Cigars Instead
Smoking one or two cigars a day doubles the risk of cancers of the lip, tongue, mouth, and throat, according to a government study.
Daily cigars also increase the risk of lung cancer and cancer of the esophagus, and increase the risk of cancer of the larynx (voice box) six fold , say researchers at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland.
In addition, the report revealed that smoking three or four cigars a day increased the risk of oral cancer to 8 times the risk for nonsmokers and the risk of esophageal cancer by four times the risk of nonsmokers.
The health effects of smoking cigars is one of eight sections of the article "Cigars: Health Effects and Trends". The researchers report that, compared with a cigarette, a large cigar emits up to 90 times as much carcinogenic tobacco-specific nitrosamines.
"This article provides clear and invalidating information about the disturbing increases in cigar use and the significant public health consequences for the country. " said Dr. Richard Riausner, director of the National Cancer Institute, in a statement.
"The data are clear—the harmful substances and carcinogens in cigar smoke, like cigarettes, are associated with the increased risks of several kinds of cancers as well as heart and lung diseases. " he added. "In other words, cigars are not safe alternatives to cigarettes and may be addictive. "
"To those individuals who may be thinking about smoking cigars, our advice is—don't. Tothose currently smoking cigars, quitting is the only way to eliminate completely the cancer, heart and lung disease risks. " warned Klausner.
According to a National Cancer Institute press releases , there haven't been any studies on the health effects on nonsmokers at cigar social events, but "'"a significant body of evidence clearly demonstrates an increased lung cancer risk from secondhand smoke. "
According to the report, smoking three or four cigars a day______.
A. increases the risk of oral cancer for non-smokers.
B. greatly increases the risk of oral cancer for smokers.
C. increases the risk of more than one cancer for non-smokers.
D. greatly increases the risk of more than one cancer for smokers.
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Heat and Health
Extremely hot weather is common in many parts of the world. Although hot weather just makes most people hot, it can cause medical problems and death.
Health experts say that since the year 1900, extremely hot weather has killed more people in the United States than any other natural event. One year—the unusually hot summer of 1980—heat caused about 1,700 deaths in the United States. In 1995, more than 600 people died in a similar heat wave in one city—Chicago.
To measure extreme heat, government weather experts have developed the Mean Heat Index. It measures the average of how hot it is felt all day on an extremely hot day. Experts say it is the total heat of a hot day or several hot days that can affect health. Several hot days are considered a heat wave. Experts say heat waves often become deadly when the nighttime temperature does not drop much from the highest daytime temperature.
The most common medical problem caused by hot weather is heat stress. Usually, it also is the least severe. For most people, the only result of heat stress is muscle pain. The pain is a warning that the body is becoming too hot. Doctors say drinking water will help the pain disappear after the body again has the right amounts of water and salt. For some people, however, the result is much more serious.
For example, doctors say some people face a greatly increased danger from heat stress. These people have a weak or damaged heart, high blood pressure, or other problems of the blood system. Severe heat can help cause a heart attack or stroke. Health experts say this is the most common cause of death linked to hot weather.
How many people died from heat in Chicago in 19957
About 1700.
B. Nearly 1900.
C. Around 1100.
D. Over 600.
Oil and Economy
Could the bad old days of economic decline be about to return? Since OPEC agreed to supply cuts in March, the price of crude oil has jumped to almost $ 26 a barrel, up from less than $10 last December. This near,tripling of oil prices calls up scary memories of the 1973 oil shock, when prices quadrupled, and 1979-1980, when they also almost tripled. Both previous shocks resulted in double-digit inflation and global economic decline. So where are the headlines warning of gloom and doom this time?
The oil price was given another push up this week when Iraq suspended oil exports. Strengthening economic growth, at the same time as winter grips the northern hemisphere, could push the price higher still in the short term.
Yet there are good reasons to expect the economic consequences now to be less severe than in the 1970s. In most countries the cost of crude oil now accounts for a smaller share of the price of petrol than it did in the 1970s. In Europe, taxes account for up to four-fifths of the retail price, so even quite big changes in the price of crude have a more muted effect on pump prices than in the past.
Rich economies are also less dependent on oil than they were, and so less sensitive to swings in the oil price. Energy conservation, a shift to other fuels and a decline in the importance of heavy, energy-intensive industries have reduced oil consumption. Software, consuhancy and mobile telephones use far less oil than steel or car production. For each dollar of GDP (inconstant prices) rich economies now use nearly 50% less oil than in 1973. The OECD estimates in its latest Economic Outlook that, if oil prices averaged $ 22 a barrel for a full year, compared with $13 in 1998, this would increase the oil import bill in rich economies by only 0.25-0.5% of GDP. That is less than one-quarter of the income loss in 1974 or 1980. On the other hand, oil-importing emerging economies-to which heavy industry has shifted—have become more energy-intensive, and so could be more seriously squeezed.
One more reason not to lose sleep over the rise in oil prices is that, unlike the rises in the 1970s, it has not occurred against the background of general commodity-price inflation and global excess demand. A sizable portion of the world is only just emerging from economic decline. The Economist's commodity price index is broadly unchanging from a year ago. In 1973 commodity prices jumped by 70%, and in 1979 by almost 30%.
The main reason for the latest rise of oil price is______.
A. global inflation
B. reduction in supply
C. fast growth in economy
D. Iraq's suspension of exports
Which of the following statements best expresses the author's attitude about suicide among
A. It is completely preventable.
B. It is to a large degree preventable.
C. A college's role in detection of it should be minimal.
D. A college's role in prevention of it will require a vast commitment of resources.
Some sleep drugs do more than make you sleep
The United States Food and Drug Administration (美国食品及药品管理局) has ordered companies to place strong new warnings on thirteen drugs that treat sleep disorders. It also ordered the makers of the sleeping pills to provide information for patients explaining how to safely use the drugs.
Last Wednesday, the FDA announced that some of these drugs can have unexpected and dangerous effects. These include the risk of life-threatening allergic (过敏性的) reactions. They also include rare incidents of strange behavior. These include people cooking food, eating and even driving while asleep. The patients later had no memory of doing these activities while asleep.
Last year, a member of the United States Congress said he had a sleep-driving incident. Patrick Kennedy, a representative from Rhode Island, crashed his car into a security barrier near the building where lawmakers meet. The accident happened in the middle of the night and no one was hurt. Mr. Kennedy said he had earlier taken a sleep medicine. He said he was also being treated with a stomach sickness drug that can cause sleepiness.
The Food and Drug Administration did not say in its announcement how many cases of sleep driving it has documented. However, the New York Times reported last year about people who said they had strange sleep events after taking the drug Ambien. Some reported sleep-driving and sleepwalking. Others said they found evidence after waking in the morning that they had cooked food or eaten in their sleep. But they had no memory of carrying out the activities.
A Food and Drug Administration official says that these serious side effects of sleep disorder drugs appear to be rare. But, he also said there are probably more cases than are reported. He said the agency believes the risk of such behaviors could be reduced if people take the drugs as directed and do not drink alcohol while taking the drugs. The Food and Drug Administration has advised drug companies to carry out studies to investigate the problem.
There are altogether 13 drugs treating sleep disorders in the United States.
A. Right
B. Wrong
C. Not mentioned