The first World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) was observed on 31 May 1988, a year after this global campaign was created during the World Health Assembly by the World Health Organization. The objective of WNTD was to encourage all persons worldwide who smoke
or chew tobacco to quit for at least 24 hours. Ironically, a simple
google search of “World No Tobacco Day” brings up a series of images showing cigarettes being shunned in creative ways. The current theme of WNTD focuses
on effects of tobacco on cardiovascular health and is depicted as smoke
rising from the blood vessels of the heart. Unfortunately, most of the
images, depicting the health hazards of tobacco, fail to showcase the
harmful effects of ‘smokeless’ forms of tobacco, which are equally
harmful.
[Watch webinar recording] [Download or listen to the podcast] The thematic focus of 2018 World No Tobacco Day is "Tobacco and heart disease." Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) kill more people than any other cause of
death worldwide, and tobacco use and second-hand smoke exposure
contribute to approximately 12% of all heart disease deaths.
A research study done under the guidance of Professor (Dr) Surya Kant, Head, Department of Respiratory Medicine, King George’s Medical University (KGMU), in collaboration with Lucknow University, found that 30 minutes of daily practice of yoga, along with standard medical treatment, improves the quality of life of asthma patients, by increasing their antioxidants’ levels, improving their lung functions, symptom scores and reducing the dose of inhaled medications.
The world gathers every year on World TB Day to commemorate and celebrate the milestones achieved so far towards reversing TB trends. There has indeed been a continuous remodeling of consolidated interventions from 1994-2005 focusing on directly observed treatment short course (DOTS), to the Stop TB strategies during 2006-2015, and now for 2016 -2030 focusing on the End TB strategy, noted Dr Mario Raviglione, Director at Global Health Centre with the University of Milan.
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| Source: WHO Air Pollution monitor |
Rajni, the 19 year old girl who helps us with the domestic chores, suffers from some physical disability. She cannot walk properly. Hailing from a financially challenged family, her father drives a rickshaw while her mother contributes to the household income by ironing clothes. She and her two sisters work as domestic helps.
[Listen or download the podcast] This pretty well sums up the pathetic situation in which many migrants find themselves today. And while immigration refers to people who legally relocate to another country, the word migration can also be used in the context of birds and animals. In the case of human beings, migration is not a choice for most migrants. It is a condition forced upon them by their country of origin, as a result of weak economic conditions, poor social structures, conflict situations, and even environmental disasters.
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| Dr A K Varma |