Benefits of Quitting Smoking

20 min. Blood pressure and pulse return to normal.

8 hrs Nicotine and carbon monoxide levels in blood reduce by half. Oxygen levels return to normal.

24 hrs Carbon monoxide will be eliminated from the body. Lungs start to clear out mucous and other smoking debris.

48 hrs There is no nicotine left in the body. Ability to taste and smell is greatly improved.

72 hrs Breathing becomes easier. Bronchial tubes begin to relax and energy levels increase.

2-12 weeks Circulation improves.

3 - 9 months Coughs, wheezing and breathing problems improve as lung functions are increased by up to 10%.

5 yrs. Risk of heart attack falls to about half that of a smoker.

10 yrs. Risk of lung cancer falls to about half that of a smoker. Risk of heart attack falls to the same as someone who has never


Sources:
http://www.nosmokingday.org.uk/smokers/whatsinacigarette.htm


Tatarov Anton

What is in a cigarette?

You’ve heard of nicotine but, when it comes to health, that’s the least of your worries. Each cigarette contains around 4,000 chemicals, many of which are known to be toxic.

Here are a few of the nasties you’ll be inhaling in every drag:

* Acetone - widely used as a solvent, for example in nail polish remover
* Ammonia - found in cleaning fluids
* Arsenic - a deadly poison, used in insecticides
* Benzene - used as a solvent in fuel and chemical production
* Cadmium - a highly poisonous metal used in batteries
* Carbon monoxide (CO) - an odourless, tasteless and poisonous gas; makes breathing more difficult as it combines with the blood that carries oxygen around the body. Up to 15 per cent of a smoker's blood may be carrying CO instead of oxygen, making the heart work harder, and potentially leading to coronary heart disease and circulation problems.
* Cyanide - a deadly poison
* Formaldehyde - used to preserve dead bodies
* Shellac - becomes a wood varnish when mixed with a form of alcohol
* Tar - a mixture of chemicals (including formaldehyde, arsenic and cyanide). About 70 per cent of the tar is left in smokers' lungs, causing a range of serious lung conditions.

Sources:
http://www.nosmokingday.org.uk/smokers/whatsinacigarette.htm


Tatarov Anton

Cigarette branding 'misleading'
cigarettes on sale
The open display of tobacco products is set to be banned

Subtle branding on cigarette packets is misleading smokers into believing some products are less harmful than others, research suggests.

Products branded "smooth", "silver" or "gold" are generally believed to be healthier and easier to give up, a survey of 1,300 people found.

Participants in the study were shown pairs of cigarette packs and asked to compare what they were like, or what they assumed they would be like, in terms of taste, tar levels, health risk, attractiveness, how easy they would be to give up and how attractive they would be to someone choosing to smoke for the first time.

The results from 800 adult smokers and 500 teenagers, all in the UK, also showed that lighter-coloured packaging led people to believe the cigarettes had a lower tar content or were generally less harmful.
Marlboro packs with a gold label were rated as having a lower health risk by 53% of adults and easier to quit by 31%, when compared with the Marlboro packs with a red logo.


EU rules ban any claims that some cigarettes are safer than others.

Sources:
http://www.ac-nancy-metz.fr/enseign/anglais/Henry/smoking.htm

Tatarov Anton

Health effects of passive smoking

Cancer
3,000 cancer related non smoker deaths can be directly attributed to passive smoking each year.
Heart diseases
Approximately 50,000 non s moker deaths from heart related issues can be linked to passive smoking each year.
Ear infections
Passive smoking is accountable for an increased number of ear infections. Studies have shown there is a significant difference in the occurrences of ear infections between the children of smoking and non smoking parents.
Low birth weight
The National Cancer Institute reports that second hand smoke is responsible for 10,000 low birth weight births a year. Low birth weight often results in other health problems and is a major factor in many infant deaths.
Asthma
Second hand smoke is responsible for nearly 8,000 cases of newly diagnosised asthma annually. It is also responsible for nearly 1 million cases of exacerbated asthma every year.
Sudden infant death syndrome
Passive smoking is related to nearly 2,000 cases of SIDS each year.

http://www.ac-nancy-metz.fr/enseign/anglais/Henry/smoking.htm

How smoking harms the unborn baby
Babies born to mothers who smoke:

* are more likely to be born prematurely and with a low birth weight (below 2.5kg or 5lb 8oz).
* have a birth weight on average 200g (7oz) less than those born to non-smokers. This effect increases proportionally - the more the mother smokes, the less the child weighs.
* have organs that are smaller on average than babies born to non-smokers.
* have poorer lung function.
* are twice as likely to die from cot death. There seems to be a direct link between cot death and parents smoking.
* are ill more frequently. Babies born to women who smoked 15 cigarettes or more a day during pregnancy are taken into hospital twice as often during the first eight months of life.
* get painful diseases such as inflammation of the middle ear and asthmatic bronchitis more frequently in early childhood.
* are more likely to become smokers themselves in later years.

