It is well established that carcinogenic substances are lurking in the environment around us, but just how many cancer cases are caused by these substances remains a mystery. Diet and smoking habits make up nearly 60 percent of cancer cases, and thus personal lifestyle changes play a major factor, but how many cancer cases result from environmental and occupational exposure - environmental toxins.

Environmental Toxins – 1/3 of Cancer Cases

For decades the estimate for such cases has remained at 6 percent, but many experts feel that number is significantly lower than what is actually true. In a 1981 report by two scientists, Sir Richard Doll and Sir Richard Peto, was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. It was estimated that pollutants in the environment caused about 2 percent of cancer deaths and exposures in occupational settings were responsible for 4 percent. Using these numbers, 30,000 U.S. deaths resuleds from these exposures in 2009.

But the percentage of cancer cases caused by environmental toxins and occupational exposure can’t be confidently calculated. While it is important to know which substances are carcinogenic and how much these substances are used in our society, many factors must be taken into consideration when determining exactly what causes this number 2 killer to be so rampant.

Tobacco smoke is responsible for nearly 30 percent of cancer cases, and the carcinogenicity of the substance is amplified even more when asbestos is present. Benzene, which causes leukemia, is commonly found in vehicle exhaust. Similarly, radon, a natural radioactive gas found in many homes, raises the risk of lung cancer while arsenic, linked to skin, liver, bladder and lung cancer, contaminates many foods and juices – as well as the water supply.

While scientists and mainstream medical professionals call upon the abilities of mainstream medical science to lessen cancer rates, research shows that the war against cancer using such techniques is a complete failure. Despite 10′s of millions of dollars being spent on the war on cancer each year, and the American Cancer Society allegedly making its mission to treat and prevent cancer, overall rates continue to climb as mainstream medicine provides little benefit.

No matter exactly how many cancer cases are being caused by environmental toxins, possessing some knowledge allows for individuals to reduce their exposure to the carcinogenic substances while manufacturers and factories can reduce or halt the use of the cancer-causing substances.

So how can the nearly 60 percent of cancer cases caused the smoking and lifestyle be drastically slashed? To put it simple, don’t smoke and live a healthy lifestyle full of exercise and healthy eating. Fructose is consistently being found to play a significant role in the development and spread of cancer, so fructose consumption should be greatly limited. Using organic consumer products, consuming organic foods, not smoking, and filtering your tap water will also greatly help to reduce any chance you have of developing cancer.

In addition, begin to consume the many cancer-fighting foods at your disposal. The spice turmeric has consistently been shown to block cancer growth, and 12 studies have shown turmeric to reduce tumors by 81 percent. Ginger, a cousin spice of turmeric, has also been revealed as a cancer fighter, shrinking prostate tumor size by 56 percent in mice. Vitamin D, the use of natural sweeteners, and especially exercise have all been shown to help fight off cancer. Consuming fruits and vegetables while ignoring toxic, chemical-laden junk and fast food, is also advised.

Whether it be reducing exposure to environmental toxins or boosting your body with powerful foods, solutions to fighting and preventing cancer are available – you simply must recognize them.

In 2009, the Food and Drug Administration gained authority to regulate tobacco products, and now they will soon be exercising that ability. Already releasing preliminary guidelines for the tobacco industry that can educate consumers on exactly what is in cigarettes, the FDA is making it so tobacco companies will have to report on the amount of harmful and unsafe ingredients used in their products.

Tobacco Industry Forced to List Ingredients Used in Their Products

Within one year, the FDA plans to share information on chemical amounts, while tobacco makers will be required to report on the amount of 93 substances used in their products. This means that harmful ingredients used such as ammonia and formaldehyde will need to be made known to the public. This decision will certainly ignite a slew of ingredient-based information regarding tobacco products.

 “We are forging new territory to ensure that tobacco companies provide accurate information and do not mislead American consumers. We are committed to stopping such practices that may cause people to start or continue using tobacco products that could lead to preventable disease and death,” FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said in a statement.

