Kerala Govt Imposes Complete Ban On Tobacco-Based Products

India, Kerala: Kerala government on Friday announced a complete ban on the manufacturing and sale of gutka products in the state and has become the second state to impose the ban after Madhya Pradesh.

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, in a press conference on Friday, said the state government has imposed the ban on both manufacturing and sale of gutka/pan masala under the provisions of Food Safety and Standards Regulation Act, 2011.

"We are banning these products for the improvement of public health. Even though our state has a lot of advanced health centres and experts for cancer care, the use of gutka has brought a lot of suffering to the people of the state. The number of patients ailing from oral cancer has increased and this compelled us to act," Chandy said.

The government was forced to take such actions because of the increasing incidence of gutka-induced diseases like oral cancer. Chandy said that the health department took the banning step immediately and the Commissioner of Food Safety issued the notification, banning gutka/pan masala in Kerala on May 22.

The government would strictly impose the ban all over the state and will take strong action against people who are found violating it. "Violators of the law can be imprisoned for up to six years and a fine of Rs.500,000 (5 lakh rupees) will be imposed on them," Chandy said.

The ban forbids the production, storage, supply and the sale of products that contain tobacco and nicotine in whatever name it is obtainable in the market.

"A special official has been designated in each district who would be assisted by a team to see that the ban is enforced in the right manner," he said.

Chandy also said in the press conference that he has written a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking for a total ban on these products in the country.

PM urged to ban sale of tobacco products

Seventeen regional cancer centres in India have urged the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, to ban the sale of tobacco products like gutka and pan masala in the country.

“India has the highest number of oral cancer cases in the world with 75,000 to 80,000 new cases being reported every year and chewing of tobacco and gutka contribute to 90 per cent of oral cancer in the country,” Mr Jaydip Biswas, Director, Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute (CNCI), said here.

He said the 17 regional cancer centres, including CNCI, had decided to join hands to fight the menace and urged the Prime Minister in this regard.

In a communication to the Prime Minister, the regional cancer centre directors said that easy availability of the mixture of toxic substances, which contain areca nut (supari), slaked lime and certain food additives, in small affordable pouches in every nook and corner of the country, has become a serious health hazard.

According to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) 2010, nearly one-third of Indian population is addicted to smokeless tobacco.

“A large number of children and youth in India are addicted to smokeless tobacco, which contains nicotine, which is highly addictive. There are 3,095 chemical components in tobacco, among them 28 are proven carcinogen,” Mr Biswas said.

The major and most abundant group of carcinogens is the tobacco-specific N-nitrosamines and N-nitrosoamino acid.

According to the GATS, 34.6 per cent adults consume some form of tobacco in India, 25.9 per cent adults use smokeless tobacco and 14.1 per cent of youth in India between 13-15 years of age currently use any form of tobacco products.

The survey said that about two in three adults notice advertisements on promotions of tobacco products. Three in five current tobacco users (61.1 per cent) notice the health warning on tobacco product packages and one in three current tobacco users (31.5 per cent) thought of quitting because of the warning label.

The CNCI director said the magnitude of tobacco-related cancer, on an average, was on an upward trend in eastern and north-eastern India.

“This is largely due to high prevalence of tobacco consumption,” he said, adding that there was not much control on production and sale of gutka which is sold everywhere.

The director said that to combat such a dreadful situation, a strong campaign was required to be launched to regulate production, sale and use of gutka and pan masala in greater public interest.

US trade opposes total FDI ban in India's tobacco sector

Five American trade bodies, including USIBC, have joined hands to oppose efforts of the Indian government to further restrict participation of foreign companies in India's tobacco market.

According to reports, the India's Commerce Ministry, on the request of Health Ministry, has proposed to put a complete FDI ban in the sector.

Currently, foreign direct investment (FDI) is completely prohibited in manufacturing of tobacco and its substitutes, while such investments are allowed up to 100 per cent in wholesale trading of cigarettes through the approval route.

In a letter to the Indian Ambassador to the US, Nirupama Rao, the US industry organisations said: "Some proponents of further restrictions have apparently cited public health as a justification, but since there is absolutely no difference in the health effects from consuming Indian or foreign tobacco products, that argument cannot be taken seriously".

Noting that the Indian market is dominated by domestic companies, it is hard to understand any concern about the ability of Indian industry to compete.

