Most fail when attempting to quit smoking because they forget about dealing with the whole. Addiction is not only physical but also psychological. This book is structured unlike any other on the market. Nic-the Habit: The Tao of Quitting Smoking is a spiritual approach to overcoming addiction that is accessible to people of all backgrounds. In this enhanced ebook, I will give you all the tools necessary for you to become a nonsmoker for the rest of your life. Not only will this book help you end your addiction to nicotine without gaining weight, but it will also help you discover how to regain control of your life.
In this ebook, you will also receive subliminal and hypnotic audio files, to enhance your success in becoming a nonsmoker. Success rates of those using hypnosis to quit smoking are as much as 10 times the success rates of those who try to quit without any tools or other resources. There is also a positive-affirmation audio recording within this ebook, to help the listener not gain extra weight when quitting.
This is not just another “quit smoking” book–it is about self-discovery, the key element to freeing yourself of the fear of failing one more time. With self-awareness and the knowledge presented in this book, you will have all the elements you need to take control of your actions and say goodbye to tobacco products forever.
About the Author
Joseph P. Weaver, RN is the winner of the 2002 American Cancer Society’s Great American Smoke-out Award, for leadership in building a smoke-free environment in New York City. A former neuroscience researcher, Joe has studied yoga, reflexology, herbology, and meditation in Nepal and around the world. Joe has also helped hundred of thousands of people end their nicotine addiction with his quit-smoking method and lectures around the world. Visit Joseph Weaver, RN website to learn more
What is Swine Flu? Swine flu is a highly contagious acute respiratory disease caused by a type A influenza virus, usually of the subtype H1N1 that triggers outbreaks in pigs. It is spreads through tiny particles in the air or by direct contact. According to World Health Organization it tends to infect large numbers of a given pig population, killing between 1 and 4 percent of those affected. Not every animal infected displays symptoms. There are vaccines for pigs to prevent the illness. Four main virus subtypes – H1N1, H1N2, H3N2 and H3N1 – have been isolated in pigs, The swine H1N1 virus is not the same as the human H1N1 virus, so vaccines for the latter won’t protect from the former. Neither is this virus the classical human influenza virus called seasonal influenza, which causes every year millions of human cases of influenza worldwide but a virus which includes in its characteristics swine, avian and human virus components. It was first recognized in pigs around 1918, coinciding with the Spanish flu. The H1N1 swine flu virus infections are endemic in pigs and usually peak in late fall and winter. There have been sporadic reports since 1974 of pig-to-human transmission in farm workers and other exposed to pigs and then human-to-human transmission of swine flu was documented in Wisconsin in 1988, although no community outbreak occurred as have now. Now since, April 30, 2009 here is a chart from the CDC.
As per the CDC website
Influenza virus is an enveloped, single-stranded (multisegmented) RNA virus. It is the etiological agent of influenza and is the only member of the Orthomyxoviridae family. Influenza virus is broadly classified into three groups (A, B, and C), which are based primarily on antigenic (serological) difference in internal proteins. The envelope of influenza virus contains transmembrane H and N proteins which are associated with hemagglutination and neuraminidase activities, respectively. The natural reservoirs of influenza virus are as follows: Type A, humans and many types of animals, including horses, pigs, sea mammals and birds; type B, humans; type C, swine. Type A is by far the most prominent and and associated with influenza pandemics due to its ability to mutate more rapidly causing antigenic changes.
Influenza virus causes influenza and is an important cause of worldwide respiratory disease. Recurrent episodes of influenza (due to antigenic drift and usually in isolated countries or regions of the world) have been observed every 1-3 years for the last 400 years. Worldwide pandemics of influenza occur every 10-20 years and have been responsible for an estimated 50 million deaths. Influenza A virus is typically spread person-to-person by large particle respiratory droplet transmission or contact with respiratory droplet contaminated surfaces.
