Quit Smoking and Economic Woes

When You Quit Smoking

Within 20 minutes after a person quits smoking, the body begins to change for the better. Reader’s Digest published the following list of beneficial changes that occur at specified times after a smoker quits. Twenty minutes: Blood pressure and pulse rate drop to normal; temperature of hands and feet increases to normal. Eight hours: Carbon monoxide level in blood drops to normal; oxygen level in blood increases to normal. Twenty-four hours: Possibility of heart attack decreases. Forty-eight hours: Nerve endings start regrowing; ability to taste and smell is enhanced; walking becomes easier. Two weeks to three months: Circulation improves; lung function increases up to 30 percent. One to nine months: Coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue, and shortness of breath decrease; lung cilia regrow. One year: Risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker.


Pushing the Planet to the Brink

The world’s current yearly population growth is almost 100 million, and it is estimated that by the year 2050, the earth’s population will be 10 billion, says a report in the British Medical Journal. The Royal Society of London and the U.S. National Academy of Science issued an unprecedented joint statement that said that such growth threatens the environment with irreversible damage. This would be particularly true if the developing nations, where most of the growth is taking place, were to consume resources at the same rate as the developed world. The academies suggested a central role for science and technology but said it is not prudent to rely on them alone “to solve problems created by rapid population growth, wasteful resource consumption, and harmful human practices.” If nothing changes, the statement said, “science and technology may not be able to prevent either irreversible degradation of the environment or continued poverty for much of the world.” “If we don’t make serious attempts to control population everything else becomes secondary,” stated Sir Michael Atiyah, president of the Royal Society of London.



Economic Woes Spill Over Into Clinics


Economic woes related to the sharp fall in the value of Argentina’s currency are sending Argentinians to hospitals and clinics in droves with stress-related health problems, taxing these facilities beyond their capacity, reports the newspaper Clarín. Health problems include “headaches, hypertension, ulcers, gastritis, insomnia, and anxiety.” Some people faint “without neurological causes,” said one medical professional. Consultations for stress, depression, and fear increased 300 percent in just a few days in one clinic. Besides having to cope with crowded waiting rooms, doctors and nurses also have to contend with patients who are angry because of the financial crisis. Some patients have even physically attacked doctors and nurses. One nurse was hit in the head.


Icek Blueyez