Group commended President Jonathan for signing the National Tobacco Control Bill

Auwal Rafsanjani, CISLAC
Executive Director of The National Tobacco Control Bill
Coalition has commended
President Goodluck Jonathan on behalf of the group ( comprising the
Civil Society
Legislative Advocacy Centre,
Environmental Rights Action/
Friends of the Earth Nigeria, and
the Nigeria Tobacco Control
Coalition) for
signing the National Tobacco
Control Bill, labelling it an
extraordinary public health
legacy.

"We salute the courage of
President Jonathan in signing
this bill into law, ignoring
overtures by the tobacco
industry to frustrate every effort
to enact a comprehensive
tobacco control legislation in
Nigeria," he said.

Meanwhile, Akinbode Oluwafemi, Director
Corporate Accountability
Campaigns, noted that more
work needs to be done in
ensuring that every Nigerian is
protected from the harmful
effects of tobacco.

"This bill is however providing
Nigeria the necessary framework
for action both at the local, state
and national levels," Mr.
Oluwafemi said.
"Tobacco is major public health
challenge and it is a welcome
relief that Nigeria has finally join
the league of nations that have
taken proactive steps to protect
their citizens."

Also, Gbenga Adejuwon, Project
Manager, NTCA, urged
government to immediately
provide mechanisms that will ensure smooth
implementation of the
Tobacco
Control Law which include ban of
smoking in public places, ban of sale of
cigarette in single sticks, ban of
sale of tobacco products to
minors, ban of
tobacco advertising sponsorship
and promotion, mandatory warning
messages on cigarette packs
among others.

"We want to thank Mr. President
for signing the bill into law," Mr.
Adejuwon said.
"The immediate action should be
on implementation. We want to
see the Ministry of Health rising
up to the occasion by leading all
stakeholders for effective
implementation of the law.
"The National Tobacco Control
Law is aimed at regulating the
production, sale, marketing and
consumption of tobacco
products in Nigeria."

Obesity in adolescence have been linked to bowel cancer risk

Obesity in adolescence have been linked to
bowel cancer risk.

According to a study,
being overweight in
adolescence can lead to a
greater risk of bowel cancer
later in life.

The research was conducted using nearly
240,000 Swedish men whom are followed for 35
years.

The analysis, which was published in the
journal Gut, revealed that teenagers that are overweight later in life
have twice
the risk of bowel cancer and this is even more riskier in
obese teens.

Read the full report as published by BBC health after the cut...

The World Cancer Research Fund
said the link between obesity
and cancer was "strong".
Bowel cancer is the third most
common cancer in the world,
with nearly 1.4 million new cases
each year.
Processed red meat and
abdominal fat have been linked
to the disease.
'Accelerated growth'
The participants in the study
were aged between 16 and 20 at
the start.
The overwhelming majority were
a normal weight, but 6.5% were
overweight and 1% were obese.
There were 855 cases of
colorectal cancer in the study.
However, the results showed not
all weights were affected equally.
Those who were obese were
2.38 times more likely to have
developed a bowel tumour.
The study, led by Orebro
University Hospital in Sweden
and Harvard University, said:
"Late adolescence marks the
transition from childhood to
adulthood and is a period of
accelerated growth, especially
among men, thus this period
may represent a critical window."
"It is important that we
understand the role of exposures
in childhood and adolescence in
the development of colorectal
cancer.
"In fact, the strong association
observed between adolescent
obesity and early-to-mid-life
colorectal cancer, coupled with
the increasing prevalence of
adolescent obesity, may shed
light on the increase in colorectal
cancer incidence among young
adults," he added.
'Strong evidence'
Rachel Thompson, from the
World Cancer Research Fund, said
the evidence suggested that
obesity was a risk factor for
bowel cancer.
"This finding is interesting
because it gives an indication
that bowel cancer risk might be
affected by our lifestyle habits
throughout the life course," she
said.
"In some ways, research into the
relationship between factors like
obesity and cancer risk is still in
its infancy.
"It will be interesting to see if
further research emerges in the
future to back up the apparent
relationship between body
fatness in youth and later-life
cancer risk."

