The EU rules prohibits smoking in most public places – from restaurants to waiting rooms – except for designated areas. Also on the quit list: health care facilities, public transportation and taxis. Does it mean greeks will stop smoking? Well, this is interesting topic for discussion. I personally believe, that habits or traditions can not be stoped just because somebody orders it or makes a rule.  However, when the health problems appear, we are willing to change our lives completely.

• Located on the Big Island of Hawaii, this exclusive condominium is truly a Kona Paradise!  This one bedroom / one bath condominium is on the first floor and is the fourth unit from the ocean front.  Close to the pools, beach and BBQ’s. This is a perfect vacation or getaway spot for a couple!  BUT Non-smokers only please.

• Fantastic location only 10 minutes walk into the centre of York the UK’s Premier historic city. Our family home eith four bedrooms and two bathrooms is in quite and friendly cul de sac. BUT exchange is only open to non smokers!

• The cottage is a modernised and extended crofter’s cottage with living room, dining kitchen, bathroom, sleeping up to six people and a small dog with a ground floor bedroom and two attic bedrooms and a small enclosed garden, refurbished in 2005. The Cottage owner is a langoustine fisherman and availability permitting, these may be bought fresh from the boat. BUT Non smokers only please.

• Quietly situated within a small modern mews development set in historic woodland, high above the River Wye, this cottage offers an excellent touring base for the Forest of Dean, Wye Valley and Herefordshire. Just a five minute walk from the ferry which crosses the river to Symonds Yat East and the famous Yat Rock, there are delightful walks throughout the surrounding area. With a selection of pubs and eating places close by river and Ross on Wye and Monmouth both 6 miles away. BUT please note: Non smokers only!                                                                                     

Well, now it’s time for smokers to complain, i quess :)

• Use relaxation techniques to calm down when you are angry or upset. Deep breathing exercises, muscle relaxation, and imagining yourself in a peaceful setting can make you feel less stressed.
• Exercise regularly. Studies show that exercise relieves tension and improves your mood.
• Remember that smoking never solves the problem; figure out what will, and act.
• Avoid or get out of stressful situations that might tempt you to smoke.
• Get enough rest. Take time each day to relax, no matter how busy you are.
• Enjoy relaxation. Take a long hot bath. Have a massage. Lie in a garden hammock. Listen to soothing music.

For the ones who are more serious about quitting this habit, it might be useful to read the article “Seven steps to a smoke –free life”  presented by American Lung Association site.

  Although everybody is aware of the health dangers of smoking, these dangers are frequently underestimated.

  The truth is shocking to most people.

Smoking as a cause of death and disability

• Smoking-related disease is the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the world.
• Smoking-related disease will cause the death of one in every two life-long smokers.
• Smoking kills more than 19.000 Australians per year or around 50 people per day – this equates to one Australian every thirty minutes!!
• Smoking is the single largest cause of lung cancer and is an important factor in at least seven other cancers.
• Smoking causes around 82% of deaths from lung cancer.
• Smoking increases the risk of heart disease, stroke and several other causes of death. Smokers in their 30’s and 40’s are five times more likely to have a heart attack than non-smokers.
• About half of all people killed by tobacco-related diseases die in middle age, with an average loss of about 20–25 years of life expectancy.
• Diseases associated with smoking can cause pain, distress and disability for many years before death.

Smoking and cancer

Cancer is the best-known risk associated with smoking. In Western Europe, North America and parts of Asia, it has been estimated that smoking accounts for approximately 30% of all cancer deaths.

Smoking and the heart and blood vessels

Smoking increases the risk of death caused by arterial disease. The arteries carry blood from the heart to the rest of the body. During normal ageing the lining of the arteries becomes less flexible, fatty deposits are laid down in the walls of the artery and the diameter of the artery narrows. This process is known as atherosclerosis. This narrowing reduces the amount of oxygen reaching the rest of the body. This lack of oxygen can result in angina (crushing, cramp-like pain in the chest) when the arteries supplying the heart are affected. It can also lead to heart attack and stroke. Smoking can accelerate the process of atherosclerosis and therefore increases the risk of heart attack and stroke.

