Overweight and Cancer: Another study is released that supports an association between gaining weight and being at greater risk for many cancers. This is not sufficient for cause. Still, scientists suggest maintaining a healthy weight. Because my recent work has been in tobacco where there is no question of a causal link between smoking and cancer, I am not encouraged that this study will lead to any change in eating behavior. Oh, that is very pessimistic of me. What I mean to say is that knowing something is harmful does not always lead to a change in behavior. Smoking of course is different as it is an addiction and there is no SAFE way to smoke. There is a safe way to eat. And after this study broke, the great Walter Willett noted that obesity was actually going to be more of a detriment to health than tobacco is and he calls for change as do I. A book out about Mindless Eating may be worth adding to the good read list. The book is by Brian Wansink.
Japan Tobacco: Japan Tobacco is a company similar to our older RJR Nabisco and Altria which at one time had their food and tobacco businesses under one flagship company. Now we have Reynolds American and Phillip Morris which I believe are solely in the tobacco business. Japan Tobacco continues to have its food and tobacco products in the same publicly owned company and reported its revenue results recently. This story from the Wall St Journal noted that the company’s profit would be down this quarter due to having to recall tainted dumplings that sickened 10 Japanese. Tobacco use in Japan, of which JT has the biggest market, actually KILLS 113,000 Japanese citizens each year. (www.deathsfromsmoking.net).
Calcium and Vitamin D: Research to add to the growing body of data on whether or not calcium and calcium +D is truly effective in reducing rates of osteoporosis and osteoporatic fracture, was available this week. This is actually a meta analysis of several studies and the scientists offered the following conclusion: Calcium with or without vitamin D is protective of bone density and reduces fracture if one consumes about 1200 mg a day. The bright spot for vitamin d is not so much in bone health as in reduction of cancer mortality. That is reduction in mortality for some cancer and in some studies in mortality overall. The amount of vitamin d that was protective was 800 IU. FYI: there was one study which showed increased myocardial infarction with calcium caltrate specifically. The authors of the study stated that the increased risk could be explained by other factors but should be addressed in additional research. I have always used calcium carbonate myself and many of the studies with positive results also used that kind.
Pains: A fentanyl patch made by Johnson and Johnson has been in the news on and off since problems began in 2004. Some people have misused or abused the patches while others were given defective patches. The most recent news is about the defects. Fentanyl is more potent than morphine and overdose potential exists, especially as people take other medications. An attorney that is suing J&J wonders if the product itself, Duragesic shouldn’t be removed from market. I have seen instances that lead me to support his assertion.
Heparin: News this week relates 4 deaths to a bad batch of heparin, the anti clotting drug. This issue is under review and there has been mention of problems in the Chinese factory that manufactured the medicine for Baxter International. This leads me to ask. Why do we allow United States companies to produce drugs in other countries, countries with less regulation or different safety standards but do not allow importation from countries that are similar to ours such as the UK and Canada?
Pain/Tobacco/Tolerance: There is a big disconnect in the pool of smokers who quit smoking say 10 and 30 years ago to the ones quitting smoking in the most recent ten years and today. Research supports that the people who have quit and stayed tobacco free did so cold turkey without support groups, quit lines or nicotine replacement therapy. Certainly there was no such thing as Chantix back in the day. I am one of the people who quit that way, in 1997. Now we have a best practice guideline for treating tobacco dependence and it advises that the most important thing for quitting is a doctor’s advice to do so, along with counseling to teach behavior skills, support facilitation, and in almost every situation the use of a quit smoking drug. Research now states that having nicotine replacement therapy or some other medicine can double the success rate from cold turkey. What happened? Most will say, nicotine levels in cigarettes have been manipulated and dependence is much worse for today’s smoker. I do NOT doubt that nicotine levels have been tampered with by Big Tobacco. Yet, let me say. I was significantly wedded to my cigarettes. I was a die hard smoker. When I stopped smoking the first three days, just like now, were pretty damn hard. The next couple of weeks were challenging and then eventually life went on. I DO NOT believe people are more addicted today. I believe that people are LESS tolerant. People have become less willing to experience any physical or psychological discomfort. It may be a generational thing. It may be a result of a cultural change spawned by Big Pharma. We are now told that there is always a pill to make it better. We now tell our doctors which pill to prescribe us. This is what I want to say about quitting smoking and withdrawal. It is HARD, it is uncomfortable, BUCK up and deal with it already.
Wishing you wellness, ey?
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