The virus could have started in the Pig, or the bird and could have mutated in such a way that the virus is now only prevalent in humans, According to scientists, this virus hasn’t yet been isolated in Pigs (swine), thus some feel it would be better to call the virus the North American Influenza. Influenza, for example, has eight distinct segments to its genome, increasing its ability to form new combinations that can include elements of avian flu, swine flu and human flu. It’s these recombined versions of the flu that have the potential to cross over and actually spread through a new host.
How does the pig virus infect humans? The Swine-flu viruses typically infects sicken pigs, not humans. Most of the cases, when humans become infected is when people come in contact with infected pigs or contaminated objects from the pig. The Virus can be transferred from pigs to humans and to birds, from humans to pigs, and from humans to other humans. So, now a pig catches a cold. When a pig comes down with the influenza virus it is similar to our cold symptoms: Fever, Loss of appetite, coughing, sneezing, running nose and red eyes. Thus, handling an infected pig, could cause a human to catch their cold (virus). The pig then become the reservoir of the influenza virus, in which it grows and mutates to another virus strain, which can not only infect another pig, but also can infect a human and or birds. When influenza viruses from different species infect pigs, the viruses can trade genes to create new versions that mix swine, human and/or avian influenza.
Now, we have a problem… Birds can fly and have the potential to spread this new influenza virus from from country to country, infecting a large population of other birds, pigs and humans.
Humans also can fly, they take planes from New York, to Mexico, to Florida, to Germany, to California, and back again, thus giving a potential of pandemic effect to infect and so on and so forth.
Can you get Swine Flu from Pork ? Nope you can’t get it from eating Pork. The World Health Organization says you can’t get the Swine Flu from food. It says eating properly handled and cooked pork products is safe. Unless the pig that you slaughter has the virus and you are in his direct path and he coughs and sneezes on you. It is an air-borne virus that is transmitted in the airways.
What are the symptoms of swine flu in children and adults?: Symptoms of swine flu are similar to seasonal flu and include fever (usually high), headache, extreme fatigue, dry cough, pharyngitis, rhinorrhea or nasal congestion, myalgia, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. The infectious period begins a day prior to illness presentation and continues for 7 days after onset. Patients who continue to be ill longer than 7 days should still be considered contagious. The incubation period is usually between 1-4 days, but can be up to 7 days. Young Children might be contagious for longer periods.
Is this a new kind of swine flu?
Yes. The CDC reports that the virus in these latest cases is a never-before-seen mixture of viruses typical among pigs, birds and humans. The influenza A H1N1 virus contains DNA typical to avian, swine and human viruses, including elements from European and Asian swine viruses.
How can you prevent the spread of the swine flu? Just as you would a cold.
* Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze.
* If you don’t have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your sleeve, not your hands.
Never cough or sneeze in hand. Sneeze in your sleeve!
* Put your used tissue in the waste basket.
Clean your hands after coughing or sneezing
* Wash with soap and water.
* Carry hand sanitizer with you. If you have things others have touched, use your hand sanitizer to avoid swine flu infection.
Stay out of crowds as much as possible. Close proximity to other people will heighten your chances of to get swine flu. Try to avoid close contact with sick people, those in buses, malls, trains, who are coughing and sneezing. If a person is next to you sneezing and coughing and looks sick there is nothing wrong with changing your seat or moving away from their mist of sneeze.
Be cautious of eating and drinking from the same cup, plate and/or utensils.
Most Important: Be cognizant of where you are, what you touch, who you touch and washing your hands. The swine flu is an airborne virus that can live on door knobs, ATM machines, other people’s hands, phones, wet surfaces, etc. So, if you go to the ATM machine to take money out. No problem, just be cognizant of what you touch. Don’t put your hands to your face after getting your funds, Don’t pick your nose, or rub your eyes after touching any public surface. Keep an alcohol-based sanitizer in your pocketbook, car, or pocket. Don’t touch your face, unless you have washed your hands or used a hand-sanitizer. The virus need moisture to live on
See your health practitioner if you believe you have signs and symptoms of the flu. Swine flu can be not only dangerous but deadly. If you suspect your child has swine flu or any flu.. Warning! Do not give aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) to children or teenagers who have the flu; this can cause a rare but serious illness called Reye’s syndrome. For more information about Reye’s syndrome, visit the National Institute of Health website at http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/reyes_syndrome/reyes_syndrome.htm
Can swine flu be treated in humans? What will my Doctor Prescribe if I have been diagnosed with Swine Flu?
