HEALTH EFFECTS OF SMOKING

Smoking - Inhalation and exhalation of the fumes of burning tobacco. Leaves of the tobacco plant are smoked in various ways. After a drying and curing process, they may be rolled into cigars or shredded for insertion into smoking pipes. Cigarettes, the most popular method of smoking, consist of finely shredded tobacco rolled in lightweight paper.

Smoking accounts for nearly 90 percent of lung cancer deaths. Additionally, smokers are at increased risk for cancer of the larynx, oral cavity, esophagus, bladder, kidney, and pancreas. While some negative health effects of smoking manifest slowly over time, others can be measured almost immediately. Sticky brown tar leaves yellow stains on fingers and teeth. Some of the inhaled tar is absorbed by lung cells, causing them to die. Tar also damages the cilia in the upper airways that protect against infection. Nicotine causes arteries to constrict, lowering skin temperature and reducing blood flow to the hands and feet. Carbon monoxide deprives the body of oxygen, binding to red blood cells in place of the oxygen molecule and forcing the heart to pump more blood through the body.

One-third of smoking-related deaths are caused by coronary heart disease or chronic airway obstruction. For example, the nicotine in tobacco combines with carbon monoxide in tobacco smoke to damage the lining of blood vessels and make blood platelets stickier. Platelets form part of the damaging plaque buildup in artery walls. These effects in combination contribute to the development of heart disease. Smoking also increases the risk of stroke by 50 percent—40 percent among men and 60 percent among women. Other research has shown that mothers who smoke give birth more frequently to premature or underweight babies, probably because of a decrease in blood flow to the placenta. Babies born to mothers who smoke during pregnancy are also at increased risk for sudden infant death syndrome.

Cigar and pipe smoke contains the same toxic and carcinogenic compounds found in cigarette smoke. A report by the National Cancer Institute concluded that the mortality rates from cancer of the mouth, throat, larynx, pharynx, and esophagus are approximately equal in users of cigarettes, cigars, and pipes. Rates of coronary heart disease, lung cancer, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis are elevated for cigar and pipe smokers and are correlated to the amount of smoking and the degree of inhalation.

Studies have found that cigarettes are addictive because an unknown component of tobacco smoke appears to destroy an important brain enzyme known as monoamine oxidase B (MAO B). The enzyme is vital for breaking down excess amounts of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that triggers pleasure-seeking behavior. Smokers have decreased levels of MAO B and abnormally high levels of dopamine, which may encourage the smoker to seek the pleasure of more tobacco smoke.

Even nonsmokers are at risk from smoking. Recent research has focused on the effects of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS)—that is, the effect of tobacco smoke on nonsmokers who must share the same environment with a smoker. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that exposure to ETS, which contains all the toxic agents inhaled by a smoker, causes 3,000 lung cancer deaths and an estimated 35,000 deaths from heart disease per year among nonsmokers. Secondhand smoke can aggravate asthma, pneumonia, and bronchitis, and impair blood circulation.

The smoking habit and addiction to nicotine usually begin at an early age. In the United States, more than 90 percent of adults who smoke started by age 21, and nearly half of them were regular smokers by the age of 18. Despite increasing warnings about the health hazards of smoking and widespread bans on smoking in public places, smoking remains common among teenagers and young adults. In 2001 surveys of students in grades 9 through 12 found that more than 38 percent of male students and nearly 30 percent of female students smoke. Although black teenagers have the lowest smoking rates of any racial group, cigarette smoking among black teens increased 80 percent in the late 1990s. Advertisements aimed at a young audience are largely blamed for this new generation of smokers.

ALCOHOLISM – A CHRONIC DISEASE

Alcoholism or Alcohol Dependence - chronic disease marked by a craving for alcohol. People who suffer from this illness are known as alcoholics. They cannot control their drinking even when it becomes the underlying cause of serious harm, including medical disorders, marital difficulties, job loss, or automobile crashes. Medical science has yet to identify the exact cause of alcoholism, but research suggests that genetic, psychological, and social factors influence its development. Alcoholism cannot be cured yet, but various treatment options can help an alcoholic avoid drinking and regain a healthy life.

