When a stressful situation arises, any type of worry or anxiety, a lot of people opt for taking a smoke break. While it may be occasional at times, after a while, it can become a habit. However, why do people smoke during these occasions? According to the Mental Health Foundation UK, nicotine creates an immediate sense of relaxation, which makes people believe that the smoke is helping them reduce stress and anxiety. However, what they do not realize is that this sense of relief comes at the cost of withdrawal symptoms and more cravings to smoke.

A recent study reveals a concerning link between smoking and disability in the U.S. Roughly two out of five American smokers experience some form of disability, where as one in seven faced severe limitations to their quality of life, meaning their disability was that disrupting their daily routines.

This research, conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), highlights that disability is more than twice as common among current smokers compared to those who have never smoked. What does this connection highlight and why does this issue affect them?

Common Disabilities Among Smokers

The study, published in Tobacco Control, showed what disabilities affected people who smoked the most. Mobility issues, such as difficulty walking or climbing stairs, were frequently reported. Additionally, many smokers experienced cognitive difficulties, which means they experienced problems with thinking, memory, or concentration.

This shows that smoking doesn't just harm your lungs or heart; it also significantly impacts many smokers' daily physical and mental abilities. The Mental Health Foundation UK also explained how regular doses of nicotine lead to changes in the brain. This change leads to withdrawal symptoms as the supply of nicotine decreases in your system causing nicotine withdrawal.

Researchers gathered data from the National Health Interview Survey between 2019 and 2023. This comprehensive in-person survey, conducted by the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, collects information on smoking habits and assesses various types of disabilities. The study meticulously compared disability rates across three groups: approximately 17,600 current smokers, 37,500 former smokers, and nearly 91,000 individuals who had never smoked, providing a robust basis for their conclusions.

What Did The Study Find?

The results are striking: about 40% of the nation's 25 million current smokers reported some level of difficulty across several categories, including mobility, cognition, vision, hearing, communication, and self-care. Even more concerning, 14% of current smokers reported severe difficulty in at least one area, double the rate seen in never-smokers. This data clearly indicates that current smokers face significantly higher rates of both common and severe disabilities compared to non-smokers.

While the study undeniably shows a strong connection between smoking and disability, it couldn't definitively establish cause and effect. Researchers acknowledge that it's unclear if smoking directly leads to these disabilities, or if individuals already living with disabilities might turn to smoking as a coping mechanism. This crucial distinction remains an open question, highlighting the need for further research to fully understand the complex interplay between smoking and disability.

Effective as of June 1, the UK has banned disposable vapes. This decision was made to protect children’s health as well as the environment. As vapes or E-cigarettes became more and more popular, the number of kids who used vapes has also been increasing and the easy availability of these vapes also made things a lot more difficult to control. According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2024 1.63 million students used e-cigarettes, of whom 410,000 are middle school students and 1.21 million are high school students.

Among students 55.6% used disposable e-cigarettes and15.6% used prefilled or refillable pods. However, the UK ban on single use vape means you can no longer buy them in physical stores or online. So, how will this ban affect regular vape users? What are some things they should expect?

What Are Some Factors That Affect Vaping In Youth

Most people who use tobacco, including vapes, begin when they are teenagers. Several things can lead young people to start using these products:

Ads aimed at youth: Tobacco companies often create ads that appeal directly to young people.

Easy to get: These products are often readily available to young people.

Flavored products: Vapes and other tobacco products come in many appealing flavors that attract younger users.

Friends and social groups: What friends and popular people do can also influence young people to try tobacco products.

Vaping Withdrawals And What To Expect

While selling disposable vapes is now against the law, it's important to note that simply owning one for personal use is still legal. However, for those who are now considering quitting vaping due to the ban, the NHS has issued a warning about common withdrawal symptoms. The NHS advises: "You may experience withdrawal symptoms when you quit nicotine vapes. This might make you want to reach for a cigarette. You should only quit vaping if you are confident, you can do it without smoking cigarettes."

When you stop using nicotine vapes, your body will naturally react as it gets used to not having nicotine. Everyone's experience is different, but there are some common signs you might notice. These typically include:

• Difficulty sleeping
• Strong urges to smoke or vape
• Feeling down or low in mood
• Feeling irritable or easily annoyed
• Having trouble concentrating
• Feeling hungrier than usual

Tips On Avoiding Vapes

If you're having trouble cutting down or stopping vaping altogether, know that you're not alone; it's a very common struggle. The NHS advises people to quit for their own personal reasons, not because they feel pressured by others. They recommend taking it slow. You can check the nicotine level in your e-liquid and slowly lower it over time, paying attention to how your body reacts. If you notice yourself vaping more, it might mean you've reduced your nicotine too quickly. Only make further cuts when you feel truly ready.

Another useful tip is to change how frequently you vape. For instance, if you usually vape every 20 minutes, try to stretch that time out and only vape every 40 minutes instead. Doing this consistently will help reduce your cravings over time. The NHS emphasizes that quitting vaping can be hard, and taking it one step at a time is a good way to reach your goal. You can find more details and support options to help you stop vaping through the NHS.

Bryan Johnson is no news for his experiments and he is absolutely not ready to let go his 'immortal' dream and quest to 'live forever'.

This American entrepreneur is on his journey to become the man who can defy aging. For that, he does quite a lot of things and in his new regime is added a 90-day long experiment of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). For this, he has also earned the name of biohacker. He claimed that this oxygen therapy reverses biological age and is capable of giving him the "biology of a 10-year-old".