There are over 4,000 individual compounds identified in tobacco and tobacco smoke, with at least 60 of them being known carcinogens. How would you feel after finding out that with every cigarette comes a dose of insecticide, car exhaust, gas chamber poison, ant poison, floor cleaner, mothballs, and nuclear weapon material? The fact is, there are hundreds of chemicals in tobacco products (and cigarettes especially) that people don’t even know about.

• Insecticide – nicotine
• Car exhaust – carbon monoxide
• Gas chamber poison – hydrogen cyanide
• Ant poison – ammonia
• Mothballs – naphthalene
• Nuclear power – radioactive compounds

While this kind of information won’t be responsible for ending the bad habit of smoking for the majority of individuals, it may serve to kick the habit for many. Even while smoking and tobacco use is already known to cause various cancers such as lung cancer, throat cancer, and stomach cancer, the health damaging aspects of smoking aren’t enough for people to quit. But now, seeing “formaldehyde”, “lead”, and “arsenic” on the label may just be enough to cause many people to finally quit smoking and tobacco use.

Smoking cigarettes for weight loss, giving your newborn babies a gulp of sugary soda, and dropping wholesome foods for processed candy bars in an attempt to drop pounds fast; these are but a few of the vintage advertisements that major corporations were allowed to broadcast to consumers worldwide. As a reminder of just how backwards many ‘health’ advertisements are, here are 4 truly insane weight loss ads from across the globe. While viewing the ludicrous content, think about whether or not they’re really much different from many ‘health’ ads you see today.

1. Smoking Weight Loss Ads – Lose Weight with Cigarettes

This advertisement from 1929 from the Lucky Strike cigarette company shows how cigarettes were at one point actually marketed towards women as a fat-loss aid. Big tobacco was quite stalwart in denying the negative effects of cigarettes for years, despite repeated proof from health experts and scientific whistleblowers. Smoking now remains the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, ending the lives of around 393,000 Americans per year.

2. In Order to Lose Weight, You Need to Eat More Sugar

This ad, put out by sugar manufacturers in the 1970s, actually says that sugar can help you lose weight and eat less. ”When you’re hungry, it usually means your energy is down,” says the ‘health’ banner. ”By eating something with sugar in it, you can get your energy up fast.”

Unfortunately sugar is actually highly addictive, shown to be as powerful as cocaine by numerous studies. Sugar has also been found to feed cancer cells, prompt excess weight gain, and contribute to a number of other serious health ailments. This is among the most ridiculous of weight loss ads.

3. Forget Vegetables, Eat Psychoactive Drugs

This ‘dieting candy’ company touts a weight loss solution that completely removes ‘yawn rabbit food diets’ that contain foods like vegetables and other produce. Instead of eating broccoli, you can consume one of their stimulant-loaded diet bars. The bar even includes the psychoactive drug phenylpropanolamine, banned in the United States for causing stroke.

4. Feed Your Baby Lots of Soda

Seven-Up makers wanted you to know that it’s never too early to start giving your newborn baby soda. After all, it’s so ‘pure and wholesome’. Loaded with sugar and now high-fructose corn syrup, soda companies have recently started to dodge cancer warning labels due to the extreme toxicity of the ingredients they use. When given to toddlers, the effects can be even more detrimental on their developing bodies.

Engaging in unhealthy activities have an obvious negative impact on your physical health, but did you ever consider how these activities are impacting your emotional health? Activities leading to poor health like drinking alcohol and smoking regularly have been shown to also greatly contribute to a lower level of overall happiness. Taking this aspect into consideration offers an even greater reason to establish an overall healthy lifestyle.

Unhealthy Diet Leads to an Overall Lower Quality of Life

Authors of the study coming to this finding used data from Understanding Society — a long-term study of 40,000 UK households. Researchers analyzed the life at home and the health-related behavior of close to 5000 kids ages 10 to 15. The nearly 5000 kids were questioned on family friends, appearance, and various other factors including their overall happiness levels. What they found was that teenagers who never or seldom engaged in drinking alcohol were between four and six times more likely to be happier than those those who do drink. Similarly, teens who refuse cigarettes are nearly five times more happy than their smoking counterparts.

