Quitting smoking is a lot harder than it looks

COURTNEY BAILEY
The Journal (U. Illinois-Springfield)

(U-WIRE) SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Every day there are 2,001 smoking related deaths in the United States . That is like losing almost our entire undergraduate population at UIS every day. We've all heard about the horrible risks of smoking and the long-term effects of what it can do (cancer, heart disease, pneumonia, emphysema). So why are there still 45 million smokers in America ? Because quitting is really, really hard.

Nicotine is the evil, highly addictive drug lurking in cigarettes and tobacco and the reason it is so difficult to quit smoking and stay a non-smoker. Nicotine is as addictive as heroin or cocaine. It affects many body systems such as heart and blood vessels, hormones, metabolism, and the brain.

When you first take a puff of that cigarette, nicotine goes through the lungs and quickly makes its way through your bloodstream. Nicotine depresses the nervous system which means it takes longer for your neurons to talk to each other. Therefore, you may feel stimulated, but your brain functioning will actually be slowed down. It increases heart rate, constricts your blood vessels and makes you take rapid, shallow breaths.

After prolonged use, the body becomes tolerant of nicotine, meaning it takes more and more of the drug in order to get the desired effect. When nicotine use is discontinued, withdrawal symptoms occur. These symptoms include depression, dizziness, frustration and anger, irritability, trouble sleeping, trouble concentrating, restlessness, headache, tiredness and increased appetite. Often these symptoms are why smokers go back to smoking.

But you can quit and maintain a non-smoker lifestyle! There are many benefits to quitting smoking. Your heart rate will decrease, blood pressure will drop, you decrease your risk of many, many types of cancer (i.e. lung, pharynx, larynx, mouth, gums, bladder, kidney, pancreas and liver, just to name a few), your risk of heart disease, stroke and infections of the lungs are decreased significantly. Also, you reduce your risk for premature aging, yellowing of the skin and fingernails, bad breath, stained teeth, gum disease and an overall bad smell.

When you quit smoking, food begins to taste better, your sense of smell returns and you do not get out of breath so easily doing daily activities. Not to mention the large amount of money you save from not buying cigarettes. Plus, you are saving the people around you by reducing their risks associated with secondhand smoke.

Many smokers will try to quit and relapse, but there is still hope! It's OK to relapse, but you have to keep trying. There is help available for those that are ready to quit. Whether it be counseling, calling a quitline or relying on the support of friends and family, you can do it! Here are the key points to remember when developing a plan for quitting smoking: First, make the conscious decision to quit; second, set a quit date (why not tomorrow, the Great American Smokeout? ), develop a plan for dealing with withdrawal symptoms and maintain your non-smoking lifestyle.

In order to help many people quit smoking, the American Cancer Society developed the Great American Smokeout. It takes place the third Thursday in November every year. This year it is tomorrow.

The Great American Smokeout is an opportunity for smokers to stop smoking for one day and hopefully quit forever. For more information on the Great American Smokeout see the Counseling Center 's display table in the PAC all this week.

Also, for more information on quitting smoking visit the American Cancer Society's Web site at www.cancer.org. Remember "Today, you don't have to become a statistic. Today, you can decide to quit smoking." (American Cancer Society, 2005).

Battling the bulge: Part 2

TYLER STEWART
The Reflector (Mississippi State U.)

(U-WIRE) MISSISSIPPI STATE, Miss., USA: It's been more than a month since the first part of Battling the Bulge. During part one, I was a slightly overweight Mississippi State University sophomore looking to shed a few pounds and get back in shape. Well, I'm still a slightly overweight sophomore looking to lose a little weight. Though my looks haven't changed much, I feel completely different. Here's why.

I started my diet program enthusiastically; I was on a mission. For the first week or so, I ate only healthy foods and kept my portions pretty low. I was beginning to feel like a healthier person, even though I didn't look any different. My diet usually consisted of a granola bar for breakfast, a 6-inch turkey sandwich from Subway for lunch (Hey, if Jared can do it, why can't I?), yogurt for an afternoon snack and a healthy frozen dinner to thaw out after a hard day of work.

I felt very confident in my diet, but I overlooked a lot of factors in the equation when I planned it.

First, there was time. When I started out, I thought I'd have enough time to work out on a daily basis, but balancing work and school usually drained most of my energy and limited my chances to exercise, and by 8 or 9 p.m., I was ready to get home and crash for the night. When it came to food, I'd eat at 10 or 11 p.m. some nights and I didn't have the patience to cook, so I'd compromise and hit up a fast food joint, usually Subway or Chick-Fil-A. When it came to the latter restaurant, I'd order as healthy as I could, and I'd never finish all of it, simply because it was too much food. I knew my diet was working, though, because a month ago I would have said it was just right.