It said that 99.6 per cent of the market is held by domestic Indian companies and one large Indian company controls 80 per cent of the market.

"We fail to see the problem with companies investing in a manner that is consistent with Indian law.

"In short, the arguments of the proponents of additional restrictions do not contain a valid rationale, unless one considers valid the parochial political notion that India should be rid of even the minuscule foreign company competition that currently exists," the letter said.

The US organisations said that this issue raises serious concerns about India's willingness to stand by its proclamation to welcome foreign investors per current policy and calls into question India's adherence to its international obligations.

"With respect to the argument that the lawful wholesale business model enables foreign companies to invest in India in wholesaling and somehow this is viewed as problematic, we presume the Indian government intended to structure the law to enable foreign companies to invest in a wholesale business, while we recognise India's government has precluded investment in manufacturing," it added.

Further it said, India is a leading exporter of tobacco, and its manufacturing industry also sells tobacco products internationally, including in the US.

"In addition to the reported consideration of further restrictions on FDI in the tobacco wholesale business which on their face raise international obligation issues, we understand restrictions are also being considered in regard to the importation of tobacco products, including a possible import ban," it said.

Tobacco Companies File Lawsuit Against FDA for Warning Labels

Five tobacco companies filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the federal government, claiming that government-required graphic warning labels on cigarette packages are unconstitutional and that they violate their rights. 

"The primary complaint is that we think it violates the First Amendment for the government to require people who produce a lawful product to essentially urge prospective purchasers not to buy it," First Amendment case expert Floyd Abrams said.

The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. R.J. Reynolds, Lorillard, Commonwealth, Liggett, and Santa Fee Natural Tobacco are suing the Food and Drug Administration, FDA chief Margaret Hamburg, and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

The FDA, to the companies' despair, revealed nine new warning labels in June.  The warning labels include a phone number for those who wish to quit, 1-800-QUIT-NOW. 

The FDA said that cigarette packages will display one of those new labels on half of each package September 2012.

Abrams says the tobacco companies don't have a problem with the written wording required by the latest FDA ruling.

Abrams said that "The government has lot of power to require warnings, but it doesn't require half of a cigarette pack to scream out, 'Don't buy this product!," CNN reported. "What is at issue is putting photographs of diseased people on every cigarette pack, include a phone number, and ask people to stop smoking. It's the direct advocacy to not buy the product, as opposed to a straightforward warning," he added. 

Tobacco use, the leading cause of both premature and preventable death in the United States, kills almost half a million people each year, the FDA said on its Web site.

Should the FDA Regulate Tobacco? Health Freedom Advocate Says Criminalizing Cigarettes is a Mistake

(NaturalNews) The U.S. Congress has just voted to categorize tobacco as a drug, handing the FDA regulatory authority to control the advertising, marketing and sales of cigarettes. This hilarious move, if approved by the Senate and signed by the President, would put the FDA in the position of approving the sale of a "drug" that the entire medical community openly admits kills millions of people. According to the CDC, tobacco kills 438,000 people each year in the United States alone (1). Now, thanks to the U.S. Congress, the FDA could soon be the government office responsible for allowing these 438,000 deaths each year!
Think about it: Right now, FDA-approved drugs kill around 100,000 Americans a year, and that's if you believe the conservative figures from the American Medical Association (the real numbers are at least double that). Add tobacco deaths to that list, and you come to the startling realization that if tobacco is considered an FDA-approved "drug," then FDA-approved drugs will kill well over half a million Americans each year! (538,000 fatalities a year due to FDA-approved drugs, using government statistics.)

