Investigation had ruled out that the girl did not take her medication as instructed. This carried on for 2 years.

Miracle happened. The girl started to get better and it was around the same time that the  doctor noticed that the grandpa was  bringing her for consultation and not her mum. He found out that both parents were posted to China to work, and the girl now lives with grandpa. Upon more probing, doctor discovered that both parents were smokers and grandpa stayed clear of cigarettes.

Well, the girl is a victim of passive smoking.

The harm of passive smoking is first discovered by Japanese reseacher, Takeshi Hirayama in 1981. He found a link between lung cancer in non-smoking Japanese women and her husbands who were smokers. The link has since been confirmed by many studies and new scientific evidences.

Even if parents smoke outside the house, the levels of respirable suspended particles including nicotine were still higher in the homes. Boston researcher, Jonathan Winickoff coined the term “3rd hand smoking” as the cocktail of toxins linger in carpets, sofas, cloths and other materials even days after the cigarette is put out.

(information adapted from “Mind & Body”, 21 Jan)

Additional reading:

Quick Smoking Today

Hypnosis To Change Your Life by Steve G Jones.

Are you a smoker who needs one more reason to quit? If so, perhaps the information in this article can help move you to action. You are undoubtedly well aware-unless you live in a media-free cave-that smoking can cause a number of serious health conditions. Among them are the usual suspects-cancer, heart disease and pulmonary illness-but recent research has uncovered yet another to be added to the list. Diabetes, say medical experts, has a strong correlation to smoking, and in fact, smoking is now listed as one of the primary risk factors for developing the disease.

According to the American Journal of Epidemiology, people who smoke 16-23 cigarettes a day are three times more likely to develop Type-2 diabetes than nonsmokers. Prolonged smoking at similar rates of consumption may even cause that number to rise. The numbers are indeed overwhelming. Diabetes is yet another dangerous condition that people can help prevent by putting the cigarettes away for good.

What is Diabetes?

Diabetes is a disease of the pancreas, an organ located behind the stomach and essential to the digestive process. When functioning normally, the pancreas releases insulin into the blood. Insulin helps break down the food you consume and aids in the way the body uses these substances.

Diabetes is the inability of the pancreas to either produce insulin altogether or to produce enough of it. It is a serious illness which can cause many long-term complications such as eye disease, kidney problems, heart disease and neuropathy.

The Dangers

The dangerous chemicals released through smoking have been found to increase the likelihood for adult-onset Type 2 diabetes, and combined with other risk factors could prove to be especially harmful.

Below are some of the risk factors listed by the American Diabetes Association:

• Family history of diabetes
• Obesity
• Alcohol Abuse
• Smoking
• Stress
• Age (Increases with age)

Smoking not only increases your chance of getting diabetes, it can create special problems for those already dealing with the illness as well. Smoking elevates the risk of bringing about some of the more serious complications listed above such as nerve, kidney and eye damage and can make managing diabetes particularly troublesome.

While some will have no say in their diabetes due to hereditary, the best way to prevent the disease is to avoid or eliminate the risk factors from your routine. A complete cessation from cigarettes is a good start. Along with proper weight management, avoiding smoking and refraining from drinking alcohol in excess may help you to avoid this harmful disease.

Additional reading:

Quick Smoking Today

Hypnosis To Change Your Life by Steve G Jones.

“Smoking is more harmful to women” – That’s what the USA researchers said in May 2009.

They said women who smoke develop lung damage earlier in life than men and it takes less cigarette exposure to cause damage in women compared to men.

Dr Inga-Cecolic Soerheim and researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and the University of Brigham in Norway said that their analysis showed that “women may be more vulnerable to the effects of smoking”.

The good doctor presented this at the American Thoracic Society in San Diego and she said her team analyzed 954 people in Norway with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) which includes lung problems from chronic bronchitis to emphysema. In the study 60% were men and the rest were women. All were current or former smokers. Overall both groups had similar lung impairment. They looked at folks under 60 years old and lighter smokers, they found women had more severe disease and worse lung function thatn mean.

“This means that female smokers in our study experienced reduced lung function at a lower level of smoking exposure and at an earlier age than men,” said Dr Soerheim. She suspected that the difference is related to anatomy. Because the fairer sex has smaller airway and that could make each cigarette potentially more dangerous. Also hormones may have a contributing role too.

Some believe that a few cigarettes a day is OK but just like the doctor said “in the low exposure group in this study, half the women actually had severe COPD.”

Perhaps, women, you should find out more about quitting smoking. I have some additional reading to suggest to you:

Additional Reading on lung detox and quit smoking:

Lung Detox

Hypnosis To Change Your Life by Steve G Jones.

Quit Smoking Painlessly Now.

Here’s some tips to help you find your direction:

1. Health.

Smoking is detrimental to health and it increases your risk for lung cancer and heart-related diseases. Furthermore, smokers are more likely to get sick, or have a cold last longer. Quitting smoking will greatly improve your health.

Also, when you quit, the health of others may improve too.  Second hand smoke (aka passive smoking) is just as bad as smoking yourself, but these people are not choosing to smoke.

2. Children.

You might be smoking but I bet that you would prefer your kids not to smoke. Most smokers smoke because of habit rather than actually enjoying the taste and smell of cigarettes. Children learn from the adults, particularly their parents. So if you puff away, they are more likely to start smoking. They’re also more likely to begin smoking at a tender age because cigarettes are easily accessible in the house. If you have kids, tell yourself to quit smoking for their benefit.

3. Fitness

At some point, people find that smoking cigarettes affects their athletic performance if they are already active. Others find it hard to start an exercise program while they are still smoking. If you quit smoking, the chances that you’ll be able to do better in whatever sport you choose to play is much higher.

4. Money

Just take the cost of one cigarette pack and calculate how much you will spend in a week and in a month. Ask if this amount of money can be better put to use elsewhere.  In this economic downturn, this money saved from smoking can help to pay off some loans or as simple as bringing in extra bacon for the table.

5. Smell

Smoker smell like an ash tray. The smokes are retained in your hair, finger nails, body and even clothes. You couldn’t mask the odour with cologne even.  You may not notice it, but others certainly do.  This could negatively affect your job and personal life, especially if the other people around you are non-smokers.

While your own reasons to quit smoking must be deeply personal, hopefully this list of suggestion has given you some ideas to commence.

If you need help to quit smoking, you can find plenty of self-help books and programs either in the bookstores or online. FYI, recently, I have came across some ex-smokers giving a thumb up to these ..

Quick Smoking Today

Hypnosis To Change Your Life by Steve G Jones.

According to Dr Elizabeth Bertone-Johnson of the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and her colleagues, smoking increases the risk of moderate to severe PMS and provides another reason for women especially adolescents and young women, not to smoke.

Smoking has been shown to affect levels of several different hormones and the handful of studies looking into PMS and smoking have suggested that women with the syndrome are more likely to be smokers.

These researchers looked at a subset of women who were PMS-free during the first 2 years of the study, comparing 1057 who did go on to develop PMS to 1968 who did not.

The women who were current smokers were 2.1 times more likely than non smokers to report PMS within 2 -4 years. Women who picked up smoking at a tender age had their risk increases.  Dr Bertone- Johnson said,

“Previous studies suggested that smoking may alter levels of oestrogen, progesterone, testosterone and other hormones, many of which may be involved in the development of PMS.”

“Some studies have found that smokers have shorter and more irregular menstrual cycles than non-smokers”

“Smoking may also lower levels of vitamin D in the body, which also may increase a woman’s risk of developing PMS”.

Additional Reading: Quit Smoking Painlessly Now.