The CDC says two flu drugs seem effective against the new strain. Tamiflu & Relenza – these are effective, recommended by the CDC and help prevent the virus from worsening and causing more severe symptoms. Treatment: Treatment initiation should optimally occur within 48 hour of symptoms; however, mortality and duration of illness may be decreased if treatment is initiated beyond this time period. The adamantane derivatives amantadine and rimantadine are not recommended for the treatment of S-OIV as the virus is resistant to these agents. According to the CDC, the virus is susceptible to the neuraminidase inhibitors, oseltamivir and zanamivir. Therapy with one of these agents should be considered first line for treatment or prophylaxis depending upon patient population.
Should I cancel my Travel plans to the US, Mexico, and areas where their has been known cases of the North American Influenza aka swine flu?
The United States advised Americans against most travel to Mexicoand ordered stepped up border checks in neighboring states. The European Union health commissioner advised Europeans to avoid nonessential travel both to Mexico and parts of the United States.
All in all Don’t Panic!!
How do you differentiate between a normal cold and Swine Flu and can I be exposed again?
Unfortunately, the only way to be sure is by being tested. Contact your health practitioner if you have any flu-symptoms as described above. More than likely once you are exposed, your immune system has built antibodies to that particular strain of the virus and you’ll be immune. However, viruses are kind of smart they mutate quickly to fool your immune system and then can call more Havoc.
Is there a Vaccine that i can take, so I can be immune to this strain of Swine Flu?
Boy, that would be nice! The swine influenza A (H1N1) virus is a new virus, there is no swine flu vaccine available to prevent infections. It is estimated that the swine flu vaccine won’t be ready until sometime around September to November 09.
What about Face Masks?
Face mask aren’t the answers. There are concerns with facemasks, they must be changed regularly or they less effective when dampened by a person’s breath. The worse case scenario is a person may infect themselves if they touch the outer surface of their mask, or may infect others by not disposing of old masks safely.
People need to focus on good hand hygiene, staying at home if they are feeling unwell, and when they cough or sneeze cover with your sleeve.Now in some instances it may makes sense to wear a high-grade mask, such as N95 in situations where you’re likely to be exposed to the virus. For example, if you’re sick with the flu, wearing a mask can help prevent spreading it to others. And if you’re caring for someone who is sick, wearing a mask yourself can also help reduce exposure to the droplets from a cough or sneeze that spread infection. Then you must remember to take off the mask with gloves and dispose in a bag and sealed, to prevent exposure. The Health Protection Agency (HPA) recommends that healthcare workers should wear a facemask if they come into close contact with a person with symptoms (within one metre) to reduce their risk of catching the virus from patients.
For more information for care for someone with Swine Flu
The CDC and the WHO will all let us know when we need to start wearing mask. However, To date, I am not aware of mask for children. There is a N95 that comes in a small size, so if you find one let me know.
Stay informed by checking these links time by time: Links Below
Nicotine May Have More Profound Impact Than Previously Thought
Nicotine isn’t just addictive. It may also interfere with dozens of cellular interactions in the body, new Brown University research suggests.
Conversely, the data could also help scientists develop better treatments for various diseases. Pharmaceutical companies rely on basic research to identify new cellular interactions that can, in turn, serve as targets for potential new drugs.
“It opens several new lines of investigation,” said lead author Edward Hawrot, professor of molecular science, molecular pharmacology, physiology and biotechnology at Brown University.
