most important functional components of
the living cells. Proteins are the building blocks of the body and are
required for the growth, repair and maintenance of cells, which are
constructed from proteins. Proteins are needed for the manufacture of
hormones, antibodies, enzymes and tissue. The major cause of poor
nutritional value is due to a low content or unavailability of one or more
of the indispensable amino acids.
More recent study of the smoking problem has led to the development of
Nicotine gums or patches, as anti-smoking aids. As a general practice that
alternative nicotine sources are only effective as anti-smoking aid when
an individual immediately stops smoking and substitutes the nicotine
source for the cigarette. The problem with nicotine substitution therapy
involves the administration of the psychoactive constituent of tobacco
indicates as a contributor to the diseases for which smoking is a risk
factor.
Administering just nicotine as a substitute of smoking have not been
successful because these methods do not recognize and address the
two-prong "addiction" of smoking. First, there are social and
psychological reasons for smoking that must be initially overcome.
Secondly, there is the more powerful psychological than pharmacological
reason (nicotine addiction) that must then be conquered. Both the social
and psychological causes of smoking, as well as the pharmacological
nicotine dependence must be addressed in sequence, if a truly successful
method of eliminating an individual's tobacco smoking habit and associated
nicotine dependence is to be provided.
Caffeine--The stimulant effects that are attributed to nicotine, including
those characterizing its addictive nature, are also attributed to
caffeine, hooked. One-half of the world's population, consumes caffeine in
tea, and another one third get their fix from coffee. Millions more find
daily doses in soft drinks. Caffeine's origin in soft drinks has a
botanical basis: caffeine is a component of the kola nut from which Coca
Cola was originally derived. However, modem beverages of many brands are
purposely spiked with the drug. Like nicotine, caffeine is found naturally
in plants, like tea, coffee, kola, nuts, and cacao beans (from which cocoa
and chocolate are made). In fact, it is even placed in the same general
chemical class as nicotine. But the similarities do not end there. The
table below compares the effects of nicotine with those of caffeine, the
similarity is self explanatory.
Monday, July 28, 2008
hafiz
Question 4
How to reduce addiction of smoking?
Self-help is, in fact, the only way to quit smoking. Others can give you advice and support, but like learning to ski or ride a bicycle, in the end it is up to you. To succeed you must have sufficient motivation to carry you through the task ahead.
If the task is easy, little motivation is necessary, but for a difficult task motivation must be high. For some smokers, stopping smoking will be easier than learning to ride a bicycle. For others it will be much more difficult.
At least two-thirds of smokers are likely to find it difficult to give up smoking. Many will have tried and failed before. It is not their fault that they find it difficult. They do not continue smoking because they are weak-willed or irresponsible, but because they are addicted.
As a result of past exposure to nicotine, starting usually in their teenage years, the nervous system of addicted smokers has been altered and functions best when nicotine is present. They have consequently learned to rely on cigarettes to feel and function normally.
Because of the addictive nature of smoking, smokers generally need to stop smoking long enough for their nervous system to readjust to functioning normally without nicotine and to learn once again to feel happy and normal without cigarettes.
Motivation To Stop
The key to facing the difficult task of keeping off cigarettes long enough for the withdrawal effects to ease and disappear is your motivation to succeed. It helps to understand how smoking damages your body and affects those around you. However, there are also other reasons to think about.
People vary as to what is most important to them personally. An important motive for one smoker may be of little concern to another who stops for a different reason. In general, reasons people give for stopping smoking fall into the following seven themes.
- Health. Concern for their own health is by far the most important motive for smokers who give up smoking. The onset of minor ailments, such as coughs, sore throats, breathlessness, indigestion, and feeling generally less well and less fit, are early signs that the body has had enough. These early warnings are more important in persuading some smokers to stop than is the risk of future fatal disease. Heart disease is the major risk and it is far more important that individuals stop smoking than worry about weight, lack of exercise or being screened for high cholesterol or blood pressure.
- Health of others. Babies and young children are especially vulnerable to passive smoking in the home. The health of a nonsmoking spouse is also put at risk. For pregnant women, smoking impairs the development of their unborn child and has lifelong effects on the baby.
