Secondhand smoke: Avoid dangers in the air you breathe

Secondhand smoke — Find out how it harms you and how you can avoid it.
From MayoClinic.com
You don't smoke because you understand the dangers. But what about that thick cloud of secondhand smoke at your favorite restaurant? Or the smoky haze left behind by guests after an evening of partying? What about the effect of secondhand smoke on your children when smoking relatives come to visit?
These instances of secondhand smoke present health hazards comparable to smoking. High in toxic chemicals, secondhand smoke plays a role in causing or contributing to a number of health problems, from cardiovascular disease to cancer. The Surgeon General reported in 2006 that scientific evidence shows there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke.
But secondhand smoke is often avoidable. Take steps to protect yourself and those you care about from secondhand smoke.
Toxins in secondhand smoke
What exactly is secondhand smoke? It's two different forms of smoke from cigarettes, pipes or cigars:
Sidestream smoke comes directly from the burning tobacco product.
Mainstream smoke is smoke that the smoker exhales.
Secondhand smoke is also known as environmental tobacco smoke, passive smoking, involuntary smoking and perhaps a more descriptive term, tobacco smoke pollution.
Regardless of what you call it, both types of secondhand smoke contain harmful chemicals — and a lot of them. Tobacco smoke contains more than 4,000 chemical compounds, more than 250 of which are toxic. And more than 50 of the chemicals in cigarette smoke are known or suspected to cause cancer. Included in secondhand smoke are:
Formaldehyde
Arsenic
Cadmium
Benzene
Polonium
Here are a few more chemicals in secondhand smoke that might sound familiar, along with their effects on health:
Ammonia — irritates your lungs
Carbon monoxide — reduces oxygen in your blood
Methanol — toxic when inhaled or swallowed
Hydrogen cyanide — a potent poison that interferes with respiratory function
The dangerous particles in secondhand smoke can linger in the air for hours. Breathing them even for a short time — as little as 20 or 30 minutes — can harm you in a variety of ways. And breathing in secondhand smoke over years can be all the more dangerous.
Health threats to adults from secondhand smoke
Health experts have recognized the relationship between secondhand smoke and health risks for decades. Research exploring these connections continues.
Some of the known or suspected health risks include:
CancerSecondhand smoke is a known risk factor for lung cancer. Experts believe that secondhand smoke is to blame for about 3,400 deaths from lung cancer in adult nonsmokers each year in the United States. Secondhand smoke is also linked to cancer of the nasal sinuses.
Heart diseaseSecondhand smoke harms the cardiovascular system of nonsmokers in many ways. For one thing, it causes heart disease, such as a heart attack. It also damages blood vessels, interferes with circulation and increases the risk of blood clots. It's estimated that some 35,000 nonsmokers die of secondhand smoke-related heart disease in the United States every year.
Lung diseaseChronic lung ailments, such as bronchitis and asthma, have been associated with secondhand smoke. Exposure to secondhand smoke is also associated with chest tightness at night and feelings of breathlessness after physical activity.
Health threats to children from secondhand smoke
Secondhand smoke has a marked effect on the health of infants and children. They're more vulnerable than adults are because they're still developing physically and generally have higher breathing rates, which means they may inhale greater quantities of secondhand smoke than adults do.
For children who live in households where someone smokes, the effects are worst during the child's first five years, since the child may spend the bulk of that time with a smoking parent or guardian. Ironically, infants are at the highest risk of secondhand smoke from their own mothers. A child who spends just one hour in a very smoky room is inhaling as many dangerous chemicals as if he or she smoked 10 or more cigarettes. And even when parents don't smoke at home or in the car, there can still be negative effects when children are exposed to the tobacco smoke pollution released from the clothing and hair of smoking parents.
Here's a look at some of the main health problems in infants and children associated with secondhand smoke.
Growth and developmentWomen who are exposed to secondhand smoke during pregnancy are at higher risk of having babies of slightly lower birth weight. This can cause a host of health problems for the baby, such as cerebral palsy or learning disabilities. Women who actively smoke during pregnancy expose their developing baby to passive smoke — the chemicals may pass through the placenta — and put the baby at risk of lower birth weight.
An infant who was exposed to secondhand smoke as a developing fetus may be at increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Post-birth exposure to secondhand smoke from the mother, father or others in the household also increases the risk of SIDS.
Asthma and other respiratory problemsSecondhand smoke may cause asthma in children. In children who already have asthma, secondhand smoke can make episodes more frequent and more severe.
Secondhand smoke is also tied to infections of the lower respiratory tract, such as bronchitis and pneumonia, especially in those younger than 6. It's also associated with irritation of the upper respiratory tract and a small reduction in lung function.
Middle ear conditionsChildren living in households with smokers are more likely to develop middle ear infections (otitis media).
Other health problems related to secondhand smoke
For both adults and children, secondhand smoke is linked to a variety of other health problems, including:
Chronic coughing, phlegm and wheezing
Eye and nose irritation
Reduced lung function
Irritability
Dental cavities
How to avoid secondhand smoke
Limiting exposure to secondhand smoke takes planning. Here are some ways you can reduce or eliminate secondhand smoke in your life.
Don't allow smoking in your home. If family members or guests want to smoke, ask them to step outside. Don't rely on an air conditioner or an open window to clear the air. Running the air conditioner may remove the visible smoke, but it doesn't remove the dangerous particles from circulation. An open window doesn't provide adequate ventilation, either.
Insist that smoking restrictions be enforced in your workplace. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has classified secondhand smoke as a Group A carcinogen, which means it's known to cause cancer in humans. The only way to fully protect nonsmokers from exposure to secondhand smoke is to prevent all smoking in the building. Even powerful ventilation fans don't effectively remove secondhand smoke from the work environment.
Choose smoke-free care facilities. If you take your children to a child care provider, choose one with a no-smoking policy. The same goes for aging relatives. If they live in a long term care facility, make sure it's smoke-free.
Don't allow smoking in your vehicle. If someone must smoke on the road, stop at a rest stop for a smoke break outside the car.
Patronize businesses with no-smoking policies and tell the management that you appreciate the healthy air. Many restaurants and other establishments are entirely smoke-free.
When you absolutely must share a room with people who are smoking, sit as far away from them as possible.
If your spouse or partner smokes, have him or her refrain from smoking indoors, just as you would with houseguests. Encourage your partner to quit smoking.
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the hustling lagos goes to sleep

