Did You Know.....

[Warph]

....that President Obuma is struggling to quit smoking for good, joining the millions of Americans who know what an uphill battle it is to give cigarette butts the kiss-off.

"This is not something that he's proud of," said White House Press Secretary at a news briefing. "He knows that it's not good for him.  He doesn't like children to know about it, obviously, including his.  And I think he has worked extremely hard."

So why is smoking so difficult to give up?

Inhaling a puff of smoke from a cigarette sends nicotine molecules zooming up into the brain within seconds.  There, the nicotine grabs hold of receptors on brain cells and releases a wave of dopamine, the brain's feel-good chemical, bringing feelings of pleasure and comfort.

Besides dopamine, smoking also activates the release of other molecules in the brain that make you feel good, including chemicals called endogenous opioids, which heighten positive feelings and subdue negative ones, according to 2004 research from the University of Michigan.

And cigarette companies haven't been making it any easier for people to kick the habit.  USA Today reports that over the past decade, companies have made changes to the design and ingredients in cigarettes to make them more alluring to first-time smokers, and more addictive for long-time smokers.

These changes include adding ammonia to the tobacco, which converts nicotine into a form that gets to the brain faster, as well as adding holes to cigarette filters that allow people to inhale smoke more deeply into their lungs, the paper said.  Other additions, such as sugar and "moisture enhancers," reduce the dry, burning sensation of smoking, making it a more pleasant experience — especially for new cigarette smokers.

When you stop smoking, and your nicotine receptors stop being activated.  Essentially, you're not getting as much dopamine as you're used to, which can cause feelings of withdrawal.  In fact, a 2002 study in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology showed that people who had quit cold turkey had lingering feelings of depression and tension 31 days later.

Adolescents' bodies are even more sensitive to nicotine, and therefore, they become addicted more easily than adults, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).  This helps explain why, every day, approximately 4,000 teens try their first cigarette and 1,000 teenagers become daily smokers.

For those hoping that switching from regular cigarettes to filtered, low-tar, or "light" variations is a healthier choice, research has shown these alternatives do not reduce the overall risk of disease among smokers, and may actually hinder their effort to quit, according to the DHHS.

Doctors have long noticed a link between smoking and cancers found in organs beside the lungs, including kidney, colon and bladder cancers.

Now, a new study shows lighting up a cigarette changes a person's gene activity across the body. The findings may be a clue to why smoking affects overall health – from heart disease to combating infections.

A research team from Australia and San Antonio, Texas, analyzed white blood cell samples of 1,240 people, ages 16-94, who were participating in the San Antonio Family Heart Study.

They found that the self-identified smokers in the group – 297 people – were more likely to have unusual patterns of "gene expression" related to tumor development, inflammation, virus elimination, cell death and more.  A gene is expressed when it codes for a protein that then instructs, or kick-starts, a process in the body.

The authors of the study found cigarette smoke could increase or decrease the level of expression of 323 genes.

"On some levels, we were surprised by the extent of the influence exposure to cigarette smoke had on gene expression, especially considering we used such a simple measure of smoke exposure: smoker or non-smoker," said lead author Jac Charlesworth, a research fellow at the Menzies Research Institute Tasmania in Australia.

On the other hand, Charlesworth said, doctors have known "for a very long time" that smoking worsens cancer risk overall, depresses immune systems and causes other problems.  Heart disease, cataracts and poor wound healing are all more common in people who smoke, according to the National Institutes of Health and the new study.

Why genes take a hit.  "One of the most important things this study did was to go some way towards understanding the biological responses the body has to smoking," Charlesworth told Life's Little Mysteries. "Now we know that part of the process is the result of changes at the gene level."

Cigarette smoke contains more than 4,000 chemical compounds, some of them known toxins and carcinogens. When someone smokes, the toxins enter the bloodstream through the lungs and are distributed throughout the body, the authors explained in the paper.

Because the activity of a single gene may influence a whole set of other genes' expression, the study could not explain which chemical in cigarette smoke was responsible for affecting which gene.

"Our results indicate that not only individual genes but entire networks of gene interaction are influenced by cigarette smoking," the authors wrote in the paper.

Question remain.  Charlesworth and her colleagues admitted the scope of their study was limited.  The researchers were able to find subjects by testing samples from people in an existing study of Mexican-American families.  It's likely that smoking would affect other ethnic groups the same way, the researchers wrote, but they could not be sure unless other ethnic groups were involved in the study.

However, the study design let researchers examine a purely "environmental influence," according to Charlesworth.  In other words, the research team could measure what smoking does to gene expression independent of the influence of a person's genetic predisposition for cancer.

Charlesworth said her team is now gathering information for a second study on the same subjects with samples collected 15 years after the start of the original study in 1992.

"We will then be able to look at the response of these expression profiles to changing cigarette smoking habits and other general influences over time," Charlesworth said.

"It will also be interesting to determine whether any of these [gene] expression alterations persist in individuals who cease smoking, or if they are entirely reversible," she said.

The study will be published Thursday in the journal BMC Medical Genomics.