Hawrot’s research is highlighted in a paper published April 3 in the Journal of Proteome Research. He and a team that included graduate students William Brucker and Joao Paulo set out to provide a more basic understanding of how nicotine affects the process of cell communication through the mammalian nervous system.
The Brown University researchers looked specifically at the alpha-7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor in mouse brain tissue. A very similar receptor exists in humans. The alpha-7 receptor is the most enigmatic of the so-called “nicotinic” receptors, so named because nicotine binds to them when it is introduced into the body. Most receptors are on the surface of cells and are sensitive to small signaling molecules such as the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which is the naturally occurring signal the body uses to activate alpha-7 receptors.
Their discovery: 55 proteins were found to interact with the alpha-7 nicotinic receptor. Scientists had not previously known of those connections.
“This is called a “nicotinic” receptor and we think of it as interacting with nicotine, but it likely has multiple functions in the brain,” Hawrot said. “And in various, specific regions of the brain this same alpha-7 receptor may interact with different proteins inside neurons to do different things.”
One in particular – the G alpha protein – was among the most unexpected proteins to be identified in the study, as it is usually associated with a completely different class of receptors (the eponymous G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs).
This finding is significant because G alpha proteins are involved in many different biochemical and signaling processes throughout the brain and the rest of the body.
An example of the importance of G alpha proteins: 40 percent of all currently used therapeutic drugs target a member of the large GPCR family of receptors.
The new finding suggests that the alpha-7 receptors have a much broader role in the body than previously suspected and that the newly identified associated proteins could also be affected when nicotine binds to the alpha-7 receptor.
Nicotine may affect bodily processes – and perhaps the actions of other commonly used drugs – more broadly than was previously thought.
This advance could lead to the development of new treatments to combat smoking addiction. At the same time, the finding could also have future implications for diseases such as schizophrenia, Hawrot said.
Recent genetic studies have suggested that some cases of schizophrenia are associated with deletions where a block of genes, including the gene for the alpha-7 receptor, is missing. Hawrot said the connection, while not conclusive, offers hope for new strategies in the development of treatments for those suffering from the disorder.
To conduct their study, Hawrot’s lab looked at mice genetically engineered by other researchers to lack the alpha-7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. Those mice were compared with normal mice, so the difference in receptor-associated proteins could be highlighted.
Notes:
Grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Rhode Island Research Alliance helped support the study.
As it turns out, the World Health Organization (WHO) isn’t condoning e-cigarette products — shockingly — as some manufacturers might like you to believe. In fact, the lawsuit flag is being waved at a few companies who brazenly plastered the organization’s name and logo across promotional material, suggesting an endorsement of the product. The WHO’s Douglas Bettcher asserts that the product is untested as a nicotine replacement therapy, stating, “If the marketers of the electronic cigarette want to help smokers quit, then they need to conduct clinical studies and toxicity analyses.” So while e-cigs might not carry the same carcinogenic risks as traditional smoking. Nicotine is a drug that effect the brain’s natural neurochemicals. I can’t endorse electronic cigarettes even if their are no tobacco products or environmental tobacco smoke. I’m about freeing yourself from Nicotine.
“Third-hand” smoke — which lingers in cars, on furniture and on smokers themselves after a cigarette is extinguished — leaves toxic chemicals that crawling children can ingest, say pediatricians.
In the January issue of the journal Pediatrics, Dr. Jonathan Winickoff of Harvard Medical School and his colleagues said parents sometimes try to shield their children from second-hand smoke by rolling down the car window or smoking in the kitchen with the fan on, but the risks of third-hand smoke still exist.
The researchers surveyed 1,500 U.S. households to learn about parents’ attitudes toward third-hand smoke. They found 65 per cent of non-smokers and 43 per cent of smokers surveyed agreed that third-hand smoke can harm the health of children.
“When you smoke — any place — toxic particulate matter from tobacco smoke gets into your hair and clothing,” said Winickoff, assistant director of the MassGeneral Hospital for Children Center for Child and Adolescent Health Policy.