Smokers who die from smoking in their 30’s and 40’s die mainly from heart attacks. Risk of death from heart attacks in this age group of smokers is five times higher than that of non-smokers. It is estimated that tobacco is responsible for up to 80% of all heart attack deaths in smokers under 50 years of age.

Although death from stroke is less common than death from heart attack, risk is increased in people who smoke. In the USA, death from stroke and other diseases involving the blood vessels in the brain is increased in people aged 35–64 years who smoke.

Diseases of the lung

There are other diseases of the lung that can be caused by smoking aside from cancer. Smoking also increases the risk of chronic obstructive lung disease and consequent infection of the airways. This disease is due to three processes:

• Persistent cough and phlegm production caused by production of excess mucus (commonly referred to as the ‘smoker’s cough’)
• Thickening and narrowing of the airways in the lung
• Emphysema (expansion and damage of the smallest air chambers in the lung) 3⁄4 smoking causes 90% of deaths from this condition.

Other diseases

Smoking may also increase the risk and possibly the severity of a variety of disorders other than those mentioned above. These include:

• Stomach ulcers
• Impotence
• Female infertility
• Tooth/gum disease

Women smokers are also at greater risk of hip fracture from osteoporosis than corresponding non-smokers.

Smoking and pregnancy

It is well known that smoking during pregnancy can damage the baby and even cause a miscarriage. Compared with non-smokers, smoking during pregnancy can cause:

• Reduced birth weight
• Increased risk of the baby dying just before or just after birth

www.nicabatecq.com.au/…/SmokingDisease.html

“Health-related quality of life and health risk behaviors among smokers” is a title of an article based on research made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta (USA).

Smoking Helps Develop Brainpower

At last week’s Society of Neuroscience annual meeting, Duke behavioral pharmacologist Edward Levin said that nicotine-like compounds can actually help restore the ability to learn and remember in rats that have brain lesions similar to those found in Alzheimer’s disease patients.

The research showed that rats given a drug called AR-R 17779, a proprietary compound, performed significantly better than untreated rats on standard radial arm maze learning and memory tests.

AR-R 17779 is one of a new class of drugs aimed at combating the learning and memory deficits associated with Alzheimer’s disease. These compounds work by docking to specific sites on the surface of brain cells called acetylcholine receptors. Nicotine, or a nicotine look-alike, can activate these receptors, which enhance the brain’s ability to learn and remember.

Levin and his colleagues tested the ability of AR-R 17779 to boost learning and memory in rats placed on a standard radial arm maze test, a wagon-wheel shaped structure consisting of a platform with planks radiating from it. At the end of each plank is a food reward. Once eaten, the food is not replaced. Normal rats quickly learn that it is not worth their effort to go down the same plank twice, whereas rats that have lesions in their brains that mimic Alzheimer’s disease show significantly slower learning and memory of the task.

“When we injected the impaired rats with the compound 20 minutes before testing, the animals showed significantly improved learning and even a reversal of the working memory impairment normally seen in these animals,” Levin said. Levin is also conducting clinical trials using nicotine skin patches to try to improve attention and memory in Alzheimer’s disease patients.

“Memory loss is one of many symptoms that patients with Alzheimer’s and other dementias develop as their brain cells deteriorate,” Levin said. “As patients’ memory and comprehension deteriorate, performing ordinary tasks becomes more difficult. We know that nicotine or nicotine-like drugs may not be a cure-all for Alzheimer’s disease, but if we could prolong the period of time that patients can be independent and functional, it could mean a much better quality of life for them and their care givers.”

http://www.scienceagogo.com/news/19981010134751data_trunc_sys.shtml

Lately society has intensively been protecting the rights of non-smokers. A lot of smokers, however, are concerned about the one-sided equality rights given to non-smokers.

If we are being honest, then the other bad habit – drinking is much more dangerous. If we would  look at statistics, how many people have died because of contact with a drunken person (car accidents, for example) and how many because of contact with a smoker? However, we don’t avoid drinkers in public areas; we welcome them, although we know that later on they might make a big damage not just to our health but to our lives. Smokers, on the other hand, are despised although “second-hand-smoke” theories are still discussible.

Based on article: http://dawnnaret.wordpress.com/to-grant-smokersrights-or-non-smokers-wrongs/