Some nicotine facts

1. Nicotine addiction has been one of the hardest addictions to break.
2. Insignificant amounts of nicotine is also found in tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants and leaves of cocoa plants other than tobacco.
3. Like caffeine, nicotine is toxic to certain insects and was used as an insecticide.
4. Nicotine burns at a temperature below it’s boiling point, which happens continuously as a cigarette is smoked.
5. It takes only 7 seconds for nicotine to hit the brain when inhaled.
6. The pleasure feeling generated by nicotine is similar to that caused by cocaine and heroin, thus causing the addiction associated with the need to sustain high dopamine levels. Smoking has been reported to make you feel relax, calm, and alert.
7. Even concentration and memory are increased, but all nicotine effects will only last from anywhere between 5 minutes to 2 hours. To sustain the pleasant effects, a smoker would have to puff an average of 20 cigarettes in 24 hours.
8. Quick puffs by smokers produces a stimulating effect, whereas deep puffs produces a relaxing effect. This is because quick puffs produce low blood nicotine levels, whereas deep puffs depresses the passage of nerve impulses, producing a mild sedative effect.
9. Nicotine reduces appetite and raises metabolism, a possibility for weight loss.
10. 50mg of nicotine is the average lethal dosage to kill a human being. Very, extremely lethal compared to common street drugs like cocaine. A cigarette contains an average of 1.5mg of nicotine.
11. Know that nicotine on its own does not promote development of cancer. However, nicotine suppresses apoptosis, an automatic process by the body to remove mutated or damaged cells that may become cancerous. This leads to encourage cancer cells to develop.
12. Nicotine exposure could cause the netopathological changes experienced by infants dying from Sudden Death Infant Syndrome.
13. 82% of schizophrenics smoke, due to the desire to self medicate, seeking the short term effects of nicotine.
14. The only medicinal use of nicotine is to treat nicotine dependent people through gums, dermal patches, lozenges or nasal sprays.
15. Many research has been carried out on the risk lowering affects of nicotine towards Parkinson’s Disease. Parkinson’s Disease happens when dopamine in the brain is less than acetylcholine. Nicotine decreases acetylcholine levels.

John Terry, England football captain, mulls legal action over image on Indian cigarette packets

LONDON: England captain John Terry is considering taking legal action over the apparent use of his image on cigarette packets in India.
The slightly blurred image of the Chelsea defender has appeared as part of anti-smoking warnings created by the Indian government.
"It's been brought to our attention that an image of our client has been used on some cigarette packaging without our consent or knowledge," Terry's management company said on Tuesday in a statement. "We've now instructed our legal team to investigate this matter."
The Gold Flake cigarette packets with Terry's apparent image were on sale in Delhi on Tuesday.
Gold Flake's manufacturer ITC and Indian government officials could not be reached for comment.
But an ITC official told the Indian Express newspaper that the company had simply used anti-smoking warnings prepared by the Indian government.

 

WHO Report on Bidi Smoking and Public Health

Bidis are small hand-rolled cigarettes 7-8 times more common in India than conventional cigarettes. When compared to conventional cigarettes, "bidis produce equal or higher levels of nicotine, tar, and other toxic chemicals." Their consumption and market penetration is spreading far beyond the national borders of India. "Bidi Smoking and Public Health" is an analysis and synthesis of the latest information from India and the United States and serves as a resource authority on this increasingly prevalent form of smoking. Among the topics discussed include: history, culture, marketing, promotion, availability, prevalence, chemistry, toxicology, pharmacology, abuse potential, laboratory studies, disease consequences, economics, public health policy strategies, policy implications, and global policy for regulating bidis and bidi smoking. The disease consequence chapter specifically discusses pulmonary tuberculosis, lung disease, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and oral mucosal lesions related to bidi smoking. This report is intended to be the standard reference on bidis with the goals of encouraging research and promoting policy strategies for regulating bidis.

Man's Face Burns From Exploding Electronic Cigarette

A Florida man's electronic cigarette exploded while he was using it, knocking out some front teeth and causing severe burns on his face, according to officials from North Bay Fire Department. Joseph Parker, Fire Department Chief, said he believes the device's battery blew up while he was inhaling from it. Parker said it was as if a rocket had ignited in the victim's mouth.

According to reports in local media, it appears the man, who had been using the electronic cigarette to give up tobacco smoking also lost part of his tongue.

The fire chief, who added that the device's battery seemed to be faulty, said that the victim thanked them yesterday and said he would probably be leaving a hospital in Mobile, Ala. Today.

No details have yet been released regarding the electronic cigarette brand, and what type of battery it contained. Parker believes it is a rechargeable lithium battery, because they found a recharging station.

The victim's name has not been released. However, local media point towards a Tom Holloway (57) Facebook page which has filled up with get-better messages from friends commenting on a very similar incident - both addresses match, the one in the fire report and the other in the social media page.

The electronic cigarette explosion also burned the man's carpet, chair, pictures and cushions - he was at his office at home when the incident occurred. Officials found a burnt battery care surrounded by melted carpet. Other members of his household, on hearing the explosion, came to his rescue and tried to extinguish the fire with salt.