To add to the findings, the authors also found that higher consumption of healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables and less ingestion of junk food was associated with a higher happiness level.

Unfortunately for virtually the entire adolescent population, psychological food advertisements are an indirect reason for the decreased happiness level. Researchers have found parental disapproval of junk food only resulted in 13 percent less children choosing junk food, which is oftentimes full of synthetic chemicals and genetically modified ingredients. These advertisements are also contributing to the severe lack of nutritious food intake, with only 10 percent of high school students consuming the appropriate amount of fruits and vegetables.

The processed junk foods which are contributing to a lack of happiness have also been shown to trigger addiction and brain damage. In fact, research finds that processed foods and sugary drinks are addictive as cocaine.

“Another explanation could be that youths who smoke and drink first fit themselves into certain groups that tend to be unhappier, and then they find themselves unhappy. It becomes a vicious cycle…It’s probably a combination of both [turning to these activities and fitting in with groups first]. Some will take up smoking because they want to feel more adult, but then find themselves hanging out with people who are less happy and then they become less happy”, co-author Cara Booker says.

Advertising plays a large part in the high rate of smokers as well, with the subconscious and conscious mind constantly being bombarded with smoking scenes in movies and TV. Unfortunately when children choose to take such a  glorified role in society as suggested by film, they are also subjecting themselves to not only the dangers of smoking, but the unhappy life that often comes with it as well.

According to the FDA, you should always seek medical advice from your orthodox medical doctor before attempting any natural healing protocol. If you do, I suggest you find one that knows what natural healing is and how it works using herbs, nutraceuticals and other adjunctive remedies. Only practitioners using drugs are allowed to claim they treat, prevent or cure disease. Natural healing practitioners may not make that claim even if their protocols actually do.

What to do and not to do – How to be Well Through Natural Healing

If you don’t know by now, pathogens are not the causes of dis-ease. They are a sign, signal or symptom of the true underlining cause; and that cause is The HONSTEC Syndrome. Of all the components of this acronym, E is most vital. E stands for Energy-in-Motion. All life depends on harmonious free flowing energy. After all, without life force energy, we cease to exist.

The other six components of this syndrome are contributing factors to the loss of energy, both at a cellular level and the body in general. Pathogenic organisms are merely opportunistic scavengers attracted to toxic, nutrient imbalanced, dehydrated hosts; humans. Regardless, there are steps they we can take to minimize exposure to and proliferation of these pathogens. Here are a few ideas.

To help avoid any infection, you should first stop doing those things that contribute to sickness and start doing those things that contribute to health. Here is a short list:

Stop –

1. Eating junk food; fried, preserved, microwaved, cooked-to-death, commercial, pesticide-laden “stuff.” There is no vitality, energy or nutrients to speak of.

2. Drinking soda filled with sugar, phosphoric acid, preservatives, dyes and other toxic chemicals. Sodas are extremely unhealthy.

3. Eating sugar! Sugar is the number one additive that compromises the immune system, creates an acid pH, lowers tissue oxygen and contributes to sickness and dis-ease. If you do eat any sugar at all, you must do something to negate, block or burn it off. Along with soda, sugar contributes to osteoporosis and the loss of vital minerals.

4. Smoking cigarettes, cigars or use of any tobacco.

5. Eating or drinking commercial, pasteurized diary products — especially if you have a lung infection. To the contrary, raw, UNpasteurized diary provides nutrients and healthy probiotics and therefore is good to consume in moderation.

6. Using your cell phone without an ear piece or Bluetooth connection.

7. Drinking alcohol in excess. One portion; glass of wine, beer or drink per day can easily be metabolized by the body and liver without complications, more than that and you risk having problems including dehydration and nutrient depletion.

8. Avoiding the sun. The sun is the single best way to acquire much needed vitamin D3. Do not use sun screen; however, do not get a sun burn.

9. Negative thoughts about you and your life or your friends or loved ones. Negative thoughts are toxic and will help to create sickness and dis-ease. The number one negative emotion is fear. Fear is usually generated from not knowing. Education and taking effect action remove fear.

