KICK THE BUTT !

Tobacco consumption continues to be one of  the leading causes of death in the world. As research and findings continue to show the negative effects of tobacco consumption on health, the number of affected people increases, especially in India

The psychological effects of smoking are indeed “devastating”. Once the puffing habit has been established, the smoker needs to continue the habit in order to feel “normal.” In other words, the dependence produced by nicotine, and the behaviors associated with inhaling it, become necessary to maintain the person’s optimal state of well-being.

This includes both psychological and physiological reinforcements which are constantly needed. The smoker then actually becomes accustomed to having a level of nicotine in the body. In fact, research studies have shown that sub consciously smokers regulate the number of cigarettes they smoke in order to maintain their own personally preferred level of nicotine.It varies from individual to individual.

 The usage of tobacco is an activity that is practiced by some 1.1 billion people, and up to 1/3 of the adult population. Smoking is known to have many ill-effects on health and most of us are aware of the dangers of smoking on general health. 

WHO data shows that whilst progress has been made, not a single country fully implements all key tobacco control measures. An outlined approach that governments can adopt to prevent tens of millions of premature deaths by the middle of this century had to be worked out.

Smoking in public places has been banned in India since October 2008. The health officials are caught with the staggering tough task of about an estimated 125 million smokers to stub out their cigarettes! The WHO reports it to be the leading preventable cause of death worldwide and estimates that it currently causes 5.4 million deaths per year. Rates of smoking have leveled off or declined in many countries, however they continue to rise in some developing countries like India,inspite of the ban!

A recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine said India is in the grip of a smoking epidemic that is likely to cause nearly 1 million deaths a year by 2010. More than half of these deaths would be among the poor and illiterate people, the study said.

What people tend to ignore is the impact of smoking on oral health. We easily associate smoking with lung cancer but another major bad effect of smoking is oral cancer.  India is the largest producer and exporter of tobacco in the World.  The total tobacco production in India is about 700 million kilos annually.

Smoking is known to have many ill-effects on health and most of us are aware of the dangers of smoking on general health. What people tend to ignore is the impact of smoking on oral health. We easily associate smoking with lung cancer but another major bad effect of smoking is oral cancer. Nearly 90% of all Oral Cancer patients are smokers!

India's ban on smoking was opposed by the tobacco companies and hotel industry. Smoking is legally prohibited in public places such as offices, hotels, restaurants and most importantly hospitals.I have seen many continue to smoke in all these places!Who is supposed to punish those who defy the ban?

This wicked tobacco industry has not spared our innocent children too. Each day 55,000 children in India start using tobacco of which almost 5 million children under the age of fifteen are addicted to tobacco. The plus point is the ban has been widened to cover college campuses, discotheques and bars. So,has it worked? Seen the ban being kicked more than the butt!

The public ie;you and me have a prominent role to play in tobacco control.

Eliminating the use of tobacco in various forms (paan, zarda, paan masala) through control programs and public education can go a long way in reducing the incidence of oral cancer.

The effectiveness of this approach has been demonstrated in the west where the incidence of lung cancer has come down drastically in the last decade with heightened public awareness about the effects of smoking.

 In India due to lack of motivation,varied culture, habits and educational levels, an active anti-tobacco policy in addition may be the only way to ensure a ‘no tobacco’ generation.

Has the ban really worked? I have my serious doubts.

It’s not just the time to look for actions and answers but most importantly emphasize enforcement and implementation.

Kick the Butt and not the Ban!

LAWLESSNESS?...REAL BAD JOKE-PAL!

Scamsutra -the art we are not exactly very proud of! Parliament has been spending the last few days debating scandals and scams that have rocked the country and left it's citizens baffled. It seemed to me more a battle between the ruling party and the opposition?

Anna and his team who had arrived in the midst of all this like a whiff of fresh air, somehow is threatening to go stale with some of their actions!

Most of the time we fall back on the Gandhian philosophy and the routines of the Freedom fight, but Friends, the point we are not realizing is that we have gotten our Freedom! Burning A4 size sheets symbolically representing the Lokpal Draft did not honestly make any sense to me! It is not suited in the present times. We have a democratically elected Government. C’mon people…We are surely not a set of oppressed people who are imperially dominated!