Rapid Addiction from Early Smoking

Many teenagers and younger children inaccurately believe that experimenting with smoking or even casual
use will not lead to any serious dependency.  In fact, the latest research shows that serious symptoms of
addiction – such as having strong urges to smoke, feeling anxious or irritable, or having unsuccessfully tried
to not smoke – can appear among youths within weeks or only days after occasional smoking first begins.

             The average smoker tries their first cigarette at age 12 and may be a regular smoker by age 14.
Every day, more 3,500 kids try their first cigarette and about 1,000 other kids under 18 years of age become new regular, daily smokers. Almost 90 percent of youths that smoke regularly report seriously strong cravings,
and more than 70 percent of adolescent smokers have already tried and failed to quit smoking.

Immediate and Rapid Effects on the Brain

Part of the addictive power of nicotine comes from its direct effect on the brain.  In addition to the well understood chemical dependency, cigarette smokers also show evidence of a higher rate of behavioral 

problems and suffer the following immediate effects: 

• Increases Stress.  Contrary to popular belief, smoking does not relieve stress.  Studies have shown 

that on average, smokers have higher levels of stress than non-smokers. The feelings of relaxation 

that smokers experience while they are smoking are actually a return to the normal unstressed state 

that non-smokers experience all of the time.

• Alters brain chemistry.  When compared to non-smokers, smokers brain cells- specifically brain cell 

receptors- have been shown to have fewer dopamine receptors.  Brain cell receptors are molecules 

that sit on the outside of the cell interacting with the molecules that fit into the receptor, much like a 

lock and key.  Receptors (locks) are important because they guard and mediate the functions of the 

cell.  For instance when the right molecule (key) comes along it unlocks the receptor, setting off a 

chain of events to perform a specific cell function.  Specific receptors mediate different cell activities.   

Smokers have fewer dopamine receptors, a specific cell receptor found in the brain that is believed to

play a role in addiction. Dopamine is normally released naturally while engaging in certain 

behaviors like eating, drinking and copulation. The release of dopamine is believed to give one a

sense of reward.  One of the leading hypothesis regarding the mechanism of addiction theorizes that 

nicotine exposure initially increases dopamine transmission, but subsequently decreases dopamine 

receptor function and number.  The initial increase in dopamine activity from nicotine results initially in 

pleasant feelings for the smoker, but the subsequent decrease in dopamine leaves the smoker 

craving more cigarettes.

             New animal studies have shown that brain chemistry and receptors may be altered early in the 

smoking process. Habitual smoking may continue to change brain chemistry, including decreasing 

dopamine receptors and thus yielding a more intense craving and risk of addiction.  These brain 

chemistry changes may be permanent.  In addition, because the role played by receptors in other 

cognitive functions, such as memory and intelligence, is unknown, how cigarette smoking effects.

Some facts about nicotine.

1.   Nicotine addiction has been one of the hardest addictions to break.
2.   Insignificant amounts of nicotine is also found in tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants and leaves of cocoa plants other than tobacco.
3.   Like caffeine, nicotine is toxic to certain insects and was used as an insecticide.im
4.   Nicotine burns at a temperature below it’s boiling point, which happens continuously as a cigarette is smoked.
5.   It takes only 7 seconds for nicotine to hit the brain when inhaled.
6.   The pleasure feeling generated by nicotine is similar to that caused by cocaine and heroin, thus causing the addiction associated with the need to sustain high dopamine levels. Smoking has been reported to make you feel relax, calm, and alert.
7.   Even concentration and memory are increased, but all nicotine effects will only last from anywhere between 5 minutes to 2 hours. To sustain the pleasant effects, a smoker would have to puff an average of 20 cigarettes in 24 hours.
8.   Quick puffs by smokers produces a stimulating effect, whereas deep puffs produces a relaxing effect. This is because quick puffs produce low blood nicotine levels, whereas deep puffs depresses the passage of nerve impulses, producing a mild sedative effect.
9.   Nicotine reduces appetite and raises metabolism, a possibility for weight loss.
10. 50mg of nicotine is the average lethal dosage to kill a human being. Very, extremely lethal compared to common street drugs like cocaine. A cigarette contains an average of 1.5mg of nicotine.
11. Know that nicotine on its own does not promote development of cancer. However, nicotine suppresses apoptosis, an automatic process by the body to remove mutated or damaged cells that may become cancerous. This leads to encourage cancer cells to develop.
12. Nicotine exposure could cause the netopathological changes experienced by infants dying from Sudden Death Infant Syndrome.
13. 82% of schizophrenics smoke, due to the desire to self medicate, seeking the short term effects of nicotine.
14. The only medicinal use of nicotine is to treat nicotine dependent people through gums, dermal patches, lozenges or nasal sprays.
15. Many research has been carried out on the risk lowering affects of nicotine towards Parkinson’s Disease. Parkinson’s Disease happens when dopamine in the brain is less than acetylcholine. Nicotine decreases acetylcholine levels.

