ay 1993
ifiihate Continues
Page 3
robacco Use, Good Health Diverge
By JEANNE SMITH
Health Services Manager
For quite some time now
e have heard the debate
bout smoking and the prob-
fms it causes.
Perhaps the jury is still out
n part of the debate but re-
orts continue to confirm that
moking is hazardous to an
idividual’s health.
The debate has continued
urther to say that the person
/ho smokes not only is dam-
iging himself but if others are
iround him, they can be ad-
rersely affected by the smoke.
Jeanne
Smith
no danger.
“We believe that the exist
ing science shows that any long
term effect of passive smoke
has not been proven,” he said.
The recent report, which
A recent report issued by reviewed 10 epidemiological
;he American Heart Associa- studies involving non-smoking
Ron said that passive cigarette
smoke kills some 53,000 non
smoking Americans each year,
making it the third-leading
preventable cause of death in
the United States.
Researchers at the Univer
sity of Califomia-San Francisco
said they established a link be-
^een passive smoke and the
development of heart disease.
Passive smoking is a much
bigger problem than anyone
thought,” said Dr. Stanton
Glantz, an associate staff
member of the Cardiovascu
lar Research Institute at UCSF.
“This is the first clear state
ment that passive smoking
causes heart disease.”
Smoking advocates say the
study lacks scientific basis. A
spokesman for The Tobacco
j Institute said passive smoke
never has been shown to be
harmful. However, he would
not go so far as to say there is
spouses of smokers, said people
living with smokers are 30
percent more likely to suffer
from heart disease or heart
attacks than those who live in
smoke-free households.
It also said passive smoke
also increases the tendency of
blood to clot, thereby raising
the chances for a heart attack.
Through the report Glantz
and others estimated that
37,000 people die annually
from heart disease contracted
from passive smoke. Another
3,700 die from lung chancer
and 12,000 die from other
forms of cancer caused by
passive smoke.
Active smoking, according
to Glantz, causes some 400,000
deaths a year.
Smoking usually affects the
person’s lungs first.
The lung is our breathing
machine. It draws in air, filters
it, separates out life-giving
oxygen for the body’s use and
expels what Ls left over ~ mostly
carbon dioxide. The normal
adult lung is about the size of
a football.
When we inhale, air enters
the lung through tubes, or
passageways, called bronchi.
These bronchi are lined with
vibrating, hairline structures
called cilia, which whip back
and forth some 900 times a
minute to help keep solid
pollutants in the air from en
tering the lung. The air is car
ried down though smaller and
smaller bronchi until it reaches
tiny air sacs which are uniform
in size. This is where the oxy
gen/carbon dioxide exchange
takes place.
Damage to the lung often
takes place before there are
any symptoms.
One disease which smok
ing can cause is emphysema,
which destroys the lung’s elas
ticity, and therefore its ability
to inhale and exhale properly.
Tissue affected by emphy
sema can never be repaired
or replaced and the disease,
progressing slowly but stead
ily, turns its victims into respi
expel carbon dioxide.
This used to be a relatively
rare disease, but is becoming
increasingly common. It has
been strongly associated with
smoking because of the intense
air pollution caused by ciga
rette smoke in the lungs.
As to cancer in the lungs, it
is believed that it begins most
often with the constant irrita
tion of the lining of the bron
chi by cigarette smoke.
With the constant irritation
caused by the smoke, the hair
like cilia which filter the air we
breathe disappear from the
lining of the bronchi. Athough
extra mucus is secreted to
substitute for the cilia and trap
pollutants, this mucus itself be
comes a problem. It remains
trapped until finally forced out
of the lung by what is known
as a “smoker’s cough.”
appear.
The ACS says research
shows that even passive ciga
rette smoke increases the risk
of lung cancer and other res
piratory diseases as well as risk
to a fetus during pregnancy.
It has been said that if the
effects of cigarette smoking
appeared on our skin instead
of in our lungs—where it can’t
be seen - no one would smoke.
The debate still is not over
and all the research has not
been completed but what has
been shown is causing more
and more businesses and gov
ernment offices to declare their
premises “smoke free” and
disallow smoking of any to
bacco product.
After seeing the research
statistics, there appears to be
a good case for breaking the
smoking habit if you have it.