 The Lokpal bill if found lacking in several aspects can be questioned and debated in the Parliament.The system that we have chosen surely needs restraint and patience and not pyrotechiques! The systems surely can be improved upon. Expression of divergent opinions is  the hallmark of a vibrant democracy.

Calling the elected Prime Minister and Cabinet Ministers names and abusing them does not serve any purpose. Why denigrate an appointee of the democratic system as established by the country... wonder what pleasures one derives when they take to recourse to publicly questioning the worth of any democratically appointed official. Somehow, this lowered the esteem I held for the social worker of pre eminence.

Is the Janlokpal Bill the panacea of all the ills facing our country? It is the “this or nothing else” stance that forms the basis of all the actions of the reformers! Surely hard posturing has it’s own negative impact and effects which would be visible very soon. Always remember the Mandal episode!Hope History won't repeat.

The public sentiment is exploited to the maximum. It is surely very easy to arouse passion amongst people but it’s the dousing that gets impossible later. I hope Anna and his team are aware of rousing people too much. 

Is pyrotechnicques an exercise of the “civil society”? What a phrase! Nothing could be more amorphous! I have the gut feel of the word "civil society" being truly different from the word citizen! I do not give the right to this “civil” society to debate on my behalf. This group surely has no mandate just because lakhs of people assemble for a cause they have no clue about. Anyone can do anything under the garb of this word “civil” and none can be held responsible inn case of any loose arrangement.

I am not willing to go by referendums or the odd case issues taken up. I will not do away with my hard earned rights to parliamentary and legislative democracy. I don’t see a structure of governance even in this public decision. It seems more of something decided in the heat of the moment. Such groups only add on to the confused decisions and confused implementation leaving us at a point from where we started.

To solve one problem are we getting into a bigger one? Is there a drift developing in our Democracy in an unfavorable direction? Are we heading for a real bad joke pal?

Sleeping With The Enemy

It’s a perfect case of GQ=Glamour Quotient overtaking the EQ and IQ! The external glitz has been translated into presumed effectiveness in talks between two nations who do not share much camaraderie.

Somewhere we are overriding a sense of responsibility towards objective coverage and reporting of important news.Trivial and  superficial has suddenly turned into significant!

Birkin Bags, Jimmy Choo shoes,Chanel glares? Aww gimme a break!...has this got anything to do with external affairs? But most of what I saw being “broad” cast was related to this designer labels being an intrinsic part of the Foreign Minister.Anyone who has lakhs of rupees can walk out there and pick a Choo or a Chanel! It seemed a lot like just that, made the whole difference to the efficiency of  Khar!

Looks are deceptive….Real beauty lies within…Never judge a book by it’s cover….now this was something I have heard all the way through School and College! Seen the contrary during Elections and Selections.Actors being roped in for governance and as they say improve”face value” of the party.Could the current disgust with the  dirt and sleaze in Politics/Governance be washed out by a Birkin toting Item Bomb?

Somehow I felt it was just advertising disgusing as politics! Again ample evidence to prove that Humans are after all consumers, and here was a product that could sell!

Do brands radiate an aura that in any ways multiplies the effect the wearer has on others?....I would be only too glad if our Speech chor who’s also a known Maakhan chor, is motivated to play hard in the arena of “external affairs”

The victims of blasts and terror do deserve a lot more than designer coffins and tombstones!Not that the burnt got any seasonal discount in crematoriums!

There must be some dignity in death….The current exchange that just happened between the ministers can only provide  for designer clothes for the  the dead!

Something's Fishy!

I know two types of men…those who  fish for sport and those who fish for fish! 

Abubacker was on the water at Allepey for his monthly fishing trip. Every single day he managed to bait a lot many varieties….On the the third day just as he was about to leave fishing, his cell phone rang.

It was a doctor notifying him that his Biwi had just been in a terrible
accident and was in critical condition in the ICU. As he hung up, he realized he was leaving what was shaping up to be his best fishing day ever!

Abu decided to get in a couple of more catches before actually heading to the hospital. He ended up fishing the rest of the morning and it was after the third catch he decided to stop.He was jubilant....then he remembered his wife!

Feeling terribly guilty, Abu rushed to the hospital. He ran up to the
Doctor in the corridor and asked about his wife's condition.