Sources:
http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/health_advice/facts/pregnantsmoking.htm

Tatarov Anton

Kids who smoke have smoking-related health problems

Cigarette smoking causes serious health problems among children and teens, including:

* coughing
* shortness of breath
* more frequent headaches
* increased phlegm (mucus)
* respiratory illnesses
* worse cold and flu symptoms
* reduced physical fitness
* poor lung growth and function
* worse overall health
* addiction to nicotine

As they get older, teens who continue to smoke can expect problems like:

* early heart disease and stroke
* gum disease and tooth loss
* chronic lung diseases, like emphysema and bronchitis
* hearing loss
* vision problems, such as macular degeneration

Each day, more than 3,500 people under the age of 18 try their first cigarette and another 1,100 become regular, daily smokers. About one third of these kids will die prematurely from a smoking-related disease.


Sources:
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/content/PED_10_2X_Child_and_Teen_Tobacco_Use.asp?sitearea=PED


Tatarov Anton

Facts about kids and tobacco

Almost all smokers start while they're young.

Nearly all first use of tobacco takes place before high school graduation. A 2007 survey from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that 50% of high school students had tried cigarette smoking at some point. In 2008, more than 1 out of 4 kids age 12 or older were current tobacco users -- this comes out to about 71 million American teens. Studies have shown that, for the most part, people who do not start using tobacco when they are teens never start using it.

The younger you are when you begin to smoke, the more likely you are to be an adult smoker. Almost 90% of adults who are regular smokers started at or before the age 19. And people who start smoking at younger ages are more likely to develop long-term nicotine addiction than people who start later in life.

Sources:
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/content/PED_10_2X_Child_and_Teen_Tobacco_Use.asp?sitearea=PED


Tatarov Anton

Smoking and Youth

Also called: Teen smoking

Nearly a quarter of high school students in the U.S. smoke cigarettes. Another 8% use smokeless tobacco. Smoking has many health risks for everyone. However, the younger you are when you start smoking, the more problems it can cause. For example:

* People who start smoking before the age of 21 have the hardest time quitting.
* About 30% of youth smokers will continue smoking and die early from a smoking-related disease.
* Teen smokers are more likely to use alcohol and illegal drugs.
* They are more likely to have panic attacks, anxiety disorders and depression.

Sources:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/smokingandyouth.html

Tatarov Anton

Tobacco declared a
'weapon of mass destruction'

Cancer experts estimate that smoking-related illnesses were responsible for 100 million deaths in the last century, and will account for one billion in this century if the number of smokers continues to rise as projected.

The next 25 years will see "the largest industry-made pandemic of preventable diseases and early death in the recorded history of our world," said John Seffrin, chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society.

"Indeed, today tobacco is the only weapon of mass destruction which is being used against people in all regions of the world," he said.

Sources:
http://www.ffn.yuku.com/topic/11125

Tatarov Anton

Some reactions toward death among college students

19, October 2009
Certain thoughts, attitudes, and behavior reactions toward death that were found among college students in two midwestern universities were analyzed. In general, the data indicated that sex differences are not sharply enough differentiated to be considered very significant. The great majority of the 825 subjects reported that they think of their own death very rarely or only occasionally. Some of the special circumstances that caused the subjects most often to entertain thoughts of their own death are depressed mood, funeral services, misfortune or failure, an accident, gloomy days. Rarely did subjects picture themselves in imagination as dying or being dead. 21% reported that occasionally they are inclined to entertain thoughts of some specific disease which may cause their death, while 51% occasionally entertain thoughts of being killed in an accident. Almost 80% expressed a strong wish to live after death. Only 12% reported that they had a strong fear or horror of death. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved)

Juraj Filip

http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/abn/31/2/165/

"it's easier to buy narcotics than beer"

Parents who don't safeguard their medications are putting their teenagers at serious risk of addiction to prescription drugs, according to a national survey. The survey was released by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse. Teenagers surveyed said it's easier to buy narcotics than beer. Nearly half the 17-year-olds in the survey said they have at least one friend who abuses prescription drugs.