Second, there's money. For all of us broke college students, our budgets don't always allow us the more healthy foods, which are usually more expensive than the quick, easy, sodium-and fat-filled foods we can get
by on for a couple of weeks.

Thus, my journey into the dieting world became increasingly harder to progress through.

Though it became harder, I've been able to retain healthy eating habits, and the after-effects have been tremendous.

Like I stated before, I haven't changed much physically, but internally I feel very different. I can feel the positive effects of my diet. I have more energy, I can relax easier and my stomach feels full, not upset, after meals. It's actually pretty hard to explain, but it's great.

The antioxidants from the vegetables and fruits I ate definitely contributed to these effects. The whole grains I took in daily helped balance my need for fiber, too. I won't go into the effects of good fiber intake, I'll just leave it to your imagination.

But seriously, eating right has put me on the fast track to healthier living. Eradicating the effects of too much sugar, salt, and saturated and trans fats will help me avoid complications such as Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and cancer in the future.

Of course, I met my mental challenges. I've been good so far about avoiding sweets, but it's been hard. Those iced cookies from Wal-Mart call to me in my sleep. Also, I found out I was addicted to Coke (the drink!) a couple of days after taking it out of my diet. I itch for one every so often, and I gave into the dark side only once with a celebratory carbonated beverage at the Egg Bowl last weekend. But that's it, I swear.

Now, the little change I've seen physically is partly due to the fact that I have not yet started the exercise program. I have shed about five pounds, but I still have about 15 to go. I noticed my gut has dwindled slightly, and the muscles in my legs are more prominent. But, I'll have to get on that program to progress with weight loss. That, of course, will be part three of Battling the Bulge.

See you next semester.

Steamy therapy

ROHINI DALMIA JAIN

Although most people simply consider it a pleasant means of relaxation, sweat therapy might in fact have powerful heath-enhancing effects.

For thousands of years people of all cultures have indulged in the soothing warmth of sweat baths. The Romans were well-known for their elaborate baths. The Muslim Hamman, or bathhouse, with its domed, central steam chamber is still an integral part of life in Muslim countries.

Today, steam and sauna facilities are an important part of the hydro-therapeutic offerings at European and American spas, and steam rooms and saunas are a common feature at health clubs and public pools. Yet, there is surprisingly little awareness of the wide ranging benefits of steam and sauna bathing.

Heat speeds up the chemical processes in the body, making steam and sauna bathing one of the simplest and most comfortable ways to rid the body of accumulated toxins. As the pores open up and the million of sweat glands start to excrete, the body rids itself of metabolic and other waste products.

Steam and sauna bathing produces powerful therapeutic effects simply by increasing circulation. As the carrier of the rebuilding forces of the nutrients to all parts of the body, the bloodstream plays a crucial role in the maintenance of health.

Treatments have a stimulating effect on the cardiovascular system. The pulse rate increases from 75 beats per minute to between 100-150 beats per minute during a 15-20 minute treatment. This increases blood circulation, but not blood pressure, since the heat also causes the tiny blood vessels in the skin to expand, accommodating the increased blood flow.

In addition, the treatment is not advised for pregnant women, small children, or the elderly. Do not take a sweat treatment if you have a fever or an open wound. If you have been working out, be sure that your body has had time to cool down before exposing it to the heat of a sweat bath.

Bicycle Thieves

AVERI BANERJEE

To most of us, the title of the film might suggest a plot which has drama and action with a suitable beginning, a melodramatic climax and perhaps a happy ending. One without any intellectual leanings perhaps. Little did I know Only after watching the film did I realize it is one that I would go back to watch again and again to absorb better the newer nuances I discover everytime I watch the film.

This landmark neorealist, Italian, black and white film became one of the best-known and widely acclaimed films of its time, and is regarded as one among the top ten film ever even after nearly fifty years of its release. Filmed in the ravages of postwar Italy, The Bicycle Thief is a searing allegory of the human condition, a caustic narrative of despair and hope, loss and redemption all poignantly told in subtle action and spare words.

Winner of a special Academy Award as the “most outstanding foreign film” seven years before that Oscar category existed, it was written by neorealist pioneer Cesare Zavattini and directed by Vittorio De Sica, also one of the movement's main forces. The movie featured all the hallmarks of the neorealist style: a simple story about the lives of ordinary people, outdoor shooting and lighting, non-actors mixed together with actors, and a focus on social problems in the aftermath of World War II.

Lamberto Maggiorani plays Antonio, an unemployed man who finds a coveted job that requires a bicycle. When it is stolen on his first day of work, Antonio and his young son Bruno (Enzo Staiola) begin a frantic search learning valuable lessons along the way. The movie focuses on both, the relationship between the father and the son and the larger framework of poverty and unemployment in postwar Italy.

