Just 20 minutes after your last cigarette, your heart rate slows. Twelve hours later, levels of carbon monoxide — a toxic gas — in your blood return to normal. Your lung function improves and your circulation starts to get better within three months. After a year, your risk of having a heart attack drops by half. And after five to 15 years, your stroke risk will be the same as that of a nonsmoker. Food tastes better, your sense of smell returns to normal, your breath, hair, and clothes smell better, your teeth and fingernails stop yellowing, ordinary activities (for example, climbing stairs or light housework) leave you less out of breath, and you can be in smoke-free buildings without...
Since time immemorial, natural products have been the backbone of the traditional system of healing throughout the globe, and have also been an integral part of history and culture. The use of bioactive natural products as herbal drug preparations dates back hundreds even thousands of years. Herbal therapy is a holistic therapy, integrating emotional, mental and spiritual levels. Lifestyle, emotional, mental and spiritual considerations are part of any naturopathic approach, and one that Sacred Body Botanicals embraces. Let’s take a look at some plant-based products you might be familiar with. Aspirin: A compound called salicin occurs naturally in willow bark, thereby explaining the use of the bark as a medication for pain since the time of Hippocrates. Since salicin is...
The FDA has previously approved two smoking cessation products that do not contain nicotine. They are Chantix (varenicline tartrate) and Zyban (buproprion hydrochloride). Both are available in tablet form and by prescription only. Unfortunately, these medications have serious drawbacks. Chantix The most common side effects of CHANTIX include nausea, trouble sleeping or vivid, unusual, or strange dreams, constipation, gas, and/or vomiting. In June 2021, Pfizer halted the production of smoking cessation medication Chantix (varenicline) due to the presence of unacceptable levels of nitrosamines. Nitrosamines are chemicals found in nature and the human body, but consuming high levels of these long-term may raise the risk of cancer. The brand-name Chantix has been fully discontinued since its recall. As of February 27,...
Why are menthol cigarettes worse for you than regular cigarettes? Menthol is flavoring added to cigarettes which produces a minty taste and cooling sensation when inhaled. These flavor and sensory effects reduce the harshness of smoking, making menthol products easier to tolerate and more appealing to new and young users. Research shows that menthol flavoring contributes to greater nicotine dependence, meaning that those who begin smoking menthol cigarettes have a much harder time quitting. This is because, in addition to nicotine binding to brain receptors, menthol increases the number of these receptors, making the brain even more dependent on the continued use of not just tobacco, but menthol specifically. Due to the relative ease of smoking menthol products, menthol smokers...
As humans, we have many differences, but the one thing that most of us have in common Is protecting our children. We want to leave a safer, kinder world for them. That world does not include companies that put profit above human lives, especially those of our children. Here is what is happening in the tobacco industry that we want to make you aware of. As vaping grew in popularity, the tobacco industry began to decline in profitability. Big Tobacco gobbled up vape companies, formed some of their own and started recruiting another generation of addicted youth to keep their pockets lined. There are also independent vape companies doing the same. In 2023, more than 6 of every 100 middle...
