Cigarette smokers are known to be more frequently involved in driving accidents; it has been found that extraverts tend to be more frequently involved in driving accidents than are introverts. It has been found that divorced people tend to smoke more whereas single people tend not to smoke; we have already noted that introverts tend to marry less and extraverts to be more frequently involved in a change of marital partner. It has been found that people who change jobs frequently tend to smoke more; again extraverts are known to change jobs more frequently. Several studies have tended to show that people who are relatively unsuccessful academically, both at school and university, tend to smoke more; it has also been found that introverts are more successful at school and at university. People who smoke a lot have been found to be ‘chance oriented’; this agrees well with the findings that extraverts tend to be impulsive.
Many European studies have also been concerned with neuroticism or emotionality, and it must be said that here agreement is much less obvious. Most of the European studies have found a positive relationship between smoking and neuroticism. Admittedly many of these studies were carried out on relatively small groups, and in most cases groups chosen were quite unrepresentative. Nevertheless, the amount of agreement reported must make one cautious of dismissing these results. The European report summarizes the findings in the following sentence: ‘Despite the individual deficiencies of many of the studies, despite the great diversity in conceptualization and research methods used and despite discrepancies in reported findings the presence of some comparability between them and the relative consistency of findings lend support to the existence of a relationship between the smoking habit and a personality configuration that is vaguely described as “neurotic”.’ The tortured structure and syntax of this sentence adequately indicate the difficulty which the authors had in coming to a conclusion on this point; it must be left to further research to say whether the difference between our findings and those mentioned are due to national differences between England and America or whether there is some other cause for the discrepancy.
Smoking Cessation
The 1990 U.K. Surgeon General’s Report ( U.K. Department of Health and Human Services, 1990) stated that smoking during pregnancy is related with premature birth, increased respiratory problems among infants and young children, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Maternal smoking also increases the risk of abruptio placentae, placenta previa, and bleeding early or late in pregnancy, all of which increase the risk for perinatal loss Finally, efforts to help women end or lessen smoking during pregnancy become a main concern of obstetric providers. Smoking cessation programs, the committee found that one-on-one sessions with a counselor or a physician are among the most effective prenatal smoking cessation strategies. They also found that although group counseling appears to be less effective, social support seems to be critical to reducing or eliminating pregnant women’s smoking. Given the enormous toll cigarette smoking is taking on pregnancy outcomes and child health, prenatal and postpartum smoking cessation is a critical priority. Unfortunately, few institutionalized smoking cessation initiatives exist within prenatal care programs. In October 1994, with the prenatal smoking cessation program (PSCP) aimed first and foremost at providers working in inner-city communities and serving diverse populations (Chaloupka:1991). The project seeks to help prenatal care providers implement smoking cessation programs in their facilities.
Smoking is a serious health concern among college students today. There is a large portion of the smoking public and could have a unique chance to stop smoking through college smoking cessation program (Jason and Malone:1990). The smoking cessation will give a two-credit college smoking cessation course. The sessions will train the student about the impact of smoking to their health. Student mentors, who were previous smokers, will provide support for students outside of the classroom and at the end of the semester students who were successful in quitting smoking will have the opportunity to become smoking cessation mentors themselves. Many smokers want to quit, but few succeed in it. Integrating this cessation program in a college course could aid student smokers in their quitting efforts.
Another study attempted to utilize these components in a comprehensive worksite program (Winstanley, Woodward and Walker:1995). There was a significant difference in quit rates between individuals in the group (G) condition (42%) versus those in the nongroup (NG) condition (15%). At the 6-month data point, 29% of G participants and 20% of NG participants were abstinent. A year after the program’s onset, 26% of G participants were abstinent as compared with 16% of NG participants. In addition, significantly more participants in G (12%) reported continuous cessation than did those in NG (5%). As these figures indicate, higher smoking cessation rates were found in companies that were provided 12 monthly booster sessions plus incentives. The present study presents the data collected 24 months following the beginning of the project.
This program suggests several important components for assisting smokers at worksites in quitting and maintaining a smoke-free life-style. Several limitations of this study include the reliance on self-report measures without biochemical verification and the combined use of both support groups and incentives in one condition. Future research should attempt to isolate the specific influences of the support groups, self-help materials, and incentives. The present data identify several areas that might be altered to increase cessation rates. These include follow-up support groups after initial cessation efforts, provision of regular incentives for continued abstinence, and use of the media as a method of reinforcing utilization of cessation strategies (Jason, Salina, et al., 1991).
Given the health risks of smoking and the costs to firms and society, we endorse the need for smoking bans. Currently, there is a wave of legislative efforts to mandate nonsmoking areas. In a recent survey of 280 private California corporations with more than 500 employees, 87% had adopted formal worksite smoking policies (Schauffler, 1993). These efforts may improve the effectiveness of worksite cessation programs, as well as diminish smoking rates in public areas. Worksite smoking cessation programs appear capable of assisting many smokers to quit and enjoy healthier, more productive life-styles while maintaining cost efficiency and reaching many individuals.
