Dr. John's Health Matters
Welcome to Dr. John's Health Matters blog.
The articles posted here are from various sources who are duly acknowledged. I would appreciate being immediately notified, if any copywritten material needs to be removed. This blog is not intended to replace the qualified advice of a licensed health practitioner. Readers should exercise their own judgment. Enjoy, subscribe, participate and tell others :)
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Posts tagged "smoke"
Tuesday, Sep 1st, 2009 ↓Heart Suffers From Just a Few Whiffs of Smoke →
Sept 1, 2009 (Therapytimes.com)—Just a few whiffs of tobacco smoke or dirty air can have a profound negative impact on your heart’s health.
Study results released today by the American Heart Association suggest that exposure to even a small amount of smoke — whether it’s from your own cigarette or someone else’s — greatly increases your risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. The same goes for breathing in air polluted with carbon monoxide emissions.
“It doesn’t require extreme exposure to have significant cardiovascular effects. Even passive exposures to ambient air pollution and secondhand smoke contribute to significant increases in cardiovascular mortality,” study author C. Arden Pope III, PhD, says in a statement.
For full article, see link above.
Tags: heart cardiovascular risk disease smoke tobacco risk danger exposure cigarette breathing air pollution
How Cigarettes and Smoking Impact Your Pet’s Health →
Sept 1, 2009 (Mercola.com)—A growing body of research shows there are no safe levels of exposure to secondhand smoke — for humans or for animals. And one new study shows that nearly 30 percent of pet owners live with at least one smoker — a number far too high given the consequences of exposure to secondhand smoke (“SHS”)
An estimated 50,000 Americans lose their lives to secondhand smoke annually and 4 million youth (16 percent) are exposed to secondhand smoke in their homes. A number of studies have indicated that animals, too, face health risks when exposed to the toxins in secondhand smoke, from respiratory problems, allergies and even nasal and lung cancer in dogs and lymphoma in cats. In addition, the ASPCA, one of the largest animal rights groups in the U.S., lists tobacco smoke as a toxin that is dangerous to pets.
“Nicotine from secondhand smoke can have effects to the nervous systems of cats and dogs,” said Dr. Sharon Gwaltney-Brant, Medical Director of the ASPCA’s Animal Poison Control Center. “Environmental tobacco smoke has been shown to contain numerous cancer-causing compounds, making it hazardous for animals as well as humans.
In order to better protect dogs, cats or other pets, the foundation and ASPCA recommend that smokers—who often consider their domestic pets a part of the family—“take it outside” when they are smoking.
For full article, see link above.
Tags: cigarette second hand smoke smoking pet risk tobacco exposure nicotine nervous system cancer toxin
Secondhand Smoke Worsens Outcome of Acute Coronary Syndrome →
Aug 28, 2009 (Medscape.com)— - Environmental exposure to tobacco smoke - a known risk factor for myocardial infarction and other acute coronary syndromes (ACS) - can also worsen prognosis after ACS, according to a new study.
“These findings suggest that, by reducing exposure to secondhand smoke, smoke-free legislation may not only reduce the incidence of cardiovascular events, but may also improve prognosis in those who suffer them,” Professors Jill P. Pell and Sally Haw write in a featured editorial published with the study in the September issue of Heart.
For full medical article, see link above.
Tags: secondhand smoke cigarette acute coronary syndrome myocardial infarction risk danger cardiovascular smoker
How to Keep Mosquitoes at Bay →
Aug 24, 2009 (Healthzone.ca)—This wet summer has been a procreating bonanza for mosquitoes who lay their eggs in stagnant water. But you don’t have to take their buzzing and biting lying down.
The Star went to the experts in the field – provincial parks staff who battle these bloodsucking attackers daily – to learn their wily lessons of self-protection.
While the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care says products containing DEET are the only insect repellent proven scientifically to work, our bug fighters resort to homemade solutions ranging from donning oily rags to lighting smoky fires.
At Chutes Provincial Park, on the Aux Sables River, the mosquitoes are so bad this year that “the maintenance crews are just running behind the lawn mowers,” says assistant superintendent Mike Stoneman.
To keep the insects out, he says, it’s customary to cover the body from head to toe, including gloves and boots. He often wears a bandana under his hat or he soaks a rag with diesel fuel, wring its out and attaches it to the back of his hard hat, “like the French Foreign Legion.”
He’s skilled at building “smudges” – fires made from jack pine, which emit a lot of smoke to drive the mosquitoes away.
One experiment at the park that went horribly wrong involved Stoneman and his crew all eating raw garlic to ward off the insects.
“We all reeked, we were sweating garlic. It got into our clothes and ruined our uniforms. We couldn’t get the smell out. And it didn’t make a bit of difference to the bugs.”
Bob Elliott, superintendent at Lake Superior Provincial Park, halfway between Sault Ste. Marie and Wawa, says this year’s crop of mosquitoes started later than usual, because of the cool spring, and is lasting longer than usual, too.
“They’re pretty bad. It has been good breeding weather.”
He protects himself by wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants in light colours “that make you less attractive (to the bugs).”
While he doesn’t put repellent on his skin, he has an old fishing hat that has been sprayed with bug repellent so often, it just reeks of the stuff.
“There’s a lot of lore that citrus is good (to keep bugs away) and that bananas attract bugs,” he says. “The better you smell, the better the bugs like you.”
For full article, see link above.
Tags: mosquitoes DEET repellant rag smoke fire jack pine garlic light colour clothing citrus smell prevention west nile
Smoking Associated With More Rapid Progression Of Multiple Sclerosis →
July 14, 2009 (Sciencedaily.com)—Patients with multiple sclerosis who smoke appear to experience a more rapid progression of their disease, according to a new report.
Cigarette smokers are at higher risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS), according to background information in the article. However, the effect of smoking on the progression of MS remains uncertain.
Brian C. Healy, Ph.D., of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, and colleagues studied 1,465 patients with MS who visited a referral center between February 2006 and August 2007. Participants had an average age of 42 and had MS for an average of 9.4 years. Their progression was assessed by clinical characteristics as well as by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) over an average of3.29 years.
For full article see link above.
Tags: MS multiple sclerosis smoke smoking cigarette progression disease risk nerve tissues toxic brain blood
Breathing Incense Smoke Boosts Respiratory Cancer Risk →
Feb 23 09 (NaturalNews) Regular inhalation of incense smoke could increase the risk of a variety of respiratory cancers, according to a study conducted by researchers from the Statens Serum Institute in Copenhagen, Denmark, and published in the journal Cancer.
For full article, see link above.
