Smoking – A Worldwide Health Hazard

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Unless you have been living on another planet for the past 50 years, you will know that smoking causes a host of serious medical conditions. We regularly hear news reports on the dangers of smoking, and cigarette packets even carry health warnings. This is in stark contrast to the way cigarette companies advertised their brands in the early 20th century. Amazingly, back then they claimed that smoking could help cure throat irritations, sore throats and coughs! In the 1930s, tobacco companies used medical research and doctors to ‘prove’ that cigarettes were not harmful (the doctors in their advertisements were actors and not real physicians). A famous campaign for RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company even stated: “More doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette.”

Fast forward to today, and the truth about tobacco is well documented. The statistics related to tobacco are quite frightening:

  • Tobacco smoke has over 4000 chemicals including many poisonous ones
  • The health risks from smoking include cancer of the mouth, throat, stomach, small intestine, bladder and kidney
  • Nearly 6 million people die from smoking globally each year
  • Smoking speeds up the ageing process and smokers develop more wrinkles at an earlier age than non-smokers
  • More than 600,000 people die worldwide each year from exposure to second-hand smoke
  • If smokers quit before the age of 50, the risk of dying from smoking-related diseases decreases by 50%
  • Children exposed to smoke in the home are more prone to ear, nose, throat & chest infections and asthma

This week, researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College reported that smokers who appeared to be healthy actually have damaged airway cells, with characteristics similar to cells found in aggressive lung cancer. The study’s senior investigator, Dr Ronald G Crystal, chairman and professor of genetic medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College, stated: “The study doesn’t say these people have cancer, but that the cells are already starting to lose control and become disordered.” The more we find out about tobacco, the more we understand the true extent of the health damage caused by smoking.

So if you are a smoker, do you want to quit? Many people have broken their addiction to nicotine and the following tips may help you if you are trying to stop smoking:

  • Be prepared. Get all the facts. Withdrawal symptoms may include anxiety, irritability, dizziness, headaches, sleeplessness, stomach upsets, hunger, cravings, poor concentration, and tremors. However, don’t give in too easily. These symptoms last only a few days and gradually fade as the nicotine is cleared from your body.
  • Drink plenty of water to flush out your system. This will help ease the withdrawal symptoms and will help cleanse the nicotine from your system.
  • Look at your routine. When did you automatically smoke? Was it first thing in the morning or just after a meal? You will need to analyse this routine and change it. For example, when you get up in the morning, go for a walk, do some exercise, anything to take your mind off smoking.
  • When you are under stress and crave a cigarette, do something to take your mind off smoking. Write a letter, listen to some music, have something healthy to eat. Do anything to stay occupied until the craving has passed.
  • Using nicotine replacement therapy or non-nicotine medications to reduce withdrawal symptoms.
  • Do not be discouraged if you start to smoke again. You haven’t lost the battle as long as you keep trying.
  • Don’t be over-concerned about putting on weight. If you feel you want to snack constantly, you may find it helpful to have fruit or vegetables handy. Drink plenty of water and keep active.
  • Focus on your reasons for quitting, including the health benefits, improved appearance, money saved etc.
  • If the thought of never smoking again fills you with dread, set yourself short-term goals. Simply say ‘I won’t smoke today’ and mean it. Say the same thing each day. It’s much easier to stop smoking ‘just for today’.

All Resources produces a number of PSHE resources including a resource pack on smoking, alcohol and a variety of other drugs: Dealing with Addiction.

The Value of Education

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Yesterday, Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai addressed the United Nations as part of her campaign to ensure free compulsory education for every child. Last October, the Taliban shot Malala as she sat on her school bus. She had been campaigning for girls’ rights to an education, obviously something the Taliban is strongly against as women are discriminated againist regularly in Pakistan. As she spoke to the United Nations yesterday, Malala stated; “I am here to speak up for the right of education of every child.”

It is kind of ironic that here in the UK, where education is free for every child, young people missed 3.7m school days in the autumn term 2011 (Department for Education report for state primary and secondary schools in England 2011/12). On a typical day in autumn 2011 around 55,600 youngsters missed school, and around 48,000 children missed a month or more of lessons, therefore making them “persistent absentees”. Although truancy rates have fallen slightly from 2010/11 to 2011/12, it is still a significant problem in UK schools. Malala fought to obtain something that some young people in the UK regularly go out of their way to avoid!

