QUITTING SMOKING PROLONGS LIFE AT ANY AGE

SMOKERS HAVE SHORTER LIFE 

EXPECTANCY THAN NONSMOKERS

www.latimes.com - It's never too late to quit smoking, and researchers have new data to prove it. Even at the age of 64, kicking the habit can add four years to a person's life, while quitting by age 34 can increase life expectancy by a decade, according to a study published online Wednesday by the New England Journal of Medicine. 
After analyzing health data from more than 200,000 Americans, researchers calculated that current smokers were three times more likely to die during the course of the study compared with people who had never smoked. For the most part, their deaths were caused by smoking-related ailments, including heart and lung disease. Overall, their odds of surviving to age 80 were half as good as for never-smokers. But the study, one of two large-scale surveys in the journal providing updated information on smoking and mortality, saw significant benefits for those who quit.

Giving up smoking between the ages of 35 and 44 was associated with a gain of nine years of life, and those who quit between 45 and 54 lived an extra six years. "The good news is, because the risks are so big, the benefits of quitting are quite substantial," said study leader Prabhat Jha, an epidemiologist and director of the Center for Global Health Research, based in Toronto. While the U.S. smoking rate has declined to 19.3% among adults, there are still an estimated 45.3 million smokers in this country. Cigarette use is responsible for about 443,000 U.S. deaths each year, the CDC says. 
The two papers did not draw distinctions between people who smoked a pack a day and those who might smoke just a few cigarettes a day, said Dr. Steven Schroeder, director of the Smoking Cessation Leadership Center at UC San Francisco. The message needs to get out to young and old smokers alike, he said: "There's a ray of hope. It's never too late to quit."

Smokers lose at least one decade of life expectancy over non-smokers on average according to a new study. Kicking the smoking habit can add years of life even in one's 60s, new research in the New England Journal of Medicine shows. Younger smokers can gain a whole decade by quitting. We all know that quitting smoking is not easy and most of the time you’ll be unsuccessful. Studies have found that many smokers make five to seven attempts to quit smoking before quitting successfully. With that in mind it is important to keep trying to quit and taking every opportunity to make a renewed attempt to quit. As Amina Khan, author of the article, says: "It's never too late to quit smoking."

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

My father told me when he was young, nobody had any idea that cigarettes were bad.  It was fashionable to smoke cigarettes.  One movie star always had a cigarette hanging out of his mouth.  The way he did it the whole of America was trying to imitate.  He was such a sex symbol and such a handsome heroic person.  His style became the fashion. ... but he died of cancer of the lips.  One of the most famous singers would sing while smoking a cigarette.  How can you smoke when you are singing!  It was amazing ... he died of cancer of the lungs only when he was forty.  So doctors began coming out and saying, ‘Cigarettes are going to kill you.  Stop Smoking!’  When that message came out cigarette smoking became more popular among the young people.  Because they are trying to prove to themselves, “I am daring. I am fearless.  I don’t care if I am risking my life.  I am going to do it to be cool.  Yes I know it will kill me.”  It’s so foolish.  It’s just the example of mentality of material existence.  We are not willing to listen to good advice.

Śrīla Radhanath Swami Mahārāja : 
“Listen To Good Advice”
http://www.radhanath-swami.net/
http://radhanathswami.info/archives
http://radhanathswami.info/knowledge/listen-good-advice-radhanath-swami#more-814

Published by dasavatara das - "Vedic Views on World News"
http://www.vedicviews-worldnews.blogspot.com.ar/

SMOKE-FREE LEGISLATION REDUCES CHILDREN'S ASTHMA

CHILD HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS FOR

ASTHMA SLUMP AFTER SMOKING BAN

www.dailymail.co.uk - The number of children being admitted to hospital to be treated for asthma attacks has dropped sharply since the smoking ban came into effect. Experts believe the law may have made smokers more aware of the dangers of second-hand smoke at home. This is despite the fact that the legislation only applies to work and public spaces. Researchers at Imperial College London found NHS hospital admissions for children under 14 for asthma attacks fell by 12.3 per cent in England in the year after July 2007, when the ban came in. In the two subsequent years, admissions were 3.4 per cent lower. 
Experts say law change may have made adults more aware of dangers of passive smoking. The study, published in the journal Pediatrics, found that the total fall in the three years to July 2010 was equivalent to 6,802 hospital admissions. The drop was found in both boys and girls, in homes across all social classes and in both cities and rural areas.