Smoking may shorten penis almost a centimeter

Furthermore do all that which leaves you as well and he so much likes, aprovech privacy and subtle and sensual, so these revelale data on their intimate parts. Another option: Please an erotic to see how much you know about “his friend” test. Know you well? If not, play to the teacher and the student and ense?ale.

1 – Smoking may shorten them penis almost a centimeter. The equation is simple: the better circulates blood, better is the erection. Cigarette, calcifying the blood vessels, stifles erectile capacity and there! resultado… view One more reason to convince him to stop smoking.

You know that the average male orgasm lasts for 6 seconds and our 23? In theory, just would be for each of our orgasm, they should have 4. One of the few cases where we should not fight for the igualdad…

3 – In order to not be afraid you or you do too many illusions, you warn: there are two types of penises. The first is that “grow” much when they get an erection. Others, are those who always seem big, but at the time of sex is “lengthen” less and the difference between both States is not as noticeable.

4 – With regard to the above, according to a survey conducted by Men′s, 79% of men has the first type of penis and 21% other.

5 – In today’s doctors regenerate skin for grafting in burnt patients using circumcised boys prepuce. A foreskin can produce up to 23,000 square metres.

6 – An enlarged prostate can cause erectile dysfunction as premature ejaculation. If time this happens to your partner, and not found an apparent cause, recomendale which a check is made. In addition, tené into account which of the 50 years, has to be a mandatory annual control. It is ugly, we know that, perhaps if acompa?ás it feel better.

7 – The circumcised foreskin can be reconstructed. Mobile skin on the shaft of the penis is pushed towards the tip and located in place with a Ribbon. Then to fix it doctors apply plastic rings or other add-ons. It may take years, but eventually get there are no traces of circumcision. Do I need so much suffering?

8 – It is estimated that only one man 400 is flexible enough to autopracticarse oral sex. What is clear is that all they put it into practice. Will it do better than us?

9 – This us sounds weird: a group of German researchers claimed that the average penetration lasts for 2 minutes and 50 seconds. However, it seems that women perceive it differently and we feel as if it had lasted for 5 minutes and 30 seconds. Mmmm….

10 – Men that seem cute have the strongest sperm. Spanish team showed a group of women pictures of men had good sperm, men with normal semen photos and pictures of men with low-quality sperm. Without knowing this fact, they should choose that, at its discretion, considered more good waiters. In general, women chose the best producers of semen beyond physical appearance. Survival instinct?

Effects of smoking on sex

Nicotine is a vasoconstrictor, meaning it tightens blood vessels and restricts blood flow. In the long term, it has even been shown to cause permanent damage to arteries. Since a man's erection depends on blood flow, researchers assumed smoking would affect erections. Studies have confirmed this time and again. In a study published in Addiction Behavior, it was shown that just two cigarettes could cause softer erections in male smokers. Results are corroborated by a review of all studies done on impotent men over the last two decades. The research showed that 40 percent of men affected by impotence were smokers, as opposed to 28 percent of the general male population. That is either a really amazing coincidence, or there is a relationship between smoking and male impotence.

It should be noted that most of these men were older, and smoking is considered just one cause of erectile dysfunction. The others include stress, hypertension, alcoholism, diabetes, and prostate surgery. Young smokers may not notice negative effects right away, but they could be setting themselves up for "failure" later on.

So what does all this about impotence mean for women? During sexual arousal, the labia, clitoris, and vagina also swell up with blood, similar to a man's penis, enhancing sensation and excitement. If nicotine can restrict blood flow and cause erectile dysfunction in men, it may be reasonable to predict that blood flow is restricted in women as well, and may also have a negative effect on sensation.