The reasons for truancy are complex. Research shows socioeconomic factors play a large role in determining student attendance. The lower the family income is, the higher the truancy rate. Some children are afraid of being reprimanded by their teachers for previous absences, and so they stay off for long periods. In some cases, children are shy and find school daunting – they suffer from school phobia. Bullying is also responsible for a large number of school absences and young people may stay away out of fear. Some children simply do not like going to school and are more interested in playing with their friends. They may find their school uninspiring and feel it does not benefit them. Sometimes, education is seen as ‘uncool’ and playing truant is a way of rebelling against society. Whatever the reasons, we need a committed and determined effort to examine the reasons why young people play truant so that we can take positive action to tackle this serious issue.

It must be difficult for Malala to understand why anyone would play truant. She risked her life and almost died for the sake of an education for herself and others. Perhaps it is because education is so freely available in the UK that we take it for granted and don’t appreciate its value. Maybe we need to get Malala to talk to schools around the country. I am sure her story would carry much weight and would help to highlight what a precious gift a free education is.

Youth Depression, New Technology and Social Media

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According to research by the charity Mindfull, nearly three in 10 young adults have harmed themselves on purpose before they were 16 and almost a third (32%) said they had thought about or attempted to end their own life when they were younger. What is wrong with society that our young people feel this way?

I grew up in the 1970s when life was a lot simpler. Don’t get me wrong – we still had pressures to deal with, but nothing like the pressures heaped on youngsters of today. Much of the stress attached to modern life comes from pressures at school, bullying, exam stress, family break-up etc. But I also believe that some of the responsibility lies with the colossal amount of new technological gadgets that we surround ourselves with and the way in which we use social media.

When I was young, I’d see my friends at school. If I wanted to see them after school or at weekends I could always go to their house or they could come to mine. If I didn’t want to see them, I didn’t – pretty simple really. But today, with the internet, our friends are ‘in our face’ 24/7. With smart phones and tablets, there’s no escape from anyone, and for young people it’s as if they have to be on show every minute of every day. How many friends do they have on Facebook today? Has anyone ‘unfriended’ them? How many followers do they have on Twitter? How many parties are they going to this month? Who is popular and who isn’t?

Young people feel the need to create an online persona – they want to be seen to be popular people with busy lives. They are being forced to brand and sell themselves online which is putting tremendous pressure on them. And the fact that young people now communicate online rather than meeting up and talking they way we used to can lead to isolation and loneliness. And this constant pressure to update their statuses, as well as constantly checking other people’s, is not healthy.

There is also the problem of bullying. In our technology-driven world, cyberbullying is fast becoming the bullying method of choice – and there is no escape from it. This type of bullying can be carried out 24/7, and because of the anonymous nature of cyberbullying, it can be difficult to trace the people responsible.

Mindfull is calling for all schools to give students lessons on mental health. This is a good start, but we need something more. We need to equip our young people with the skills to deal with the insidious (for want of a better word) effects of social media. And we need to equip teachers with effective resource packs which enable them to provide young people with the tools to deal with the pressures of modern life.

Ireland and Alcohol

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According to the World Health Organisation, nearly 4% of all deaths worldwide are related to alcohol. Most alcohol-related deaths result from injuries, cancer, cardiovascular diseases and liver cirrhosis. Globally, 6.2% of all male deaths are related to alcohol, compared to 1.1% of female deaths. Worldwide, 320 000 young people aged 15-29 years die annually from alcohol-related causes, resulting in 9% of all deaths in that age group. These are truly staggering figures.

The Irish are famous the world over for having one special day to celebrate their country’s abiding love of alcohol: St Patrick’s Day. There is also a well-known saying that the Irish have three other days when alcohol takes precedence over anything else in their lives: yesterday, today and tomorrow. The near-constant drinking centres on the pub, of which there are many to choose from in every town and city. Pubs are the places where relationships begin and end, scores are settled over a pint, business deals are struck, and the whole of life’s drama plays out in full view of bleary-eyed, inebriated onlookers. And who hasn’t seen the growing trend of young people massing every weekend on town and city streets across Ireland in their search for oblivion.

