Smoking greatly increases risk of complications after surgery

Tobacco smokers are at significantly higher risk than non-smokers for post-surgical complications including impaired heart and lung functions, infections and delayed or impaired wound healing.

But new evidence reveals that smokers who quit approximately 4 weeks or more before surgery have a lower risk of complication and better results 6 months afterwards. Patients who quit smoking tobacco are less likely to experience complications with anesthesia when compared to regular smokers.
A new joint study by the World Health Organization (WHO), the University of Newcastle, Australia and the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists (WFSA), shows that every tobacco-free week after 4 weeks improves health outcomes by 19%, due to improved blood flow throughout the body to essential organs.

“The report provides evidence that there are advantages to postponing minor or non-emergency surgery to give patients the opportunity to quit smoking, resulting in a better health outcome,” said Dr Vinayak Prasad, Head of Unit, No Tobacco, World Health Organization.

The Nicotine and carbon monoxide, both present in cigarettes, can decrease oxygen levels and greatly increase risk of heart-related complications after surgery. Smoking tobacco also damages the lungs making it difficult for the proper amount of air to flow through, increasing the risk of post-surgical complications to the lungs. Smoking distorts a patient’s immune system and can delay healing, increasing the risk of infection at the wound site. Smoking just one cigarette decreases the body’s ability to deliver necessary nutrients for healing after surgery.

“Complications after surgery present a large burden for both the health care provider and the patient.  Primary care physicians, surgeons, nurses and families are important in supporting a patient to quit smoking at every stage of care, especially before an operation.” Explained Dr Shams Syed, Coordinator, Quality of Care, WHO. WHO encourages countries to include cessation programmes and educational campaigns in their health systems to spread awareness and help people to quit smoking.  

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Diabetes drug relieves nicotine withdrawal symptoms

A new research reveals that commonly used drugs to treat type 2 diabetes mitigate the characteristic signs of nicotine withdrawal in rats and mice.

The finding may offer an important new strategy in the battle to quit smoking.

Smokers trying to quit face potent side effects from nicotine withdrawal, including cravings, increased appetite, restlessness, anxiety, irritability and depression. Even though they may want to quit, many smokers continue to smoke simply because the experience is so unpleasant.

The diabetes drug, pioglitazone, targets a specific form of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors in the nucleus. This receptor, PPARg, is found in areas of the brain involved in drug addiction.

Researchers demonstrated that direct injections of pioglitazone into the hippocampi of male mice reduced the signs of physical nicotine withdrawal, including paw tremors, chattering, and head shakes. Injecting pioglitazone into the amygdala of male mice ameliorated signs of anxiety associated with nicotine withdrawal.

Nicotine abusers face 30 % higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The researchers suggest pioglitazone may help diabetic smokers quit by lessening the physical and emotional withdrawal symptoms while reducing insulin resistance.

this is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     
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The Detrimental Effects of Alcohol and Nicotine on Sleep

Everybody knows that a cup of coffee before sleep will keep you awake, and a glass of red wine will put you away, but a new study  reveals that while red wine may make you drowsy, it comes at a steep price to your sleep quality. More surprisingly, it found that caffeine may not affect sleep deprivation in any serious way, at all.

What they found, surprisingly enough, was that nicotine and alcohol actually had a far greater detrimental effect on participants’ sleep cycles compared to caffeine.

Drinking an alcoholic beverage or consuming nicotine in any form 4 hours before sleep was associated with fragmentary sleep, with nicotine having a severe effect on people reported suffering from insomnia, and was associated with a loss of about 40 minutes worth of sleep.

And it’s not necessarily cigarettes that keep you awake, either. The problems with nicotine arise when the body begins hankering for a fix while you’re still asleep, leading you to wake up earlier than you intended to.

The research studied the evening consumption of alcohol, nicotine and caffeinated drinks of 785 people over a combined period of 5,164 days, tracking the duration and quality of sleep through the use of actigraphy (a method of monitoring sleep through worn sensors) and participants own sleep diaries.

Meanwhile, alcohol could cause permanent damage to our circadian sleep cycle through altering genes related to our biological clock, also causing chronic inflammation and liver disease.

