Loading...
The Citizen, 2000-12-06, Page 5THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2000. PAGE 5. Other Views And now, here’s the good news First off — I’m guilty as charged, okay? I admit it. That is not the problem. The problem is how do I tell She Who Knows Best? Here’s the background. There is this stretch of road not far from where I live that is straight as a runway, smooth as a billiard table and unobstructed on either side. There is seldom any traffic on this road and yet the authorities, for perverse reasons known only to them, have decreed that the speed limit on this stretch shall be 50 kilometers per hour. It is ridiculous, uncalled for and I ignore it. I always break the speed limit whenever I drive this stretch. And She Who Knows Best and who usually sits in the co-pilot’s seat, always makes the same comment. “You’re going to get a ticket,” she says. And I always scoff. I point out that there are no sideroads for radar ambushes, no billboards for cops to hide behind, the road is empty fore and aft. “Clear sailing,” I say. “You’re going to get a ticket” she replies. Yesterday I got a ticket. Doing 80 in a 50. It’s not the $200 I mind (well, it is, but that’s a whole other whinge) - it’s the fact that I have to make room for a three course dinner ofcrow in front of She Who Knows Best. Breaking bad news - it’s an art form. I was telling this tale to a pal of mine in the coffee shop, looking for a little sympathy. Instead he laughed, reached into his pocket and handed me a letter. “You wanna know how to deliver bad news? Read this,” he said. Nicotine might be good for you There seems to be little good that one can say about tobacco. It is considered to be the cause of all kinds of illnesses, some of them fatal and of late it has come in for an increasing number of lawsuits. There might seem to be some justification for gradually removing it as an agricultural crop, if it were not, it is suspected, such a lucrative source of government revenue. However, it is gradually becoming apparent that one of tobacco’s most injurious properties, nicotine, has some beneficial properties when it comes to treating several physical ailments and the medical profession is spending more and more time looking into these properties. First of all is the observation that smoking can be used in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. Not only do smokers suffer less from Parkinson’s than do non-smokers but those who have it frequently have a milder form. It is now being considered as a form of self- medication and, while nobody is suggesting that smoking is a healthy thing to do even for people with Parkinson’s, the very discovery mentioned above has led researchers to start experiments with more controlled doses of nicotine. Nor is Parkinson’s the only illness to come under this category. An even more common ailment is schizophrenia. When its sufferers use nicotine it responds in exactly the same way. Finally there is Alzheimer’s disease and, while there is as yet not as much research done with the use of nicotine in this area, it is considered that the properties which are producing the results in both Parkinson’s and schizophrenia, can lead to some improvement in the treatment of Alzheimer’s. In experiments at the University of Vermont, It was a letter from his daughter, who was studying at a university in California. This is what it said: Dear Mom and Dad It has now been three months since I left for university. I have been remiss in writing this and I am very sorry for my thoughtlessness in not having written before. I will bring you up to date now, but, before you read on, please sit down. DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER UNLESS YOU ARE SITTING DOWN OKAY? Well then, I am getting along pretty well now. The skull fracture and the concussion I got when I jumped out of the window of my dormitory when it caught fire shortly after my arrival are pretty well healed. I only get those headaches once a day. Fortunately the fire in the dormitory and my jump were witnessed by an attendant at the gas station near the dorm, and he was the one who called the fire department and the ambulance. He also visited me at the hospital and, since I had nowhere to live, he was kind enough to invite me to share his basement apartment. It’s really a basement room, but it’s kind of cute, once you get used to the rats. He is a very fine boy and we have fallen deeply in love and are planning to get married. Raymond Canon The International Scene psychiatrists found the use of nicotine with the last two diseases led to the patients being better able to stand up, walk and sit down than those not taking the test. Furthermore the test group demonstrated better learning and memory skills. This has led the drug companies to attempt to find a compound which has the necessary properties of nicotine but which can be patented and thereby protected while it is being developed and used. One such drug is already under trial and has had promising results with both Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. One interesting development has been the discovery that nicotine also helps children who are suffering from Tourette’s syndrome. Children cannot be expected to smoke so the nicotine has to be administered to them under Final Thought Be skillful in speech, that you may be strong; [. . .] it is the strength of [. . .] the tongue, and words are braver than all fighting ... a wise man is a school for the magnates, and those who are aware of his knowledge do not attack him. - The Teaching for Merikare We haven’t set the exact date, but it will be before my pregnancy begins to show. Yes, Mom and Dad, I am pregnant. I know how much you are looking forward to being grandparents and I know you will welcome the