The physician glared at him and shouted, "You went ahead and finished your fishing, didn't you? I hope you're proud of yourself! While you were out enjoying yourself on the lake, your poor Biwi has been languishing in the ICU! I hope you really enjoyed yourself, because it will more than likely be the last jolly trip you will ever take! For the rest of her life your Biwi will be paralyzed and require around the clock care, and you'll be her Miya forever!"

Abubacker felt so horrible at what he had done, that he broke down and howled.

Then the doctor chuckled and said, "I'm just messin' with you. Biwi’s dead. What'd you catch?

Good things come to those who bait if Abu had to say it “his”way!

Food Minister,K V Thomas, has written to the Prime Minister to create a separate Ministry for Fisheries!...Sharad Pawar is obviously upset!....Now Pawar thinks Thomas has an intent to bifurcate the Agriculture Ministry but Thomas knows better!...I was told that Madam at No. 10 Janpath was mighty thrilled with the fish curry made by Mrs Thomas earning the Minister the nick name “Thirutha Thomas"

Little did Sharad Pawar realise that Thomas maybe going the Abubacker way!!!;-)

What a way to pay obeisance!!!!....Truly Fishy!

...of all the liars among mankind, the fisherman is the most trustworthy.  ~William Sherwood Fox, Silken Lines and Silver Hooks, 1954

In Black and White

Thirty years ago when I had read what P.G. Wodehouse said "There is only one cure for grey hair. It was invented by a Frenchman. It is called the guillotine," …I enjoyed a hearty laugh.

Today a single strand of Grey does not seem so funny after all!..I for one, had refused to dye!  Whenever queried either by my students or  my friends would assuage their concern by passing it off as dignity granted prematurely. I have lots of grey hair now. I have very dark hair so it shows up better. I am not worrying about it. I know greying hair is genetic, and also part of the aging process.

There are times when I think of considering taking the big step -- finally ditching the dye, and letting their silvers shine! Telling people that going grey  is really not as scary as they think. As we all know, this is a very personal decision, one a woman makes only when she is "ready." When she is tired of the upkeep of color, the roots peeking through before two weeks are up, the chemicals and the scalp problems. I have told many of my Friends to educate themselves on all the different ways you can help them look great, no matter what way they grey. Check it out yourself if you’re young and unsure of the choices.

This is not a decision a woman comes to lightly, but when she does -it's magic! People think you can’t be glam and grey, too?  I am on my way to being grey and great.

 I didn't want to mess around with coloring it all black….Maybe add a shade of brown, blonde and burgundy!  It's not so bad and actually sets you apart from society instead of being the same old thing. Takeaway point: If you've got roots, flaunt 'em! Never before has the "in" style been so kind to transitioners!...I’m actually enjoying every bit of having gone grey! or even multicolored! In fact I feel great!

 For all my men friends out there going Grey,imagine the lineup you’d find in case you want to find just the perfect shade to give them that Clooney/Cooper/Gere thing….It’s a whole new world of going great and going grey!

Do not regret growing older.  It is a privilege denied to many.

Death Becomes Mere Statistics!

A country of billion plus people goes gaga with fervor when a cricketer reaches a milestone or their favorite actor does something but are muted spectators when common folks, one among them dies day after day due to act of terrorism. Death becomes mere statistics! 

INDIA last night condemned the three terror blasts that ripped through heavily populated Mumbai suburbs .

My deepest sympathies are with the innocent victims and their families.

How does one deal with serious tragedies such as the loss of a loved one? What about tragedies like natural disasters, famines and terrorist attacks?  Is it only human to feel down and depressed after such events, or is it possible to remain conscious and positive throughout?  Is there a deeper meaning behind these seemingly random and tragic experiences?

My views on this subject stray a lot from the social norm, my intention is to help people think about such things more consciously. Social conditioning teaches us to interpret events like the death of a loved one, as tragic. To experience emotional pain when such things occur is considered perfectly normal behavior. Usually the process we follow sequences denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and finally maybe acceptance. Some people never complete the “getting over it” part.The tragic loss becomes a death sentence.