It's hard to say whether your sex life will improve if you quit smoking, since there are many factors influencing your sex life beyond genital sensation. Of course, quitting smoking would also eliminate stained teeth, unhealthy skin, rapid accumulation of wrinkles on the face, and clothing, hair, and breath that smell of smoke. That might improve one's sex life. Decreasing your risk of cancer and heart disease — which tend to have negative effects on one's sex life — could be sexy in the long run.

Quitting smoking won't harm to your sex life, so if you're thinking about quitting anyway, why not give it a try? If you discover a new realm of sensation during sex from smoking cessation, that's just one more benefit you'll experience from quitting.

Effects of smoking on unborn baby during pregnancy

Tobacco smoke contains more than 4000 harmful chemicals, of which a number of them are known carcinogens in humans, whilst others are highly toxic and poisonous.

The chemicals that most affect the foetus and its healthy development are nicotine, tar and carbon monoxide, although arsenic, ammonia, hydrogen cyanide, formaldehyde and creosote are in no way good for the baby to inhale either.

When an expecting mother inhales tobacco smoke from a cigarette, some of the chemicals are exhaled immediately and leave the body, but others stay in the body and make their way into the placenta. The unborn child, as well as inhaling the mainstream smoke that the mother breathes in from the cigarette, which stays in her body, it may also inhale any secondhand smoke that is in the air. This would mean that the growing foetus would be negatively affected by two different types of smoke. Once the baby is born, it would no longer be affected by the mainstream smoke that the mother inhales, however if the mother continues to smoke, the child will suffer the effects of secondhand smoke and become a passive smoker itself.

The unborn child in the womb relies on the mother for its food, nutrients and oxygen in order to develop and grow healthily before the birth. The placenta is the tissue that connects the foetus to its mother and from where it receives all it needs for its correct development whilst it is in the mother's womb.

On smoking several things happen. Firstly, there is a reduced supply of oxygen, due to the increase of nicotine and carbon monoxide in the mother's bloodstream. This means that there is less oxygen available to the baby, as the harmful substances replace it. The baby will begin to move slower after the mother has smoked a cigarette and the baby's heart will have to work faster, as it tries to breathe in more oxygen. Consequently, its breathing and movement will be altered. In other words it will suffer unnecessary stress.

As well as a reduced amount of oxygen, the nicotine constricts the blood vessels in the mother's side of the placenta, thus preventing the blood supply, oxygen and the necessary amount of nutrients and food from reaching the baby, which will result in the slow growth of the foetus.

As a result the foetus will not develop or grow as well as it should and this can lead to the birth of a low-weight baby and all the risks and complications that this could entail. A low-weight baby is more likely to be placed in intensive care once it has been born.

Not only this, once the mother has given birth, she will cut off the supply of nicotine to her child and shortly the baby will begin to suffer the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

Even if the mother does not smoke but the baby is exposed to passive smoking from the father, the growth and development of the foetus can be affected.

Effects on the mother and the pregnancy

Smoking throughout pregnancy does affect both mother and child and can lead to complications that could have been prevented had the mother stopped smoking.

Fortunately some mothers suddenly develop a strong distaste for smoking when they become pregnant and are easily able to give up smoking for the nine-month period or longer.

If you quit smoking within the first 3 months of being pregnant, you are greatly increasing the probability of giving birth to a normal and healthy baby.