[Judy Harder]

Thank God, I was able to stop smoking December 7, 2000 and I am so glad to report that I find even the thought of the coughing, the gasping and the bronchitis is a thing of the past.
Altho I will always have some signs from being a smoker, with the COPD that I am beginning to see, and my cancer I had was due to smoking......Thank God it is gone.
I can not believe just how bad I smelled, I am surprised how much I notice the stink.......or a smoker. Not nice at all.

[Ms Bear]

Judy, I quit smoking about the same time as you and I am so glad I did.  I would never have believed how bad it smells, never noticed it when I was smoking but really do now.

[sixdogsmom]

Quitting smoking was my resolution in January 2001, and I can say that I have pretty much been smoke free since then. I have had three cigarettes since then, I gave myself permission to smoke whenever I wanted to, really wanted to, and that is how many times that I have really wanted to. I must admit that it smells better, and that I feel better. Breathing is certainly better. Hopefully I won't end up with C.O.P.D. although I am certain that my lungs have been damaged some. I need/want to walk more than I do; I am just a little lazy I think. 

[Warph]

Good job, ladies.  I wish more people had your fortitude.  There is nothing worse walking into a cloud of smoke while eating an ice cream cone... (gag,gag).

You know, a lot of people quit smoking for different reasons.  Me?  A few years back, I got up from my desk one day to head out to the smoking area at work and..... well, have a look at this security video and find out why I quit smoking:
(I recommend using the full screen while viewing the video).}

[Warph]

..... that you can detect a liar.  There are numerous ways in which a person's body language can give you clues as to whether or not they are telling lies.

Members of police departments and security experts use these clues to catch out criminals during interrogation.  Research has shown that people lie every four minutes of every day.  They may not even be aware that they are doing it and it may be an unconscious reaction.

One of the biggest signs that a person is telling lies is that they avoid eye contact during conversation.  They may also touch their face continuously, very often covering their mouth with their hand.  Touching or scratching the nose is also said to be a sign of distraction to cover up lies.  A person who is lying may be trying to make you focus on their actions rather than their words.

When a person tells lies, their physical expression is often very stiff and limited.  If a person is smiling as they lie, only the mouth will move.  A real smile involuntarily causes movement of the mouth, eyes, forehead, cheeks and jaw.

The liar's hand, leg and arm movements are toward his own body; the liar takes up little space.  The liar's body language is not open.  Liars do not look relaxed, even though they may be trying to give the impression that they are.

When a person is telling lies, he/she has a variety of ways to distract you from the lie.  Liars may move around the room and place objects between you and them, such as a book or coffee cup.  A liar will feel uncomfortable facing and looking directly at you when talking and may turn his/her head and body away from yours.  An innocent person will go on the offensive, while a guilty person will get defensive.

When explaining something, a liar may put into the conversation more detail than is necessary.  He/She will not be comfortable with pauses or silences.  The person telling lies may speak softly or in garbled words.  However, a very accomplished liar is able to speak directly and with confidence; salespeople are great at this technique.

If you suspect someone of telling lies change the topic of conversation abruptly.  The liar will willingly change topics with you and become more relaxed.  A person who is telling the truth will become confused by this sudden change.  Another sign of someone telling a lie is yawning.  The liar may try and look as relaxed as possible during the lie, and yawing and stretching are ways of achieving this.

[jarhead]

All this talk about how bad I stink because I'm a smoker---hell, there are times I get in my pick-up and that full ash tray is enough to make a maggot gag-----------------BUT-------- I would much rather smell that ash tray than a person that pours the perfume on. I've been in the cafe when the smell from the "ol hens table" makes me think I'm at an Avon convention. I would rather smell a rutting buck !!!
Bet I raised a few feathers with my opinion, huh ? 

[Wilma]

Well-------, yes.  Didn't you intend to?  But I have to agree with you, perfume is used much too heavily.  It's all right, I guess, if you are trying to cover up something, but wouldn't a bath be more enjoyable for everyone?

What about men's aftershave?  Hasn't that about knocked you over sometimes?

[Judy Harder]

A stink is a stink! The worse part of this is that when you are allergic to most perfume's, smoke, and anything else, I would rather breathe without gasping for air, or my inhaler.
I love to smell anything outdoors, I have always been a gardener, but about 10 years ago, I found out the hard way not to bring beautiful smelling flowers, i.e. roses, iris' even mums, into my apartment. Started gasping and no I did not need the emergency room, just treated myself until I did go to my doctor
I have even developed an allergy to cats and dogs. But, them I will not give up. Just keep at a distance. gee it is fun, getting older.
Oh, I started with hay fever when about 50, had never had a problem until one year, Charlie and I took my folks fishing on
Diamond J and drove through a field of golden rod and fished in them rest of afternoon and came home with the sneezing and wheezing and runny eyes that go with it.........So, that is why I must be careful around any type of smell.
Yes, it is not fair........but I would bet me smoking for 33+ years had a lot to do with it, just like me developing cancer. Not a pretty picture when you watch someone gasping for air. A Stink is a Stink!

[Ms Bear]

I hate to wake up at 2 or 3 in morning and smell whatever I had cooked for dinner but I am not going quit cooking or eating.  Have to learn to live in the same world.