Do Painkillers Really Work?

It’s been said that “many drugs are escapes from which there is no escape”.

Using drugs to manage the demands placed upon us is about as effective as trying to fill a punctured tire with air. It works for awhile, but the tire will soon be flat again. Until you repair the tire, the problems remain. Most likely they’ll get worse.

Pain should be viewed as a warning or a symptom of a problem – not as the problem itself, to be eradicated at all costs. Pain medications only block the symptom, allowing the real health threat to worsen by neglect.

In America, drugs like aspirin have become big business. Media images tell us that pain is negative, that we need not experience it, that intelligent people don’t tolerate it, you haven’t got time for it, and that we must get rid of it immediately. One ad says, “Life got tougher, so we got stronger.”

Ads not only promote a product, they tell us that life without pain and discomfort is possible. We are barraged with “scientific” evidence, animated diagrams, and personal testimonials that tout the superiority of one painkiller over another. They tell us we don’t have to suffer the consequences of abusing our bodies and that health can be bought.

This is a lie. Never before has there been a society so subjected to such a consumption of poisonous substances. The effects could be catastrophic in the decades ahead.

Read More: http://healthmad.com/medicine/no-escape/

Workplace Smoking: How Worse Is It

The cost of cigarette smoking to business is high. Over 77 million work days are lost each year due to the effects of smoking. Business now spends over 50 billion dollars a year on medical care, accidents, lost productivity, and absenteeism.

Absenteeism rates average one-third higher for smokers because smoking severely reduces the effectiveness of the smoker’s natural immune system. Few employers realize that smoking employees can cost them up to $8,000 more per year than nonsmokers.

Two-thirds of the smoke from a burning cigarette goes into the environment. This smoke has twice the nicotine, five times the carbon monoxide, and fifty times the ammonia as the smoke that is directly inhaled. When smokers smoke, the people around them smoke, too. Annually, between 500 to 5,000 nonsmokers will die from lung cancer as a result of other people’s smoke.

If you’re concerned about the problem and would like to begin a campaign in your company to eliminate smoking, perhaps these suggestions will help:

• Establish support for a no-smoking policy. Involve members of top management.

• Provide educational literature to employees.

• Form a task force composed of diverse areas and management. Include at least one individual with research skills.

• Conduct a survey to inform employees that the topic is being examined. You’ll gather valuable data about your employee population.

• Establish a no-smoking policy. Begin educating and informing employees through a well-formed publicity campaign. Put up no-smoking signs, and offer information sessions.

• Offer a “stop smoking” program. You may decide to give bonuses or incentives. Perhaps give small monetary bonuses to nonsmokers, and offer smokers the same rewards if they give up smoking for six months.

• Phase in restrictions gradually. Employees react more positively to changes when given time to adjust.

• Deal with militant smokers. Smoking is a privilege not a right that is subject to other company rules. (Employees aren’t allowed to listen to radios full blast, for instance.)

• Be flexible. You may decide to make adjustments in the program.

Read More: http://socyberty.com/work/smoking-in-the-workplace/