People tend to equate any kind of excessive drinking with alcoholism. But doctors and scientists recognize that disorders related to alcohol use lie along a continuum of severity. They prefer to use the term alcohol dependence instead of alcoholism to designate the most severe of the alcohol-use disorders. The terms alcohol abuse and problem drinking designate less severe disorders resulting from immoderate drinking.

Alcohol dependence develops differently in each individual. But certain symptoms characterize the illness, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), a United States government agency that is part of the National Institutes of Health. Alcoholics develop a craving, or a strong urge, to drink despite awareness that drinking is creating problems in their lives. They suffer from impaired control, an inability to stop drinking once they have begun. Alcoholics also become physically dependent on alcohol. When they stop drinking after a period of heavy alcohol use, they suffer unpleasant physical ailments, known as withdrawal symptoms, that include nausea, sweating, shakiness, and anxiety. Alcoholics develop a greater tolerance for alcohol—that is, they need to drink increasing amounts of alcohol to reach intoxication. The World Health Organization (WHO) notes that other behaviors common in people who are alcohol dependent include seeking out opportunities to drink alcoholic beverages—often to the exclusion of other activities—and rapidly returning to established drinking patterns following periods of abstinence.

HEALTH CONSEQUENCES OF ALCOHOLISM

While some studies have found that moderate use of alcohol has beneficial health effects, including protection from coronary heart disease, heavy and prolonged intake of alcohol can seriously disturb body chemistry. Heavy drinkers lose their appetite and tend to obtain calories from alcohol rather than from ordinary foods. Alcohol is rich in calories and can provide substantial amounts of energy. However, if it constitutes the primary source of calories in place of food, the body will lack vitamins, minerals, and other essential nutrients.

Prolonged use of large amounts of alcohol may cause serious liver damage. In the first stage of liver disease caused by alcohol, fat accumulates in the liver. This stage of the disease is known as fatty liver. Most people do not notice symptoms of fatty liver, although in some people the liver becomes enlarged and tender. Some people with fatty liver develop hepatitis, which inflames and kills liver cells. Hepatitis is marked by jaundice, which gives a yellowish tint to the eyes and skin. Others may develop cirrhosis, an irreversible condition in which normal liver tissue is replaced by scar tissue. The scarring prevents blood from traveling freely through the liver, building blood pressure in the veins that run from the intestine to the liver. Consequently, the liver can no longer process toxins efficiently, causing poisons to build up in the blood. This buildup can be fatal.

Heavy drinking also damages heart muscle. Nearly half of all cases of cardiomyopathy are caused by alcohol abuse. In this heart disease, the heart muscles, particularly the right and left ventricles, enlarge and become flabby, reducing the heart’s blood-pumping efficiency. This inefficiency reduces the flow of blood through the kidneys, which normally filter excess salts and water out of the blood. Eventually the blood volume rises, causing a potentially fatal backup of fluid in the lungs.

Alcoholics tend to have high blood levels of the hormone epinephrine and deficiencies of the mineral magnesium. This combination produces severe arrhythmias, or heartbeat irregularities, a common cause of sudden death in heavy drinkers. Chronic drinkers typically develop hypertension, a leading cause of stroke.

In some cases, alcohol withdrawal may lead to delirium tremens (DTs), which produces increasing confusion, sleeplessness, depression, and terrifying hallucinations. As this delirium progresses, the hands develop a persistent and uncontrollable shaking that may extend to the head and body.

Women who drink excessive amounts of alcohol while pregnant run a high risk of having a baby born with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), the leading known cause of birth defects. FAS results in a combination of mental and physical defects, such as retardation, a small head, and poor muscle tone. Some babies exposed to alcohol during fetal maturation develop fetal alcohol effect (FAE), which produce more subtle symptoms, including behavioral problems, difficulty paying attention, or the inability to think abstractly.

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THINGS YOU NEVER KNEW ABOUT SOME COMMON SKIN INFECTIONS (PIMPLES, ECZEMA AND DANDRUFF)

SKIN CLEANLINESS

Before we look into the various skin infections, we need to first understand the skin and how it works. The skin constantly receives sweat from sweat glands; greasy matter accumulates in the sebaceous glands. If the skin is not keep clean regularly, a crust form on it, which consists of dried sweat and dirt, scales of dead skin and grease. This un-cleanliness leads to effects which are not only unpleasant but harmful. The skin pores become blocked and sweat cannot be adequately excreted. The sebaceous glands may also become blocked. Dirt also attracts germs and parasites which grow and multiply and produce many skin diseases. The dirt can also putrefy and cause a bad smell or body odour.

