RECPHEC

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काठमाडौं – हिस्टेरिया भन्ने शब्दलाई आजकल मनोरोग विशेषज्ञहरुले त्यति प्रयोगमा ल्याउँदैनन् । हाम्रो समाजमा व्याप्त हिस्टेरिया शब्दलाई यौनसमस्यासँग जोड्ने गलत प्रवृत्ति छ । यसकारण यसलाई होसियारीपूर्वक प्रयोग गर्नुपर्छ । केही वर्षएतादेखि डिस्सोसियटिभ डिसअर्डर नै मानसिक रोगसम्बन्धी पुस्तकहरुमा हिस्टेरियाको पर्यायवाची शब्द बनेको छ । 

हिस्टेरिया एउटा यस्तो मनोवैज्ञानिक कवच हो जसलाई बिरामीले अभूतपूर्व मानसिक आघातको विरुद्धमा प्रयोग गर्छ । कुनै इन्फेक्सनमा ज्वरो आउनुजस्तै यो पनि एक किसिमको मनोवैज्ञानिक प्रतिरक्षा हो । जब कुनै व्यक्तिलाई हिस्टेरियाका लक्षण देखियो भने उक्त व्यक्ति केही न केही मानसिक तनावबाट गुज्रिरहेको छ भन्ने बुझ्नुपर्छ ।

Passive Smoking is Major Health Hazard to Children

A recent report by the Tobacco Advisory Group of the Royal College of Physicians* found that passive smoking is a serious hazard to the health of millions of children in the United Kingdom . The report summarizes data from hundreds of existing studies and includes new research that quantifies how damaging passive smoking in the home is to children, and the harm done to the fetus by maternal smoking.

Findings

·          Among children in the United Kingdom, exposure to secondhand smoke is estimated to cause:

·         Over 20,000 cases of lower respiratory tract infection

·         120,000 cases of middle ear disease

·         At least 22,000 new cases of wheeze and asthma

·         200 cases of bacterial meningitis

·         40 sudden infant deaths (SIDS) – one in five of all SIDs

·          Each year, these cases of death and disease lead to over 300,000 UK doctor consultations and approximately 9,500 hospital admissions. The cost to the  UK National Health Service amounts to:

·         at least £9.7 million each year in UK primary care visits and asthma treatment

·         £13.6 million in UK hospital admissions

·         £4 million on asthma drugs for children up to the age of 16

·         Future treatment costs of those who take up smoking as a consequence of exposure to smoking by parents could be as high as £5.7 million each year.

Selected Report Recommendations

·        The most effective means of protecting children from passive smoking is to reduce the prevalence of smoking among adults, and particularly parents and other carers.

·     Reducing smoking prevalence among adults will require sustained increases in the real price of tobacco, further investment in mass media campaigns targeting smoking in younger adults, more effective health warnings, prohibition of point of sale display, mandatory generic standardised packaging, provision of tailored cessation services, and a range of other policies.

·     Further investment in these and other comprehensive tobacco control strategies will yield significant future financial savings and health benefits to society through prevention of passive smoking in children and uptake of smoking by those exposed to passive smoking.

Key Messages

·         There is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke.

·         Childrens’ health is at risk from exposure to secondhand smoke.

·         Governments around the world have the responsibility to protect their citizens from the dangers of secondhand smoke by enacting comprehensive smoke-free laws that include all workplaces and public places, including restaurants and bars.

Full citation: Royal College of Physicians. Passive Smoking and Children: A report by the Tobacco Advisory Group of the Royal College of Physicians. London: Royal College of Physicians; 2010.

Increasing Tobacco Taxes is A Healthy Solution for U.S. State Budget Crises

A new report in the United States found that a $1 USD per pack increase in cigarette taxes could raise more than $9 billion USD in new annual revenue, while reducing smoking and saving lives. The report titled, Tobacco Taxes: A Win-Win-Win for Cash-Strapped States, was released by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Heart Association, American Lung Association and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The U.S. is made up of 50 states and the District of Columbia (DC). A $1.01 USD federal tax is imposed on cigarettes and states can impose additional state cigarette taxes. The new report details the revenue and health benefits to each state from increasing state cigarette tax by $1 USD per pack.

Findings

If every U.S. state and Washington , D.C. increased its cigarette tax by $1 USD per pack, they would:

·         Raise $9.1 billion USD in new annual revenue

·         Prevent more than 2.3 million kids from becoming smokers

·         Prompt more than 1.2 million adult smokers to quit

·         Prevent more than 1 million premature, smoking-caused deaths

·         Save $52.8 billion USD in health care costs

A national poll of registered adult voters found that:

·         67% of voters favor a $1 USD per pack increase in the state tobacco tax

·         60% of voters prefer raising the state tobacco tax to other options for addressing state budget deficits

·         59% of voters prefer a candidate for state office who supports the tobacco tax over one who opposes it

Key Messages

·         Raising tobacco taxes is the single most effective way to reduce tobacco use and save lives.

·         Higher tobacco taxes target our most vulnerable populations, preventing youth from starting to smoke and helping low-income populations quit.

·         Higher tobacco taxes increase government revenues, even with reduced consumption.

·         Increased revenue from tobacco taxes can provide the government with funds for other tobacco control efforts, further reducing tobacco use and saving lives.

Additional Information

·         The current average state cigarette tax is $1.34 USD per pack, with rates ranging from a low of $0.07 in South Carolina to a high of $3.46 USD in Rhode Island .

·         The report’s projections are based on research findings that in high income countries every 10% increase in cigarette prices reduces youth smoking rates by about 6.5%, adult smoking rates by 2%, and total cigarette consumption by 4%.