Health experts not involved in the survey agree that teenagers raiding the family medicine cabinet are a growing problem - many youths quickly become hooked on such powerful opiates as Vicodin and OxyContin. Studies show that opiates trail only marijuana as the most commonly abused class of illegal drugs among adolescents.

While illegal drug use among teenagers has dropped by 25 percent since 2001, the number of teens using Vicodin has not budged, and the number of teens using OxyContin has risen by 25 percent, according to statistics kept by the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

SOURCES:
The San Francisco Chronicle
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/15/MNO7129OUD.DTL&hw=national%20center%20on%20addiction%20substance%20abuse&sn=001&sc=1000

ALEXANDRA CHUNN

College Student Drug Use and Binge Drinking Rise

Nearly half of America's 5.4 million full-time college students abuse drugs or drink alcohol on binges at least once a month, according to a new study that portrays substance and alcohol abuse as an increasingly urgent problem on campuses across the nation.

A Study showed white students are more likely to use drugs and alcohol than minority students, and students at historically black colleges have much lower rates of substance abuse than other students.

School administrators have not done enough to curtail drug and alcohol abuse on campus, Califano says. In CASA's survey of administrators, two-thirds said responsibility for stopping drug abuse rests with students.

'HIGHER' EDUCATION?
The percentage of college students saying they took potentially dangerous drugs during the previous year is up:
(from a 2007 USA today article)
Any illicit drug• 1993: 30.6
• 2005: 36.6

Marijuana• 1993: 27.9
• 2005: 33.3

Hallucinogens• 1993: 6.0
• 2005: 5.0

Inhalants• 1993: 3.8
• 2005: 1.8

Cocaine• 1993: 2.7
• 2005: 5.7
Heroin• 1993: 0.1
• 2005: 0.3

Source: The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-03-15-college-drug-use_N.htm

ALEXANDRA CHUNN

US- Mexico Border Control Priorities

The entire U.S.-Mexico border is 1,954 miles long, according to the International Boundary and Water Commission. While 697 of those miles are now under “effective control,” according to the Border Patrol, 1,257 miles are not under “effective control.” Reports from other government agencies paint a vivid picture of the massive drug and alien smuggling that takes place in these uncontrolled expanses and the national security problem created by unsecured border lands.

Each year, the Justice Department’s National Drug Intelligence Center produces “drug market analyses” for each of 32 regions of the country that the NDIC describes as “high intensity drug trafficking areas.” Five of these areas sit along the U.S.-Mexico border- California border, Arizona, New Mexico, West Texas and South Texas. The latest reports, released in March and April 2009, use candid language in portraying the U.S.-Mexican frontier as wide open to drug smuggling and even vulnerable to penetration by potential terrorists.

However, A Government Accountability Office report released on August 31, 2009 pointed out that the Border Patrol’s top priority is to stop terrorists and weapons of mass destruction from entering the United States and revealed that three person’s “linked to terrorism” and hundreds of aliens from “special interest countries” were intercepted at Border Patrol checkpoints in fiscal 2008. These checkpoints, which act as a final line of defense for the U.S. border, are typically set up on highways 25 to 100 miles north of the Mexican border.

SOURCES:
CNN
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/54514


ALEXANDRA CHUNN

World Drug Report

The World Drug Report 2009, launched today by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), shows that global markets for cocaine, opiates and cannabis are steady or in decline, while production and use of synthetic drugs is feared to be increasing in the developing world.
HIGHLIGHTS of the Report
-Opium cultivation in Afghanistan, where 93 per cent of the world's opium is grown, declined by 19 per cent in 2008.
-Worldwide: consumption for all drugs (as of June 2009) is OVERALL flat or down

The Report pays special attention to the impact of drug-related crime, and what to do about it.
In the Preface to the report, Mr. Costa explores the debate over repealing drug controls. He acknowledges that controls have generated an illicit black market of macro-economic proportions that uses violence and corruption. Yet, he warns that legalizing drugs as a way of removing this threat - as some have suggested - would be "an historic mistake." "Illicit drugs pose a danger to health. That's why drugs are, and must remain, controlled," said the head of UNODC.

"Proponents of legalization can't have it both ways," said Mr. Costa. "A free market for drugs would unleash a drug epidemic, while a regulated one would create a parallel criminal market. Legalization is not a magic wand that would suppress both mafias and drug abuse," said Mr. Costa. "Societies should not have to choose between protecting public health or public security: they can, and should do both," he said. He therefore called for more resources for drug prevention and treatment, and stronger measures to fight drug-related crime.

The Director of the US Office of National Drug Control Policy, Gil Kerlikowske, said: "The World Drug Report 2009 demonstrates that drugs are a problem that touches every nation. All of us have a responsibility to address drug abuse within our societies."