“When you come into contact with your baby, even if you’re not smoking at the time, she comes in contact with those toxins. And if you breastfeed, the toxins will transfer to your baby in your breast milk.”
Taking steps to protect children
Children pick up the residue from dust when crawling, and then may ingest it by sucking on their hands, said study co-author Joan Friebely of MassGeneral Hospital for Children. Off-gassing from walls, furniture and the skin of smokers are other sources of the contaminants.
Infants are also more susceptible because they are smaller and have faster breathing rates, which means they are exposed to higher concentrations than older children, she added.
Third-hand smoke does not pose more of a health risk than second-hand smoke, Friebely said, but people may not know that they are exposed to it.
“What we know from the 2006 [U.S.] surgeon general’s report that discusses the health consequences of … involuntary exposure to second-hand smoke is that there is no safe level of second-hand smoke exposure,” Friebely told CBC Newsworld on Tuesday.
“We haven’t been able to separate them because where there’s second-hand smoke, there will be third-hand smoke.”
But studies suggest that young children who live in homes with non-smokers show much lower levels of nicotine in their systems than those who live with adults who smoke — whether the puffs were taken inside or outside.
The U.S. National Toxicology Program said particulate matter from tobacco smoke includes 250 poisonous chemicals, including at least 10 cancer-causing agents and:
Hydrogen cyanide (used in chemical weapons).
Carbon monoxide.
Butane.
Ammonia.
Toluene (found in paint thinners).
Arsenic.
Lead.
Chromium (used to make steel).
Cadmium (used to make batteries).
Polonium-210 (a highly radioactive carcinogen).
Friebely said parents who smoke and wish to protect their children should:
Smoke away from children at all times.
Use a smoking jacket outside.
Wash their hands when they come inside after smoking.
Use all available aids to quit, such as nicotine gum.
The researchers found higher support for home smoking bans among people who believed that third-hand smoke is dangerous.
The term third-hand smoking alone could help behaviour, said Paul Thomey of the Canadian Lung Association in St. John’s.
“I think this will help people start to think about smoking in their homes a lot more, and putting restrictions on it because that’s where the real big impact is now,” said Thomey.
BEWARE OF THIRD-HAND SMOKETobacco toxins linger in the environment long after a cigarette is extinguished. ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/STEPAN POPOV
Ever take a whiff of a smoker’s hair and feel faint from the pungent scent ofcigarette smoke? Or perhaps you have stepped into an elevator and wondered why it smells like someone has lit up when there is not a smoker in sight. Welcome to the world of third-hand smoke.
“Third-hand smoke is tobacco smokecontamination that remains after the cigarette has been extinguished,” says Jonathan Winickoff, a pediatrician at the Dana–Farber/Harvard Cancer Center in Boston and author of a study on the new phenomenon published in the journal Pediatrics. According to the study, a large number of people, particularly smokers, have no idea that third-hand smoke—the cocktail of toxins that linger in carpets, sofas, clothes and other materials hours or even days after a cigarette is put out—is a health hazard for infants and children. Of the 1,500 smokers and nonsmokers Winickoff surveyed, the vast majority agreed that second-hand smoke is dangerous. But when asked whether they agreed with the statement, “Breathing air in a room today where people smoked yesterday can harm the health of infants and children,” only 65 percent of nonsmokers and 43 percent of smokers answered “yes.”
“Third-hand smoke,” a term coined by Winickoff’s research team, is a relatively new concept but one that has worried researchers and nonsmokers for several years. “The third-hand smoke idea—concern over that—has been around for a long time. It’s only recently been given a name and studied,” says Stanton Glantz, director of the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California, San Francisco. “The level of toxicity in cigarette smoke is just astronomical when compared to other environmental toxins [such as particles found in automobile exhaust],” he adds, but notes that he is not aware of any studies directly linking third-hand smoke to disease [as opposed to second-hand smoke, which has been associated with disease].