This post is actually coming a little bit behind schedule.

I was supposed to post this on the 1st of may, but all the same, i visited Lagos, remember this was a public holiday. I never realized how much Lagosians loved holidays until this day.

The whole express, Lagos - Ibadan expressway was so empty that you could take a nap at the center of the road (please seek for parents consent before you try this). I was really wondering is this not the same road that was all choked up the weekend the Redeemed Christian Church of God had their program.

Then I realized that with out the offices closing officially, Nigerians, especially those in Lagos would never rest. I wish every other day could continue being a public holiday so I could drive into Lagos in a time breaking 5 hours from Abuja! shhh don't tell my friends I said so, the have an issue...

Hewlett-Packard will release the highly anticipated HP 2133 Mini-Note PC. Priced at around $500, this UMPC features VIA C7-M ULV processor (1GHz to 1.6GHz), Chrome 9 integrated graphics, and supports up to 2GB of DDR2 667MHz main memory. This 8.9 inch ultra portable laptop also provides up to 160GB of hard drive storage, an optional 64GB solid-state drive or 4GB Flash drive, an optional web camera, built-in stereo speakers and microphones, the Broadcom 802.11a/b/g or b/g wireless module, optional Bluetooth 2.0, a Gigabit Ethernet connection, two USB ports, an ExpressCard slot, Secure Digital (SD) slot, and a VGA output. Its battery provides up to 2 hours and 15 minutes of battery life with the standard 3-cell battery, and 4 hours and 11 minutes with the 6-cell extended life battery. The Mini-Note is powered by Windows Vista Business, Vista Home Basic, FreeDOS, or SuSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10

In Yahoo-Microsoft buyout brawl, a flurry of punches

In rapid-fire succession Wednesday, the Microhoo buyout brawl had Yahoo throwing a one-two punch at Microsoft, with a swift comeback punch from the folks in Redmond.

And the crowd, or should I say the investors, liked what they saw. Yahoo's stock ended the day up slightly as the first punch came in toward the end of the trading day, and has continued to climb in early morning trading Thursday, following news events from last night.

Nokia adopts wimax

Monsoon Multimedia announced support for the upcoming Nokia N810 Internet Tablet WiMAX Edition with its HAVA player, allowing customers to view and control their home TV from anywhere in the world over WiMAX or Wi-Fi.



Users can watch their TV programs live on the tablet over a Wi-Fi or WiMAX connection. The TV source (whether cable or satellite, receiver or DVR, standard or high definition) is connected to the HAVA device installed in your home. Familiar set-top box controls -- Pause, Play, Rewind, Skip, Record, Guide, Menu, Navigation - are available from the on-screen remote. Touch-screen (stylus) inputs and key press inputs are supported depending on user preference.

The Nokia Internet Tablet version of the HAVA Player is a tablet-optimized version of the player software that Monsoon also provides for PCs and other mobile devices. Users can even view their home TV simultaneously on multiple PCs within the home network and on a Nokia Internet Tablet at home or anywhere in the world.

An upcoming version of the HAVA PC Player application will also enable the Nokia Internet Tablet to function as a "PVR-on-the-go", allowing users to record their favorite TV shows and later watch them (called time-shifting like a TiVo box) on their tablets from local memory.