Start -

1. Hydrating the body by drinking at least 64 oz. of pristine distilled water daily with added electrolytic minerals. Add an alkalizer to insure an alkaline pH, negative ionic charge and to neutralize the effects of chlorine.

2. Detoxifying the body on a regular basis.

3. Remineralize and fortify the body with a full complex of mineral supplement.

4. Regulating and normalizing glucose.

5. Modulating the immune system with any one of many foods and products including garlic, onions, horseradish, cruciferous vegetables, Asian mushrooms and more.

6. Relaxing by getting plenty of rest and sleep.

7. Oxygenating through regular, effective exercise.

8. De-Stressing by practicing stress releasing techniques like EFT or the Healing Codes.

9. Washing your hands each time you touch possible contaminated articles and especially after shaking someone’s hand. Wash your hands at least three or more times per day. Do NOT use anti-bacterial soap as this only lowers your resistance to infections over time.

10. Avoiding people that are coughing and sneezing or are obviously sick. Although only sick people get sick there is no need to be heavily exposed.

11. Eating a lot of alkaline foods. Pathogenic organisms typically do NOT thrive in an alkaline environment. Eat and juice the following now and forever:

A. Alkalinizing Vegetables

Alfalfa, Barley Grass, Beets, Beet Greens, Broccoli, Cabbage, Carrot, Cauliflower, Celery, Chard Greens, Chlorella, Collard Greens, Cucumber, Dandelions, Dulce, Edible Flowers, Eggplant, Fermented Veggies, Garlic, Green Beans, Green Peas, Kale, Kohlrabi, Lettuce, Mushrooms, Mustard Greens, Nightshade Veggies, Onions, Parsnips (caution: high glycemic), Peas, Peppers, Pumpkin, Radishes, Rutabaga, Sea Veggies, Spinach, Spirulina, Sprouts, Sweet Potatoes, Tomatoes, Watercress, Wheat Grass and Wild Greens.

B. Alkalinizing Fruits

Apple, Apricot, Avocado, Banana (caution: high glycemic), Berries, Blackberries, Cantaloupe Cherries (sour), Coconut (fresh), Currants, Dates (dried), Figs (dried), Grapes, Grapefruit, Honeydew Melon, Lemon, Lime, Muskmelons, Nectarine, Orange, Peach, Pear, Pineapple, Raisins, Raspberries, Rhubarb, Strawberries. Tangerine, Tomato, Tropical Fruits, Umeboshi Plums and Watermelon.

C. Alkalinizing Protein

Almonds, Chestnuts, Millet, Tempeh (fermented), Tofu (fermented), Whey Protein Powder, Super Kamut™.

D. Alkalinizing Other

Apple Cider Vinegar, Bee Pollen, Lecithin Granules, Molasses (blackstrap), Probiotic Cultures, Soured Dairy Products, Green Juices, Veggie Juices, Fresh Fruit Juice, Mineral Water, Alkaline Antioxidant Water.

E. Alkalinizing Sweeteners

Stevia, Xylitol (neutralizes).

F. Alkalinizing Minerals

Cesium: pH 14, Potassium: pH 14, Sodium: pH 14, Calcium: pH 12, Magnesium: pH 9

G. Alkalinizing Spices and Seasonings

Cinnamon, Curry, Ginger, Mustard, Chili Pepper, Sea Salt, Miso, Tamari, All Herbs including the following teas: ginger, cayenne, red clover, etc.

H. Alkalinizing Oriental Vegetables

Maitake, Daikon, Dandelion Root, Shitake, Kombu, Reishi, Nori, Umeboshi, Wakame.

I. Potassium Broth Soup

In a large cooking pot cut up fresh, organic vegetables such as cabbage, celery, potato, onions, garlic, beets, carrots, ginger and others. Pour distilled water to top. Simmer for a couple of hours then screen off the vegetables leaving pure vegetable broth. Drink as much as you want.