ScientificAmerican.com asked Winickoff to explain exactly what third-hand smoke is and why it poses a public health risk.
How exactly do you distinguish between second- and third- hand smoke?
Third-hand smoke refers to the tobacco toxins that build up over time—one cigarette will coat the surface of a certain room [a second cigarette will add another coat, and so on]. The third-hand smoke is the stuff that remains [after visible or "second-hand smoke" has dissipated from the air]…. You can’t really quantify it, because it depends on the space…. In a tiny space like a car the deposition is really heavy…. Smokers [may] smoke in another room or turn on a fan. They don’t see the smoke going into a child’s nose; they think that if they cannot see it, it’s not affecting [their children].
Smokers themselves are also contaminated…smokers actually emit toxins [from clothing and hair].
Why is third-hand smoke dangerous?
The 2006 surgeon general’s report says there is no risk-free level of tobacco exposure…. There are 250 poisonous toxins found in cigarette smoke. One such substance is lead. Very good studies show that tiny levels of exposure are associated with diminished IQ.
What do you consider the most dangerous compound in cigarette smoke?
I would say cyanide, which is used in chemical weapons. It actually interferes with the release of oxygen to tissues. It competitively binds to hemoglobin [meaning it competes with oxygen for binding sites on the blood's oxygen-carrying molecule, hemoglobin]. Basically people with cyanide poison turn blue…. [And] arsenic, that is a poison used to kill mammals. We [used to] use it to kill rats. And there it is in cigarette smoke.
Why are the risks associated with exposure to third-hand smoke different for children and adults?
The developing brain is uniquely susceptible to extremely low levels of toxins. Remember how we talked about the layers of toxin deposits on surfaces? Who gets exposure to those surfaces? Babies and children are closer to [surfaces such as floors]. They tend to touch or even mouth [put their mouths to] the contaminated surfaces. Imagine a teething infant.
Children ingest twice the amount of dust that grown-ups do. Let’s say a grown-up weighs 150 pounds [68 kilograms]. Let’s say a baby weighs 15 pounds [seven kilograms]. The infant ingests twice the dust [due to faster respiration and proximity to dusty surfaces]. Effectively, they’ll get 20 times the exposure.
Studies in rats suggest that tobacco toxin exposure is the leading cause of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). We think it is [caused by] respiratory suppression.
What types of places or materials harbor the greatest amount of third-hand smoke?
Anywhere you see an enclosed space you should watch out for [it].
By introducing the phrase “third-hand smoke” in your research, what do you hope to accomplish?
This study points to the need for every smoker to try to quit. That’s the only way to completely protect their children…. Really, I think that what this says is that we need to have sympathy for smokers and help them quit smoking…. [And also] that the introduction of this concept will lead to more smoke-free spaces in…public.
Many people are unaware that even smoking away from babies or pregnant women presents a risk, according to US research.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7813124.stm
Poisons in cigarette smoke can linger on fabrics or hair, but a survey of 1,500 households found that fewer than half of smokers knew this.
Only a quarter had strict rules about not smoking in the house, according to the report in the journal Pediatrics.
UK baby charity Tommy’s said it was vital that pregnant women were alerted.
When you smoke – any place – toxic particulate matter from tobacco smoke gets into your hair and clothing.
Professor Jonathan Winickoff
Massachusetts General Hospital
There is plenty of evidence that “second-hand” smoke – breathed when you are in the same room as someone smoking – can be harmful, particularly to children, and some parents adopt a strategy of never smoking in their child’s presence.
However, Professor Jonathan Winickoff, from Massachusetts General Hospital, said this would not offer complete protection.
Toxic particles in cigarette smoke can remain on nearby surfaces, as well as the hair and clothing of the smoker, long after the cigarette has been put out, and small children are susceptible because they are likely to breathe in close proximity, or even lick and suck them
Other studies have linked this exposure to learning problems in children.
Breastfeeding mothers who smoke also pass toxins on to their baby in their milk, he said.
