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Ever going to miss “got a light?” that social breaker from a smoker, or you may probably never worry about any of the anti-smoking laws. Can smoking really be the bad outcast after years of being in the in-crowd? The issue of smoking is a hot topic that can ‘light up’ and rile a conversation. Like it or not but smoking isn’t a black and white issue, a yes or no! Many know of the link of smoking to lung disease.  Yet pollution generally is adverse for our health and in some Asian countries the problem of air pollution affects most citizens’ respiration. That smoking can and does lead to lung cancer development has been made, but it doesn’t guarantee it! If weak lungs are present then it’s supported that exposure to smoking (passive or not) needs serious avoidance. If you don’t have weak lungs then realise that smoking is an extra burden for the lungs. It’s your choice to inflict that pressure onto your lungs. Passive smokers (non-smokers who are near smokers) have the right to not have that pressure. This is where laws help to protect non-smokers health. We have freedom to live chosen lifestyles to degrees. It’s hoped with freedom comes responsibility and respect for others’ lifestyles. Smoking is not the worst culprit as the major polluter. Living near roads with busy traffic, especially by heavy vehicles, is a dire problem for anyone with poorly functioning lungs, as in asthma. Smoking has been part of many cultures for centuries. Research shows how smoking cigarettes is linked to lung disease. The substances added to cigarettes are worthy of regulation as they’re carcinogenic (cancer causing substances) and toxic. Nicotine is the prime addictive substance in tobacco and has a bad reputation. Yet there are some research studies that expose the other side. Nicotine has been linked to starve away Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease and gum disease among others. Researchers in Sweden linked smoking to possibly protecting against neural tube defects (foetal abnormalities during pregnancy). To smoke when pregnant to protect your baby may one day be acceptable! In folk lore smoking sage leaves is reputed to help asthma. Smoking should be judged on what is being smoked, by who and where. Smoking cigarettes with tar is a commonly accepted unhealthy lifestyle habit. Pipe smoking intermittently may have its use for some. In any case of weak lungs, avoid air pollution where possible (includes when standing near fires). We rely on oxygen to live. The amount of oxygen in our atmosphere is mixed with levels of other gases. The level of gases in the ambient air around us is mainly nitrogen at about 78% and oxygen at 20%.  The remainder is carbon dioxide and other minor gases. Although these other gases seem irrelevant, they probably have their roles. Nitrogen comes in and goes out, unchanged. A bit like fibre! Fibre comes in and leaves our digestive tract. We don’t absorb nitrogen or fibre but they provide bulky mass. We breathe in oxygen and breathe it out but at a lower output than input. We process oxygen during metabolism and form carbon dioxide. We absorb a degree of oxygen input and release carbon dioxide at a higher output than input. Input is inhalation and output exhalation. Both are needed for lung respiration (the process of breathing). Too much oxygen is possible. When we reach higher altitudes, especially on high mountains, the air level of oxygen is lower and this is stressful and potentially dangerous.To climb Mount Everest is a physically stressful exertion on the body. Preparational exercises before help train the body for such activities. Our bodies adapt to higher altitudes of less oxygen by forming more red blood cells. Red blood cells are the transporters of gas in our bodies. When we have less oxygen the body tries to compensate. It seems unpractical! Why make more vehicles if there are fewer passengers? Each red blood cell can only take up so much oxygen and with more red blood cells there is greater capacity to take up more oxygen. We actually ‘climatize’ to different environments when we relocate to different geographical regions. This ensures our survival as we adapt to fit in. In our homes we can adjust things to suit us. Often scented candles are used to calm us down as burning candles release their own vapours and gas. It’s apparent that some candle wicks are known to give off potentially harmful vapours! Let’s get back to smoking again for the smokers. You can power puff a cigarette and feel you need to. You’re probably addicted. In any form of smoking, it may be worth your while to seek out why you feel the need to and correct that addictive behaviour. Instead of polluting the air some more, when your nerves need to calm down rather sit down and rationally process why you’re feeling as you do. Think of a more productive solution to your reason of stress, rather than evading it by smoking. Then enact out that solution and take up another habit or hobby to distract you from your past inclination to pass away time by smoking. Ensure your replacement habit is easy and friendly. Consider knitting (keeps hands busy), gardening, carpentry and other pursuits that at least are rewarding as well. Exercises and stretching, as in yoga can assist in improving respiration. Before reading further, take a deep breath! If you had to cough a bit keep ‘up to breath’ on what you expose your lungs to anywhere you are. It is by breathing through our two lungs that our bodies can live. Anastacia Sampson D.N. Med |