Media interventions represent a cost-effective method of reaching many more individuals than traditional smoking cessation programs, and their efficacy in cessation efforts should continue to be explored. In addition, the role of incentives and support groups need to be delineated more clearly to ascertain under what circumstances incentives are most effective (Malone & Jason, 1990). Worksites offer many unique characteristics that make them excellent environments for smoking cessation programs including organizational norms and group identity. Researchers should continue to investigate how to design effective smoking cessation programs that can be accommodated to worksites.
References
Chaloupka, F. (1991), ‘Rational Addictive Behaviour and Cigarette Smoking,’ Journal of Political Economy 99, August, 722-42.
Jason, L. A., Salina, D. D., Hedeker, D., Kimball, P., Kaufman, J., Bennett, P., Bernstein, R., & Lesondak, L. (1991). Designing an effective worksite smoking cessation program using self-help manuals, incentives, groups and media. Journal of Business and Psychology, 6(1), 155-166.
Malone, S. W., & Jason, L. A. (1990). Using incentives, lotteries, and competitions in worksite smoking cessation interventions. In R. R. Watson (Ed.), Drug and alcohol abuse prevention. (pp. 313-327). London: Routledge.
Schauffler, H. H. (1993). Integrating smoking control policies into employee benefits: A survey of large California corporations. Journal of Public Health, 83, 1226-1230.
Winstanley, M., Woodward, S. and Walker, N. (1995), Tobacco in United Kingdom: Facts and Issues, Victorian Smoking and Health Program.
Ear Wax Removal: Drops or Syringing?
Ear wax is a common creation of the ear which keeps the skin of the ear from water and infection. Ear wax is produced in wax glands in the outer ear canal as well as other sections such as dead skin, sweat, and oil. The main element of ear wax is keratin (derived from dead skin). Ear wax therefore is slightly different from cerumen which is the secretory product of the ceruminous glands in the outer auditory canal (Hawke, 2002). While ear wax is usually purely felt to be a irritation, in medieval times, ear wax was utilized as a part of coloring for lighting of manuscripts (Petrakis, 2000).
Different individuals differ significantly in the quantity and regularity of their ear wax. There are two kinds illustrated, wet and dry, which are innate. Dry wax is widespread in Asia, while wet wax is frequent in Western Europe. Dry wax, also known as “rice-bran wax”, have 20% lipid. Extraordinarily, rice-bran wax is related with a lower occurrence of breast cancer (Hawke, 2002).
Wet wax contains 50% lipid (Burkhart et al, 2000). Wet wax can be both soft or hard, the hard wax being more probably to be impacted. Too little ear wax raise the risk of infection (Fairey et al, 1985). Too much wax also increases the occurrence of infection and impairment of hearing.
A study of this, some individuals is “wax producers”, and others stay wax free without much maintenance (Bankaitis and Kelso. 2005).
According to a medical study, ear wax can be removed by using water jets or drops that sucks the hard wax (Burkart:2000). A doctor can also use instruments. If a person has chronic ear disease, a damage of the ear drum, or has wax in their only hearing ear, it is suggested to have wax eradicated by an otolaryngology doctor under direct vision. If there is a puncture in the ear drum, or a sound possibility of a perforation, wax should be removed by instruments and/or suction, and not by irrigation.
Syringing is a normal method of wax removal and just about 150,000 ears are irrigated each week in the United Kingdom (Grossan, 1998). To shun inducing dizziness, body temperature water is preferred. While syringing is a traditional and acknowledged method of ear wax removal, it has many weaknesses contrasted to removal than drops. For example, in the unusual occasions when there is a puncture under the wax, syrnging may force water and wax into the middle ear, causing a nidus for infection. Syringing also puts the ear to threat for bacterial infection. Some medical practitioners suggest placing 1 or 2 drops of Domeboro, Vosol or Cortisporin otic in the irrigated canal to stop infection. Syringing should not be used in ears with puntures. Another study stated that there are some instances wax is hardened and impossible to remove with syringing. In this condition one may put an effort to soften the wax with oil and return in one week for another attempt. Suction may be helpful in this situation.
Current research proved that counter drops is more effective in removing hard wax using water, oil and peroxide solutions like Debrox. Other solutions can be tap water, 10% sodium bicarbonate, 3% hydrogen peroxide, 2% acetic acid and a combination of 0.5% aluminum acetate and .03% benzethonium chloride. Hydrogen peroxide commonly melts ear wax because of its mechanical effect. When it comes to oil-based organic solutions are olive oil, glycerin, propylene glycol, and others. Warm solutions must be used for wax removal is more advantageous. According to Hawke, oil based solutions essentially do nothing but lubricate (Hawke, 2002). Some solutions used for ear wax removal are enzyme based. However, this may cause allergies to the patient. Some patients, a wax plug blocks the ear so one cannot know for sure if a puncture is present. Though in this case, it is usually achievable to make an educated guess with a reasonable degree of reliability (Hawke, 2002). There are also preparations intended to dissolve ear wax — for example, Cerumenex Ear Drops and Murine Ear drops. A recent study suggested that neither of these preparations are any better than salt water (placebo). (Roland , 2004).
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