His team surveyed more than 1,500 households, asking smokers and non-smokers about their attitudes.
They found that while 95% of non-smokers and 85% of smokers agreed that direct inhalation of second-hand smoke was harmful to children, just 65% of non-smokers, and 43% of smokers believed the same for “third-hand” smoke.
Just 26.7% of households which included a smoker had strict rules about not smoking in the home.
Complication risk
Professor Winickoff said: “The dangers of third-hand smoke are very real – when you smoke – any place – toxic particulate matter from tobacco smoke gets into your hair and clothing.”
Professor Andrew Shennan, from Tommy’s, said the results had “significant implications”, particularly for pregnant women, who may have stopped smoking themselves, but are still in contact with others that do.
“It is vital that women are made aware of the possible risks associated with third hand smoke, and alert those around them of the impact it could potentially have on the health of their unborn baby.
“The chemicals in cigarettes are known to significantly increase the risk of serious pregnancy complications.”
Department of Medical Sciences/Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Uppsala University Hospital, S-751 85 Uppsala, Sweden. torsten.lindgren@sas.se
OBJECTIVES: To measure and compare the urinary cotinine concentration (U-cotinine) in non-smoking cabin attendants (C/A) working with the Scandinavian Airlines System, before and after work on intercontinental flights with exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). METHODS: The study material consisted of 24 cabin attendants and one pilot, all volunteers and all without exposure to ETS in the home, working on 15 intercontinental flights. Information on age, gender and occupation was gathered, as well as possible sources of ETS exposure in other places, outside work and during previous flights, during a 3-day period prior to the investigation. Urine samples were taken before departure and after landing, on board, and were kept frozen (-20 degrees C) until analysis. Cotinine was analyzed by a previously developed gas chromatographic method, using mass spectrometry (MS) with selected-ion monitoring (SIM). The difference in U-cotinine before and after the flight was compared. Moreover, the change in U-cotinine during the flight was related to occupation (work in the forward or aft galley) and observed degree of smoking during each flight. RESULTS: The median U-cotinine was 3. 71 microg/g crea; 2.4 microg/l (unadjusted) (interquartile range 2. 08-8.67 microg/g crea) before departure, and 6.37 microg/g crea; 7.1 microg/l (interquartile range 3.98-19 microg/g crea) after landing, a significant difference (P < 0.003). C/A in the aft galley had a significantly higher concentration of U-cotinine after landing than subjects working in the front of the aircraft (P=0.01). In C/A working in the aft galley, the median increase of U-cotinine was 3. 67 microg/g crea; 3.2 microg/l (interquartile range 0.04-13.8 microg/g crea) during flight. In contrast, those seven subjects working in the forward part of the aircraft had no increase in U-cotinine during the flight (median increase 0.97 microg/g crea; 0. 5 microg/l interquartile range 0.27-2.65 microg/g crea). CONCLUSION: Tobacco smoking in commercial aircraft may cause significant exposure to environmental tobacco smoke among C/A working in the aft galley, despite high air exchange rates and spatial separation between smokers and non-smokers. This agrees with earlier studies, as well as measurements on the aircraft, showing a higher degree of ETS-related air pollution in the aft galley than in the forward galley. The average cotinine concentration in urine was similar to that in other groups with occupational exposure to ETS, e.g., restaurant staff, police interrogators and office workers. Since smoking in commercial aircraft may result in an involuntary exposure to ETS among non-smokers, it should be avoided.
Parents who smoke often open a window or turn on a fan to clear the air for their children, but experts now have identified a related threat to children’s health that isn’t as easy to get rid of: third-hand smoke.
That’s the term being used to describe the invisible yet toxic brew of gases and particles clinging to smokers’ hair and clothing, not to mention cushions and carpeting, that lingers long after second-hand smoke has cleared from a room. The residue includes heavy metals, carcinogens and even radioactive materials that young children can get on their hands and ingest, especially if they’re crawling or playing on the floor.