Nokia announced the WiMAX-enabled version of the N810 tablet at CTIA Wireless 2008 last week. The tablet is expected to debut on the Sprint XOHM network later this year. The HAVA Player for the Nokia Internet Tablet will be available by June as a free direct download.

Ladies!!!! what you need to know about caring for your breast

Let's face it: There's no body part women obsess about more than breasts -- their size, shape, sag factor, and whether those strange pains stem from monthly PMS hormones or something more ominous, like breast cancer.

Wearing a good exercise bra when you're young can stave off droopiness later.

All this nipple-gazing makes sense: Your chest changes over the decades, meaning you're continually facing new questions and concerns. To help you troubleshoot at every stage, Health asked experts to get age-specific. Here's the latest on how to keep your breasts healthy and looking great -- now and in the years to come.

Your breasts in your 30s

Typically, in your 30s your breasts still have good elasticity and tone, says Shirley Archer, a health-and-fitness educator at the Stanford University School of Medicine and author of "Busting Out. " If you have kids now, you'll notice changes post-baby. While your breasts get bigger during the actual pregnancy, you may, alas, permanently go down a half-cup or cup from your original size once you've given birth and/or breast-fed. (This phenomenon is called breast involution, a process where the milk-making system inside the breast shrinks because it's not needed anymore.)

Your most common concern:

Breast pain. Many thirtysomethings have fibrocystic breasts, a grab bag term for tender lumpiness resulting from hormonal changes, says Holly Smedira, M.D., a medical breast specialist at the Cleveland Clinic Breast Center. Although uncomfortable, the condition is benign and doesn't increase breast-cancer risk. Cutting back on caffeine may help alleviate some of the pain, as may taking evening primrose oil (1.3 grams orally twice a day), a natural form of fatty acid believed to interfere with the body's production of prostaglandins (inflammatory compounds that trigger breast pain). For severe cases, doctors sometimes prescribe Danazol, a steroid derivative that decreases levels of the reproductive hormones FSH and LH, or tamoxifen, a breast-cancer drug that helps relieve breast pain by blocking estrogen receptors, thus preventing estrogen's effect on breast tissue. Health.com: 4 healthy breast tips for every year

Best breast-cancer-screening strategy:

Talk to your doctor. Discuss having a baseline mammogram between the ages of 35 and 40, suggests Julia Smith, M.D., director of the New York University Cancer Institute Breast Cancer Screening and Prevention Program. You should also get a yearly breast exam from your gynecologist and do monthly breast self-exams. Although the American Cancer Society issued new guidelines for breast cancer screening in 2003, making self-exams optional, experts say they're still a must-do. "The more you examine your breasts, the more likely you are to differentiate between normal hormone-related bumpiness and a potentially precancerous growth," Smith says.

A woman who is at higher risk (that is, one who has a family history with one or more first-degree relatives with breast or ovarian cancer) should begin having regular annual mammograms at least 10 years earlier than the age at which her relative got her cancer diagnosis. So, if your mom found out she had cancer at age 45, you should start having mammograms done at age 35. Also, if you have a strong family history of the disease (two or more first-degree family members like a mother or grandmother), ask your doctor about receiving genetic screening to see if you're a carrier of the BRCA gene and ask about an annual MRI.

Best breast-saving move:

Wear a good exercise bra. This will help stave off future droopiness, Archer says. When you run sans bra, your breasts bounce up and down 2.6 inches for every step you take, according to a recent study done at the University of Portsmouth in England. The reassuring news: The study also found that wearing a sports bra reduces bounce by 74 percent. Health.com: How to buy a more supportive bra

"I recommend women do the bounce test when trying on exercise bras. If your breasts move when you jump up and down, you're not getting enough support," Archer says. If one sports bra doesn't do the job for you, she adds, try wearing two.

Good news!

Your breast-cancer risk is still very low -- only 5 percent of all cases occur in women younger than 40, according to the ACS. (Your risk during this decade is about 1 in 233, according to the National Cancer Institute.) One way to lower your odds even further: breast-feed. It protects older moms against the increased risk of breast cancer noted for women who have their first child after age 25, according to a recent University of Southern California study.

Your breasts in your 40s

In your 30s, your chest is made up mostly of breast tissue. But as you enter this decade, the percentage of fat in your breasts increases, breast specialist Smedira says. Fat's less likely to withstand the effects of gravity, so your breasts will start to droop and sag. Health.com: Dermatologists' advice for your decolletage

Your most common concern:

Breast cysts. As breasts change from their lactational state, fluid can be trapped in the ducts, causing fluid-filled cysts, Smedira explains. They are harmless (though sometimes painful) and can be evaluated by ultrasound and then aspirated if they are large or uncomfortable. They won't increase your future risk of cancer, Smedira says.