And while caffeine definitely gets a bad rap as an inducer of sleep deprivation, the researchers could find no connection between consumption of caffeinated drinks, such as coffee and tea and poor sleep quality.

This challenges many of the assumptions we have about caffeine consumption, but for the time being, it’s safe to say that so long as you don’t overdo it, a cup of coffee shouldn’t actually keep you from getting a good shut-eye.

For a good night’s sleep, you would be best advised to set the cigarettes aside, and maybe settle for a hot cup of tea for a nightcap and keep the pinot noir for the occasional dinner.

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LGBT women at heightened risk of drug use

Women who find themselves in the LGBT category are at a heightened risk of drug abuse which becomes visible around the age of 13, reveals a new study.

The findings added that the odds of substance use among females who identify as sexual minorities is 400 per cent higher than their heterosexual female peers.

"We saw this striking difference in substance use at age 13 and there was a rapid increase in the rate of cigarette and alcohol use from there," said  the lead author. Among youth, alcohol, marijuana and nicotine are the three most commonly used drugs.

Past research has shown that sexual minority youth reported nearly three times more substance use than heterosexual youth. This disparity may be due in part to stress from discrimination, violence and victimisation rooted in their sexual minority status, she said. The pattern of increased substance use for youth saw a rise in the cases of women.

Using data from about 2,200 participants, a large, longitudinal study of the lives of urban girls, researchers examined substance use among females over time from age 13 to 20, comparing those who identified as heterosexual to those identifying as lesbian/gay or bisexual.

They looked at when disparities in use between heterosexual and sexual minority identifying females began to emerge; rates of change over time for both groups; and how rates change as the girls approach young adulthood.

The researchers found that disparities were already present at age 13. The difference in use between heterosexual and sexual minority girls persisted and increased as they entered their 20s.

The author said, "It's already a risky and vulnerable period for youths' social development, and it's also a vulnerable time for brain development."

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.                                    PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO  VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                           https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/                                                                                                                                                FOR INFO ABOUT KNEE REPLACEMENT, YOU CAN VIEW MY BLOG-                                                  https:// kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com/  

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Flavoured E-Cigarettes Trigger Heart Disease

The flavours used in electronic cigarettes (e-cigarette), especially cinnamon and menthol, can increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) when inhaled, says a study.

The research team investigated the effect of the e-liquids on endothelial cells that line the interior of blood vessels.

The study, found that endothelial cells exposed to the e-liquids or to blood collected from e-cigarette users shortly after vaping, exhibit significantly increased levels of molecules implicated in DNA damage and cell death.

The severity of the damage, aspects of which occur even in the absence of nicotine, varies among popular flavours, said the researchers, adding that cinnamon and menthol were found to be particularly harmful.

“This study clearly shows that e-cigarettes are not a safe alternative to traditional cigarettes,” said a Prof.

For the study, the researchers investigated the effect of six different popular e-liquid flavours – fruit, tobacco, sweet tobacco with caramel and vanilla, sweet butterscotch, cinnamon and menthol – with varied nicotine levels on endothelial cells derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells or iPS cells.

“When we exposed the cells to six different flavours of e-liquid with varying levels of nicotine, we saw significant damage. The cells were less viable in culture, and they began to exhibit multiple symptoms of dysfunction,” the Prof. said.

The researchers found that while several of the liquids were moderately toxic to the endothelial cells, the cinnamon- and menthol-flavoured e-liquids significantly decreased the viability of the cells in culture even in the absence of nicotine.

“It’s important for e-cigarette users to realise that these chemicals are circulating within their bodies and affecting their vascular health,” the Prof. said. 

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How to Overcome Nicotine Addiction and Heal Your Body

Putting the cigarette down can be very hard, something I know firsthand. Smoking is a compulsive habit that’s reinforced by nicotine, an extremely addictive substance. Simply making up your mind to quit might not be enough, as you come under assault by physical and psychological cravings for your fix of nicotine and tobacco.

Even if you manage to suppress these voices, you will probably experience a host of withdrawal symptoms, including fatigue, depression, weight gain, and anxiety. Couple that with years’ worth of abuse you’ve inflicted on your body through inhalation of toxins, and you’ve got one heck of an uphill struggle ahead of you.

