WTH? Third Hand Smoke? Now I've heard everything!

We all know smoking is bad for you.  Deadly.  And while, I am not an alarmist, it is quite clear now that second hand smoke is not a good thing either.  I think we're all in agreement here that second hand smoke is bad.  Um...  Second Hand Smoke is Baaaud.  mmmmK?

So, what about Third hand smoke?  Third hand smoke?  What the heck is that?  Is the even possible?  So, wait, I'm breathing the remnants of someone's second hand smoke?  Like, you smoke, Bob breathes that and I breath Bob's exhalation?  Is that what we're talking about?

Sort of...  but not quite.  Third hand smoke is residual smoke.  Researchers have found that this residual tobacco smoke, now being called "thirdhand smoke," is a combination of cigarette smoke and things like indoor pollutants like ozone and nitrous acid.  When mixed with the cigarette smoke it creates a new compound. Thirdhand smoke also mixes and settles within the dust, it'll find it's way down to the carpet, the furniture, start hanging out of the curtains.  Worst of all it gets into deep into porous material, think paneling and drywall.  It also lingers on the hair, skin, clothing, and fingernails of smokers.  Consider it this way, you don't want to smoke in front of your Grandkids, so you have smoke outside.  You also smoke in the car.  But, as soon as you pick that kid up or put your grandson in your car, you're exposing him to thirdhand smoke.  These compounds created by the blending of cigarette smoke and other inhalants and particles in the air are not easy to clean up, they have a very long life of their own, and many may be carcinogenic.  This is probably the real reason they tear down casinos in Vegas.

One of these new compounds is a tobacco-specific nitrosamine known as NNA.  It actually damages DNA and has the potential to cause cancer. "Thirdhand smoke is harmful to our genetic material," Bo Hang, a scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California, said at a news conference this week at the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society, where the research was presented. "And the contamination becomes more toxic with time."

Who's at risk?  Hotel workers, restaurant and bar employees, AND the customers!  Consider the house keeping lady.  Imagine what their job entails and how their getting blasted with this stuff every day.  Think about the auto detail guy and what he must get exposed to.  This third hand smoke isn't just about cancer.  This is more akin to asthma and allergic reactions.  

Most importantly, since this material has matter and therefor subject to the laws of physics, it will settle in carpet and who is lowest to the ground?  That's right kids and babies.  Kids and babies that are trying to develop.  

What this third hand smoke reminds me of is smog.  As a kid, the smog in Southern California was nasty.  I remember my lungs being sore after a day of playing outside or soccer practice getting cancelled due to a smog alert.  

How dangerous is it ultimately?  Who knows?  How dangerous is asbestos?  That crap looked real good on paper for 100's of years but...  well, you know.  Is it real?  Yes.  Is it dangerous?  Isn't smog?  

A study examining 806 women who had babies with birth defects between 1997 and 2006, and 849 women who had healthy babies, found that smog in the San Joaquin Valley area of California was linked to two types of neural tube defects: spina bifida (a condition involving, among other manifestations, certain malformations of the spinal column), and anencephaly (the underdevelopment or absence of part or all of the brain, which if not fatal usually results in profound impairment).

So yes.  Thirdhand smoke has a high propensity to mess you and your kids up.  Is it avoidable?  Is smog?  

So, what's the bottom line?  Be aware.  Make sure you limit your exposure and make sure you're keeping a healthy body with a strong immune system to fight off and protect yourself from this crap.  Lastly, if you smoke, time to stop.  I consider myself a smoker who doesn't smoke and I also am committed to not get all high and mighty judgmental about people who struggle with quitting.  It's hard.  I know.  I did it.  I wrote my book to help others like me, kick the habit once and for all.  Just look at the evidence.  This isn't a victim-less crime anymore.  Think about it and consider the people you're effecting by succumbing to your addiction.

Shot's of e-Cig juice with a Red Bull chaser?

Are you effing kidding me right now?  The Inquisitr by way of the Chicago Tribune is reporting that that teens
are now using e-cigarettes to get high.

High schools students in Chicago are using e-cigarettes to consume THC, the active ingredient in marijuana.

Not a bad idea, as it would have saved me time between class but here's the real kicker with a stupid factor of 99.9.  According to Fox News Insider, kids and teens are also using the vials of nicotine that come with e-cigarettes.  The report stated that teens have been drinking the nicotine.  Even going so far as to mix it with an energy drinks to get a quick buzz on.

