After the recent controversy over pictorial warnings on tobacco packages following a statement by Lok Sabha MP Dilip K Gandhi on the need for Indian research linking tobacco with cancer, an organisation in the city has begun a campaign to fight against the tobacco industry.
Called ‘Chase Out’, the national campaign aims as “chasing out the killer tobacco industry from interfering with health policies”.
S. Cyril Alexander, State convenor of the Tamil Nadu People’s Forum for Tobacco Control, says issues such as Mr. Gandhi’s statement and the decision to delay the tobacco warnings would keep arising unless immediate action was taken. “The statement made by Mr. Gandhi is a disgrace to public health. And we cannot let such a thing happen again,” he says.
The organization is calling for petitions to send representations to the government and to follow up with the government for action to be taken. For more details on the petition, log on to:http://www.tnpftc.org/
chase-out-campaign/
Tobacco is estimated to cause one death every 30 seconds in the country and almost 40 per cent of all cancers are tobacco related experts at the Cancer Institute, Adyar have said.
The pictorial warnings, which were quite gory, were initially due to come out on April 1, but the decision was postponed. Activists say this was due to pressure from the tobacco industry.
For healthier
heart activity
If you are over 40 and experience breathing trouble while climbing stairs or sleeping, with a history of diabetes, hypertension, dislipidemia or a heart attack, make sure to get an echo cardiogram every year. You could be experiencing dyssynchronous heart activity.
Dyssynchronous heart activity occurs when the heart’s pumping is not properly coordinated. This condition, if left untreated, could prove to be dangerous, doctors say. When identified in time, however, it is possible to treat it.
According to A.M. Karthigesan, consultant cardiologist and electro-physiologist, Apollo Hospitals, many patients who have had a heart attack, after returning home, find it difficult to breathe while performing simple tasks, and are unable to lie flat on a bed. An echo cardiogram could rule out dyssynchronized heart beats.
The latest advance in the field of Cadiac Resynchronizing Therapy (CRT) allows for multi-point pacing options. “In the past, most pacemakers would allow us to provide stimulation only in one point. This would be a problem if there was scarring in the heart,” Dr. Karthigesan said.
This technology combined with implantable cardioverter defibrillators sends sudden shock waves to multiple locations on the left side of the heart and electrically harmonizes the pumping rate, Dr. Karthigesan says.
(Reporting by
Zubeda Hamid and
Kavita Kishore)
