Smoking killed 100 million in last century
&
Smoking will also 'kill up to a billion people in this century

Los Angeles, April 01, 2014
NRIpress.com/ NRIpress-Club

Los Angeles NRI Karamjit Singh Grewal’s son Japinder singh Grewal, a student of UCI (University of California Irvine) was highly involved in assembling a smoke-free task force to pursue the goal of developing a new smoking policy on Jan. 1, 2014, and will be in alignment with the UC Irvine Medical Center, which implemented a smoke-free environment in September 2006.  Japinder singh Grewal will be graduating on June 15, 2014

       Japinder singh Grewal (left in above Photo) member of SMOKE-FREE POLICY TASK FORCE

“UC Irvine is committed to providing a healthy working, learning and living environment for all members of the campus community and its visitors,” Japinder singh Grewal,  a student  of UCI Irvine and a  member  of  “SMOKE-FREE POLICY TASK FORCE”  said through his email. “Smoking will be prohibited everywhere on campus and at properties owned or leased by UC Irvine, including all parking lots.”

The UC Irvine Health Education Center will provide printed resources and other cessation information for students affected by this policy; UC Irvine Work life and Wellness Program will provide the same resources for faculty and staff.

There are approximately 1.3 billion smokers in the world. This number constitutes of one billion men and 250 million women smokers. Few years back, 100 leading cancer experts gathered in the Swiss resort of Lugano, who issued a stark warning to governments worldwide: 

·         Smoking kills more than half of all smokers, mostly from cancer and there are about 30 million new smokers a year, scientists have calculated.

·         It killed 100 million in the last century and we thought that was outrageous, but this will be the biggest public health disaster in the history of the world

·         Worldwide, tobacco causes about 22 per cent of cancer deaths each year, killing some 1.7 million people, with almost 1 million of them dying from lung cancer.

They said governments must do far more than they have done to control the global tobacco industry, either by raising cigarette prices dramatically, outlawing tobacco marketing or by taxing the multinational profits of the big cigarette firms.

In the United States, more than 3,200 youth under age 18 smoke their first cigarette and more than 700 youth under age 18 become daily smokers. To combat this critical issue, FDA’s first youth tobacco prevention campaign, “The Real Cost,” targets at-risk youth aged 12-17 who are open to smoking or already experimenting with cigarettes.

The U.S. Surgeon General says there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke:

The California Air Resources Board classified secondhand smoke as a "Toxic Air Contaminant" in the same category as asbestos, cyanide and arsenic2 - all of which can lead to serious illness and death.

Web- and computer-based programs:

 Trying to quit cigarettes but don’t know how? A new analysis led by researchers at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health suggests that web and computer-based smoking cessation programs are worth a try, and many of them are free. Such programs offer a cost-effective

alternative to interventions such as telephone hotlines or counseling services, both of which require trained personnel, the researchers said.  “With the rising cost of health care, there is a need to look for less expensive health programs that are effective,” said study co-author Joel  Moskowitz, director of the Center for Family and Community Health at UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health. “What we found in our meta-analysis was that web- and computer-based programs, once they’re set up and running, are a worthy alternative.”

Japinder singh Grewal, a student of UCI (University of California Irvine) was highly involved in assembling a smoke-free task force