Best breast-cancer-screening strategy:

Annual mammograms. Starting at age 40, "it's crucial to get a mammogram every year, especially since the test has only about 80 percent sensitivity in younger, premenopausal women," Smith stresses. "This way, if an early stage cancer is missed one year, it most likely will be caught the next."

It's also important to do monthly at-home breast checks and see your doctor for yearly breast exams, says Rachel Brem, M.D., vice chairman of radiology and director of breast imaging at the George Washington University Medical Center in Washington, D.C. A must for premenopausal women: Find a center that offers digital mammography, which takes an electronic image of your breasts and stores it directly into a computer, Brem says. A recent National Cancer Institute study found that digital mammography picks up more cases of cancer, but only in women who are premenopausal and/or have dense breasts. Health.com: The right mammogram for you

Best breast-saving move:

Stand up straight. "As a woman gets older, her back muscles weaken, and she tends to slouch, which gives her breasts the appearance of hanging down to her belly button," Archer says. "If you strengthen your upper-back and torso muscles, you'll have a nice open chest and shoulder line, which will help make your breasts look perkier."

Try the back--shoulder blade squeeze:

Stand with shoulders relaxed and arms at your sides. Hold the end of an exercise band in each hand in front of your body. Exhale as you squeeze shoulder blades together, keeping your shoulders relaxed, torso stable, and wrists flat; inhale as you return arms to starting position. Do 8--12 reps, working up to 1 minute. And increase band resistance as you get stronger.

Good news!

Premenopausal women who get three servings of low-fat dairy every day and pop a calcium supplement with vitamin D daily reduce their risk of breast cancer by about 40 percent, according to a Harvard study.

Your breasts in your 50s:

You may notice some slight shrinkage. As you get older, hormonal changes cause body fat to accumulate in your lower regions -- fat often decreases in the face or breasts and increases in the butt or thighs, Archer explains. You'll also notice more sagging because, as menopause approaches, fat (which is more gravity-prone) replaces almost all breast tissue, and skin loses elasticity. Age also stretches out the Cooper's ligaments. These fibrous, semielastic bands of tissue are found in breasts, and "they're like rubber bands that get stretched over time," Archer says. Health.com: How your age affects your cancer risks

Your most common concern:

Breast cancer. Your risk of developing the disease is now 1 in 38, the NCI says. So in your 50s, it's more important than ever to get to a healthy weight. Several major studies have found a link between postmenopausal weight gain (especially if you tend to gain around the waist) and breast cancer. "I recommend that every woman in this age group measure her waist, which should be less than half her height in inches," Smedira says.

Best breast-cancer-screening strategy:

Annual mammograms. These are a must, as are physical examinations by your doctor and monthly self-exams.

Best breast-saving move:

Chest exercises. While nothing will magically save you from sagging, doing chest moves two or three times a week will pump up breasts temporarily (by increasing blood flow to the area) and tone underlying muscles. Here's a good exercise to try before a big event: Lie on your back across a bench with your knees bent and your feet on the floor. With both hands, hold a dumbbell directly over your chest. Inhale as you lower the weight in an arc past your head, going as far as shoulder flexibility allows. Pause, then exhale as you lift the weight overhead in an arc until your hands are above your torso. Start with 8--12 reps; work up to 1 minute.

Good news!

Since your breasts are fattier now, mammograms can better detect cancer: The false-negative rate drops from about 25 percent under the age of 50 to about 15 percent, Brem says.

culled from http://edition.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/03/11/healthmag.breasts/index.html?iref=werecommend

Study: 1 in 4 teen girls has an STD

At least one in four teenage girls nationwide has a sexually transmitted disease, or more than 3 million teens, according to the first study of its kind in this age group.

A virus that causes cervical cancer is by far the most common sexually transmitted infection in teen girls aged 14 to 19, while the highest overall prevalence is among black girls -- nearly half the blacks studied had at least one STD. That rate compared with 20 percent among both whites and Mexican-American teens, the study from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found.

About half of the girls acknowledged having sex; among them, the rate was 40 percent. While some teens define sex as only intercourse, other types of intimate behavior including oral sex can spread some infections.

For many, the numbers most likely seem "overwhelming because you're talking about nearly half of the sexually experienced teens at any one time having evidence of an STD," said Dr. Margaret Blythe, an adolescent medicine specialist at Indiana University School of Medicine and head of the American Academy of Pediatrics' committee on adolescence.

But the study highlights what many doctors who treat teens see every day, Blythe said.

Dr. John Douglas, director of the CDC's division of STD prevention, said the results are the first to examine the combined national prevalence of common sexually transmitted diseases among adolescent girls. He said the data, from 2003-04, probably reflect current rates of infection.

"High STD rates among young women, particularly African-American young women, are clear signs that we must continue developing ways to reach those most at risk," Douglas said.