The Irish have many occasions to drink. The birth of a baby, baptisms, engagements, weddings (not forgetting the obligatory hen parties and stag dos), first communions, birthdays, wakes – they are all excellent excuses for a good old shindig and nearly every celebration is held in a licensed establishment. It’s also easier to buy alcohol than ever before – it can be bought in bars, off licences, corner shops, supermarkets and petrol stations. It is difficult to avoid alcohol – and it has taken its toll on Irish society.

Cheap alcohol in Ireland is responsible for a growing health and crime crisis that is costing an estimated €3.7billion a year in health and crime/public order costs as well as work-place absenteeism. Look at the following taken from the Alcohol Ireland website using data from the Health Research Board:

  • 8 deaths every month in Ireland are directly attributable to alcohol
  • One in eleven children in Ireland say parental alcohol use has a negative effect on their lives – that is about 109,684 children
  • There are 1,200 cases of cancer each year from alcohol in Ireland
  • One in four deaths of young men aged 15-39 in Ireland is due to alcohol
  • One in three road crash deaths is alcohol-related

The World Health Organisation estimates that the risk of suicide increases eightfold when a person is abusing alcohol, compared to a person who is not. This is because alcohol is a depressant and lowers our inhibitions. We are therefore more likely to act on impulse while under the influence of alcohol, and sadly one of those impulses could be the desire to self-destruct!

According to the Health Research Board, 85% of Irish people think that the current level of alcohol consumption in Ireland is too high – and they are right! So what needs to be done to address alcohol abuse in Ireland and the misery it causes?

Many people point to the links between alcohol and the sports industry and there is a call for a ban on alcohol sponsorship and advertising during live sports broadcasts. Others cite the availability of cheap alcohol which enables people to reach their weekly drinking limit for an average of €8, alongside the increase in the number of places selling cheap alcohol.

It is a fact that drinking is part of the Irish culture. We therefore need a serious national debate on alcohol-related issues which will tackle the problems related to our national drug of choice. We need a massive investment in education and prevention, but we can’t simply look to the government to address the issue – we need to examine ourselves and our own attitude to alcohol. It is only when we are prepared and willing to be honest about our own alcohol intake that we can break the cycle of denial that makes us feel comfortable in ourselves only when we have a drink inside us.

Boy of 11 found hanging in bedroom

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Once again a young person has taken his own life due to bullying — Click here for story.

Sidney Boyimbo Nzamale was discovered by his sister hanging from a bunk bed in his Tottenham bedroom in October 2011. The inquest heard that he had been slapped by a fellow pupil, and on another occasion a boy demanded money from him.

This is a tragedy!  We are all responsible and we need to find ways of stopping bullying once and for all. According to his school, the claims had not been substantiated after a thorough investigation. They stated that their anti-bullying measures were “rigorous” and Sidney was a popular pupil who was settling in well. However, his parents insist he was being bullied.

It is vital that bullying is tackled earlier — we need early intervention from ages 4 or 5 upwards. It isn’t good enough to tackle bullying when it has already become a problem. Many schools have bullying programmes for students from ages 8 upwards — this is often shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted. Anti-bullying programmes should be part and parcel of every curriculum as soon as children start school. Schools must send out strong messages that bullying has serious consequences and repeat offending will be punished. Victims need to be given the tools to deal with bullying, such as help in developing confidence and self-esteem. They need to know that their school is taking the matter seriously, and parents need to feel confident that their child is safe at school.

We can’t let the death of young Sidney be in vain.

About Me

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Hi all,

I am a writer, editor and programme developer for All Resources, a company that produces resource packs covering PSHE (personal, social and health education). My main interests are bullying and suicide – not enough is being done to tackle these issues or the negative impact they have on society.

The resource packs we produce focus on different aspects of PSHE and are mainly concerned with building confidence, awareness, motivation and self-esteem. Many important skills and attributes can be nurtured in young people through their involvement with personal development programmes which help them understand themselves and those around them.

I hope to make a valuable contribution here, and I am looking forward to reading other blogs.

Theresa