baby and give it the love, devotion and tender care you gave me when I was a child. The reason for the delay in our marriage is my boyfriend has some minor infection which prevents us from passing our pre-marital blood tests, and I carelessly caught it from him. This will soon clear up with the penicillin injections I am taking daily. I know you will welcome him into our family with open arms. He is kind and, although not well-educated, he is ambitious. Although he does not speak English fluently, he is working evenings and weekends promoting the family business. He comes from a large family in Colombia where his father is a big name in pharmaceuticals. Now that I have brought you up to date, 1 want to tell you that there was no dormitory fire, I did not have a concussion or a skull fracture. I was not in the hospital, I am not pregnant or engaged. I do not have syphilis and there is no man (or drug-dealer) in my life. However I am getting a ‘D’ in History and an ‘F’ in Science and I wanted you to see those marks in the proper perspective. Your Loving Daughter, Amanda. I forgot to ask my pal what his daughter’s major was. Creative writing, I hope. clinical conditions. Even though it produces some form of nausea in 70 per cent of the children being treated, its results are so promising that many parents are requesting its use. This is simply because Tourette’s, in its untreated form, is extremely distressing to both the children and their parents. Fortunately another medical compojnd mirroring nicotine is being produced that avoids most of the conditions of the nausea mentioned above. While nicotine cannot by any stretch of the imagination be considered as a wonder drug, it is certainly gratifying that a substance that has come in for so much condemnation over the past decade can actually be put to use for the benefit of society. Already researchers are looking into the possibility of its having even other medicinal benefits. " " ” ' ' Tf' " .... Letters Policy The Citizen welcomes letters to the . editor. Letters must be signed and should include a daytime telephone number for the purpose of verification only. Letters that are not signed will not be printed. Submissions may be edited for length, clarity and content, using fair comment as our guideline. The Citizen reserves the right to refuse any letter on the basis of unfair bias, prejudice or inaccurate information. As well, letters can only be printed as space allows. Please keep your letters brief and concise. Bonnie Gropp The short of it Please take it outside Believe me I do have empathy for smokers. For well over a decade I was not just one of you, but one of your more prolific members. Pushed, and I do mean pushed, by a neighbour’s teenage foster child so that I wouldn't be compelled tb snitch on her, I had my first puff of nicotine when I was a mere 12 years old. And unfortunately, never looked back. By the time I was 17 I was smoking typically two packs a day of Export A. An asthmatic, I could often be found pathetically attempting to light up between wheezes. Paints a sad, sad picture doesn’t it? I began to see this at the age of 19 and for the next several years tried vainly to quit. However, while I may have failed miserably each time my resolve to give it up remained strong until finally one day, after being humiliated with dogged persistence by some non-partaking friends, I threw away my smokes. That was 23 years ago. Today I am the worst of the anti-smoking sect, a sanctimonious ex­ smoker. However, while our frustration and ostracism of those still lost to the power of nicotine may raise ire rather than inspire, I ask this time only for you to try to see why your habit, quite frankly, I have little patience for. First, I have four children, who to the best of my knowledge have never smoked. They have respected their bodies and kept their lungs healthy. Last week, my youngest, also asthmatic, attended a party. He hasn’t stopped coughing since. A teenager is not going to stay home just because people might be smoking. But the damage that was done to him that night is not only a reality, but as studies have shown, worse than what the smokers did to themselves. My spouse and I too abended a function this past we 'k, where upon entering the building the air was redolent with second-hand smoke. Within virtually minutes mv e>es were burning, my breathing diminished. Unfortunately, we were in for the long haul so 1 did the best I could to adapt to, what was for me, extremely unpleasant surroundings. The trip home was one of several miles. During that time I was disgusted by the smell permeating from my clothes, my hair and even my skin. I was appalled when covering my face to sneeze, I discovered that my hands positively reeked of stale smoke. Arriving home in the wee hours of the morning, I had to shower before I could even consider going to bed. There are many smokers well aware of how non-smokers feel and they generously accommodate. But there are others who defend not only their right to pollute their lungs, but ours as well. They’re angry if told they can’t smoke somewhere and feel smoking bans are unfair. I recall attending a function many years ago where again the air was thick with smoke. It was winter, but needing air, I went to stand at an open door for a time. However, some huffing, puffing smokers at a nearby table cursed me and asked me my problem. When I told them they were, a heated discussion followed on an individual’s rights. Apparently they believed that their right to smoke took precedent over my right to breathe. If I didn’t like it I should just stay home, they said. So sometimes I’m not as sympathetic as I could be to smokers. But believe me, I do know your side. I ask only that you try to see mine and graciously take it outside.