Cigarette VS Alcohol

By: Ang Anwar Nowadays, most people enjoy smoking and drinking. Some of them are a social smoker or a social drinker, and some of them are a heavy smoker or an alcoholic. These smokers and drinkers are willing to spend their money just to satisfy their needs. Tobacco companies earn a lot of profits by selling cigarettes, as well as hospitality industries. Moreover, both of smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol are consider a deviance in the society. However, which one is more destructive to our society, smokers or drinkers? In a cigarette, there are 4,000 chemicals; that is includes 43 cancer-causing compounds and 400 other toxins. Furthermore, there is also nicotine, tar and carbon monoxide in a cigarette. As we all know, nicotine is really addictive, it also has some bad effects to our cardiovascular, respiratory, dermatology, and musculoskeletal systems. Moreover, even though the tobacco companies printed the bad effects of cigarettes on the a cigarette box, most people still smoke cigarettes.

What about alcohol? Alcohol is considered as carbohydrate family, because it has two carbon sugar in the structure. The structure is in a small size and simple that it is easy to be absorb by every cell in the body. Alcohol has a lot of bad effects to our brain system, such as depression, anxiety disorders, low self-esteem, etc. Furthermore, alcoholism also can cause someone to get into breaking the laws, such as, driving under influence(DUI). Currently, "Jackass" star, Ryan Dunn was killed because he was driving under influence and it also cause the death of his friend who was in the car that night with him.

Thus, smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol are not good habit in the society. Both of cigarettes and alcohol can cause a lot of bad effects that not only does it affect the person who smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol, it also affect people around them. Which one is worse, a smoker or a drinker? Both of the cigarettes and alcohol is dangerous. However, although the statistic shows that the mortality rate is higher for smokers, I believe alcohol is worse than cigarettes, because it can kills you either slowly or fast (like what happened to Ryan Dunn). I would suggest people to avoid smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol. However, if people can avoid it, just control themselves and do not consume cigarettes and alcohol too much. Just like a proverb, too much anything is always bad.

Autism in Children

By: Sumayya Naeem

              Autism is a disorder of neural development that causes kids to experience the world differently from the way most other kids do. Kids who have autism usually keep to themselves because it can be hard for them to interact with other people or express themselves by using proper words. Also they have trouble linking words to their meanings. Imagine trying to understand what your mom is saying if you don't know what her words really mean. It is more frustrating then if a kid cannot come up with the right words to express his/her own thoughts.

             Children with autism behave like shy or reserve and sometimes can't communicate without special help. They often engage in repetitive movements such as rocking and twirling, or in self-abusive behavior such as biting or head-banging. According to The Center for Disease Control and Prevention, one out of 110 children is diagnosed as having an autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Video: "I am Here".
                                                                              
                             
                                                         

                 The first line of defense to treat Autism
Spectrum Disorders is autism education. There are still so many educated, successful parents, who believe that the vaccine schedule can hurt their sensitive kids that might result in an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). That's because the evidence of a vaccine-autism link doesn’t come to them through some specific or significant source. Some of their evidence comes from life around them like friends, family and business associates, whose children have had severe vaccine reaction as getting sick, stop talking and never been recover.

                The Center for Autism is the oldest specialized autism treatment and evaluation center in the nation. Their mission is to improve the quality of life for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders and their families.

            Autism is treatable. Although some parents just refuse to vaccinate their children at all which is an unwise and dangerous choice. Possibility of death and harm from chickenpox, measles, meningitis and other diseases are still a threat to children who are not protected. So, it is most important that parents and pediatricians continue to put trust on immunizations to protect all children from preventable and potentially deadly illnesses.

Health & ILLness: Living Healthy with HIV/AIDS

By:  January T. Jefferson

       My awareness of HIV/AIDS came about in the late 1980s.  At this time if you contracted this disease there was almost no possible way to avoid death.  There were people dying left and right from AIDS.  As time went on, research for a cure became the worlds number one priority. As AIDS spread throughout the United States and then the world it was leaving in it's wake a path of death and despair.  People didn't know the first thing about how to take care of themselves or how to acquire the right medication to combat the symptoms they were experiencing.

       Today, people living with HIV/AIDS are able to live long normal lives thanks to the amazing medical contributions.  Living with HIV/AIDS does not have to be taboo in the community or anywhere for that matter.  With the medications that are available today, along with a healthy lifestyle, living with this disease no longer has to be stigmatized as a death sentence.  This means that not only will your health continue to be stable, but your mental health will gain an incredible amount of confidence, so people with this disease don't have to feel like they don't belong in this society.  

Cover Your Darn Mouth

By: Monique Anderson


 

      As the world tried to be more healthy and health conscience , people are being more aware of germs and the spread of germs. As a result people are washing their hands more, carrying hand sanitizer and covering coughs and sneezes with tissue. But you still have people who refuse to cover their mouths when coughing or sneezing . This is one violation of a social norm that really get under my germaphobic skin. Not only is this practice nasty ,but it also spreads germs and viruses. Once a person coughs or sneeze those germs can live up to 2 hours or longer on surfaces that have been contaminated with these microorganisms. These germs can cause illnesses such as Influenza (Flu), Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), Whooping cough and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SAR), which had everyone last year running to get hand sanitizer and medical masks. During cold and flu season it is particularly helpful to remember some simple things you can do to stop the spread of germs and viruses. Studies have shown that one out  of every four people does not cover their mouths when coughing or sneezing. Think about it that’s a lot of colds and flu being passed around. Health experts suggested that we cover our mouths with tissue or handkerchief ( yes handkerchief, the ones grandpa use to carry and wipe your  noses and hands with). Have you ever been in a place and somebody cough or sneezes and you notice that everyone moves out of the persons space , or look at them with discomfort and annoying expression if they cough too much ,or they pull out their trusty bottle of hand sanitizer.

  

 So enclosing people please if your sick stay home or at least cover your mouth other people like me would greatly appreciate it.  There are a lot of things I want to shared with my follow Americans be your colds and flu are not one of them. So people do all of us a favor and COVER YOUR DARN MOUTH .

Social Class & Health

By: Elisa Ventura

It is sad to say that our health will normaly depend on social class. We all know that if you are from a poor family the last thing on our parents minds are our health. It is not their choice of course; it is only because they are too bussy worieng about paying bills and keeping their jobs. Furthermore, a wealthy person has a whole lot more access to good health care unlike the poor who don’t have as much.

According to, Hardvard University Researchers, crunched 40 years of U.S census data to reveal that the gap in death rate between the poor and the rich Americans has nearly doubled since 1980. In fact, people who earned 36,000 or less a year in 2000 faced a 64% chance of early death than those in a household bringing on 101,000 a year. It is also shocking to know that, to predict a person’s health the primarly question one would ask is “what is their social class.” I find this very disturbing.

VS.

Both of these pictures represent a healthy eating place vs. a not so healthy one. As we all know most poor people can’t afford to buy at a whole food. Nutriciouse food is highly expensive therfore; the poor class normaly has no choice but to buy from these non healthy restaraunts.

In conclusion, something should be done so that we are all equal in health and in many more things. As we know the way the sytem works, it would never be equal but those who care we can try to make a difference.

Obesity in the United States

By: Lan Lam

Obesity has been an epidemic in the United States for many decades already and continues to be an alarming concern not only as individuals but also to our society. Obesity can play a tremendous role in a person social class along with health risk. According to medical records, obesity is a medical condition when there is an excess amount of fat in one's body which may be linked to heart disease, type 2 diabetes, lack of breathing, and cancer etc. The easiest way to determine if you’re obese is by calculating your body mass index (BMI), which is the ratio of your weight to your height. Adults with a BMI of 25 or higher are considered overweight and anything higher than 30 is consider obese.

Percent of Obese (BMI > 30) in U.S. Adults

2009 State Obesity Rates
State	%	State	%	State	%	State	%
Alabama	31.0	Illinois	26.5	Montana	23.2	Rhode Island	24.6
Alaska	24.8	Indiana	29.5	Nebraska	27.2	South Carolina	29.4
Arizona	25.5	Iowa	27.9	Nevada	25.8	South Dakota	29.6
Arkansas	30.5	Kansas	28.1	New Hampshire	25.7	Tennessee	32.3
California	24.8	Kentucky	31.5	New Jersey	23.3	Texas	28.7
Colorado	18.6	Louisiana	33.0	New Mexico	25.1	Utah	23.5
Connecticut	20.6	Maine	25.8	New York	24.2	Vermont	22.8
Delaware	27.0	Maryland	26.2	North Carolina	29.3	Virginia	25.0
Washington DC	19.7	Massachusetts	21.4	North Dakota	27.9	Washington	26.4
Florida	25.2	Michigan	29.6	Ohio	28.8	West Virginia	31.1
Georgia	27.2	Minnesota	24.6	Oklahoma	31.4	Wisconsin	28.7
Hawaii	22.3	Mississippi	34.4	Oregon	23.0	Wyoming	24.6
Idaho	24.5	Missouri	30.0	Pennsylvania	27.4

The data shown in these maps were collected through the CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor which is a percentage of obesity rates in the United States. According to statistics, high levels of poverty and low levels of education are linked with obesity across the U.S. For example, Mississippi is also the poorest state in America and ranks in the bottom ten in educational spending as well. When unemployment rises, obesity can soon follow because cutting back on expenses often means cutting the healthier, more expensive foods and people also turn to junk food to relieve stress.

As the increase of obesity in the United States arouses the new generation may seek shorter life expectancy due to health issues which contribute from overweight or obese. The government gives billions of dollars every year for medical cost contributing obesity while millions of people spends money on surgery and diet pills to help lose weight, but is it really working?. In some cases I think surgery and diet pills do work but reality you may gain all your weight back. Like any doctor would say to any patient healthy eating and regular exercise would help keep a healthy diet to society. Walking in the park with the family is a great way to keep fit like the picture below.