- Expense. Many smokers avoid thinking too much about the financial cost. Others come to resent the waste of money, even if they can afford it. Few take the trouble to work out in detail what they could save by stopping smoking.
- Example. For parents, doctors, and teachers, the responsibility of setting a good example to others is often an additional motive that tips the balance in favor of stopping.
- Social pressure. The social pressures may be for or against smoking, depending on the company one keeps. Due to concern about passive smoking, pressures against smoking in offices, restaurants, and other public places are rising sharply. In some circles, an attitude is beginning to develop that people who still smoke must have a "problem," rather like drinking too much.
- Mastery. Some reach the stage where they realize that they get very little positive pleasure out of smoking and continue only because they are hooked. They come to resent the feeling of being controlled by their need to smoke, and are motivated to stop by their desire to regain control and self-mastery.
- Aesthetic. Unlike nonsmokers, most smokers do not regard smoking as a nasty or dirty habit. They are not disturbed by the sight of overflowing ashtrays and stubs in saucers or put off by the smell of stale smoke on their partner's clothes or breath. But, after years of unconcern, some smokers come to develop a strong dislike of the dirtiness and messiness of smoking and are motivated to stop on this account.
Thinking About Stopping Smoking
Most smokers are motivated and go on wanting to stop for many years before they finally decide to carry it through and stop. Half-hearted attempts to "have a go" or to "see how it goes" are soon abandoned when it gets difficult.
To succeed in stopping, those who find it difficult will need to think and make a plan. They will need to think about their motives and doubts to make sure of their commitment to never smoke again, and to then plan how to face the difficulties of withdrawal until they gradually subside.
To help make up your mind about stopping, make a list of all the reasons that are important for you. Make a similar list of all the positive benefits of smoking you will miss, and any withdrawal difficulties you anticipate when you stop.
When you weigh up the two lists, remember that what you may miss and any suffering you may endure will be temporary and may last only three to four weeks. However, the benefits of stopping will be permanent and success at stopping will give you lasting satisfaction. It is your choice. You will succeed if you commit yourself to stopping.
Don't be discouraged if you have tried before and failed. Most successful ex-smokers will try a few times before finally succeeding. You can learn from previous attempts how to avoid making the same mistakes.
hafiz
Question 1 and 2
How Smoking Affects The Health
Smoking causes many premature deaths from diseases that are largely incurable, but preventable by stopping smoking. There are three main killing diseases which smoking causes or brings on earlier:
- Heart disease. Smoking is responsible for 30 percent of all heart attacks and cardiovascular deaths.
- Cancer. It is responsible for at least 30 percent of all cancer deaths and 87 percent of lung cancer deaths each year.
- Lung problems. Smoking is responsible for 82 percent of deaths due to emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
Smoking also exacerbates diseases and conditions that are not always fatal, but cause suffering or are sources of personal concern.
- Smoking delays healing of peptic ulcers of the stomach and duodenum, many of which would heal spontaneously in non-smokers.
- Its effects on blood vessels cause chronic pains in the legs (claudication) which can progress to gangrene and amputations of the toes or feet.
- An effect on elastic tissue causes wrinkling of the skin of the face to develop earlier in chronic smokers. On average they look 5 years older than non-smokers of the same age do.
- Smoking also brings on an earlier menopause in women, advancing it by an average of 5 years.
- It reduces women's fertility and delays conception after they stop using oral contraceptives.
- It impairs erections in middle-aged and older men and may affect the quality of their sperm. It seems to "sedate" sperm and to impair their motility. This is reversed after stopping smoking.
- Smoking accelerates the rate of osteoporosis, a disease which causes bones to weaken and fracture more easily.
- Women who smoke during pregnancy damage their unborn child, causing effects that last throughout the child's life. The risks of miscarriage, premature birth, and death of the baby in its first year of life are all significantly increased.