Remember, you don’t need to adhere strictly to the alkaline side of the chart, just make sure a good percentage of the foods you eat come from that side. Our bodies are alkaline by design and acid by function. The fluids that make up 75% plus of your body must remain alkaline for you to experience optimal health. Maintaining proper alkalinity is essential for life, health, and vitality. Simply, an imbalance of alkalinity creates a condition favorable to the growth of bacteria, yeast and other unwanted organisms. All leading biochemists and medical physiologists have recognized pH (or the acid-alkaline balance) as the most important aspect of a balanced and healthy body.

*Dr. James Chappell is a retired board certified chiropractic primary physician, traditional naturopath, clinical nutritionist, medical herbalist and master formulator with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. Since 1971, he has been an avid health researcher and educator specializing in teaching and incorporating natural healing protocols for chronic, severe and so-called “terminal” illnesses. He does not treat patients or dis-ease. He teaches those interested in advanced natural healing. His books and nutritional products are found throughout the world. His services are sought globally, as well. Contact information: calldrjim@sbcglobal.net 805-646-1193.

A new study confirms what many people may have already assumed to be true – that products such as nicotine gum and nicotine patches don’t really help smokers quit. In the journal Tobacco Control, researchers report that the nicotine patches and nicotine gum products work for a few months at best, but are no more effective than cold turkey when it comes to helping people quit smoking long term.

Nicotine Patches and Nicotine Gum Shown to be Ineffective

To determine the effectiveness of the patch and gum, researchers studied 787 adult smokers located in Massachusetts. They were followed between 2001 and 2006, and all of them had quit smoking prior to the study. During the 5 year time period they were followed, they had to answer questionnaires three different times revealing if they started smoking again or not.  With an even distribution between usage of nicotine replacements, those combining nicotine replacement with counseling, and those who didn’t use any nicotine replacement strategies, about 1/3 of the participants relapsed at each of the three survey periods.

Although the addictive aspect of nicotine makes it difficult for smokers to quit, quitting can be done once you make the conscious decision to be a non-smoker instead of a smoker. Nicotine replacement products only provide a minor boost until the decision to quit is finally made. Skip the ineffective nicotine replacement products and avoid pharmaceutical stop-smoking pills and remember to consider a few things when trying to quit.

• Simply stop smoking – You are in control of your own life and all the decisions you make. Quitting can be easy once this truth is realized and you finally make the decision to quit.

• Cut down on smoking – If you still don’t think you can do it cold turkey, try to stop smoking through gradual reduction. Cold turkey can be difficult for some people, and so cutting down may be a good option for everyone around you. One of the best tools for quitting is the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT).

• When you quit smoking you will experience immediate and long term benefits you probably never knew about.

• Make an attempt to cut out other sources of stress in your life. Again, this can be achieved using EFT. Smokers often turn to a cigarettes because they feel “stressed”, so minimizing stress inducing activities or events can help you cut down, sometimes without you even realizing it.

• Purchase an air purifier for your home. This will reduce toxins emitted from cigarettes, as well as from all other sources.

• Smoking isn’t cheap. To smoke not only means to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars a year, but also sheds years off your life.

Although a high amount of smoking bans are taking place nationwide to reduce smoke exposure indoors, the bans are having little impact on the number of cigarette butts thrown on the streets. With around 19.3% of adults 18 and older smoking cigarettes, it is no wonder that cigarette butts make up one third of America’s litter. Not only that, but they also account for about 28 percent of trash which washes up on beaches worldwide.

4.5 Trillion Cigarette Butts Littered Each Year

Of course there is no upside to this information. With about 4.5 trillion cigarette butts littered around the world each year, it is no surprise that cities started raising taxes on cigarettes to cover the costs for the mess. San Francisco is just one city which has raised cigarette taxes 33 cents per pack in 2009 to cover the $11 million spent on cleaning up cigarette litter annually. Not only are we paying out of pocket for this pollution, but every living creature as well as the environment is also suffering.

Smoking alone causes 5 million deaths per year, and the sad part is that everyone is being affected – not just the smoker. The 7,000+ individual compounds in cigarettes, 70 of which being known cancer-causing substances, are being puffed into the air at alarming rates, causing massive health problems that affect the entire populations. The chemicals are also causing complications by being present in the water, with one study finding that a single cigarette butt in a quarter-gallon of water can kill a fish in just four days. In addition, the invisible gases and particles left behind from tobacco smoke, which is known as third-hand smoke, are also fueling sickness while receiving very little recognition.

