Respiratory Disorders - General

Smoking cigarettes is never good. Most of us know that fact; however, from time to time it's healthy to review what the Federal Government has to say.

Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death and has negative impacts on people at all stages of life. It harms unborn babies, infants, children, adolescents, adults, and seniors. The list of diseases caused by smoking has been expanded to include abdominal aortic aneurysm, acute myeloid leukemia, cataract, cervical cancer, kidney cancer, pancreatic cancer, pneumonia, periodontitis, and stomach cancer. These are in addition to diseases previously known to be caused by smoking, including bladder, esophageal, laryngeal, lung, oral, and throat cancers, chronic lung diseases, coronary heart and cardiovascular diseases, as well as reproductive effects and sudden infant death syndrome.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (the investigatory workplace agency of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) tracked Bronchiolitis obliterans, a disease which destroys the lungs, to popcorn plants. According to an article in the Baltimore Sun, NIOSH decided that "... the butter flavorings, and most likely diacetyl, caused the disease. NIOSH documented that diacetyl gave off toxic vapors when it was heated and, in some of the plants, found the highest incidence of disease among workers in the quality-control areas, where the packaged corn, ready for market, was popped in microwaves and sampled."

Yearly flu shots are recommended for seniors (paid for by US Medicare), healthcare workers, and people with chronic lung diseases. However, there are those for whom it is not recommended: people who have a severe allergy to chicken eggs or who have had a severe reaction to a flu shot in the past; children less than 6 months old; people who have a moderate or severe illness with a fever. (They should wait until their symptoms lessen before they get the flu shot.)

Although we are used to thinking of pneumonia as a disease, it is not a single disease. It can have over 30 different causes according to the American Lung Association which lists five of the main causes of pneumonia:

Medicare advises people at higher risk for invasive pneumococcal disease including those over 64 years old and patients with HIV, splenectomy, sickle cell disease, diabetes mellitus, chronic disorders of the lungs or heart, and cirrhosis to get a one time pneumonia vaccination.

A conference sponsored by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) on Avian Influenza and Wild Birds (funded by the governments of France, The Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland) has concluded that there is a low, but real, risk for people who have close and intense contact with sick poultry.

Smoking is the major cause of chronic bronchitis, but "... air pollution and dust or toxic gases in the environment or workplace also can contribute to the condition. In some people, chronic inflammation of the airways leads to asthma," according to thiis Mayo Clinic article. Prevention would obviously include not smoking, using unscented and non-toxic products in the home, workplace, and on your person, and avoiding indoor and outdoor pollution such as auto exhaust, smoke, and even fake buttery popcorn that pervades the lobbies of movies.

Editor's Note:

"Race" is sometimes mentioned as a risk factor in the development of certain cancers and a number of other diseases. When you read this in a discussion about an illness, note that the explanation seldom refers to anything biological. Instead, it usually refers to behavior, such as eating habits. The kinds of behavior usually mentioned as risk factors are culturally determined. They are not genetic or biological.

To some people the buttery odor from buckets of popcorn at the movies is a foretaste of the pleasure to come. For others, it's anathema. If going to the movies makes you cough, here's the reason.

A petition has been sent to OSHA requesting that it set exposure limits to diacetyl, a flavoring in popcorn, "... and immediately issue a bulletin to all employers and employees stating that exposure might result in severe illness; and conduct inspections where workers are exposed to diacetyl and issue citations when necessary." "Employers, in addition to providing respirators, would have to control levels of diacetyl in the air workers breathe and provide medical surveillance and consultation to all employees exposed to the chemical," reports the Baltimore Sun.

Dehydration, heat stroke, heat exhaustion...this is the time to take extreme care. If you have elderly friends, relatives, or neighbors -- especially if there are power outages that might interfere with air conditioning -- check in on them frequently to be sure they are OK. The heat wave is taking a heavy toll: