A new study has revealed that smoking even just 15 cigarettes a day can cause a new mutation to appear in a smoker’s DNA each day. The scientists created a genetic map of the lung tumor of a 55-year-old man, which discovered 22,910 different mutations, most caused by carcinogenic agents found in cigarette smoke.

Lung cancer generally develops amongst those who have smoked an average of 365,000 cigarettes or the equivalent of a pack a day over 50 years. The scientists say that this average means that the patient probably developed a new mutation for every 15 cigarettes he smoked.

The scientist who leads the research, Peter Campbell of the Wellcome Tryst Sanger Institute, described the findings as ‘a little like Russian roulette.’ He said, “Every time you smoke a cigarette you are firing mutagens into the lung. Most do nothing but every so often they cause a mutation that can contribute to cancer. @”

The findings will go a long way to explaining the link between smoking and lung cancer, which is already known to be significant. It is estimated that 90% of lung cancers are related to smoking.  The discovery of the genetic destruction smoking causes is only one part of the project to map the entire genome of the patient’s tumor and it is expected that the map will lead to many other discoveries over the next ten years. The findings will add considerable weight to the NHS’s call to prioritise anti-smoking initiatives and quell critics of the smoking ban, introduced in 2007. The NHS say that people aiming to quit smoking should seek medical help, as smoking cessation treatments such as nicotine replacement therapies and drugs like Champix and Zyban can significantly increase their chances of success.

However smoking cessation treatments, Champix and counseling for would-be smokers do not come cheaply and the NHS spends large sums each year on anti-smoking campaigns.  Nonetheless, as the research provides conclusive evidence about the cancer-creating properties of tobacco, even spending hundreds to help an individual quit proves considerably cheaper than paying for the cost of cancer treatment.

Professor Carlos Caldas, of Cancer Research’s Cambridge Research Institute, called the study ‘ground breaking’. He said, “The hope and excitement for the future is that we’ll eventually have a detailed picture of how different cancers develop, and ultimately how better to treat and prevent them.”

Kid Gyms are going to be added at McDonald’s locations nationwide by 2008. That’s exciting news for those with one of the estimated 63% of children under the age of 18 in their family who is considered to be obese by the American Foods Standards Industry! There are changes being demanded in other areas too!

The success of tobacco companies to market their products to children has caused concerned for many. From the candy cigarettes that many of us bought at the corner dime store when we were kids to the cool Joe that Camel uses, the marketing industry is demanding changes be made. Why? Because the fact that cigarette smoking (and consuming tobacco products in other forms as well) is harmful to your health.

It is well documented that heart disease, lung cancers and other fatal related conditions can be directly connected to tobacco smoking. Millions die each year from tobacco smoking related illnesses and still many sound as if they’ll die any day! The enamel of the teeth are broken down by the over 400 chemicals contained in tobacco. The cells in the body are literally blocked from “breathing” in what they need when tobacco smoke is present in the body. The tobacco smoke is usually replacing food as a source of energy which depletes the body’s storages and causes weakness and lack of energy. The lining of the lungs is slowly “smoked” away and there is no longer any protection provided against what the smoke does to the lungs. There are so many reasons that smoking is harmful, and not only to the smoker, but to others who happen to be around the smoker while he/she is smoking!

Second hand smoke has been blamed for the deaths of people who have never had a cigarette in their lives! The same effects listed above that affect the smoker, also affect the non-smokers, only in a more serious way. When a cigarette is smoked, the 400 chemicals contained in the tobacco are in essence “filtered” through the body. However, when someone who is not smoking a cigarette is breathing in second hand cigarette smoke, the smoke going into their lungs is not being filtered, it’s just being breathed in. The non-smoker doesn’t “breathe” back out the smoke filled air – but the smoker does. This causes the second hand smoker to be a victim who runs the same risks as the smoker of developing lung cancers, heart diseases and other fatal diseases. Kinda gives new light to letting your kids
hang around the bowling alley-huh?

There are so many efforts at paying attention to the spoiled, irresponsible lifestyles Americans have become accustomed to, why not stop smoking. It’s said that the effects of smoking begin to stop as soon as the smoker stops smoking. Energy is returned, food tastes better (which is why most gain weight when they quit smoking) and the lungs begin to clear, giving back one’s ability to breathe deeply! Like the commercial says, would you like a bikini or bronchitis?