Sunday, September 25, 2011

Tobacco and Heart Diseases ?



                          Tobacco and Heart Diseases 
  • Smoking causes coronary heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States. Cigarette smokers are 2–4 times more likely to develop coronary heart disease than nonsmokers.
  • Cigarette smoking approximately doubles a person's risk for stroke.

tobacco
Health Education
  • Cigarette smoking causes reduced circulation by narrowing the blood vessels (arteries). People who smoke have a much greater risk of developing peripheral vascular disease than nonsmokers.
  • Smoking causes abdominal aortic aneurysm.
  • Secondhand smoke exposure causes heart disease and lung cancer in nonsmoking adults.
  • Nonsmokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke at home or work increase their heart disease risk by 25–30% and their lung cancer risk by 20–30%.
  • Breathing secondhand smoke has immediate harmful effects on the cardiovascular system that can increase the risk of heart attack. People who already have heart disease are at especially high risk.


Trinity Care Foundation is a Non Governmental Organization focusing on Craniofacial Deformities, School Health and Outreach Programs in Karnataka, India.We requires your Support to implement these Community Health Programs in Government Schools and Colleges in Ramanagara, Kolar and Bangalore Rural Districts. 
Kindly Contact us.. Email: support@trinitycarefoundation.org  


Friday, September 9, 2011

Warn about the Dangers of Tobacco


One of six cost-effective actions endorsed by who to reduce tobacco’s deadly toll .


smoking
Passive Smoking
Tobacco is a deadly, addictive product. The extreme addictiveness of tobacco and the full range of health dangers are not fully understood or appreciated by the public.

WHO framework convention on tobacco control (FCTC)
FCTC

Article 11 of the FCTC requires parties to use large, clear health warnings that should cover 50 percent of the principle display areas. The article also requires parties to implement effective measures to ensure that tobacco product packaging and labeling do not promote a tobacco product by any means that are false, misleading, deceptive, or likely to create an erroneous impression about its characteristic, health effects, hazards, or emissions.These include terms such as “light,” “low tar,” and “ultra-light.”

Tobacco Free Kids


Key Messages

• Tobacco is deadly and addictive.
• To ensure that the public is fully informed of tobacco’s harms and to counter the seductive images of tobacco portrayed by the tobacco industry, it is essential to:  
» Place health warnings on all tobacco product packaging. Tobacco pack warnings should be clear, include graphic pictures of tobacco’s harms and cover at least half of all outer product covering.  
» Launch tobacco control media campaigns and other counter advertising activities. Media campaigns must be hard hitting, sustained over significant amounts of time and effectively counter the tobacco  industry’s marketing and promotional tactics.  
• Terms such as “light” and “low” are misleading and deceptive. Such products do not reduce risk.

tobacco
Smoking
The case for warning about the dangers of tobacco   

• In Brazil, after the introduction of new picture warnings, 73% of smokers approved of them, 54% had changed their opinion on  the health consequences of smoking and 67 % said the new warnings 
made them want to quit.
• Pack-a-day smokers are potentially exposed to the warnings over 7,000 times per year.
• Pictorial warnings are overwhelmingly supported by the public.  
• Hard hitting, intensive media campaigns using graphic images inform the public, reduce tobacco use, and increase quit attempts and cessation rates.

Sources:

  1. http://tobaccofreecenter.org/files/pdfs/en/MPOWER2009_warning_en.pdf
  2. http://www.facebook.com/notes/trinity-care-foundation/bidis-an-overview/206543949409063 
  3. http://www.facebook.com/trinitycarefoundation 
Trinity Care Foundation is a Non Governmental Organization focusing on Craniofacial SurgeriesSchool Health and Outreach Health Programs in Karnataka, India.
                   : Flickr Facebook : Pinterest : YouTube : Wordpress : 


Sunday, September 4, 2011

Bidis - Tobacco

The Indian market of smoking tobacco is dominated by bidis (also known as beedis and biris) which actually consists of  shredded tobacco, hand rolled in a tendu leaf secured with a colorful string at one end. Bidi are usually smoked by men, but produced mainly by women and young children who roll them in their homes. Bidis outsell cigarettes by a ratio of eight to one (8:1) in India. 


tobacco

Bidi smoking kills :


  • Bidi smoking has been shown to increase the risk of chronic bronchitis, tuberculosis, and respiratory diseases.
  • A study in Bangalore found that smokers of 10 or more bidis per day were over 4 times more likely to have a heart attack than nonsmokers.
  • Studies in India show that bidi smokers have 5 – 6 times greater risk of lung cancer than nonsmokers  as well as high risks of oral cancer. 
  • A study in Tamil Nadu demonstrates that about half (47%) of deaths of rural men from tuberculosis (TB) are caused by bidi smoking.
  • A study in Mumbai reported death rates to be 64% higher among bidi smokers compared to non-tobacco users. Even among smokers of less than 5 bidis a day, the death rates were 42% higher.
  • Bidi smoke delivers more tar, carbon monoxide and nicotine than western-style cigarettes, and therefore Bidis are more or equally harmful as cigarettes. 


Bidi rolling forces the poor to remain in perennial poverty: 

  • The minimum wage fixed by state governments for rolling 1000 bidis varies from Rs. 29.0 in Tripura to Rs. 64.8 in Gujarat. 
  • After continuous exposure to tobacco, the skin on the fingertips begins to thin and they become inefficient in rolling bidis at about the age of 45. Many are forced to resort to begging when they can no longer work. 
Tobacco cultivation and bidi-rolling cause serious occupational hazards to the workers and their families:
  • Studies show that those working in tobacco harvesting have evidence of nicotine in their urine. Exposure to nicotine facilitates addiction.
  • Bidi rollers experience exacerbation of tuberculosis, asthma, anaemia, giddiness, postural and eye problems, and gynecological difficulties. 
  • When bidis are stored in the house, food spoils quicker and family members experience nausea and headaches. 
Women and children share the greatest burden of bidi production:
  • Nearly 225,000 children are engaged in bidi making. 
  • Women constitute 76 – 95% of total employment in bidi manufacturing. 
  • Female bidi rollers report verbal and physical abuse based on gender and caste differences.


Source:     

  1. http://tobaccofreecenter.org/ 
  2. http://www.facebook.com/trinitycarefoundation
  3. http://www.trinitycarefoundation.org/            

Trinity Care Foundation is a Non Governmental Organization focusing on Craniofacial SurgeriesSchool Health and Outreach Health Programs in Karnataka, India.
                   : Flickr Facebook : Pinterest : YouTube : Wordpress :