I need to make a correction to my recent post in regards to the state of Illinois law that I noted in my last blog. The state of Illinois did NOT pass a law, but rather a ban on smoking in a vehicle with a child under the age of eight. Why they can’t just pass a law making it illegal to smoke in a vehicle with an individual under the age of 18 like other states have done is perplexing to me.

During lunch the other day, my nurse practitioner friend, physician friend and I were discussing cigarette smoking and the health effects of such. My nurse practitioner friend recently visited her native home of Italy where she accompanied her father-in-law to his physician appointment. She questioned the physician if Italy had a lot of lung cancer patients as so many Europeans smoke cigarettes. The physician replied, “No,” due to the fact that they produce tobacco differently then America does. America has much more lung cancer cases than Italy. Hmmmmmmm…….what does that mean?????? Oh, yes……..we fertilize our tobacco crops with radioactive chemicals and tobacco plants absorb radioactive chemicals from dust particles in the air. Many Europeans roll and sometimes grow their own cigarettes according to my friend. There are, also, more fresh and naturally grown produce in Italy. An eggplant, cucumber, and other vegetables and fruits are actually the size that they are suppose to be. More to come………blessings…….

First, let me say that I am blunt in my opinion in regards to health issues. We all make choices every day that effect our health; good and bad (me included). An individual IS responsible for their choices just as I am responsible for mine. It is NOT my fault if a person makes poor choices that harm their health nor is it someone’s fault if I make poor choices that cause me ill affect. Nor IS it my responsibility to pay for the treatment and care that develops from those poor choices, but that is for another discussion time. So, yes, I am steadfast in my opinion, HOWEVER, I am, also, very compassionate in caring for others. I desperately desire individuals to be educated as to how to make good and positive choices when it comes to their health. Often, I don’t believe that individuals are given all the facts, if not any facts, so that they may make good health choices. This is want I am striving to accomplish. My intent is NOT to offend anyone, but ONLY to help those who read my blog. So let’s tackle a touchy subject………TOBACCO USE!

I am going to address this subject in multiple sessions in hopes of not boring you or losing your attention. I have obtained the majority of my information from the American Lung Association, which provides a wonderful wealth of information and assistance to help a person quit smoking.

Session 1

During my clinic office visits, I talk to my patients who smoke cigarettes, about the harmful effects of cigarette smoke. The other day, I walked into the exam room occupied by a mother and her 42-year-old daughter (the patient), and the it literally wreaked of cigarette smoke. As I worked my way through the interview process, we came to the social history. The patient, who is suffering with multiple health issues, stated that she was attempting to quit smoking cigarettes and had recently cut-down to 0.5 pack per day from her usual 1 to 1.5 packs per day for the past 25 years. Kudos to her (and I did praise her for this effort). As we were discussing the harmful effects of cigarette smoking, I stated that cigarette smoking is not only harmful to the smoker, but to anyone around the person smoking in particular children. My comment was, “If you want to harm a child and cause them serious health issues, smoke with them in a vehicle.” Yes, yes, that indeed made the room quiet and earned me some horrified stares for a few seconds. GUILTY!!! Well, they actually took it pretty well. Because I do TRULY care about my patients and I desperately try to convey this compassionate during my patient visits. So you can imagine the excitement I felt today when my daughter reminded me of the Illinois law passed as of January 1, 2014, in regards to no smoking in a vehicle with a child present. Hallelujah!!!!! WOW, Illinois law makers, you have done something that I can truly support and be proud of (no sarcasm intended). Now my daughter has more of a solid leg to support her when she addresses those parents who pull up at daycare when she is dropping off her children and the smoke is literally rolling out of the windows of their vehicles with children in the back seats. (Hmmmmmm……..wonder where she gets that trait from?) Anyway, she has offended several parents in the past. But thank you, daughter, for caring about those helpless children, who would rather be breathing clean air rather then their parents inflicted polluted air that is causing them to feel rotten and possibly even causing them asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, cancer, weakening their immune system, etc.