Below is a list of possible pregnancy complications that have been associated with women who smoke:
Ectopic pregnancy - this can be life-threatening for the mother and can lead to difficulties in becoming pregnant again. In an ectopic pregnancy, the egg usually becomes implanted in one of the fallopian tubes and begins to grow there. In the majority of cases, this type of pregnancy will never result in the live birth of a child, as there is not enough room for the baby to grow fully, and the cells must be removed as soon as the ectopic pregnancy is diagnosed by either an injection of drugs or by surgery.
Foetal death - this is when the baby is still a foetus (less than 28 weeks) and dies in the uterus. Maternal smoking has been linked to the death of 5 - 10% of all foetal and neonatal deaths.
Stillbirth and death of the baby in the first week - this risk is increased by a third if the mother smokes.
Miscarriage - the risk of suffering a miscarriage is increased by 25% for a smoker.
Placenta previa - the placenta lies extremely low in the uterus and block or covers the opening of the cervix. This can result in a difficult delivery and puts the mother's and baby's life at risk.
Early detachment of the placenta from the wall of the uterus before delivery, which could result in heavy bleeding.
Increase of heart rate and blood pressure in the mother due to the effects of the nicotine.
Blood clots
Vomiting
Vaginal bleeding
Thrush
Urinary tract infections
Premature rupture of the membranes, which may lead to a premature birth as well as infection.
Lack of necessary vitamins and folic acid.
Decreased lung function of the developing baby, caused by the nicotine that crosses the placenta to the foetus and alters the cells of the unborn child's developing lungs.
Premature birth, which could result in a low-weight baby. Full-term babies are healthier and stronger. Going into labour prematurely is twice as common in smokers than it is in non-smokers. The risks are even higher if the mother is still smoking throughout the latter half of her pregnancy.
Respiratory problems in the mother.
Less energy and therefore tiring more easily and less able to cope well with the pregnancy.

Remember, the more cigarettes you smoke throughout your pregnancy, the greater the risks of harm to the foetus, complications with the pregnancy and harm to your health.

source : helpwithsmoking.com

Russia to boo smokers: from scary messages to disturbing pictures

The country’s Health Ministry is pushing for a new regulation that will oblige the tobacco industry to print onto cigarettes packs large and gloomy images of the effects of smoking.

Russian health minister Tatyana Golikova announced his plans at a meeting with the EU health commissionaire.

The images are going to be very graphic, portraying smoker’s yellow teeth, black and withered lungs eaten by cancer, effects of vascular disease, and dead babies.

The technique has been successfully used in a range of countries, including the UK and Thailand. While it is assumed that the measure does not influence older smokers, younger people are more likely to be put off the dangerous habit.

Forty four million smokers make Russia one of the world’s leaders in this area. In recent years, the country has been trying to improve the situation by introducing a number of anti-tobacco measures.

Back in summer 2010, the country ruled that each pack of cigarettes must have a frightening warning on it. The warnings informed smokers that their habit could lead to impotence and infertility, cause heart attacks and strokes, as well as result in a “slow and painful death.”

The government also banned cigarette ads and prohibited smoking in public buildings. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin even urged government officials to quit smoking “to set a good example.”

More anti-tobacco measures are on the way, including a complete ban on smoking in bars and restaurants, set to take place by 2015.

Also, a presidential aide has recently revealed that the government is looking to hike the price of cigarettes up to five times the current cost.

Beware Kochi Smokers.

It is going to be a very tough time for smokers of Kochi. If found smoking in public places, you will be fined Rs 200 on the spot by the anti-tobacco squad that will patrol the Ernakulam district. They have already started their operation from July 18th. Let me make you more familiar with “PUBLIC PLACES”. Usually public places mean those places which are accessed by the public. Public places includes all government offices, educational institutions, bus stands, bus waiting sheds, railway stations, stadiums, auditorium, roads, and all other religious spaces.
This is an initiative by the Ernakulam district administration for a tobacco free district. The anti-tobacco squad will include representatives of the Narcotics Cell, Excise Department, district medical officer, drug inspector, NGOs and a host of other government agencies. The main focus of this initiative would be on check of smoking in public places, refraining sales of cigarettes and other tobacco products near all educational institutions and banning the sale of tobacco products to children less than 18 years of age. The fines will be also imposed on product sellers for the violation of rules.

source: http://www.cochinsquare.com/beware-kochi-smokers/

THE WAY TO QUIT

Yes, there are plenty of people who really manage to quit smoking. This is how they do it.

     Amresh Patel is a CEO of a large multinational company. Used to smoke 20 cigarettes a day, and had been doing this for past 30 years. At 47, he decided to quit smoking. Today, at 49, Patel is still here with stick. He stands out amidst 100 who decided to quit, stay off for a few months and pick up the habit again. So what did Patel do that others can’? “I made up my mind, “claims the erstwhile smoker. He says he followed a four-pronged strategy: making up his mind was the first step; then gradually he got used to deprivation and started treating his urge to smoke as an unfulfilled desire. Finally, he renewed focus on his health.

     MAKING UP YOUR MIND.

