MEDICAL SURFARI: YOU SMOKE, YOU CHOKE!

The Christmas season tradition of sealing your letters and Christmas cards with a Christmas seal was begun by a young woman in 1907. Although perhaps long forgotten, or never known, Emily Bissell responded to the personal need of many patients at that time that were suffering from tuberculosis. A small tuberculosis hospital in her community in Delaware was in danger of closing due to lack of money. Emily designed the first Christmas seal and sold it for a penny a piece in the lobby of the Wilmington Post Office. Her goal was to raise $300. That year she raised $3,000. The next year her seals raised $135,000. Not only was the tuberculosis hospital saved, but a holiday tradition had begun.

Emily Bissell had a solution-oriented vision for calling community attention to a desperate problem that warranted public and private support.

In countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom where tobacco abuse has occurred for many decades, tobacco is responsible for about one third of all deaths in middle age. It is responsible for many of the deaths related to lung and heart disease. Cigarette smoking accounts for more than 90 percent of the tumors of the lung in men and about 70 percent in women. Lung disease is currently the third leading cause of death in America despite significant accomplishments in knowledge about its causes and treatments. Quitting smoking strongly reduces your chances of a lung tumor, heart disease, and stroke.

When talking with people who habitually use tobacco, alcohol, or drugs, one often gets the response: "What's the harm?" This attitude tries to throw the burden of proof on others. A person will never escape the ill effects of any habit merely because someone else cannot prove to him that the habit is harmful. It's far better to habitually avoid any practice that does not assure some benefit.

The medical evidence linking tobacco use to disease is overwhelming. Despite the serious risk of disease from tobacco addiction, people (especially impressionable young people) respond to the lure of tobacco advertisers.

Tobacco companies only want your money. They don't care about your health and they use slick advertising to convince young people that they can be like the actors and models who stage glamour and machismo linked to the use of cigarettes, snuff, and chewing tobacco. Sometimes they even pay people to give out free samples. Some people are fooled into trying these products -- then they can't quit! Nicotine is a harmful drug that takes you up -- then drops you flat. It makes you want more. It gets you hooked, then you're in real trouble.

This year's Great American Smoke-Out, on Thursday, sponsored by the American Cancer Society, calls upon the attention of our national community, smokers and non-smokers alike, to commit to keeping our society and our children smoke-free. People from all walks of life across the nation will be packing up their cigarettes and other tobacco products to prove to themselves that they can quit -- one day at a time. For teen-agers and children the "Great American SmokeScream" is a week of informative activities about the hazards of smoking that culminates and coincides with the Great American Smoke-Out.

Emily Bissell's call to arms in 1907 helped to stop the ravages of tuberculosis. We must, as she did, call community attention and support to the disease and disability associated with tobacco abuse.

World Wide Web Information Resources:

The Smoke-Out Web Site

http://www.cancer.org/smokepr.html

This site provides information for teens and adults about the Great American Smoke-Out. It also provides a variety of press releases about interactive adventure games, contests, and teen-oriented web sites promoting a pledge not to smoke.

The Great American SmokeScream Web Site

http://www.cancer.org/scrsite.html

This site is designed for kids and teen-agers and includes a game, contest, bulletin board system, and links to various popular and informative sites. The theme of the Great American SmokeScream, "You're Too Smart To Start," speaks directly to young people in a style that is uniquely their own. Users may also receive information about tobacco abuse and how to get local schools to participate in the Great American SmokeScream event. This site clearly strives to provide a very positive, informative, and fun experience for those who log on.

American Lung Association

http://www.lungusa.org/

This site contains current reference information for a variety of lung diseases, especially those that are smoking related, in adults and in children.

Dr. Scott Gibbs is a neurosurgeon and editor-in-chief of Mosby's Medical Surfari. You may e-mail questions to him at drgibbs@semissourian.com or write in care of the Southeast Missourian, P.O. Box 699, Cape Girardeau, Mo., 63701.