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A Knife in the Back
Is
surgery the best approach to chronic back pain? .
Surgeons have often touted procedures that ultimately proved to
be disappointing. In the nineteen-fifties, many patients with
angina and coronary artery disease had an operation...
All The Health Risks Of Processed Foods -- In Just A Few Quick, Convenient Bites
Every day, 7 percent of the U.S. population visits a McDonald's, and 20-25 percent eat fast food of some kind, says Steven Gortmaker, professor of society, human development, and health at the Harvard School of Public Health. As for children, 30...
Cervical Cancer 101 What You Need To Know About
Cervical Cancer affects the female body in the cervix region. The womb of a woman finds its opening through the cervix. Many a times the human papilloma virus causes the disease. It is transmitted sexual exchanges. The cervix being the most...
Lighting the Path to Treating Breast Cancer
One in eight women will hear her doctor pronounce the unforgettable words: breast cancer. Once upon a time, those words were not only frightening, they were taboo. Not anymore thanks to two Bettys and a Nancy.
Considered courageously outspoken in...
Malaysia And Breast Cancer
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among Malaysian women from all ethnicities and it is also the most common cause of cancer death among women in Malaysia. The disease accounts for 30.4% of newly diagnosed cancer cases in Malaysian women....
Suntan - More Than Just Change Of Skin Color
Getting a suntan or sunburn are two different things. As we all
know sunlight is very important part of our lives as it provides
Vitamin D to us. A normal tan if one get is fine as long as you
are not overexposed to sunlight causing your skin to...
The Diet Cancer Story
Copyright 2005 by http://www.organicgreens.us and Loring Windblad. This article may be freely copied and used on other web sites only if it is copied complete with all links and text intact and unchanged except for minor improvements such as...
Two Substances That May Reduce the Risk Of Cancer
Food helps us by supplying many vital micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals. Your genetic composition can make you susceptible to some types of cancer. Your way of eating plays a major role in increasing or reducing the risk of cancer. ...
What do you need to know about senior's health
As one progresses in age, he retreats in health or fitness.
Though senior citizens are counseled to stay fit, it is barely
the case like. Numerous natural transformations occur in the
body as it moves towards fragility. For instance, the bones...
Why You Need To Detoxify Your Body
Open the Doors to Healing & Rejuvination
Why You Need To Detoxify Your Body
Our society foolishly prizes itself upon eating a high protein,
meat-based diet; excessive consumption of dairy products;
refined grains (rich in gluten that...
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How Second Hand Smoke Threatens Your Health
Secondhand smoking, breathing in of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), is also called passive smoking. It is when a person breathes in smoke given off into the environment by other people.
Secondhand smoke or ETS is a combination of side stream smoke coming straight from the burning tobacco and the mainstream smoke that is exhaled by the smoker. It comprises of over 4000 chemical constituents, a large proportion of which are the inducers of respiratory illnesses and around 40 are known or suspected carcinogens.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has classified ETS as a class A (known human) carcinogen along with other known carcinogens such as arsenic, asbestos and benzene etc.
ETS is unfiltered, thus the levels of carcinogens in it are much more than in smoke inhaled directly by an active smoker. Smoking of a cigarette produces smoke from two major places, mainly from the tip of cigarette and from the rest of the cigarette as the hot vapors liberated through the cigarette and its filter.
About 70% to 80 % of ETS is from the burning tip of cigarette and comprises of the highest levels of nicotine, carbon monoxide, tar and various other carcinogens. Therefore, a constant exposure to an ETS is apparently even more injurious than directly smoking a cigarette for an equivalent period.
Effects of Exposure to Secondhand Smoke
Immediate effects:
Immediate effects of secondhand smoking comprise of eye irritation, cough, sore throat, headache, nausea and dizziness.
Long-term effects:
Lung cancer: The major cause of lung cancer among non-smokers is secondhand smoke. One of the studies revealed that hospitality workers who were exposed to secondhand smoke became three times more prone to lung cancer.
Cardiovascular problems: ETS can induce short-term and long-term harm to the heart by decreasing its functional capacity and lowering the capacity of blood to carry oxygen. Some of the chemicals in secondhand smoke can block or harden the arteries, causing problems like
atherosclerosis, hypertension and later heart attack. In one of the studies, it was found that secondhand smoking enhances the risk of a heart attack by at least two times.
Stroke: Non-smokers exposed to secondhand smoke run at least 80% more risk of stroke than do the non-exposed people.
Asthma: One of the studies revealed that the non-smokers exposed to ETS at work showed at least twice the risk of asthma than the non-exposed people did. Those who were exposed to ETS at home as well, showed as much as five times greater risk for asthma than the non-exposed people did. In individuals who already suffer from asthma, exposure to ETS can significantly decline their lung function.
Breast Cancer: Some of the recent studies have revealed ETS to increase the risk of breast cancer among women.
Effects on the fetus:
Smoking by a pregnant woman can have various serious consequences on the developing fetus.
• Babies born to women who smoked during their pregnancy have a low birth weight and are often born prematurely.
• Their organs, chiefly the lungs, are smaller than of other babies and these babies are more susceptible to cot death.
• They are more prone to illness all their life and are more likely to become addicted to the tobacco later in their life.
Effect on Children
• Kids that are exposed to secondhand smoke from either parent during the first year of their lives are far more likely to be afflicted with asthma, pneumonia, bronchitis, bronchiolitis and other respiratory problems than kids who were not exposed.
• Secondhand smoking may also predispose children to the impairment of the blood circulatory system, behavioral problems and olfactory (nasal) problems.
• It also increases their susceptibility to develop cancer during their adulthood.
About the Author
Cancer is one of the main causes of death among humans. Visit "Cancer Information", FREE web site for those who want to learn how to deal with this vicious disease.
http://www.cancer-data.com
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