World to see 8.4 mn deaths due to
tobacco by 2020
New Delhi: Rise in
tobacco use will lead to death of 8.4 million people across the globe by 2020
and at least 70 percent of these will occur in the developing countries, health
experts said here on Thursday.
Pointing out that tobacco-related diseases were the single most important cause
of preventable deaths in the world, they said there has been a rise of 20
percent of women smokers due to lifestyle changes. "In all 50 percent of
the cancers in India are directly or indirectly related to tobacco consumption,"
said Sudhir Khandelwal, head of psychiatric department of All India Institute
of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).
Khandelwal, also the
chief of National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre at AIIMS, said: "There
are several myths because of which people start consuming tobacco and slowly
get addicted to it ending up ruining their life."
Noting several myths as the prime reason behind youngsters
picking-up smoking or consumption of tobacco in other forms, Khandelwal said
many people were under the wrong perception that consuming less amount of
tobacco would not cause any damage.
"Every form of tobacco consumption such as hukka,
inhaling and the pan causes the same damage that chewing tobacco does. Slowly
and slowly there comes a time when people get addicted to it," he said,
adding that the youth consuming tobacco in any indirect form was more likely to
get into active consumption of tobacco with time.
The Global Youth Tobacco Survey stated that in India the
percentage of students who initiated bidi smoking before 10 years of age has
increased from 26 percent to 45 percent.
Sonali Jhanjee, additional professor of the psychiatric
department, said the disturbing trend as earlier age of initiation leads to
higher chances of getting addicted to tobacco and greater health damage in the
longer term.
She also said India currently has 275 million of tobacco
users and its consumption is responsible for half of all the cancers in men and
a quarter of all cancers in women.
30.05.2015
Tattoos come with long-term medical risks
New York: If you are
considering getting yourself inked, just a word of caution. It may leave you
prone to some chronic complications that may require surgical intervention, says
a new study.
Researchers at New York University have found that as many as six percent of
adult New Yorkers who get tattooed have experienced some form of tattoo-related
rash, severe itching or swelling that lasted longer than four months and, in
some cases, for many years.
"We were rather alarmed at the high rate of reported
chronic complications tied to getting a tattoo," said senior study
investigator and Marie Leger, a dermatologist.
The data showed that most long-lasting complications occurred
in skin regions injected with the two most common tattoo ink colours, red and
black.
"Given the growing popularity of tattoos, physicians,
public health officials, and consumers need to be aware of the risks
involved," she added.
Leger said some adverse skin reactions are treatable with
anti-inflammatory steroid drugs, but others may require laser surgery.
For stronger reactions, surgery is sometimes necessary to
remove tattooed areas of the skin or built-up scar tissue and granular skin
lesions, which can rise several millimetres on the skin and cause considerable
itching and emotional distress.
"It is not yet known if the reactions being observed are
due to chemicals in the ink itself or to other chemicals, such as preservatives
or brighteners, added to them or to the chemicals' breakdown over time,"
Leger said.
"The skin is a highly immune-sensitive organ, and the
long-term consequences of repeatedly testing the body's immune system with
injected dyes and coloured inks are poorly understood," the dermatologist
said.
"Some of the reactions appear to be an immune response,
yet we do not know who is most likely to have an immune reaction to a
tattoo," she said.
The study appeared online in the journal Contact Dermatitis.
30.05.2015
The only thing that stands between you and your dream is the will to try
and the belief that it is actually possible
Joel Brown