In Patel’s case, his chronic cough, raspy voice and low levels of immunity led him to consider quitting. Moreover it was disturbing to see his 13 year old daughter aping him with a pencil dangling in her mouth and walking around the house. And that’s when, during one of his trip to the UK, he tried hypnosis to quit.

We all know that hypnosis is concentrated relaxation and is the key to reach the unconscious by removing the barriers of conscious mind. During hypnotherapy, the therapist slips past your conscious mind recommending you to reject your craving for tobacco. Your mind builds up new neutral tracts triggering new ways of thinking and you begin to look at yourself as a non-smoker. As hypnotherapy directly worked with Patel’s habits he did not feel deprived or unhappy.

     DEPRIVATION

Patel started by reducing the number of cigarettes from 20 to six or seven a day so that he didn’t feel he was being deprived. Another way, Patel says, is to start thinking of yourself as a non-smoker. This will make the urge a little more bearable.

     UNFULFILLED DESIRE.

Here is Patel’s advice to all smokers: we all have secret desires. Do we fulfill all of them? If we did a lot of us would be in trouble. Similarly treat the desire to smoke as an unfulfilled desire similar to wanting someone else wife’s, job, money, body, hair or looks. The moment we know that we are in the state of “wishful unfulfilment” our mind accepts it more readily.

     GET HEALTHIER

A few months after Patel quit, his cholesterol level were back to normal his high density lipoprotein levels (good cholesterol that protects the heart) increased, his triglyceride levels (a type of fat found in blood) came down, and his cough vanished. Earlier, smoking was robbing his body off the nutrients that would make his body healthier. Now his body absorbed nutrients from food more efficiently and he looks younger. He gained 3 to 4 kilos which he start losing once he began to work out regularly and have healthier food. Two years on, Patel has a healthy glow on his face, and that raspy voice has been replaced by an even-toned one.

      As for his now 15 year old daughter, her article on how her dad quit smoking just got printed in her school magazine, and her young girl roams around with a cheesy grin on her face. Time for you  to follow Patel?

The author is a wellness coach.

Taken from the outlook Business India.

heavy smoking mean's kidney cancer but more aggressive.

Researchers have found that kidney cancer is not only more
common among heavy smokers, it also appears to be more
aggressive.
According to a study out Monday, more than one in four smokers undergoing kidney cancer surgery had advanced stages of the disease, compared to only one in five patients who didn't light up.
Researchers say about 70 percent of people with early-stage tumors survive at least five years, whereas that number plummets to just eight percent after the cancer has begun spreading.

About one in 70 Americans, most of them elderly, develop kidney cancer, according to the American Cancer Society.
But the findings aren't all bad news. Indeed, former smokers who'd kicked the habit had a smaller chance of turning up with advanced cancer.
While the study wasn't designed to prove that quitting can slow tumor growth, Dr. Thomas J. Polascik, who led the work, said he believes that to be the case.
"It can't bring you down to the risk of a nonsmoker, but it can get you almost there," Polascik, a surgeon at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, told Reuters Health. His findings appear in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Polascik and his colleagues looked at data for 845 people who'd had surgery for kidney cancer at their hospital. A quarter of the patients had advanced disease, defined as cancer spreading beyond the kidney.
The odds of finding late-stage cancer were 60 percent higher in smokers -- about a fifth of the patients -- than non-smokers, even after taking age and other factors into account. And the more cigarettes they had smoked, the higher the odds.
Former smokers also had higher odds of advanced disease. But the odds fell by nine percent for every decade they had been smoke-free.
The researchers say that means smoking might not only up the chances the a tumor will form in the first place, but might also fuel cancer growth, perhaps by suppressing the immune system.
However, Alexander S. Parker, a kidney cancer expert at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, said it's also possible that smokers are less likely to seek medical care than non-smokers.
"If this is true, then it would not be the case that the biology of these tumors is different," he told Reuters Health in an email. "Rather, just that the individuals themselves have less contact with the health care system and are less likely to be diagnosed when their cancers are at an early, treatable stage."
Still, Parker, who was not involved in the new work, said the findings lined up with earlier data showing that smokers have twice the risk of developing kidney cancer, in addition to other health problems.
"In the end," he said, "we need to be clear that smoking accounts for hundreds of thousands of deaths every year in the U.S. and therefore, the overall effort should still be focused on getting people to quit smoking and to keep young people from starting in the first place."