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Tag Archives: smoking
Smoking in the Military
The military has a long tradition of mixing warfare and tobacco. Years ago the army included a pack of smokes in every C-ration distributed to the troops; as a result it was more common for soldiers to take up smoking than to remain abstinent. The tobacco industry insured itself a whole generation of addicted consumers by volunteering their product to help the war effort. Years later, of course, we’ve inherited this tradition in the form of lung cancer, emphysema and heart disease among our veterans. When I was a young … Continue reading
It’s Never Too Late to Quit
I recently had a 65-year-old patient look at me incredulously as I suggested that he should quit smoking. “I’ve been smoking for 50 years,” he replied indignantly. “Stopping now won’t help anything. I’m too old for it to do me any good.” This interaction made me think of a slide I have in one the presentations I give on how to live a heart-healthy lifestyle. It is a timeline, produced by the American Cancer Society, that details how quickly various health benefits accrue once a smoker finally kicks the habit. … Continue reading
Leg Swelling
Swelling of the legs is a common problem and one I encounter on an almost daily basis. It can be mild—nothing more than an unsightly nuisance—or quite severe with skin breakdown and open sores. It can be an occasional occurrence or an ongoing vexation. Most everyone has experienced swelling at some point in their lives. You eat at a Mexican cantina—gorging on the free chips and salsa and indulging in salty margaritas—and the next morning you awake to find that someone has replaced your fingers with Vienna sausages. By evening … Continue reading
Posted in Cardiology
Tagged edema, kidney disease, leg swelling, liver failure, sleep apnea, smoking, swelling
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Are Scare Tactics the Best Tactics?
Want to get your message across? Why not evoke fear in your audience – that will certainly get their attention, right? That’s the premise behind the FDA’s recent decision to require tobacco companies to place certain anti-smoking images on cigarette packaging. You may have already heard about this. The images, which the FDA says must cover at least 50% of the front and back of each pack, range from the relatively tame (a photo of an oxygen mask) to those you may find disturbing (an image of an emaciated lung … Continue reading
Stroke
We fear stroke more than almost any other illness. This hasn’t always been the case. I suppose years ago there were other ailments that were deemed more unwanted—say leprosy or the plague. But since most of these have been eradicated in the developed world we’re left with a pretty short list of common diseases that afflict our population. If you have a heart attack and survive to arrive at the emergency room there’s a good likelihood that you’ll leave the hospital alive and do pretty well. Within a few days … Continue reading
Posted in Cardiology
Tagged cancer, carotid ultrasound, cognitive impairment, heart attack, hypertension, obesity, paralysis, prevention, smoking, stroke
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