Smoking During Pregnancy
In addition to the risk of miscarriage, premature birth, and death of the baby in its first year of life, a woman's smoking during pregnancy also has other effects on the baby:
- The growth and development of all unborn babies is impaired if their mothers smoke. On average, birth weight is reduced by about half a pound. This makes little difference to a baby of normal weight, but could be crucial to ones weighing 3 to 4 pounds.
- The development of the brain is also affected. Children whose mothers smoked during pregnancy are on average about one year behind non-exposed children in reading and numerical ability, for example. Loss of a few IQ points may be hardly noticeable to a normally intelligent child or adult, but may be critical for someone on the borderline.
- The child will be more likely to have behavioral problems and hyperactivity.
Finally, during the first few years of life, children are especially vulnerable to the harmful effects of passive smoking if their parents smoke. These effects include worsening of asthma, increased frequency of colds and ear infections, and increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Azmer
Question 2 and 3
we all know the affect of smoke from cigaratte.....
so if you want to know more details , read this .....
we all know the affect of smoke from cigaratte.....
so if you want to know more details , read this .....
There are no physical reasons to start smoking. The body doesn't need tobacco the way it needs food, water, sleep, and exercise. In fact, many of the chemicals in cigarettes, like nicotine and cyanide, are actually poisons that can kill in high enough doses.
The body is smart. It goes on the defense when it's being poisoned. For this reason, many people find it takes several tries to get started smoking: First-time smokers often feel pain or burning in the throat and lungs, and some people feel sick or even throw up the first few times they try tobacco.
The consequences of smoking are:
- Bad skin. Because smoking restricts blood vessels, it can prevent oxygen and nutrients from getting to the skin — which is why smokers often appear pale and unhealthy. An Italian study also linked smoking to an increased risk of getting a type of skin rash called psoriasis.
- Bad breath. Cigarettes leave smokers with a condition called halitosis, or persistent bad breath.
- Bad-smelling clothes and hair. The smell of stale smoke tends to linger — not just on people's clothing, but on their hair, furniture, and cars. And it's often hard to get the smell of smoke out.
- Reduced athletic performance. People who smoke usually can't compete with nonsmoking peers because the physical effects of smoking (like rapid heartbeat, decreased circulation, and shortness of breath) impair sports performance.
- Greater risk of injury and slower healing time. Smoking affects the body's ability to produce collagen, so common sports injuries, such as damage to tendons and ligaments, will heal more slowly in smokers than nonsmokers.
- Increased risk of illness. Studies show that smokers get more colds, flu, bronchitis, and pneumonia than nonsmokers. And people with certain health conditions, like asthma, become more sick if they smoke (and often if they're just around people who smoke). Because teens who smoke as a way to manage weight often light up instead of eating, their bodies lack the nutrients they need to grow, develop, and fight off illness properly.
Azmer
question (1)
yes. it because the contain in cigartte was so dangerous...
see the fact below :
yes. it because the contain in cigartte was so dangerous...
see the fact below :
TOP 10 DRUGS
The following list is comprised of
the top 10 misused drugs in the world today:
(click for more information)
TOBACCO : biggest killer (400,000 deaths/year)
ALCOHOL : most widely abused legal substance
PRESCRIPTION DRUGS : dangerously addictive, rising in popularity
METHAMPHETAMINE : labeled an epidemic problem by the press
MARIJUANA : most widely abused illegal substance
MDMA (ECSTASY) : little research on long term effects, still popular
CRACK COCAINE : cheap, destructive drug making a comeback
HEROIN : highly addictive drug making a comeback in some areas
STEROIDS : horrible side effects, the toll they're taking on athletics
INHALANTS : abuse is on the rise among youth again
Drugs/ smoking
Objective :
1) to know types of drugs
2) to know how drugs affects our health
Question :
1) is smoking dangerous to our health?
2) how does smoking affecting our health ?
3) how does smoking affecting secondary smoker?
4) how to reduce addiction of smoking?
5) what the goverment should do to overcome this problem ?
1) to know types of drugs
2) to know how drugs affects our health
Question :
1) is smoking dangerous to our health?2) how does smoking affecting our health ?
3) how does smoking affecting secondary smoker?
4) how to reduce addiction of smoking?
5) what the goverment should do to overcome this problem ?
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