TAKING CARE OF THE SKIN

If you want to keep your skin healthy, you must:

1. Eat suitable food and avoid constipation.
2. Keep the skin clean by washing it thoroughly everyday with soap and water (but remember that water alone does not get rid of grease). Have a warm bath at least once a week. Warm water cleanses the body more effectively than cod water. Do not have a bath immediately after meal.
3. Rub your skin thoroughly with a rough towel to stimulate blood circulation through the skin.
4. Wear clothing of the right texture next to the skin, that is, hose, absorptive and moisture retaining clothes.
5. Exercise the body to keep your skin in good working order.

SKIN INFECTION

The skin is sometimes attacked by minor infections and diseases. Major skin infections are caused by microbes, particularly bacteria and fungi. A few common infections and their treatment are here treated. These include:

 i.                   PIMPLES

Pimples on face of teenager

You will recall that sebaceous glands keep the skin moist and soft. They are numerous on the skin on face and scalp. These glands pour their secretions (sebum) into the surface of the skin through the hair follicles.

Where the follicles are obstructed or the sebum is thick, inflammations such as pimples may develop.

(Increased production of hormones may increase the output of the oil gland). Pimples however usually disappear later in life.

Note that pimples should not be disturbed or treated except by competent medical doctors; otherwise secondary infection may set in.

SELF-HELP EFFORTS AT REDUCING PIMPLES ATTACK

1. Do not eat too much of fatty foods (e.g. nuts, chocolate, groundnut etc)
2. Keep the skin clean, wash face properly about twice each day with a washing swab or sponge, soap and warm water. Medicated soap may be used as prescribed by the doctor.
3. Do not pop (burst) the pimple. There is a risk you may push the infection further down, causing more serious blockage and worse swelling and redness. Popping pimples also increase the risk of scarring.
4. Avoid touching the face. Even though this may require some willpower, try to refrain from touching your face with your hands. Before touching your face make sure you always wash your hands with soap.
5. Make sure you have taken your entire make up off when you go to sleep. Only use makeup that is nonceomedogenic or nonacnegenic – you should be able to read this on the label.
6. If pimples are on parts of your body covered by clothing, such as your back, shoulders or chest, wear loose clothing. Whenever possible, avoid wearing headbands, caps and scarves – if you have to wear them, wash them regularly. In short – allow your skin to breathe.
7. Avoid creams and heavy lotion oil firm from these may close the pores and hair follicles.

 ii.                 ECZEMA

Eczema on skin surface

This occurs as rashes on the skin or as pimples, these become more severe and develop scabs which spread and become unsightly. Eczema commonly develops on the face or hand. It is an allergic disease which may be produced by a number of allergen such as cosmetics, soap, powders or certain types of clothing.

TREATMENT

There is no known cure for eczema; therefore, treatments aim to control the symptoms by reducing inflammation and relieving itching. Treatment may be difficult but a number of anti-allergy creams are available which have some measures of success.

Eczema can be exacerbated by dryness of the skin. Moisturizing is one of the most important self-care treatments for eczema. Keeping the affected area moistened can promote skin healing and relief of symptoms.

Corticosteroids are highly effective in controlling or suppressing symptoms in most cases. These usually bring about rapid improvements but have greater side effects.

iii.              DANDRUFF

Dandruff on scalp

Dandruff is a common condition in which the outer layer of scalp peels off, producing little white scales. Dandruff is a common scalp disorder affecting almost half of the population at the post-pubertal age and of any gender and ethnicity. It often causes itching.

In severe conditions, the flakes become large, greasy and yellowish. The scalp may be due to lack of enough oil produced by the sebaceous glands.

TREATMENT

A balanced diet, moderate exposure to sunlight and cleanliness of the hair and scalp help to clear up dandruff.

Keep the comb and brush always clean and to yourself.

Special shampoo may reduce dandruff.