This has become part of his broader quest to halt or even reverse aging. The experiment involved daily sessions in a pressurized chamber, breathing 95 to 100% pure oxygen, which aims to enhance tissue repair and rejuvenation.

What Is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy?

John Hopkins Medicine notes that HBOT is a type of treatment which is used to speed up healing of carbon monoxide poisoning, gangrene, and wounds that won't heal. It is also used for infections in which tissues are starved for oxygen.

In this therapy, you enter a special chamber to breathe in pure oxygen in air pressure levels 1.5 to 3 times higher than average. The goal is to fill the blood with enough oxygen to repair tissues and restore normal body function.

It was first used in the US in the early 20th century and was tried again in 1940s when the US Navy used it to treat deep-sea divers who had decompression sickness. The therapy was also used to treat carbon monoxide poisoning by the 1960s.

The therapy is today still used to treat sick scuba divers and people with carbon monoxide poisoning, including firefighters and miners. This therapy is also approved for conditions which can range from urns to bone diseases. Some of these include:

• Carbon monoxide poisoning
• Cyanide poisoning
• Crush injuries
• Gas gangrene (a form of gangrene in which gas collects in tissues)
• Decompression sickness
• Acute or traumatic reduced blood flow in the arteries
• Compromised skin grafts and flaps
• Infection in a bone (osteomyelitis) that doesn't respond to other treatment
• Delayed radiation injury
• Flesh-eating disease (necrotizing soft tissue infection)
• Air or gas bubble trapped in a blood vessel (air or gas embolism)
• Chronic infection called actinomycosis
• Diabetic wounds that are not healing correctly

How Does It Really Work?

HBOT helps wounds heal by sending oxygen-rich blood to areas that are low on oxygen. When we get injured, our blood vessels can get damaged. This causes fluid to leak into the tissues, which leads to swelling. Swelling blocks oxygen from reaching the cells, and if that continues, the tissue can start to die.

HBOT reduces swelling and fills the tissues with more oxygen. Being in the high-pressure chamber allows your blood to carry more oxygen than normal. This breaks the cycle of swelling, low oxygen, and tissue damage.

HBOT also protects against something called reperfusion injury. This happens when blood returns to damaged tissue after a break in blood flow—like from a crush injury. The sudden return of blood can cause harmful molecules called oxygen radicals to form. These can damage tissues even more and block blood flow again. HBOT helps the body remove these harmful molecules so healing can continue.

The therapy also fights infection. It can weaken certain harmful bacteria and boost the immune system. More oxygen in the tissues helps white blood cells work better and attack germs more effectively.

Finally, HBOT helps the body build new skin and repair itself. It encourages the growth of new blood vessels and helps certain healing substances form. These support the growth of cells that repair the skin and tissues.

Menopause marks the end of the reproductive years for a woman, after which they stop menstruation permanently. While it may seem like a straightforward process, it is a difficult thing to go through. As your body experiences a lack of estrogen, there are different effects that take place.

According to the National Institute of Aging, women who are going through the transitional phase of menopause experience things like hot flashes, night sweats, trouble sleeping, joint and muscle discomfort, moodiness and irritability, forgetfulness and difficulty concentrating.

However, more often than not, these symptoms and difficulties get ignored or misidentified. Talking to a doctor can bring clarity as well as relief in the form of medication.

If you are looking to get some relief from these disruptive symptoms though sustainable modes, changing your diet could be the answer. The food one eats can play a big role in how our bodies feel at a certain point in time.

A new study published in journal Menopause suggests that a fully plant-based, or vegan, diet could offer a surprising and highly effective solution to alleviate many of these unwelcome menopausal symptoms, providing much-needed relief.

Menopause And Vegan Diet

The study has unveiled a remarkable finding: adopting a low-fat vegan diet could dramatically diminish the severity and frequency of hot flashes. The study’s results were striking, menopausal women who committed to this dietary approach for a period of just three months experienced an astonishing 92% decrease in severe hot flashes. This significant reduction indicates a powerful link between plant-based eating and improved menopausal comfort.

Besides helping with menopause symptoms, the study also found another good thing: weight loss. Women who ate vegan for the study lost about 8 pounds on average. This extra benefit means that a plant-based diet not only helps with hot flashes and other menopause issues but also helps you manage your weight. It’s like getting two benefits in one for women in their middle years.

Processed or Whole, Plant-Based Still Wins

Here's an interesting part of the study: it didn't matter if the plant-based foods were whole and natural, or if they were processed like veggie burgers. The good results were still there. Researchers found that the most important thing was simply whether the food came from an animal or a plant. This shows that switching to plant-based eating, no matter how much the food is processed, can really help with menopause symptoms.

Scientists think that a plant-based diet might help with menopause symptoms by changing the levels of something called advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) in women's bodies. These AGEs are like tiny troublemakers that can mess with how hormones work. They can affect important hormones related to insulin, reproduction, and even those released by fat cells. This suggests that what you eat can truly impact your hormone balance during menopause.

Experts believe that a plant-based diet, especially one rich in soy, can offer significant benefits for managing both hot flashes and weight during menopause. They also point out that given the well-known advantages of such a diet in lowering the risks of heart disease and cancer, women in midlife should seriously consider adopting more plant-based foods into their meals.