KIDS:  This is one of the stupidest things I've ever seen.  Nicotine is fatal at 30 - 60 mgs.  It's a  very potent drug.   Once it's in your blood stream, it will increase your heart rate and your blood pressure.  Very likely chance that you could drop dead.

Look, when I was a kid in high school, I mis interpreted the high part and I experimented and had fun.  I will not tell you that a little messing around and experimenting will land you in a van down by the river, but I will tell you that shots of nicotine with a Red Bull chaser is about as smart as playing Russian Roulette with Christopher Walken.  It just doesn't end well.

Leave this one alone please...

Cigarettes, e-Cigarettes, NRT and the Illness Industry (big pharma vs big tobacco)

Recently The Motley Fool posted a very scary article.  Why scary?  Well, the business of disease is a very scary and evil industry.

If you've been even remotely following the electronic-cigarette debate, you're aware  that one of the big arguments used to support the possible regulation of the e-cig is the strong belief  that vaping actually brings legitimacy and encourages smoking.   Now, there is another study recently released with groundbreaking data that shows that actually there is a link between the use of the e-cigarette and tobacco cigarettes among kids in the United States.

JAMA Pediatrics is a Journal started in 1911.  One study published in the journal shows "adolescents who have or are using e-cigs are less likely to have given up smoking than those who did not use e-cigarettes."  The conclusion was based on 40,000 adolescents who completed surveys from the CDC.  In a nutshell, they concluded that:

"use of e-cigarettes does not discourage, and may encourage, conventional cigarette use among U.S. adolescents."

Critics out there will say that "while the study does show a correlation between smoking and e-cig use, there is no evidence to show that the use of e-cigs will directly lead to smoking."  [whatever] Unfortunately, this study comes at a time when the FDA is about to regulate the juvenile e-cigarette market within the United States.  [why has it taken so long anyway?]

E-cigarettes are unregulated, which enables companies to aggressively market them and make claims that the e-cigarette is "relatively safe."  This 1940's and 50's style marketing can not be used with conventional cigarettes.  That being said as opposition to vaping is building an unlikely backer is funding the move against these reduced-risk products.

This is where it's going to start getting scary...

One of the biggest forces working against the introduction of electronic cigarettes is big pharma. No big surprise, right?  It's the why that's disturbing.  Big pharma makes it's money from treating disease.  That includes smoking related illness.  If  there is less disease to treat, then profits will drop.  That would be bad news for the companies and shareholders.

Now, let's throw in NRT.  Nicotine Replacement Therapy.  The gum, the patch, the lozenge.  GlaxoSmithKline is the leading marketer of these products.  Clearly, if smokers who are trying to quit turn to e-cigarettes rather than NRT, GlaxoSmithKline will lose money.   Can you see why big pharma would want to use this study to put additional pressure on the FDA to regulate the electronic cancer stick?

If the e-cig was brought under the umbrella of the FDA, they could then require the manufacturers of the e-cig to register and pay fees, list the ingredients in their products [most important part], obtain prior approval for new products, and restrict online sales and marketing to children. [second most important part]

Big Tobacco lied it's ass off for 60 years.  Look, I'm not a huge fan of the FDA as I believe they are in bed with Big Pharma and it's strictly about a government agency regulating a free market to support the largest financial contributers.  This puts peoples lives at risk for the sake of the almighty dollar and that crosses the line from old fashioned healthy capitolism to evil and greed.  That being said, Big Tobacco is the greater of these two evils and must be stopped.  They are buying up e-cigarette companies to hedge thier tobacco bet and marketing smokeless tobacco products as well.   With the lack of regualtion in e-cigarettes, it won't be long before some "doctor" will be doing an infomercial talking about how it's just "vapor."
 
Bottom line, don't get sucked into the hype and don't financially reward evil.  If you're in a battle with nicotine, sooner or later, in order to win, you'll have to cut it off and out.  NRT and e-cigarettes exist because people have allowed themselves a physical and mental addiction.  These people have been sold a bill of goods that they are weak and incapable of stopping smoking by themselves and they they need NRT or e-cigarettes to transition.  I call bullshit!
 
Don't allow yourself to get cought in the loop.  Heroine to methadone to marijuanna to a really bad day and back to heroine then methadone to pot to clean for a while until another really bad day.  See the cycle?
Cigarettes, patch, screw up and smoke with the patch, no patch, cigarettes, gum, off for 6 weeks, bad day, just one, 3 days later buy a pack, back to full time smoker, Chantix, WEIRD F#$%ing dreams, no Chantix, then clean for 4 months... until standing outside a club with your buzz on, bum smoke...  see the loop?  Why?  Knock that shit off!  Stop trying to quit!