And yet all of this is only a portion of the true cost of smoking. What many smokers may not realize is that they could be spending nearly $2190/year if smoking one pack a day. This cost does not include the 55 days given up each year, or the extra money paid out to various insurances.

By quitting smoking, you will be saving more lives and more of our planet than you know.

Smoking is not a cheap venture in any way, shape or form. But it seems that the price tag on a pack of cigarettes hardly deters many from partaking in the activity despite harsh economic times. Although the price tag of a single pack of cigarettes may not be intimidating enough for those experiencing the relaxing effects of smoking, maybe a look at the overall cost of the habit would make somewhat of an impact.

Today a pack of cigarettes costs about $6/pack. The price varies based on location and taxes, yes, but let’s use $6/pack for calculations. At $6/pack, if someone smokes 1 pack a day, every day the annual expenditure on cigarettes is $2190/year. But unfortunately the costs don’t stop there.

The True Cost of Smoking | Smoking Shortens Your Life and Empties Your Pocket

In addition to the cost of cigarettes, you’re also giving up hours or days of your life. According to this calculator,  smoking 1 pack a day for a year results in about a loss of 55 days from one’s life. Of course it is hard to say exactly how many hours or days will be shed off from smoking while there are so many other variables to consider. No matter the exact amount of “time lost” from smoking, we do know that it does in fact shorten life.

Some of the health costs are:

• Genetic damage
• Throat and stomach cancer
• Increased stillbirth risk
• Lung cancer
• Heart disease
• Stroke

Here you can calculate how much it costs you to smoke. Keep in mind that the price per pack you enter has not been that price forever. So if you’ve been smoking for 20 years, the total calculation will be a bit elevated since cigarettes did not cost as much 20 years ago. But then again, all prices are relative.

In 2004, it was estimated that the actual cost of smoking was nearly $40 per pack. Factors in this total include:

• $33/pack for the cost of early deaths, smoking related disabilities, and other factors (which includes $20.28 a pack due to reduced life expectancy)
• $5.44/pack for the cost of the effect of second-hand smoke on significant others
• $1.44/pack for the cost of the effect of second-hand smoke on the society as a whole

With a pack of cigarettes costing approximately $40, it is estimated that someone who smokes would spend $171,000 over a lifetime! More recently, a pack of cigarettes is said to cost up to a whopping $150/pack.

“Hidden” Cost of Smoking

The cost of smoking goes far beyond a pack of cigarettes. There are numerous “hidden” costs of smoking which are associated with smoking that many people don’t even think about or consider. It’s easy to ignore these costs because they aren’t as clearly noticed as simply buying a pack of cigarettes. Some of these hidden costs include:

• Increased Life Insurance rates – Due to being at a greater risk of dying at an early age, smokers have to pay higher life insurance premium payments.

• Increased Health Insurance rates – Similar to life insurance, smokers must pay higher medical insurance premium payments since they are at a higher risk for contracting medical problems.

• Increased Health Care costs – People who smoke generally have more medical problems than those who don’t smoke, so they must pay more to take care of these problems.

• Increased medication use – More medical problems lead to more medications, increasing personal costs even further.

• Increased Home Owner’s Insurance rates – People who smoke have a higher chance of burning down there house. This higher chance is reflected in higher home owner’s insurance premium payments.

• Decreased value of your house – Hardly anyone likes a smoke-filled house. It creates a bad smell and causes discoloration. This decreases the value to potential buyers.

• Increased Car Insurance rates – Smokers have an increased chance of getting into a car accident, and thus this is reflected in higher car insurance premium payments.

• Less value for your car – Due to the foul odor smoke leaves, the value of your car suffers and it’s resale or trade-in value decreases.

Although the above costs may be enough to cause a permanent smoking hiatus, sometimes chasing the opposite sex or playing a sport are the only benefits of quitting that matter to some individuals. Let’s face it, no one likes the smell of cigarette smoke, and a coach or sports team doesn’t want someone with athletic ability that is impeded due to smoking. When it comes to the cost of smoking, there are truly many hidden costs that may be enough to convince you or your friends to drop the habit.