THE FACTS: To date, there are approximately 600 identified ingredients in cigarettes. When lit up, they put out more than 4,000 “HARMFUL” chemicals, 50 of which are “KNOWN” cancer causing chemicals and many are poisonous, as well. Some of these chemicals are actually found in household chemicals and labeled as poisonous. However, tobacco smoke does not carry a label for its toxins. A few of these tobacco smoke chemicals and other places they are present include:

Acetone found in nail polish remover
Aetic Acid found in hair dye
Ammonia which is a common household cleaner
Arsenic an ingredient in rat poison
Benzene found in rubber cement
Butane used in lighter fluid
Cadmium which is an active component in battery acid
Carbon Monoxide that is released in car exhaust fumes (a big enough dose of that will kill you won’t it?)
Fomaldehyde which is embalming fluid (getting a jump on things here)
Hexamine used in barbecue lighter fluid
Lead used in batteries
Naphthalene an ingredient in moth balls
Methanol which is a main component used in rocket fuel (fly me to the moon?)
Nicotine that is used as a INSECTICIDE!!!!!! (seriously?????? Doesn’t that kill things??????)
Tar that is used to pave roads (now that should make the lungs feel great and gummy!)
Toluene used to manufacture paint

I’m amazed!!! Why in the world would anyone want to put these harmful chemicals, poisons, cancer causing agents and lethal toxins in their body???!!! Because it makes me feel good…….RIGHT!!! So digest this information if you want, if not, remember, it is only YOU making YOUR health choices. I will be providing more interesting tobacco facts soon.

P.S. Secret time…….I was a cigarette smoker approximately 12 years ago!!! Thank the Lord, He bestowed upon me the blessing to quit!!! Your body is only lent to you by God for a short time. You are to cherish it and treat it with the utmost care and respect. Please don’t abuse it. I TRULY care about your health!!! Blessings until next time………

So my blogging is not going as I would like.  I am having difficulty finding time to research and write.  Therefore, I am going to try a different approach to get more information out; brief and to-the-point information.

Today, my husband brought home a bottle of dietary supplement tablets that a friend gave him to try instead of drinking such mixtures as Propel, Gatorade, etc.  The bottle reads “sport drink tablets.”  The claim, as stated by my husband’s friend, is that the tablet/water mixture will provide a boost of energy.  Thank goodness my husband asked my opinion on the supplement before he used it.  

So, as I usually do, I read the label.  The first part didn’t sound harmful with such ingredients as sodium, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, magnesium, vitamin C, etc.  But…….the fine print has an ingredient called acesulfame potassium, which is a no-calorie artificial sweetener added to foods and beverages as a flavor-enhancer or to preserve sweetness.  It is 200 times sweeter than regular table sugar(sucrose).  It is added to such food items as candy, baked goods, frozen desserts, dessert mixes, tabletop sweeteners, alcoholic beverages, other beverages, and many other food/beverage items.  It is used alone or in combination with other artificial sweeteners.  

Acesulfame potassium is, also, known as acesulfame K, Ace-K, or Sunett.  It was first approved as a sweetener in 1988 by the FDA, who has set an acceptable daily intake of up to 15mg/kg of body weight per day.

So what is acesulfame potassium?  It is a salt containing methylene chloride, a known carcinogen.  Long-term exposure to methylene chloride can cause such side effects as mental confusion, depression, mood problems, kidney and liver impairment, vision impairment, depression, nausea, headaches, cancer in humans, including breast tumors, and insulin stimulation by the pancreas, which may cause hypoglycemia.  

Of all the artifical sweeteners, acesulfame potassium has undergone the least amount of testing and long-term studies.  To date, the FDA has not required further safety testing. 

As with any food or beverage item that you put into your body, try to be aware of the ingredients and what they truly are and if they have any potential harmful effects on your health.  So many of our diseases and illnesses are caused by what we ingest and long-term exposure.  It’s like I tell my patient’s who smoke, you don’t pick up a cigarette and take a few puffs and get cancer.

Until next time (sooner I hope)………………………………………many blessings:)