SOURCES:
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/index.html

ALEXANDRA CHUNN

Alcohol Abuse is a Serious Problem

Alcohol abuse is one of our most serious public health problems. 4.6 million teens have alcohol related problems. The U.S. ranks 20th in the world for per capita alcohol consumption. Americans consume an average of 2.75 gallons per year, per person, 14 years and older. Alcohol abuse is involved in many other health, safety and social problems. Alarming proportions of accidents, crimes, suicides, and incidences of family violence and juvenile delinquency are the result of alcohol abuse by one or more family members. Percentages of social problems related to alcohol abuse are shown in the following data from various Minnesota studies summarized by the Minnesota Prevention Resource Center.

Accidents:
41% of all deaths from falls,
30% of drowning deaths,
25% of boating deaths,
and 45 - 55% of fire fatalities are alcohol related.

Crimes:
55 - 75% of homicide victims and
40% of rape offenders had been drinking at the time of the incident;
50% of those who commit sex abuse crimes also abuse alcohol.

Suicides:
80% of all adolescent suicides have been reported to be children of alcoholic parents.

Family Violence:
In 44 - 70% of the reported cases of battered women, the offender was drunk.
70% of adult women alcoholics were sexually abused as children.
Children of alcoholic parents are twice as likely to develop their own alcohol problems.

Juvenile Delinquency:
82% of adjudicated delinquent adolescents had at least one alcoholic parent.


Juraj Filip


http://www.extension.umn.edu/

Schools Testing for Drugs

The number of schools testing students for drug use is rising as legal barriers to testing have fallen, funding for it has jumped and schools have begun to expand the categories of students who can be screened.

Since the Supreme Court ruled in 2002 that random testing of student athletes and others in competitive extracurricular activities did not violate the students' privacy rights, the Bush administration had made testing middle- and high-school students a priority.

In 2006, a University of Michigan study said 50% of 12th-graders surveyed last year addmitted they had tried an illicit drug.

SOURCES:
USA TODAY
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2006-07-11-school-drugs_x.htm

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19426004.500-schools-urged-into-divisive-drug-crackdown.html

ALEXANDRA CHUNN

Drugs on the Rise

Is the the issue of drugs getting worse or better now?

Drugs have become so common in the United States's middle and high schools that for many students.

Based on survey responses, researchers concluded that 80% of the nation’s high school students and 44% of middle-schoolers have personally seen illegal drugs used or sold and/or students drunk or high on the grounds of their schools.
(survey: National Center on Addiction & Substance Abuse-CASA at Columbia University 2007)

The survey included 1,063 teens between the ages of 12 and 17 and 550 parents of teens, half of whom had children who also completed the survey.

Teens were asked if drugs were “used, kept, or sold” at their schools. Based on these answers, schools were considered either “drug free” or “drug infested.”

Also based on the survey answers, researchers concluded that drug use in middle and high schools is on the rise.

Sources:
C.A.S.A.- National Center on Addiction & Substance Abuse

http://www.webmd.com

ALEXANDRA CHUNN

Violence, Death, Drugs in Medellin

Medellin, Colombia is now considered as dangerous as Ciudad Juarez, the border town dubbed Mexico's most dangerous city as a result of the ongoing cartel war there. Authorities in Juarez say killings are up from last year and are hitting record highs.

Colombian authorities estimate there are around 130 street gangs known as "combos" in Medellin, totaling some 6,000 members. Picture above- a gang member in Medellin. Their only real loyalty is to the money that drug capos dole out to hire a gang's services.Capos will supply them with drugs to retail on street corners and occasionally issue them weapons to take on rival gangs loyal to another crime boss.

Until earlier this year, Medellin's drug underworld was ruled by the so-called "Office of Envigado," named after a district of the Medellin metropolitan area. The "office" was a syndicate of the top cocaine bosses who agreed on the basic rules of doing business in the area. They shared smuggling routes and acted as the ultimate enforcers if cartel members reneged on deals or debts.

Chief and his allies have stopped rivals intruding on their turf by strictly enforcing what they call "street rules." A day before the meeting, Chief said he helped bury one of his friends who had been gunned down when he ventured into the heart of Medellin with a girlfriend.

"I couldn't even bear to take a look inside the coffin," he began explaining. "We don't really know who did it. But it was that crack head girlfriend who persuaded him to go down there. So we killed the bitch. "You see that's street rules. You have to answer for our friend and the only way you can do that is pay with your life," he says.