If a smoker quits before And if you don’t smoke, don’t
cancerous lesions are present, start. You’ll be healthier for
the bronchial lining will re
turn to normal. If not, the
abnormal cell growth spreads,
blocking the bronchi and then
invading the lung tissue itself
In the latter stages of lung
It.
More people are breaking
the smoking habit, according
to a recent survey by the Asso
ciated Press conducted in all
50 states. Since 1964, when
the first U..S. surgeon gen-
cancer, abnormal cells break
ratory cripples. Patients spend away from the lung and are eral’s report linking smoking
years gasping for breath, and carried by the lymphatic sys- to cancer was issued, the per-
tem to other vital organs, where centage of Americans who
new cancers begin. smoke has dropped from 42
Because lung cancer is dif- percent to 25 percent,
ficult to detect early, it is very If there are any Adams-
difficult to treat successfully. Millis employees are interested
Often it is fatal. Yet, accord
ing to the American Cancer
Sxiety, if no one smoked ciga
rettes, 83 percent of lung
cancers would eventually dis-
when death comes, it fre
quently is due to an over
worked heart.
Emphysema changes the
lung’s normal appearance.
Some of the air sacs burst and
collapse, creating tiny craters
in the lung, while other bal
loon in the body’s desperate
struggle to obtain oxygen and
in a smoking ceasation class,
contact your human resources
representative. We’ll be glad
to provide that opportunity for
you if enough interest is shown.
Keep Your First Aid Kit Well-Stocked With Right Supplies
A first aid kit is an impor
tant item to have handy at all
times in case of a health emer
gency. It’s a good idea to have
one in your car, one at home,
one for your camper or boat.
Even if one is available in
those places, when did you last
check your first aid kit(s) to
equipped kit has an assortment
of bandages and medications,
as well as some simple tools.
Following are some items that
should be included:
Adhesive bandage strips
Butterfly bandages
Elastic bandages
Hypoallergenic adhesive tape
make sure they were properly Stretchable gauze bandages
equipped? A kit without the Sterile cotton balls, gauze pads.
nonstick pads and eye patches
Triangular bandage for slings
Blunt-tipped scissors
Tweezers
Bulb syringe to rinse eyes or
wounds
Activated charcoal for poison
ing emergencies
Antiseptic wipes or solution
Antibiotic ointment
Calamine/antihistamine lotion
Sterile eye wash
Syrup of ipecac (use only with
professional medical advice
during a poisoning emergency)
Flashlight and batteries
Tissues
Safety pin
Latex gloves
Thermometer
Spare blanket
necessary items can mean false
security for you.
According to the Ameri
can Red Cross First Ad &
Safety Handbook, a well-
10% MachinerY ^
Human Error Is Main Cause Of Accidents
AMCO NEWS
May 1993
Vol. 49, No. 2
AMCO NEWS is pub
lished bi-monthly by Adams-
Millis, 1823 Eastchester
Drive, High Point, North
Carolina, 27265.
Editorial contributions,
comments and suggestions
are always welcomed by your
staff.
Linda Leach,
Editor
By ROBIN KORICANEK
Manager, Division Safety
About one in ten accidents
happen because of machin
ery. The other nine are caused
by human errors according to
the National Safety Council.
The good news is this: You
Robin
Koricanek
will be a step ahead in coming
up with the right response to
the situations.
- Ak enough questions so
you are sure about how to do
a new procedure. There is no
such thing as dumb question.
If you are in doubt, ask.
- Be selfish with your time.
Place your safety above the
time you would save by taking
and
don’t have to settle for nine
to-one odds. Every day you them. Everything a dangerous action. Drivers^,
can reduce your chance of ^ hammer to a computer welders, office people
making a mistake. Here are ^
some ways to make you safer. Ocular dangers. Be aware
- Know your equipment, happen, and you
Understand its hazards and
workers in every job can re
duce the odds of human error
by taking the time to do a job
the correct and safe way.
- Guard your muscles, and
save your back. Don’t be too
busy to ask for help when you
have to move something heavy.
- Be ready to work when it
is time for work. When you
arrive in a risk, you are likely
to start work without thinking
first.
You wouldn’t go to Las
Vegas if you knew your odds
of winning were less than
someone else’s. Be smart with
your future every day. Get
belter odds for yourself.