When we become attached to circumstances and then experience an outcome that runs afoul of our expectations, emotional pain is the natural result.  And the greater the attachment, the greater the pain…..But is it worth all of it…how long how often?The root of attachment is fear.Without fear there’s no attachment to circumstances… no emotional resistance to outcomes. On average over 150,000 people die on this planet every single day.That’s more than a million a week.  Given those figures why should the deaths of people we know be any more tragic than the deaths of people we don’t? 

Babu Rangraj, who helped to carry six bodies to the morgue wrapped up in tarpaulin from the opulent Opera House area in downtown Mumbai, said such attacks had become commonplace in the city."We have got used to them. Dealing with their aftermath is like following a drill," he said. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/8638138/Indian-security-forces-under-fire-as-Mumbai-wakes-to-the-aftermath

Our social conditioning frames our lives within a context whereby certain events are labeled as tragic. The Mumbai blasts where places are repeatedly attacked by terrorists. India is supposedly spending billions of Rupees on Intelligence. (Hope Rajas, Marans, Kalmadis, Karunanidhis et al have not pocketed these funds). Those responsible had "worked in a very clandestine manner -- maybe a very small group that has not communicated with each other", Mr Chidambaram said, adding: "All groups hostile to India are on the radar." http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/mumbai-blasts-leave-18-dead/story-e6frg6so-1226094941439

We will not improve the circumstances of this physical world by labeling them as tragic.  That robs us of all our power to think and to act consciously.  Such attachment defines us as victims instead of as the creators we truly are.  Victims cannot save our environment.  Victims cannot end our wars.  Victims cannot transform our corporations.  Only creators have the power to make these changes.

Just as it takes time to clear the rubble and repair the damage, it takes time to recover your emotional equilibrium and rebuild your life.

What is your choice Mumbaikars? 

Do you prefer to be a conscious creator of your life, or the unconscious victim to it?  You have the free will to do whatever you wish.  But even if you choose to deny yourself the full exercise of your true power, you can never deny yourself the existence of it.  It is always there, locked away in a safe place, and the state of joy is the key that opens the door.

So given the choice between being empowered and disempowered, I choose to take the more empowering path.  Perhaps, I’m just a misguided left-hander in a right-handed world!

Corruption-Thorns of the Seeds We Planted?

If I am observing a fast to support Anna  and to protest against corruption then, I must also pledge to pay my taxes and not pay bribes, not bypass the truth ! Why do some of us claim medical reimbursements by submitting fake bills?...Why do some of us avail sick leave on the pretext of being ill when we are hale and hearty?..Why why why….. is the question that  has plagued my mind!We seem to be diverting people's minds from cause to consequences!

It would be wrong to assume that most of India’s 1.3 billion people are corrupt! Its always been a dominant million who may be! Of which, a majority maybe political masters lacking morals scruples and good leadership quality.Everything cannot be the government’s fault! Its you and me in many ways, who have encouraged this raging epidemic! In fact nurtured and nourished it!

When I think of corrupt practice, it’s not just the politician that comes to my mind!...It’s every ordinary citizen who is responsible. Corruption in my opinion is not soo much a political phenomenon but a psychological issue!

It takes a minimum of  one month for all our procedures(property registration,passport application,electricity connection etc) to be executed.It’s we who are in a hurry!...skip queues,get restless,try using contacts and finally whethere anyone asks for a bribe or not there is a section of us who make “offerings” to expedite the process! Lo!...an isolated action suddenly gets converted to regular practice!

 Only when victimised or not being rendered services for “value”, the beneficiary starts screaming hoarse about bad practices and corruption!.......We fall prey to chosing speed over patience!....shortcuts over procedure!

A million citizens maybe ready to sit in Anna Hazare’s rally to protest against corruption but surely when it comes to their own causes and homes many of us are ready to hide the mess rather than confront it!We need the mental and psychological make up to address and confront every wrong practice without us being a part of the shortcut technique! Law enforcement would surely take care of itself!

Just follow procedure and STOP buttering officials.Our Constitution has the potency to take care of itself.Or did the Janlokpal Bill stem out of distrust and doubt of our constitutional system? Are we weakening or strengtening a democracy which we so painfully built?...many questions in my mind…The first question to be answerd is Am I corrupt?...Are U corrupt?....Get up and say something…do something before the thorns of the seeds we planted begin to prick us!