The Chief shied away from questions about which cartel boss is bankrolling his gang. But clearly somebody had been supplying them with guns. They posed with a Czech-made .22-caliber rifle and an assortment of semi-automatic pistols -- as well as the wholesale supply of drugs they then sell on the streets.

As the meeting came to an end: As I get ready to leave I have one last question for Chief: I want to know if he ever had any dreams.

"I've tried to get out of this but it's never quite worked out," he says. "I'd like to sail away in a sailboat. Alone and far away."


SOURCES:
CNN "Power vacuum fuels vicious drug warStory Highlights" Oct 13, 2009
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/10/13/colombia.drug.war/index.html


ALEXANDRA CHUNN

Personal Use- Drugs?

Argentina's Supreme Court ruled Tuesday Aug 25,2009 it is unconstitutional to punish an adult for private use of marijuana as long as it doesn't harm anyone else.

The unanimous ruling makes Argentina the second Latin American country in the past four days to allow personal use of a formerly illegal drug. The case in question involved five young men who were arrested for having a few marijuana cigarettes in their pockets.

According to a CNN poll, 29% of Americans believe that legalizing marijuana is the best way to deal with the problem.
Supreme Court Justice Carlos Fayt, who at one time supported laws that make personal use of marijuana illegal, told the state-run Telam news agency that "reality" changed his mind.

Argentina's action came amid growing momentum in Latin America toward decriminalization of possessing small amounts of certain drugs.

Sources:
CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/08/25/argentina.drug.decriminalization/index.html

ALEXANDRA CHUNN

Washington Want to End War on Drugs Fight

Kerlikowske Says Analogy Is Counterproductive; Shift Aligns With Administration Preference for Treatment Over Incarceration.
The Obama administration's new drug czar says he wants to banish the idea that the U.S. is fighting "a war on drugs," a move that would underscore a shift favoring treatment over incarceration in trying to reduce illicit drug use.In his first interview since being confirmed to head the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, Gil Kerlikowske said Wednesday the bellicose analogy was a barrier to dealing with the nation's drug issues.
"Regardless of how you try to explain to people it's a 'war on drugs' or a 'war on a product,' people see a war as a war on them," he said. "We're not at war with people in this country."Mr. Kerlikowske's comments are a signal that the Obama administration is set to follow a more moderate and likely more controversial stance on the nation's drug problems.
The Obama administration is likely to deal with drugs as a matter of public health rather than criminal justice alone, with treatment's role growing relative to incarceration.
Already, the administration has called for an end to the disparity in how crimes involving crack cocaine and powder cocaine are dealt with. Critics of the law say it unfairly targeted African-American communities, where crack is more prevalent.
The administration also said federal authorities would no longer raid medical-marijuana dispensaries in the 13 states where voters have made medical marijuana legal. Agents had previously done so under federal law, which doesn't provide for any exceptions to its marijuana prohibition.
During the presidential campaign, President Barack Obama also talked about ending the federal ban on funding for needle-exchange programs, which are used to stem the spread of HIV among intravenous-drug users.
During the presidential campaign, President Barack Obama also talked about ending the federal ban on funding for needle-exchange programs, which are used to stem the spread of HIV among intravenous-drug users.
Mr. Kerlikowske said the issue was one of limited police resources, adding that he doesn't support efforts to legalize drugs. He also said he supports needle-exchange programs, calling them "part of a complete public-health model for dealing with addiction."

Sources: Wall Street Journal- Politics


ALEXANDRA CHUNN

Students, Alcohol, and Drugs

Alcohol and drug use among students is a serious problem. Campus environments are often seen as encouraging not only use but abuse. Binge-drinking (drinking to get drunk, usually considered at least four drinks on any occasion) is one form of substance abuse that is very common among students.
Alcohol and drugs pose special problems for students. The average student who has one drink a day earns a GPA at only a C-level, and grades plummet with higher consumption. Women need to drink only half what male students do to cause the same effect on their grades. Almost half of academic problems come from abusing alcohol. It's also a factor in about a third of drop-outs.

In an environment where binge-drinking is common, so are substance-related legal offences and injuries. Illegal drugs, underage possession of alcohol, and drunk driving can costs fines and jail time. Fights, sexual assualt, and injuries are more likely to happen when one has been drinking or doing drugs. Half of campus injuries are alcohol-related. One third of people who die in drunk driving crashes are under 25 years old. It's the leading cause of death for young people.

Many people have stereotypes of what an alcoholic or addict is, and most people don't associate that image with young students. Being young and in college doesn't protect you from addiction. Responsible behavior does.