A singular camera shot follows an employee climbing several stories of pawned linen in order to store another acquisition. A panning film sequence in a restaurant shows the father and son “feasting” on bread and mozzarella with an affluent family dining nearby. A long, traveling shot of a street bazaar shows the father and the son searching through an endless sea of nondescript bicycles, all presumably stolen. The Bicycle Thief is an honest examination of a soul torn by responsibility and moral consequence. A simple man incapable of articulating his pain, a film devoid of the proselytizing tirades endemic to the rose-colored lenses of contemporary Hollywood. It is the story of humanity, in all its imperfect beauty and heartbreaking cruelty, the quintessential definition of an artistic masterpiece... truly a cinematic landmark.

The film is one of the crown jewels of neorealism, the post-war Italian philosophy of filmmaking that permanently reinvigorated our world of cinema. Rejecting the illusory glamour and set-bound artificiality of conventional filmmaking, neorealism took its stories from the struggles of the working class, went out into the streets to record them, and used non-professional actors to tell them. This style borne of scarcity is also typified by a grainy, almost documentary cinematography, and frequent use of a hand-held camera.

This movie was released in Italy with the title Ladri di Biciclette, which is a plural construction. For American release it was given the simplified singular title, The Bicycle Thief, which is the way most people knew it. After a serious movement among film makers and writers the film was renamed to its original as 'Bicycle Thieves'.

Do your home work before visiting an astrologer

NIKHLESH MATHUR

Most people believe in astrology and follow it. Some do not believe in it and say so. The third group is of those people who keep saying that astrology is superstition but seek its help when it suits them. Let’s not be critical of such people. It is their choice. Astrology is a science. Not everyone knows science and neither is the entire population aware of all the scientific aspects of astrology.

The basic idea here is how to prepare to question an astrologer and understand the replies in a positive manner. No doubt all of us want instant solutions to our problems just like taking a prescribed doze of strong antibiotics. But is it that simple to prescribe medicines for a medical doctor? Doesn’t he depend upon the symptoms you describe to him? Don’t you give exact details to the doctor about the problems you are undergoing? Don’t you believe in the medicines prescribed by him and take them religiously as per his advice? Doesn’t your doctor falter or change medicines in between for the same illness?

One has to heed to an astrologer much in the same way. True, an astrologer is also like a doctor. Unless you tell him the details of your suffering, he will not be able to analyze and put forth the right reason or the solution for it. Unfortunately, there are no pathological tests for astrology. As in medical science, where all kinds of medicines don’t suit everyone, so it is in astrology. A medication as good as milk for you may prove to be poison for your friend.

Consult an astrologer only when there is a specific problem which has a far reaching effect. Go with your correct birth details including the latitude and longitude of your birth place if it happens to be a very remote area. Be specific in your questions. Consider the solutions in the perspective of modern society.

This write-up has been written by the author in the capacity of an astrologer.

A Tryst with Spirituality

SOUMYA MUKERJI

What happens when you walk past the busy Palika Parking in Connaught Place and notice a saffron-clad sage peacefully seated in Padmasana under the shade of a tree in a corner? Your first thought is “Wow! This man is either so great that he can manage to meditate in such noise and disturbance, or else he is a fake saint, like most others.”

What happens if he sees you noticing him, and smiling, waves back? In good humor, you do the same. And then what if, as you get busy with your street-side Bhel-Puri, he emerges out of nowhere, with a Temple Flower in his hand, saying - “This is for you…!”

Meet Manohar Singh who pleasantly shocks you with his immaculate English and charming wisdom. “I was sitting in the Lotus Position when I saw you people, so I thought I’d bring this,” he says as he hands me the sweet-smelling white-yellow flower, looking at my friend and me. My first obvious question, as I accept the gift, is, “Oh thanks. Are you an Indian?” (His long white hair, beard and his accent, confuse me). “Oh yes, my mother was from Chandigarh and so was my father. They call me ‘Sachcha Baba.’ Sometimes even ‘English Baba’ as I speak a lot of English. I have been here for sometime. I am a retired man, this makes me happy.” Does he have a family? “My kids are fine. They’re doing well,” he assures us. We ask him about his means of survival. “Oh, I have no problems with that. I am comfortably retired…,” he responds.

Looking at this old man, dressed shabbily with a yellow scarf hung around the neck, a saffron kurta and dirty white pyjamas with worn-out chappals, anyone can mistake him for a regular street saint who has no other way out. But the truth is that Sachcha Baba puts his richness (of heart and money) into looking after orphan children. Still surprised, my friend wants to know: “Where can we meet you again? Any way to contact you?” “Not really,” comes the reply.

As we express how nice we felt interacting with him, he smiles and blesses us with these words, “This is your time to learn. There’s so much to do in life. They make it seem so complex. But it is simple. Simplicity is the best life.” And as we stand in awe, we realize he has already crossed the road.