Fruit snacks are saturated with more sugar than sweets

Fruit snacks 'contain more
sugar than sweets'

Many supposedly "healthy" fruit
snacks aimed at children
contain more sugar than
sweets, says a campaign group.
Action on Sugar looked at 94
products on UK sale, such as
coated dried fruit, and found a
third contained three or four
teaspoons of sugar and 85%
were more sugary than Haribo
Starmix sweets.
Child health experts said the
findings were frightening.
The industry pointed out that
most of the snacks had no added
sugars, and those that did were
clearly labelled.
Action on Sugar said that parents
should give their children fresh
fruit and vegetables instead of
processed fruit snacks.
And it called on food
manufacturers to stop adding
unnecessary sugars to fruit-
based snacks while labelling
them as contributing to "one of
your five a day".
Katharine Jenner, campaign
director at Action on Sugar, said:
"Parents find it hard enough to
know what 'healthy' is without
food manufacturers confusing
matters with misleading claims.
"Whole, unprocessed fruit is
healthier than processed fruit
snacks and fruit juice drinks, as it
contains vitamins, minerals,
water and fibre, and does not
cause the devastating tooth
decay we see in young children
today."
A child would have to eat an
entire punnet (240g) of
strawberries to take in the same
number of grams of sugar as in
some processed fruit snacks.
Colin Michie, chairman of the
nutrition committee at the Royal
College of Paediatrics and Child
Health, said the findings were
"stunning" and "frightful".
"None of us needs sugar in our
diets at all. It is all completely
unnecessary.
"Fruit contains fibre, which we all
need to function properly, but in
these snacks the benefits of fruit
have been sacrificed by covering
them in yogurt and other sugary
coatings."
How much sugar in processed
fruit snacks?
The Fruit Factory Sports Mix-
Ups (5x18g) - 81g of sugar
per 100g* or 3.6 teaspoons**
of sugar per serving
Tesco Yogurt Coated
Strawberry Fruit Bites (25g) -
70.1g of sugar per 100g or
4.4 teaspoons of sugar per
serving
Fruit Bowl Fruit Flakes
Raspberry Rush (25g) - 69g of
sugar per 100g or 4.3
teaspoons of sugar per
serving
Whitworths Sunny Raising
Coated Custard Raisins (25g) -
68.6g of sugar per 100g or
4.3 teaspoons of sugar per
serving
Organix Goodies Organic Fruit
Gummies strawberry and
apple (12g) - 67.2g of sugar
per 100g of the snack or 2
teaspoons of sugar per
serving
*Haribo Starmix contains 47g of
sugar per 100g
**One teaspoon of sugar is equal
to four grams of granulated
sugar

For full article visit www.bbc.com/news/health-32914999

Betel Nut And Your Health

                                 

                                                      Betel nuts


The name betel comes from the betel-pepper plant. Though the nut and the betel – pepper plant are unrelated but the name was derived from the betel –pepper plant because betel chewers usually wrap a piece of areca fruit in betel – pepper leaf, together with a little mineral lime.

Therefore, betel nut is actually the tropical, fleshly fruit of the areca palm (betel palm), usually found in the Southeast Asia and the pacific.

Health hazards of chewing betel nut

The lime promotes the release of alkaloid stimulant which can make chewers  wanting to chew more and more of the nuts thus making chewing of betel nuts their second nature.

Many chewers spit repeatedly because spices, tobacco or sweetness are usually added in the preparation to make the taste better. This makes the color to be blood –red, stimulates the production of saliva and this result to frequent spitting.

Consistent chewing of betel nut can give the teeth a brownish – red staining. It can also result to various mouth disease such as oral submucous fibrosis and gum disease.

                                           

                            Betel nut chewer with stained tooth                      Betel nuts

                                                                Image from Google search

Chronic betel nut chewing can lead to serious medication complications such mouth cancer known as oral squamous cell carcinoma and cardiovascular disease.

Chewing betel nut can disrupt or damage the DNA of an unborn baby. Therefore, pregnant women should avoid the chewing of betel nut so as not to disrupt the development of the fetus.

Chronic chewer of betel nut usually exhibit such cholinergic (altering of the state and function of the central nervous system and the neurotransmitters) symptoms such as sweating, vomiting, diarrhea, frequent salivation, excessive tearing etc.

Habitual chewing of betel nut can result to side effects such as excessive heart beat, anxiety, insomnia, high blood pressure, cardiac arrhythmia etc.

Since those fond of chewing betel nut do so because of one reason or the other, betel nut definitely have it own benefits, health wise or not.

