Burning reminder: Quit to get ahead

I’ve never smoked  and never will. Maybe I did try in my youth  like most young people who would try everything (or a lot of things) once. But I swear after that initial puff, I was huffing and coughing I swore off smoking forever. But unfortunately, in my work, I’m forever surrounded by people who smoke  and I mean chain smokers with nicotine-stained teeth and nicotine breath. Thank God, our office is a smoke-free zone  except for the lobby, which we call our cancer lounge  now, I can breathe easy.

Did you know that this month is Lung Cancer Awareness Month (we celebrate No Smoking Awareness Month every year in June)? We may not know much about lung cancer, but we do know of some people, including our own friends, who have died of it. We do remember the Marlboro Man (actually three Marlboro cowboys) who died of lung cancer. Wayne McLaren fought for an anti-smoking legislation but lost his bruising battle with lung cancer before his 52nd birthday. Needless to say, Marlboro’s much touted campaign went up in smoke.

And now, the Philippine Society of Medical Oncology (PSMO) and the C-Network have this burning message to those who smoke: Quit to get ahead. Together, they have listed the following tips for quitting and preventing the further escalation of today’s dreaded lung diseases.

• For starters, don’t smoke. If you’ve never smoked, don’t start. Talk to your children about not smoking, so they can understand how to avoid this major risk factor for lung cancer. Many current smokers began smoking in their teens. This early, talk to your children about the dangers of smoking so they’d know how to react to peer pressure.

• Quit now. It’s never too late to quit. Quitting reduces lung cancer risk even among those who have smoked for years. Although smokers protest that quitting is very difficult, there are options that they can discuss with their doctor on how to kick this nasty habit.

The Department of Health information campaign against smoking includes the dissemination of various methods to assist smokers who wish to quit. According to experts, the activities that may help people to quit smoking include: exercise; munching crunchy vegetables or fruits or chewing gum to replace the feel of cigarettes in the mouth; taking a nap, a warm bath, or a shower during times of intense craving; and looking for a support system either from family members, friends, or professional groups.

Quiting smoking will reap the following substantial health rewards:

• Heart rate and blood pressure, which are abnormally high while smoking, begin to return to normal.

• Within a few hours, the level of carbon monoxide in the blood begins to decline. (Carbon monoxide reduces the blood’s ability to carry oxygen.)

• Within a few weeks, people who quit smoking have improved circulation, produce less phlegm, and don’t cough or wheeze as often.

• Within several months of quitting, people can expect substantial improvements in lung function.

• People who quit smoking will have an improved sense of smell, and food will taste better.

PSMO president Dr. Gay Lapuz gives this burning warning: “Smoking remains to be the No.1 cause of lung cancer and other lung diseases. There is no safe level of tobacco use. People who use any type of tobacco product should be urged to quit. The good news for quitters is that they can drastically reduce lung cancer risk by an average of 70 percent .”

The National Cancer Institute underscores studies that show how smokers from different age groups can benefit by quitting smoking.

• Quitting at 30: Studies have shown that smokers who quit at about age 30 reduce their chance of dying prematurely from smoking-related diseases by more than 90 percent

• Quitting at 50: People who quit at about age 50 reduce their risk of dying prematurely by 50 percent compared with those who continue to smoke.

• Quitting at 60: Even people who quit at about age 60 or older live longer than those who continue to smoke.

• Passive smoke is not a second-rate lung cancer killer. Several studies have already confirmed that passive smoking is as deadly as or even deadlier than active smoking. If you live or work with a smoker, urge him/her to quit. At the very least, ask him/her to smoke outside. Avoid areas where people smoke, such as bars and restaurants, and seek out smoke-free options. Don’t linger during after-parties or any event with smokers to avoid taking in the noxious substances.

• Avoid carcinogens known to raise cancer risk at work. Take precautions to protect yourself from exposure to toxic chemicals at work. Your risk of lung damage from these carcinogens increases if you smoke.

• Create a natural defense shield with a diet full of fruits and vegetables. International and Philippine medical associations and organizations all agree that that a body in optimum health has a better chance of resisting all kinds of diseases. Certain nutrients in vegetables and fruits protect against damage to tissues that happens constantly as a result of normal metabolism. Because such damage is linked with increased cancer risk, antioxidant nutrients may provide protection against cancer. These antioxidants include vitamin C, vitamin E, carotenoids, and many other phytochemicals (chemicals from plants). Studies suggest that people who eat more vegetables and fruits, which are rich sources of antioxidants, may have a lower risk for some types of cancer. To reduce cancer risk, PSMO prescribes getting these antioxidants through natural food sources, rather than supplements.

• Drink alcohol in moderation, if at all. Alcohol raises the risk of cancers of the mouth, pharynx (throat), larynx (voice box), esophagus, liver, and breast, and probably of the colon and rectum. People who drink alcohol should limit their intake to no more than two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women. The combination of alcohol and tobacco increases the risk of some cancers far more than the effect of either drinking or smoking alone. 

• Exercise. Aim to achieve at least 30 minutes of active exercise on most days of the week. Active exercise means working up a sweat. Check with your doctor first if you aren’t already exercising regularly. Start out slowly and continue adding more activity.

To know more about lung cancer and how to actively prevent it, visit www.cnetwork.org.ph.

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Today is Judgment Day?

Now, this news item sure is pregnant with meaning: Women advocates of the Reproductive Health bill got together in a press conference recently to show support for the legislators who are voting for the passage of the controversial bill.

Akbayan spokesperson Risa Hontiveros pegged the pro-RH bill legislators’ count at 160 as of August 1. Meanwhile, legislators and members of civil society groups vow to make this count higher when Judgment Day comes on August 7 (that’s today).

As the life-and-death issue continues to heat up, leaders of Catholic institutions also appealed to the leaders of the Catholic Church to listen to the voice of the majority who have long waited for the bill to be enacted into law.

Under pain of excommunication, Prof. Mary Racelis of the Ateneo de Manila University urged the bishops who have practically waged war against the legislators who have shown support for the RH bill, “to be a listening church.”

Racelis, who has spent years working with non-government organizations and community groups, appealed to the bishops to “listen to the laity who understand what the families and the women from the grassroots are going through.”

According to Racelis, the glaring statistics show the plight of women under a government which has no specific law on reproductive health. The Family Health Survey shows a rise in the number of maternal deaths from 162 per 100,000 live births in 2006 to 221 per 100,000 live births in 2011. In 2008, the international research group Guttmacher Institute, on the other hand, reveals that there are more than half a million induced abortions happening every year in the country.

National Anti-Poverty Commission Usec. Florencia Cassanova-Dorotan laments that the lack of a reproductive health law victimizes mostly poor women and their families. The NAPC undersecretary said maternal deaths and teenage pregnancies generally occur because women, young and old, have no access to the right information about family planning and responsible parenthood, no freedom to choose the most appropriate method of family planning, and there are no reproductive health services for women.

To shed light on the issue and “to counteract the deplorable campaign of misinformation around the RH bill,” a seven-day candle light vigil was set beginning Aug. 1, according to Dr. Sylvia Estrada-Claudio, director of the University of the Philippines’ Center for Women’s Studies. This was part of a series of activities planned by the academe leading to Judgment Day today when the House is expected to vote for or against the RH bill.

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