All of this being said, it’s worth it. Quitting, at any age, has been shown to have a positive effect on life expectancy and general health. If you’ve made the choice to stop smoking, we commend you and want to help you out on your journey to becoming nicotine-free. Here are our suggestions for detoxifying your body and overcoming nicotine craves.

 

1. Try Nicotine Replacement Therapy

Depending on how severe your withdrawal is, you might consider trying nicotine replacement therapy (or NRT) and other, more medically conventional ways of battling nicotine addiction. NRT is therapy wherein the patient takes controlled amounts of nicotine through various tobacco-free methods and has been demonstrated to have a 50-70% efficacy in helping people quit smoking.

Other treatments include bupropion (an antidepressant that reduces cravings and the symptoms of withdrawal) as well as varenicline (a prescription medication that reduces the pleasure sensation derived from smoking).

2. Give Your Lungs a Workout

After all of the abuse they’ve gone through, your lungs need rehab, pronto. The best way to steadily restore them to proper shape is exercise. The best workout program for this purpose focuses primarily on cardio. Running, jogging, swimming and kickboxing are all great ways of building up lung endurance.

As a bonus, perspiration is a great way to expel toxic elements from the body.
Another advantage of exercise it that it releases endorphins, which give us the same “feel-good” sensation that smoking used to deliver.

3. Trick Yourself

I remember quite vividly the month I quit cigarettes. I decided I was done buying packs, opting for single cigarettes instead. I would smoke two cigarettes a day- one in the morning, and another on my way back home. Then came a particularly rainy week, and I figured that it wasn’t so fun smoking in the cold and damp outside, so I stopped buying cigarettes. The rain subsided eventually, but I didn’t look back.

I also remember this conversation with my grandma: I asked her how she quit smoking, and she told me “I never did, I just keep postponing the next cigarette.” 

Quitting is a lot about self-manipulation, as harsh as that may sound. Find excuses that further your goal of getting rid of nicotine, and latch onto them.

4. Strengthen Your Resolve

Our minds are extremely pliable and respond to many things that aren’t strictly “rational”, as mentioned in the previous point. But there are other, less manipulative ways of making our minds do what we want them to. One such way is to track your progress, write about it and possibly share it with your peers and friends. By committing your journey to paper, you are reinforcing your choice and giving it profound thought. By sharing it, you are making a sort of ceremonial pact with your environment to stick to your guns.

5. Change Up Your Diet

There are several foods and drinks that act as detoxifying agents for nicotine. If you pair your cigarettes with a drink as many do (typically beer or coffee), try to abstain from that particular beverage, as the ingrained association may cause a strong craving.

Another near-magical spice that is highly recommended for consumption by former smokers is turmeric, which, beyond its many other health benefits, is an anticarcinogen (helps preempt the development of cancer).

6. Rest Up

Our bodies are incredibly sensitive things, and take some time to adjust to the dramatic changes in lifestyle we put them through. As the body begins to recover, it expends a lot of energy, leaving us feeling drained and tired. Listen to your body and give it what it desires- rest often and go to sleep earlier than you’re used to. Give it the opportunity to- quite literally- take a breather.

7. Keep Busy

One of the reasons people seem to like smoking is that it provides an easy distraction and satisfaction for when they’re bored. Scratch that itch with something a bit more productive: pick up a hobby or invest more time and attention in your current hobbies. There are many hobbies that require very little time and effort to learn and engage in that you can easily practice during a lunch-break, such as knitting, origami and Rubik’s Cube.

8. Practice Your Breathing

Another great way to build up lung-strength that is less physically exerting is to practice deep breathing. Diaphragmatic breathing maximizes oxygen intake and is known to relieve stress, and is thus highly effective in combatting withdrawal symptoms.

9. Meditate

It may sound cliché, but it really helps. Mindfulness meditation teaches you how to stop playing hostage to your own whims and cravings by observing them as they come dispassionately and letting them dissipate of their own. It is incredibly effective in giving you back control over your life and your mind.

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.                                    PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO  VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                           https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/                                                                                                                                                         FOR INFO ABOUT KNEE REPLACEMENT, YOU CAN VIEW MY BLOG-                                                  https:// kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com/           

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