The habitual chewer will give one or more health benefits for the reason why they are chewing it. But the fact is that such claim by chewers cannot be scientifically or medically proved. Research also shows that the health hazards of chewing betel nut far outweigh any associated benefits.

What the news says about betel nut

“World wide, betel nut sales bring in billions of dollars”.

“The highest population of betel nut chewer is found in the East Africa, Pakistan, India, Southeast Asia, Papua new Guinea and Micronesia and they are about 10% of the world’s population.”

“Users often consider it harmless and report a sense of well – being and a warm sensation of the body …. Evidence has shown, however, that it is far from harmless“. – Oral Health 

“Papua New Guinea’s favorite chew, the betel nut, is killing at least 2000 people a year and is responsible for many health problems, according to the PNG Medical Society”. – Papua New Guinea’s post – courier.

“Taiwan’s rate of oral cancer – one of the Island’s top 10 causes of death – has nearly quadrupled in the past 40 years”. – The China post


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About Diabetes Mellitus

The term " diabetes mellitus " was derived from the Greek word meaning " to siphon " and a Latin word which means " sweet like honey." For water passes through the person that has diabetes as if it were being siphoned from the mouth through the urinary tract and right out of the body and the urine is sweet with sugar.

The traditional method of testing for diabetes is to pour a patient's urine near an anthill. The urine will be filled with insects if sugar were presence.

In 2003, it was projected that the number of diabetes patients will doubled the then estimated 140 million patients world wide by the year 2025. Diabetes has been dubbed the silent killer because the symptoms often goes unrecognized as the person can have the illness a long time before it will be diagnosed.

 People don't die directly from diabetes rather most die from complications caused by diabetes such as pheripheral artery disease, nerve damage, stroke, heart disease, poor kidney function, eye disease ( retinopathy ) etc. Therefore, people with diabetes must take proper care of their body by adhering to doctors prescription and guidance.

But one thing people with diabetes should know is that it will not pose such harm - if they early recognize the seriousness of the disorder and submit to a program of treatment.

Diabetes and the young 

Diabetes is increasing among the youths at an alarming rate and this is caused by

1. Increased reliance on foods consumed outside the home

 2. Lack of physical exercise

3. Skipping of breakfast especially when going to school

4. And ultimately increased consumption of soft drinks, beers and fast foods.

How to control diabetes

In most cases diabetes cannot be reverted but it can be properly controlled and many patients who controlled their illness very well lived more than 50 years after their diagnosis.

Exercise

Diabetes can be genetically inherited. However, eating a balance diet combined with regular exercise can help to prevent the occurrence of the sickness even in genetically susceptible people. One research recommend at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activities such as walking on most if not all days of the week especially among women. It is highly important for diabetes patients to be careful when doing exercise to prevent self-injured. Vigorous exercise that can damage the vascular system and nerve should also be avoided.  

Avoid fat and sugar

Everybody, both diabetic and non-diabetic patients should avoid consumption of fat. Excess fat in the midriff seems to pose more danger than fat on the hips. Foods rich in sugar should be directly avoided.

Oral medication

Oral medication include drugs that stimulate the production of insulin by the pancreas, slow down the increase of blood sugar or lower insulin resistance. Insulin cannot be taken orally as digestion breaks it ( being a protein ) down before it reaches the blood stream that is why insulin is taken as injection for now.  

Don't smoke

95% of diabetes-related amputations involve smokers for smoking damages the heart and circulatory system, and narrows the blood vessels.

Insulin therapy

Most diabetes patients don't like to use insulin because it is taken as injection amid other reasons. But it is vital to know that controlling diabetes should be the priority as this will reduce the risk of developing complications.
More advanced methods of insulin injection include the use of automatic injectors      that shot a needle into the skin painlessly, others are jet injectors

and infusers

that use a catheter that stays in place for some days. Another device is the insulin pump


              which is a programmable device that dispenses insulin through a catheter at a steady rate according to the body needs.  



Prepare for emergency

 It is recommended that people with diabetes should always have an identification card which indicate their diabetic status in case of emergency.  

Support from others

People with diabetes need the support of everyone around which includes family members, friends and colleagues. Family members in particular, should learn about diabetes. They should know how to read the mood, body weight, reactions and general appearance of a diabetic members of the family to know when there is a sugar signal. The patients also should keep learning about diabetes from journals, books, blogs like this one you are reading, health programs on radio and television and keep learning about your mood and appearances.