Admissions for severe child asthma attacks had previously been rising from 2002 by 2.2 per cent a year, peaking at 26,969 admissions in the year before the ban. Asthma affects approximately one in every 11 children in the country. In other research, experts have found that hospital admissions for childhood asthma fell after legislation banning smoking in public spaces was introduced in Scotland and North America, before the law in England. Dr Christopher Millett, of Imperial College’s School of Public Health, said: ‘Previous studies have suggested the smoke-free law led more people to abstain from smoking voluntarily at home and in cars. 
‘We think exposing children to less second-hand smoke in these settings probably played an important role.’ Immediately following the ban, experts found a 10 per cent fall in heart attacks in England and it was suggested that older people who never smoked benefited the most.

Research shows there was a 12.3% fall in admissions in the first year after the law came into place in July 2007, and these have continued to drop in subsequent years, suggesting that the benefits of the legislation were sustained over time. Previous studies have shown hospital admissions for childhood asthma fell after smoke-free legislation was introduced in Scotland and North America. “As a society we must keep moving forward in ensuring that we protect our children from passive smoking. The next logical step would be to see a ban on smoking in cars when children are present, as the concentration of smoke caused by smoking within the small enclosed space of a car can be significantly greater than we used to see in pubs before the smoking ban,” said Dr Penny Woods, Chief Executive of the British Lung Foundation. We must protect our children and support the smoking ban all over the world!

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

An average cigarette contains 401 poisons and 43 cancer-causing chemicals, there are around 1.1 billion smokers in the world (about one-third of the global population aged 15 and over) and we have quite a sobering picture of the world around us.  The statistics about other self-destructive behavioral patterns – alcoholism, substance abuse and suicide - are equally, if not more, alarming. And even among so-called normal people, practically everyone is victimized by some form of self-destructive behavioral pattern - unwarranted expression of anger that turn out to be disastrous, unintentional use of caustic words that break hearts and ruin lives and so on. ... Chanting (the Holy Names of God) enables one to experience within oneself continuous happiness, which is absolutely independent of the state of the body and the external world.

Śrīpad Caitanya Caran das (BE E&TC) :
“The Tragedy of Self-Destruction”
“The Spiritual Scientist” - Vol. 1 Issue 16.
Bhaktivedanta Academy for Culture and Education (BACE), Pune
http://thespiritualscientist.com/

Published by dasavatara das - "Vedic Views on World News"
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A NEW SMOKING WARNING FOR WOMEN

SMOKING DOUBLES WOMEN’S
SUDDEN DEATH RISK, STUDY

www.webmd.com - Smoking cigarettes may more than double a woman’s risk of sudden cardiac death. But quitting can reduce that risk significantly over time, according to a new study. Sudden cardiac death is a sudden, unexpected death caused by loss of heart function. It is the leading cause of heart-related deaths in the U.S. and is responsible for up to 400,000 deaths per year. Researchers found that women who were current smokers were two-and-a-half times more likely to suffer sudden cardiac death than nonsmokers. The risk of sudden cardiac death was even higher among heavy and lifetime smokers. 
The study showed that quitting smoking had an almost immediate effect in reducing the risk of sudden cardiac death within five years among women without any symptoms of heart disease. For women already diagnosed with heart disease, the benefits of quitting smoking took much longer to take effect. 

“Researchers say for many women, sudden cardiac death is the first sign of heart disease.  Although smoking is a known risk factor for sudden cardiac death, researchers say few studies have looked at the nature of this relationship in a large number of women both with and without heart disease. This study looked at the impact of smoking and smoking cessation on the risk of sudden cardiac death among 101,018 women who took part in the Nurses’ Health Study. The results appear in Circulation: Arrhythmia & Electrophysiology. During 30 years of follow-up, 351 cases of sudden cardiac death were reported. 
Researchers found the amount and duration of cigarette smoking was strongly associated with the women’s risk of sudden cardiac death. “The study shows that even modest levels of smoking can increase the risk of sudden cardiac death,” says Goldberg, a spokesperson for the American Heart Association. “People should know that just one cigarette is too much.”

