Smokers to Quit Cigarettes

Results of a new study show that cash offers to smokers to quit their bad and unhealthy habit proves quite helpful for many people to give up smoking.

In this study, a group of General Electric Co. workers around the country was included and they were offered even more than $750 to quit smoking. After one year the researchers found that among those employees who were offered cash to give up smoking nearly 14.7% in this group were found smoke-free, while those who were not paid for it had the unhealthy habit still. The study has been published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Feb. 12 issue.

Dr. Kevin Volpp, the lead author of the study, says about it, “Incentives and other cash offers prove quite helpful to change people behaviors towards health, and such offers may prove even effective in those who couldn’t succeed using some other sort of approaches in the past.”

Though they were only 15% who stopped smoking for a longer term because of money offers, the success rates are quite higher than usually have been noticed in some other smoking cessation efforts.

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LAPSSI (Sweet Broken Wheat)

Wheat is a great source of vitamins & minerals, specially an excellent source of vitamin E. It can reduce your cholesterol level & effectively fight against muscular problems. It has potential to fight against cancer. It can also improve your digestive system. This rich source of fibre is a good remedy for constipation related problems.

Ingredients:

1. Broken wheat- 1 cup
2. Hot water- 2 ½ cup
3. Almond- 3-4
4. Ghee- 3/4cup
5. Sugar- 3/4cup
6. Raisins- 14-16
7. Cardamom powder- 1 tbsp

Direction:

• Take ½ cup water & soak the raisins. Keep separately.
• Take a heavy bottomed pan & heat ghee.
• Pour the broken wheat & fry it till it turns golden brown in colour.
• Now pour water & let it cook properly on medium temperature (until the water has vaporised).
• When the water has vaporised completely add ghee along with sugar & ½ cup water.
• Stir well to mix appropriately.
• Transfer in another medium size tawa & allow it to cook for10-12 minutes.
• When the ghee begins to percolate, the lapssi is ready.
• Transfer it in the serving bowl & decorate with crushed almonds.

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Smoke May Increase Dementia Risk

Though some previous studies have found some links between higher risk of Alzheimer’s and dementia, the current study is the leading review till today which shows a relation between dementia risk and secondhand smoke.“There is a link between secondhand smoke exposure and cognitive function that is often, but not always, reckoned a sign of dementia,” says Iain Lang, the lead author of the study.According to Lang, the amount of passive smoke exposure serves as the risk factor for impaired cognitive function and those people, who have higher exposure, are at considerably higher risk of the disease.

The study has been published in the journal BJM online issue.For their study, the researchers received data on nearly 4800 non-smokers aged 50 and above. To know about the levels of cotinine, the researchers examined the saliva samples of these people. Cotinine is a nicotine product and it remains in saliva even after 25hr of smoke exposure. The participants of the study also had to undergo neuropsychological tests to know about their cognitive impairment and brain function.

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