 Best practice to manage diabetes 

The best methods to manage diabetes is through proper diet and exercise. Some sufferers with type 2 diabetes has discontinue taken insulin therapy through restricted diet and good routine exercise.

Following your doctor prescribed diet and drug can help you to control your blood sugar. Know that there is no better way to control your blood sugar than proper diet, exercise along with regular intake of medicine.

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4 things you should know about cancer

4 things you should know about cancer

1. The word ' cancer ' refers to abnormal growth of some cells in the body which later become destructive to the affected body organ. One dictionary define it as a serious disease in which growth of cells, also called cancers, form in the body and kill normal body cells.





                                                             picture of a cancer cell

2. What are the primary cause of cancer? 
 Cancers are caused by many factors which include

A. Hereditary
Some cancers are hereditary in nature while some are not. Example of hereditary cancer is breast cancer. About 10% of breast cancer run in the families. Which means that if a mother or relatives had breast cancer there is 10% probability that someone related by blood may develop breast cancer in due course. However, 90% of breast cancer cases is not hereditary.
A typical example of non hereditary cancer is cervical cancer.

B. Generator fumes
It is scientifically proven that long exposure to generator fumes can lead to cancer. Therefore, it is advisable to avoid consistent exposure or inhalation of generator fumes as constant inhalation lead to changes in cells located in the lungs which lead to lung cancer.

C. Diet
Cancers caused by diet are more common among the rich because it is usually associated with diets with high fats. Therefore, it is advisable to reduce the intake of high fat diets along with junk food.

D. Smoking
Smokers will never agree with you that smoking could cause lung cancer. Some of them will be giving an example of an old man they know who is still alive despite that he is a chronic smoker. But it is
important to know that many factors determine whether a smoker will develop cancer or not. Some of the factors are : years of smoking before people develop cancer varies from one person to another, number
of sticks smoke per day, the gap between the smoking of each stick, the diet of the smokers, the type and quality of cigarette and the one I count as the most important is that the immune system of smokers
which differ from one another. Therefore, what can easily affect someone may not affect or take longer time to affect another.

                                                    smoking increase the risk of lung cancer

passive smokers
If you are not a smoker, you are also at risk if you are around those that smoke. Passive smokers such
As wives, friends and children of smokers can easily develop lung cancer than non passive smokers.
Wherefore, it is advisable not to stay around smokers. Don't allow smokers to smoke in your house or office. If your neighbor smokes and the fumes always reach you, tell him/her to change and report him to the police if he doesn't. The law prohibit smokers from smoking in public places. I could remember one day when one of my colleague was smoking. An elderly person who was passing by and who was once a smoker stopped and gave an illustration about how smoking can cause lung cancer. The elderly man took out a white handkerchief, collected the cigarette from my colleague, wrapped the handkerchief around the base of the stick, put it in my colleague mouth and told him to smoke. He took it back and showed us how the part of the handkerchief that serve as a sieve between the cigarette and the mouth had been darkened by the
fumes from the cigarette. He now said " with every smoke that is how your lung become darkened with fumes and this is what result into lung cancer."
He thought us a lesson I can never forget.

E. Other causes
Other causes of cancer are infectious such as in liver, bladder and cervical cancer. The infections are caused by enviromental degradation and exposure to ionizing radiation etc.

3. Prevention and cure for cancers
Chemotherapy
This is the use of drugs to confine and kill the cancer cells. It is significantly effective in the treatment of blood cancer.

Surgery
This is usually common and is the process of using surgical operation to eliminate and cure the cancerous cell

Radiotherapy is another method of treating cancer

Avoid constant eating of smoked fish and meat
My biological teacher once advised that it is better to avoid the habit of eating too much smoked fish and meat. He said the black color of smoked fishes and meats is carbon monoxide, which is the smoke from the fire and carbon monoxide is cancerous in nature. So, consistent eating of smoked fishes and meats could mean consistent intake of carbon monoxide

The use of hepatitis B vaccine can greatly prevent the development of liver cancer

Early screening and regular check up

Early screening and regular checkup are the best cure for cancer. This will lead to early detection of the cancer before it spread to other organs of the body.

4. Hope for cancer patients

All in all, there is hope for cancer patients because the rate of cancer death has been reduced to the barest minimum in medically advanced countries, especially in the USA.
Research is also ongoing on how to totally eliminate the deadly harm of this scourge called cancer.


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About diabetes mellitus