Doctors from MassGeneral Hospital for Children in Boston coined the term “third-hand smoke” to describe these chemicals in a new study that focused on the risks they pose to infants and children. The study was published in this month’s issue of the journal Pediatrics.
“Everyone knows that second-hand smoke is bad, but they don’t know about this,” said Dr. Jonathan P. Winickoff, the lead author of the study and an assistant professor ofpediatrics at Harvard Medical School.
“When their kids are out of the house, they might smoke. Or they smoke in the car. Or they strap the kid in the car seat in the back and crack the window and smoke, and they think it’s okay because the second-hand smoke isn’t getting to their kids,” Dr. Winickoff continued. “We needed a term to describe these tobacco toxins that aren’t visible.”
Third-hand smoke is what one smells when a smoker gets in an elevator after going outside for a cigarette, he said, or in a hotel room where people were smoking. “Your nose isn’t lying,” he said. “The stuff is so toxic that your brain is telling you: ’Get away.’”
The study reported on attitudes toward smoking in 1,500 households across the United States. It found that the vast majority of both smokers and nonsmokers were aware that second-hand smoke is harmful to children. Some 95 percent of nonsmokers and 84 percent of smokers agreed with the statement that “inhaling smoke from a parent’s cigarette can harm the health of infants and children.”
But far fewer of those surveyed were aware of the risks of third-hand smoke. Since the term is so new, the researchers asked people if they agreed with the statement that “breathing air in a room today where people smoked yesterday can harm the health of infants and children.” Only 65 percent of nonsmokers and 43 percent of smokers agreed with that statement, which researchers interpreted as acknowledgement of the risks of third-hand smoke.
The belief that second-hand smoke harms children’s health was not independently associated with strict smoking bans in homes and cars, the researchers found. On the other hand, the belief that third-hand smoke was harmful greatly increased the likelihood the respondent also would enforce a strict smoking ban at home, Dr. Winickoff said.
“That tells us we’re onto an important new health message here,” he said. “What we heard in focus group after focus group was, ‘I turn on the fan and the smoke disappears.’ It made us realize how many people think about second-hand smoke — they’re telling us they know it’s bad but they’ve figured out a way to do it.”
The data was collected in a national random-digit-dial telephone survey done between September and November 2005. The sample was weighted by race and gender, based on census information.
Dr. Philip Landrigan, a pediatrician who heads the Children’s Environmental Health Center at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, said the phrase third-hand smoke is a brand-new term that has implications for behavior.
“The central message here is that simply closing the kitchen door to take a smoke is not protecting the kids from the effects of that smoke,” he said. “There are carcinogens in this third-hand smoke, and they are a cancer risk for anybody of any age who comes into contact with them.”
Among the substances in third-hand smoke are hydrogen cyanide, used in chemical weapons; butane, which is used in lighter fluid; toluene, found in paint thinners; arsenic; lead; carbon monoxide; and even polonium-210, the highly radioactive carcinogen that was used to murder former Russian spy Alexander V. Litvinenko in 2006. Eleven of the compounds are highly carcinogenic.
Nicotine Metabolism and Intake in Black and White Smokers
Article Abstract:
Racial differences in the metabolism of nicotine and its metabolite, cotinine, could explain racial differences in tobacco-related diseases. Researchers measured blood cotinine levels in 40 black and 39 white smokers to estimate nicotine uptake while smoking and how quickly cotinine is eliminated from the body. Nicotine intake per cigarette was 30% greater in blacks compared with whites and blacks eliminated cotinine much more slowly than whites. If black smokers are exposed to more nicotine and cotinine while smoking, this could explain their higher risk of tobacco-related diseases.
author: Perez-Stable, Eliseo J.MD, Herrera, Brenda MS, Jacob III, Peyton, Benowitz, Neal L. MD
Publisher: American Medical Association
Publication Name: JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association
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When you smoke – any place – toxic particulate matter from tobacco smoke gets into your hair and clothing. 
