7 very good reasons to quit that smoking habit

Apr 1, 2014

Every year in Ireland, 7,000 people die from preventable smoking-related diseases.

It is so important for your health that if you are a smoker, you quit as soon as possible.

Here are some reasons that will hopefully convince you, if they don’t, nothing will!

1. Increased risk of disease
Smoking causes an increased risk of heart disease, cancer, strokes among other terrifying diseases.

2. Yellow staining
Smoking causes yellow teeth and yellow nails.

3. Premature ageing
Smoking is so, so bad for your skin. It also causes premature ageing and wrinkles. Not to mention it knocks about 10-15 years of your life. Scary!

4. Smell
There will be a constant odour of smoke around you.

5. Taste
Your taste buds will become desensitised meaning your not getting the full depth of flavour in your food.

6. Not a good look
Basically, it looks really, really bad.

Is it really worth all this? We thought not!

Cameron Diaz puts her foot in it

Mar 6, 2014

by Amber Saunders

Cameron Diaz has come under fire for suggesting that smoking isn’t bad for you. Talking about her new book The Body Book on the Chelsea Lately show, the actress said: “I think one cigarette every once in a while is not going to kill you.”

The Charlie’s Angel star used to smoke 20 a day before her parents said she needed to stop in order to set good example – don’t think her mum will be too impressed with her latest comment.

Spokesperson for charity Action on Smoking and Health, Deborah Arnott, slammed Cameron’s controversial view, saying: “Cameron Diaz is deluding herself. One cigarette might not kill you, but before you know it you’re smoking five a day and that’s all that’s needed to give you cancer.”

However, while the 41-year-old is a bit blasé about smoking, she claims to be strict on the type of foods that she puts into her body. She said: “What I’ve learned is that just ’cause you can chew it and swallow it and poop it out doesn’t mean it’s food.”

A high protein diet can be as dangerous as smoking 20 a day

Mar 5, 2014

by Amber Saunders

According to new research, eating a diet high in protein could be as dangerous to your health as smoking 20 a day.

The University of Southern California, who conducted the research, defined a high protein diet as being at least 20% of a person’s daily calories. The results showed that those under the age of 65 who consumed this amount of animal protein had an increased risk of developing cancer.

Study author Dr Valter Longo, Professor of Biogerontology at the USC Davis School of Gerontology said: “High levels of protein can be as bad for you as smoking. People should understand the distinction and be able to make the decision about what they eat.”

Red meat, milk, and cheese are reportedly the most harmful but fortunately, there was no evidence to suggest fish protein has any harmful effect.

Dr Longo added: “Some proteins are better for you than others, for example plant-based proteins like beans. Vegans seem to do better in studies than those who eat animal based proteins. Red meat always comes out top as the worst and that’s probably due to its other components.”

Unfortunately, the results will put a shadow over the benefits of high-protein diets like the Paleo diet.

Are you a bit slow off the mark?

Feb 3, 2014

by Amber Saunders

A new study showed that people who live their lives at the same speed os a tortoise, have a higher chance of an early grave .

While looking at the reaction time of 5,000 men and women, researchers found that slow people are 25% more likely to die in the next 25 years – regardless of their age.

It’s so worrying that experts are now saying the lack of alertness could be as dangerous as smoking.

They also think that a slow reaction could indicate something more serious in the body, since the speed of your brain can act as a mirror of what’s happening inside you – or not happening.

The results of the study showed that slow reactions can even be linked with heart attack, strokes and car accidents.

And we thought being chilled out was a good thing…

Passive smoking: Is it really that bad?

Jan 9, 2014

by Amber Saunders

We’ve all heard about the negative effects of smoking and passive smoking; most notably, the development of cancer.

Passive smoking has always been considered to be just as bad as actual smoking, which has been a driving force in bringing in smoking bans.

However, it’s been revealed that evidence claiming passive smoking is dangerous is actually inconsistent.

Nearly ten years after Ireland introduced the first workplace smoking ban, the latest report on the lung cancer risks of passive smoking contradict previous research.

Apparently, “exposure to passive smoking overall, and to most individual categories of passive smoking, did not significantly increase lung-cancer risk.”

However, if you live with a smoker, you may be in trouble as the report “shows a trend of increased risk was living in the same house with a smoker for 30 years or more”.

Would you say this is the best anti-smoking ad ever?

Uncategorized

Nov 29, 2013

by Amber Saunders

Many have said this award-winning ad is the best anti-smoking campaign ever. Do you agree?