The Core Plan to Prevent Chronic Diseases

Our main goal is to increase the number of Filipinos who are healthy at every stage of life- from conception to resurrection. Our strategy provides evidence-based recommendations fundamental to improving the nation’s health through the active engagement of all sectors of society to help achieve these goals. These evidence-based recommendations will reduce the burden of leading causes of preventable death and major illness. Here is the second of seven priority areas:

2 TOBACCO-FREE LIVING * CONCLUSION . . .

Today we are more aware of how bad smoking is for our health. The epidemic has shifted to developing countries, including the Philippines. The addicted adult user, the adolescent novice, and the innocent bystander are all vulnerable to the harms of tobacco.

If the amount of nicotine in 5 cigarettes is condensed into liquid and injected intravenously, it will kill you instantly. U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Regina M. Benjamin recently announced that smoking one cigarette can kill you. In fact, she says, just breathing in the smoke from someone else’s cigarette can also kill you. It’s all part of a just-released report: A Report of the Surgeon General: How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease: The Biology and Behavioral Basis for Smoking-Attributable Disease. “The chemicals in tobacco smoke reach your lungs quickly every time you inhale, causing damage immediately,” Dr Benjamin says. “Inhaling even the smallest amount of tobacco smoke can also damage your DNA, which can lead to cancer.” If someone stops smoking, then these chances gradually decrease as the damage to their body is repaired. A year after quitting, the risk of contracting heart disease is half that of a continuing smoker.

Smoking and Increased Health Risks

Compared with nonsmokers, smoking is estimated to increase the risk of:

1) Coronary heart disease by 2 to 4 times

2) Stroke by 2 to 4 times

3) Men developing lung cancer by 23 times

4) Women developing lung cancer by 13 times

5) Dying from chronic obstructive lung diseases (such as chronic bronchitis and emphysema) by 12 to 13 times

Experts agree that smoking is the single biggest cause of cancer in the world. Smoking causes over a quarter of cancer deaths in developed countries. The primary risks of tobacco usage include many forms of cancer, particularly lung cancer, kidney cancer, cancer of the larynx, head and neck, breast cancer, bladder cancer, cancer of the esophagus, cancer of the pancreas and stomach cancer. There is some evidence suggesting an increased risk of myeloid leukemia, squamous cell sinonasal cancer, liver cancer, cervical cancer, colorectal cancer, cancers of the gallbladder, the adrenal gland, the small intestine, and various childhood cancers.

Let us not forget that TOBACCO KILLS 10 FILIPINOS EVERY HOUR OR ONE PERSON EVERY SIX MINUTES. For every eight smokers who die from smoking, one innocent bystander dies from secondhand smoke. Almost half of the world’s children breathe air polluted by tobacco smoke. Globally, about one third of adults are regularly exposed to second-hand tobacco smoke.

Almost everyone who watches TV, reads the newspaper or surfs the Internet knows that tobacco smoking is the single greatest cause of preventable deaths globally. It causes cancer, emphysema, and heart disease; can shorten our lives by 13.2 years for men and 14.5 years or more for women; and the habit can cost a smoker thousands of pesos a year. Yet, these same people light up cigarettes because they are addicted to nicotine in tobacco. What about those who don’t know these statistics? Millions more Filipinos are ignorant of the real harms of smoking tobacco. They do not have access to TV or Internet, and in fact do not know that tobacco kills. What about them?

Your quit smoking plan: START

S = Start NOW

T = Tell family, friends and co-workers that you are quitting so they can hold you accountable

A = Act and identify smoking triggers to plan ahead for the challenges of cigarette withdrawal

R = Restructure your habits and lifestyle without cigarettes in your activities

T = Take into consideration the following powerful methods to successfully help you quit smoking: healthy diet, proper hydration, will power, exercise, prayer/meditation, acupuncture, massage therapy, and a positive relationship with family, friends and community.

Bhutan became the first nonsmoking nation in the world in 2004-2005. New Zealand may become the second nation to ban sell of cigarettes in 2025. Can’t we be the third country to be a tobacco-free nation? It is not a distant dream, it can be done!

“The tobacco industry is the greatest killing organization in the world. The harm done by all the armies in the world combined will not begin to equal the damage inflicted upon the human race by the combined activity of the cultivators, manufacturers, and distributors of tobacco.” – Dr. Jesse M. Gehman, Smoke Over America

Data from The Lancet suggests tobacco is ranked the 3rd most addictive and 14th most harmful of 20 popular recreational drugs.

Meanwhile, here is the Green Secret’s “Green Exorcist II” juice to fight the hell out of nicotine addiction and cravings (Make sure to wash all ingredients well before juicing). It is a MUST to use organic ingredients only.

• 2 kale leaves

• 3 stems maluggay

• 1 ampalaya fruit

• 2 inches turmeric root

• ½ inch ginger

• 1 tbsp organic molasses

Juice all ingredients in your masticating juicer. Stir in the molasses and enjoy!

REMEMBER, tobacco is on track to KILL one billion people, smokers and nonsmokers, this century. This year, we have a historic opportunity to change the future. TOGETHER, we can Break the Chains of Tobacco Slavery and reclaim our right to health and protect younger generations from losing their lives and future with every puff of smoke.

Please know that the article on June 23, 2015 will be my last article. I strongly feel that continuing this work in our Wellness Institute’s website, “True Health and Wellness Blog,” will reach and benefit more people not just from the Philippines but also the Institute’s international community. The past fifteen months has been a challenging but rewarding journey. My deepest gratitude to IAJ WELLNESS CORPORATION for making this information public and to YOU, readers of this column. Thank you for all your emails, feedback and comments. I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences, on “Ask Dr. C at http://www.wellnessinstituteinc.com”.

Christine E.V. Gonzalez is a doctor of naturopathic medicine and holds PhDs
in holistic nutrition and natural medicine. LLM (MS Environmental Laws & Labor)
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