Want a fool proof plan?  I mean isn't that what you're after?  People are so much stronger than Big Pharma and Big Tobacco want you to believe.  If you're ready to step up and off the addiction loop, read this book then use this book:  www.StopDontQuit.com

Cigarette smoking may change brains of young smokers

 Young adult smokers may experience changes in the structures of their brains due to cigarette smoking, even with a relatively short smoking history, a study of adolescents suggests. It also suggests that smoking during this critical time period and the neurobiological changes that result may explain why adults who begin smoking at a young age stay hooked on cigarettes.”

The authors concluded that, “While this was a small study and needs to be replicated, our findings show an apparent effect of smoking on brain structure in young people, even with a relatively short smoking history. And that is a concern. It suggests that smoking during this critical time period produces neurobiological changes that may cause a dependence on tobacco in adulthood.”

READ WHOLE REPORT HERE:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/03/140304113540.htm

The Effect of Smoking and Your Skin

How does smoking damage the skin?  Here are 8 Ways It Damages Skin from an article from Rahad Abir in The Guardian:

"Apart from many adverse health effects, there are some lesser known health effects of smoking as well. It may cause early wrinkles, and accelerate the total aging of skin. Taking each puff causes irreparable skin damage. Just only 10 years of this habit, it’s likely to see the effects in the faces of young adults. Here is some of the harmful effects on the skin:

Aging

Cigarette smoking leads to early skin aging. Numerous studies have found that it speeds up skin aging more than experience to sunlight does. The consequence of exposure to sunlight and cigarette smoke together, other studies have reported, is more detrimental than the joint result of either exposure alone. In addition, men are at lower risk than women. A recent University of Michigan study found that smokers showed signs of accelerated aging below the neck and even on their inner arms.

Wrinkles

Untimely wrinkling is linked with this habit. Evidence showed that heavy smokers may have more early wrinkles than occasional smokers, and that men’s skin is less affected than women’s.

Skin tissue changing

Several studies reported the skin tissues of non-smokers and smokers as a measure of untimely aging, and found that the consequence was largely noticeable in men. Collagen and elastin are also harmed—the fibers that give skin its strength and elasticity.

Smoking and wound healing

Puffing tobacco decrease the capability of the skin to repair wounds and regenerate. This is largely apparent in patients who are undergoing a surgery. A cigarette has nicotine, which causes vasoconstriction. When the blood vessels are being constricted, the blood that they transport throughout the body is lesser, thus, the amount of nutrients needed for the skin to regenerate is reduced. In addition, carbon monoxide is the other toxic component that cuts the flow of oxygen in the body, and the amount of oxygen required for the broken cells to regenerate.

Moisture

Unmoisturized skin might take on a red, flaky or scaly appearance. Available proof suggests that the habit decreases moisture in the skin. Another study revealed that females who smoked above 10 cigarettes every day had expressively lower mean moisture values than non-smokers.

Skin blood flow

Smoking decreases skin blood flow by rising the discharge of vasopressin hormone. Vasopressin is formed naturally by humans, and lowers blood flow. Researches have reported that concentrations of vasopressin in the blood increase straightaway after having a cigarette. This habit narrows the tiny blood vessels in the outermost layers of skin that decreases blood flow. This depletes the skin of oxygen and nutrients that are essential to skin health.

Skin cancer

Smoking rockets skin cancer risk. Pipe and cigarette smokers, a Dutch study showed, were in double risk as likely as non-smokers to progress squamous cell carcinoma of the skin, when other risk factors (for example, age and sun exposure) were taken into account. The same study showed that present smokers were expected to grow the condition more than former smokers.

Psoriasis

Psoriasis is a scarce skin condition characterized by the formation of silvery, plaque-like scales on the arms and legs, mainly at the knees and elbows. A 2007 study found that if one cigarette pack is smoked per day for ten years or less, psoriasis risk increases 20 percent. Even secondhand smoke during pregnancy or childhood is linked to a higher risk.

These are only some of the detrimental effects on the skin. Surprisingly, there are more of them that may take place immediately or after some time. The effects on the skin, however, can never be concealed especially after a long time of smoking."

Motivated yet?  www.StopDontQuit.com