Dangers of Cigarette Smoking

Smoking is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States. About 420,000 deaths occur each year as a result of smoking cigarettes. Individuals who smoke are likely to develop peptic ulcer disease, and are more likely to develop cataracts, as opposed to non-smokers. People, who smoke, are ten times more likely to die from larynx cancer, esophagus, chronic obstructive lung disease, including emphysema. The risk becomes even higher if cigarette smoking is combined with alcohol use or with occupational exposure to certain types of toxic substances, such as asbestos.

Many individuals continue to smoke knowing these dangerous conditions, because they believe that smoking has benefits like stress relief, anxiety, pleasure, or weight maintenance, thinking that quitting smoking is difficult and won’t be an easy task to accomplish. Individuals who quit smoking however have a significantly lower life expectancy than continuing smokers. When smokers can quit at a young age, it is a huge benefit because they are exposing themselves relatively to fewer cigarettes.

Smokers experience symptoms such as persistent coughing, chest pain, and breathlessness. The fear of dying is what leads a lot of people to stop smoking cigarettes. It takes 2 or 3 serious efforts before this mission can be accomplished and sometimes may take even longer. Smoking cessation is usually a learning process in which mistakes made in the first attempt help improve odds of success during the next attempt. It is a slow process, which requires hard work. When the person finally hits the actual “quitting day”, the person stops smoking and it can be called as the final stage.

Many doctors give advice to all ex-smokers to avoid alcohol temporarily after quitting, since drinking alcoholic beverages seems to induce relapses in cigarette smoking. Because smokers use cigarettes to relieve anger, anxiety, and frustrations; quitting often makes it difficult to get through their daily routine. Those people may want to visit a psychologist, who may help them cope with their new problems or concerns.
Curled from EzineArticles.com

Free Medical Service for Under-Fives

The United Nations Children Fund representative, Geert Caepellaere has disclosed that it is part of the government’s health policy to provide medical service to all women of child bearing age and children under-five years of age.

Unfortunately there are no free medical services for children suffering from cancer or cancer related ailments and it is left with the Government to ensure that free medical facilities are provided for under-five children and women.
The international community in its drive to help women and children in Sierra Leone by supporting their medical needs it is also important for them to consider the many that are suffering from cancer.

The UNICEF Country Representative made this disclosure of government’s commitment at a press briefing at the Ministry of Social Welfare Conference Hall on Monday during the preparations for the commemoration of the Day of the African Child. He stressed the need for accessible and affordable health care service for women and children.

AI-SL Assures RCG Of Their Support

The Director of Amnesty International-Sierra Leone (AI-SL), Brima A. Sheriff met with members of the Rowaka Cancer Group at the AI-SL office in Freetown on Monday June 1, 2009, and promised to support the campaign against cancer in Sierra Leone.
The Rowaka Cancer Group is an initiative of the Lance Amstrong Foundation to reach out to all Sierra Leoneans to inspire and empower people affected by cancer.
The LIVE STRONG Leader in Sierra Leone, Alpha Bedoh Kamara, thanked Mr. Sheriff for his support to the campaign and noted that through AI-SL, the Group will have a formidable alliance to reach out with the message.
Mr. Sheriff said AI-SL is always willing to work with advocacy groups that targets issues of rights, and that cancer being one of the causes of most of the deaths cases in country, though unreported, is a human rights issue.
“My doors are always open to you,” he promised.

Help Her To Live A normal Life

Fatmata Kargbo, Age: 18 years, is sick and suffering from some form of cancer.

She has suffered from ‘mopia’ (cancer) for the past years and despite being in school, she’s stigmatized and hardly plays with others.

Her parents have taken her to the Kalangba Medical Hospital, North of Sierra Leone, where diseases of this nature are diagnosed, but unfortunately there is yet a clue to a cure. “The hospital cannot diagnose any type of disease,” says her mother.

The parents are worried for Kargbo’s life as they see no sign of cure and her condition continue to deteriorate.