Health into Ashes

Health into Ashes

            Do you realize that every time you dust away the ash from the tip of your cigarette you are also dusting away your health? Cigarette smoking is the world’s most common habit. Everybody knows the danger of smoking and yet they still smoke. It is a mind boggling idea. It is like when your mother tells you not to touch the hot pan because you might burn your hand. It’s the same thing here.

            The reason behind why people smoke are plenty. Young people smoke to look more mature, to be like friends and to experiment. Adults smoke for other reasons mainly stress, economic and personal reasons. Finally, there are people who say they love to smoke. Smoking gives them pleasure. It just makes them feel good. All these reasons allow a person to forget about the dangers of smoking. The warnings on the boxes, increasing price of cigarette or the government by imposing no smoking laws has not shunned people away from smoking. The only way for smokers to stop smoking is by them truly realizing the health hazards that it causes.

            Here is a table to show you the likelihood of getting various conditions for a smoker and passive smoker:

	Smokers	Passive smoking
Lung Cancer	80-85%	34%
Larynx cancer	80-85%	-
Heart Attack	21-40%	30%
Stroke	18%	10%
Emphysema and Bronchitis	90%	>40%

            Ninety percent of smokers in Indonesia smoke Kretek. Kretek are cigarettes made with a blend of tobacco, cloves and other flavors. These cigarettes contain a significantly higher quantity of tar and nicotine, 25 mg and 1.6 mg respectively. Because of this the chances of getting the above conditions are higher in Indonesia. Moreover, the eugenol in clove smoke causes a numbing of the throat which can diminish the gag reflex in users, leading researchers to recommend caution for individuals with respiratory infections. There have also been a few cases of aspiration pneumonia in individuals with normal respiratory tracts possibly because of the diminished gag reflex.

How can I break the habit?

If you are convinced that smoking carries more hazards than pleasure then it is time for you to stop. The good news is that there are ways to stop smoking. Pharmaceutical companies have come up with various drugs that can break the habit. These drugs are effective and also safe and contain no nicotine. It works by acting on the same receptors as nicotine, helping reduce your urge to smoke. Nicotine patches are also available in the market. The most recent is the use of Laser to stop smoking. Laser therapy is safe and pain free. A soft laser beam, applied to specific energy points of your body, stimulates the body’s production of endorphins and dopamine which are natural body chemicals that have a calming, and relaxing effect, hence relieves those cravings as well as helping with stress reduction and lung detoxification. All these ways to stop smoking are available in Centrepoint Healthcare .

            All these ways of breaking the habit will not work unless there is an initiative from the smoker to stop. It is time for you stop smoking and realize the damage that it is causing. It is hazardous to you and for people around you. For us who do not smoke, it is time for us to make a stand against smoking in public places and our house.

Feel the difference

20 minutes after quitting à Blood pressure drops to a level close to that before the last cigarette.

8 hours after quitting à Nicotine and Carbon Monoxide levels in your blood have halved.

48 hours after quitting à No nicotine is left in the body and the sense of taste and smell improve

2 weeks to 3 months after quitting à Circulation improves and lung function increases by 30%

1 year after quitting à excess risk of coronary heart disease is half that of smokers

            The prospect of better health should be a major reason for quitting. If you have good health you have everything. So take this step and enjoy the benefits

By: Dr Madan M Vasandani

Rome was not built in a day

Rome was not built in a day

By: Dr Madan M Vasandani

          A recent conversation with a friend of mine is the inspiration for me to write this article. His father recently recovered from a heart attack. As he was explaining to me the details of what happened that one particular night, he mentioned the word “suddenly his chest started aching like never before”. The word suddenly leads me to ask him questions regarding his fathers’ lifestyle. To start off, he is obese, he ate and he drank whatever he wanted and he rarely moved a muscle. The heart attack he experienced is the result of many ‘small’ mistakes he made in the past.

          In my practice I am always faced with people who leave a trail of shock when they hear they have a chronic disease like Diabetes, Hypertension or even cancer. Yes, there is a genetic aspect to these diseases but remember, these aspects only comes into play when you allow them to. Cancer is a condition which is quite horrifying. The pain of the cancer itself, the side effects of therapy and also the cost of it can lead a person into severe depression. Did you know that most type of cancer are caused by multiple factors? For example Obesity, excessive consumption of trans fat, inactivity, no breast feeding contributes more to breast cancer then genetic factors. As the old saying “Rome was not built in a day” is also valid for medical conditions. Remember chronic conditions does not just happen suddenly, it is almost always due to the decisions that we make to damage our body.

          It is time that all of us, including me, to make the right decisions when it concerns our health. Let’s not blame our forefathers, fathers or mothers for the ailments that we have. It is time that we look inwards and realize the wrong choices that we have made which has led to our current condition. For those of you who are reading this article and not sure what condition you have, it is time you get a medical check up. Use the internet wisely. There is a wealth of health articles for you to read so that your health improves.

          The sad part about my friends’ father is that, he has returned to his old ways. He has not done anything to improve his diet, he is not exercising and he is not very compliant on his medications. This is the character for many people and not only him. The only way to change ourselves is by looking at the mistakes that we have done and currently doing, and change it one mistake at a time. If you are eating too much fat, cut back on it. If you are smoking, start quitting, if you are not exercising, start with a slow walk to your favorite restaurant. Do not overwhelm yourself with too many changes at one time. Make a list of the things that you think you are doing wrong and change it one by one. Remember it took you years to become what you are now; it will take sometime before you can right all the wrongs. Stay healthy by making the right choices starting from today.