According to a new study published in Circulation: Arrhythmia & Electrophysiology, an American Heart Association Journal that looked at results of more than 100,000 women, those who were light to moderate smokers had a significantly increased risk of dying from sudden cardiac arrest than those who didn't smoke. “We found the more that you smoke, the higher the risk of sudden cardiac death,” says researcher Roopinder Sandhu, MD, MPH, from University of Alberta, Canada. “But the important thing is that this risk can be eliminated after smoking cessation.” Even light smoking can increase your risk of dying suddenly, and that's just not cool; but the good news is that this risk may decrease if you leave this bad habit. So, try to quit smoking today!  Ask God for help and you will be able to do so.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

My friend, to smoke is a big trap and you have become a victim of it, and you will need lots of endeavour to get rid of if.  Perhaps you tried already several times and even promised, nevertheless you feel dejected, weak and ashamed; and at the same time you play as if you would be the strong one, the brave one, the rebellious one, the American cowboy that finally shows the boast braveness of killing himself with that stupid bad habit.  Wake up! Your body does not belong to you. It is the property of God and Mother Nature. It is very useful and you can do many things to help others, so don’t be discouraged. You have a mission in this very life. We want you to be healthy with nice character. We don’t want you to be ashamed, hidden in the smoker’s corner, afflicted with their own miseries. ... My friend you have to overcome yourself. Lift up your head! You will win like many others who already overcame their weakness.

Śrīla Bhakti Aloka Paramadvaiti Mahārāja :
Vedic Wisdom: “Cigarette addiction”
http://vedicwisdom.weebly.com/
http://vedicwisdom.weebly.com/cigarette-addiction.html

Published by dasavatara das - "Vedic Views on World News"
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SMOKING WORSENS HANGOVERS

SMOKING REALLY DOES MAKE
YOUR HANGOVER WORSE, STUDY

www.webmd.com - New research suggests that your hangover will be worse if you smoke when you drink. People who smoke on a day when they have been drinking alcohol heavily are twice as likely to report hangover symptoms as those who only drank. In the study of college students, heavy drinking was defined as about 5 or 6 cans of beer in one hour. But substance abuse experts not affiliated with study are quick to point out that binge drinking and smoking - alone and together - can have far worse consequences than hangover symptoms. Smoking increases the risk for cancer, heart disease, and stroke, and binge drinking can lead to addiction, alcohol poisoning, car accidents, and unprotected sex.
“In general, people smoke more when they drink because it counteracts some of the sedative effects of alcohol,” says researcher Damaris J. Rohsenow, PhD., professor of behavioral and social sciences at the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies at Brown University in Providence, R.I. 

“People also tend to feel better when they smoke while drinking because both increase the release of [the brain chemical] dopamine.” Dopamine is known as the brain’s pleasure chemical. The findings appear in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. Exactly how smoking makes a hangover worse is not fully understood. Both alcohol and smoking can disrupt sleep, which may make hangovers feel a lot worse, Rohsenow says. What’s more, the dopamine rush may also be followed by a shortfall of this brain chemical. The study included 113 college students from a Midwestern university. 
They answered an online survey daily for eight weeks. Questions concerned how much they drank or smoked on the day before as well as their current-day hangover symptoms. According to the findings, students smoked about seven cigarettes a day, and this number jumped to more than 10 on heavy or binge-drinking days. Students reported drinking an average of more than two drinks a day, and more than 10 on average on heavy drinking days.

Researchers investigated the effects of smoking on hangovers from drinking. Authors of the study define, “Hangover refers to the cluster of unpleasant symptoms of physical distress that occur as blood alcohol falls after an acute incident of drinking to intoxication.” Hangover symptoms include, but are not limited to: headache, nausea, fatigue, feeling dehydrated or thirsty, slowed mental function. Dr. Rohsenow suggested people who choose to engage in heavy drinking should smoke fewer cigarettes to reduce hangover symptoms the following day. “The best way to avoid a hangover is not to drink that much, but if you smoke, it will aggravate it, so this provides another reason to not smoke,” she says. The human body is designed to help us to achieve the transcendence and needs to be cared by adopting healthy practices that harmonize and connect it with our inner self.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

The physical body is considered an instrument or vehicle of the soul on its path towards perfection, and it has its own needs that must be met in order to run well.  Right exercise: The asanas, improve blood circulation and muscle flexibility, and help the joints, muscles and other body parts to work correctly. Correct breathing: Yogic breathing techniques called pranayama, producing a burst of energy that leads to mental and physical rejuvenation of the body.  Correct relaxation:  Relaxation is a natural method of revitalizing the body and mind.  Rigth diet: The yogic diet is a vegetarian one and is composed of pure foods that promote health and vitality.  Positive thinking and Meditation: They purify the intellect and allow to achieve wisdom and inner peace.

Yoga Inbound :
“Yogic Diet”
http://www.yogainbound.org/ws/
http://www.yogainbound.org/ws/hatha-yoga/30-articulos-interes/195-dieta-yoguica

Published by dasavatara das - "Vedic Views on World News"
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