Is the true cost of smoking really worth it?

While many people may not know everything smoking can potentially lead to, it is well known now that nothing could can come out the activity. Advertisers and Hollywood have successfully hammered the idea of smoking into our brains over the last few decades, but thankfully people now know the truth concerning the negative health effects and child influence. But what positive things happens when someone decides to quit smoking?

Quitting Smoking | Immediate and Long Term Benefits

If a cigarette is in your mouth right now, finish it. Once you finish it, don’t ever pick up another one. If you did this right now, your body would go through amazing changes starting just 20 minutes after you finish that cigarette. Here are the benefits of quitting smoking and a timeline of what will happen once you quit smoking.

• In about 20 minutes, your blood pressure and pulse rate will decrease, and the body temperature of your hands and feet will increase.

• At approximately the 8-12 hour mark, the carbon monoxide level in your blood will decrease to normal and your blood oxygen level will increase to normal.

• At 24 hours the chance of you having a heart attack decreases significantly.

• At about 48 hours, nerve endings begin to regrow and your ability to smell and taste is enhanced.

• Between 2 weeks and 3 months, your circulation improves, walking becomes easier, and couching and wheezing is experienced less often. Phlegm production decreases and at about the 3 month mark, and lung function is significantly improved.

• Between 1 and 9 months, you will experience all of the benefits already listed  in addition to experiencing less sinus congestion, fatigue, and shortness of breath. Cilia, tiny hair-like structures that move mucus out of the lungs, also regain normal function.

• In 1 year, your risk of coronary heart disease and heart attacks is reduced by half of what it used to be when you were a smoker.

• Between 5 and 15 years, your risk of having a stroke returns to normal, before you started smoking.

• At about the 10 year mark, your chance of developing various cancers including cancer of the lungs, mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney, and pancreas, greatly decreases. Risk of lung cancer reverts to that of a non-smoker.

• In about 15 years, your risk of coronary heart disease and heart attack shifts to that of a person who has never smoked before. The risk of death also drops nearly to the level of a non-smoker.

Even with the exclusion of the incredible amount of money you would save from quitting as well as the negative influence you would be omitting from our society, the above benefits of quitting smoking are more than convincing.

Not only are processed foods and sodas filled with high-fructose corn syrup detrimental to your health, but new research finds they can also be as addictive as cocaine. The findings reveal how junk food affects the brain, with consumers developing a dependency on the health-destroying food items. Furthermore, the medical research threatens the $1 trillion food and beverage industry that currently stands.

One decade ago, the topic of food addiction was barely on the radar. Today, the subject has gained major attention among the scientific community. This year alone, 28 studies and papers were published on the subject of food addiction, according to a National Library of Medicine database. What is truly shocking is that there is little disagreement between the findings — processed foods and sugar-loaded drinks are being found to be powerfully addictive almost across the board.

“The data is so overwhelming the field has to accept it,” said Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. “We are finding tremendous overlap between drugs in the brain and food in the brain.”

It is bad enough that these food products contain ingredients such as mercury-filled high-fructose corn syrup and genetically modified ingredients, but the addictive qualities bring into question another level of ethics regarding the addictive qualities of junk food.

Processed food addiction research to spawn campaign similar to anti-smoking movement?

As research continues to come out on the subject, a battle may soon ensue against the $1 trillion industry behind addictive junk food. The addictive qualities of junk food may also play a significant role in the skyrocketing United States obesity rates.

Just as with cigarettes, food companies producing processed junk may soon face consumer backlash similar to that of the anti-smoking movement. After all, the ingredients in many nutrient-depleted processed junk food products pose a risk similar to cigarette smoking. The mercury inside of high-fructose corn syrup could be considered even more deadly than cigarette smoking. Adding addiction into the equation creates even more cause for alarm. This creates a scenario in which many consumer activist groups and individuals may go up against the processed food titans, similar to how activists challenged tobacco companies over the negative health effects of smoking.