Watching the World

Tobacco and Jobs

“Reductions in spending on tobacco products will boost employment” in some areas of the United States, says a report in The Journal of the American Medical Association. Computer projections were used to show how funds previously spent on tobacco might be spent on other things, with a net increase in jobs nationwide. The report also states that tobacco-growing regions would not lose as many jobs as the tobacco industry estimates. “The primary concern about tobacco should be the enormity of its toll on health and not its impact on employment,” states the report. The American Medical Association also called on stock market investors to sell their shares in 13 tobacco companies, according to the Los Angeles Times. Scott Ballin, of the American Heart Association, stated: “We should not be supporting companies that continue to sell disease and death in this country and overseas.”

World’s Tallest Buildings

For the first time in over a century, the world’s tallest building is not to be found in the United States. The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, the international arbiter of skyscrapers, has awarded that distinction to the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The previous record holder, the Sears Tower in Chicago, is still tallest if its television towers are included. The council, however, decided that those towers are not integral to the building’s architecture. The construction of tall buildings in various countries in Asia is viewed by supporters as a symbol of the astonishing economic growth in that area. In fact, the Petronas Twin Towers are due to lose their lofty title to the World Financial Center, scheduled to be completed in Shanghai, China, by the end of the decade.

Seabird Rescue?

When a major oil spill occurs at sea close to land, the effect on wildlife can be tragic. Sometimes organizations—many staffed by volunteer workers—jump into action to do what they can. One of the first priorities is to clean oil-covered seabirds. But how effective and lasting is this? Modern research indicates that of the many thousands cleaned and returned to their habitat, most die within ten days. Why? Aside from the shock of human handling, the birds will have ingested some oil when trying to preen, and this will eventually kill them. To counteract this, birds handled in Britain are fed a mixture of kaolin, charcoal, and glucose in an endeavor to purge them of the toxins. Even so, very few birds live long enough to breed, and the cleaning must be viewed as something of a “cosmetic exercise,” concludes one ecologist quoted by The Sunday Times of London.

Type-C Hepatitis and Blood

A report by the French National Network of Public Health concludes that “between 500,000 and 600,000 people in France have been infected by the hepatitis-C virus.” According to the Paris newspaper Le Monde, 60 percent of the infections by the type-C hepatitis virus are due to blood transfusions or intravenous drug use. In addition, some people have been contaminated during medical treatment through improperly sterilized equipment. Type-C hepatitis can lead to cirrhosis or cancer of the liver.

When You Quit Smoking

Within 20 minutes after a person quits smoking, the body begins to change for the better. Reader’s Digest published the following list of beneficial changes that occur at specified times after a smoker quits. Twenty minutes: Blood pressure and pulse rate drop to normal; temperature of hands and feet increases to normal. Eight hours: Carbon monoxide level in blood drops to normal; oxygen level in blood increases to normal. Twenty-four hours: Possibility of heart attack decreases. Forty-eight hours: Nerve endings start regrowing; ability to taste and smell is enhanced; walking becomes easier. Two weeks to three months: Circulation improves; lung function increases up to 30 percent. One to nine months: Coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue, and shortness of breath decrease; lung cilia regrow. One year: Risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker.

Sex and Violence From the Library

Some libraries in Connecticut, U.S.A., allow children to check out movies portraying lovemaking and graphic violence, according to The Advocate, of Stamford, Connecticut. At times, children have free access to library computers that are connected to the Internet. This raises further questions about what material is available to youngsters. Many parents expressed shock, but library officials took the position that only parents have the right and the responsibility to monitor what their children take out of the library. “It’s a sticky situation,” commented librarian Renee Pease, noting that “a lot of fiction may not be appropriate for children.”

Female Mutilation

A young African woman who received asylum in the United States has drawn renewed attention to female genital mutilation, reports The New York Times. The woman stated that she was fleeing mutilation as a condition of a coerced marriage. In many African countries, parts of a girl’s genitals are cut off, either in infancy or as initiation into womanhood. This is often performed without any anesthesia or hygienic precautions. Aside from the emotional toll, the results can be infection, hemorrhage, infertility, and death. (See the April 8, 1993, issue of Awake!, pages 20-4.) According to the newspaper, it is estimated that from 80 million to 115 million women have been subjected to this practice. Action has been taken to make it illegal in the United States.

Tracking Honeybees

The world’s tiniest radar antennas, only 5/8 inch [16mm] high, have been glued to the backs of some British bees. The antennas are devices that allow the bees to be tracked. It is hoped that the experiment will lead to even smaller antennas, which would eventually be attached to African tsetse flies to monitor the insects’ flight patterns. This could improve control of the sleeping sickness these flies carry. No batteries are needed to power the antennas, as they have the ability to pick up all the energy they need from the incoming tracking signals. As an added benefit, scientists hope to improve their knowledge of the habits of bees, with a view to locating beehives more effectively.

TV Linked to Epilepsy

The entrance of satellite TV into India, providing viewing for 24 hours a day, is leading to an increase of neurological problems in children. This claim was made by leading neurologists at the All India Neurology Update—1996 conference. Head of the neurology department of Amritsar Medical College, Dr. Ashok Uppal, stated: “Children are now glued for longer hours to the television, leading to an increase in what neurologists term as ‘photo-stimulus sensitive epilepsy or television-induced epilepsy.’” Dr. Uppal advised parents to limit their children’s television viewing or to give them breaks at regular intervals during long spells of watching.

Killer Identified

Although few Mexican women smoke tobacco, many over the age of 40 suffer from lung diseases that are usually associated with smoking, reports the newsletter Health InterAmerica. The cause? “Cooking with woodstoves,” researchers said recently. According to Peter Paré, a professor of medicine, the problem received little attention because “wood smoke is often not identified as a major health risk. Death is usually diagnosed as heart failure, when the real source of the problem is the excessive exposure to wood smoke.” The World Health Organization estimates that 400 million people worldwide are at risk, mostly rural women who use wood stoves in small buildings with poor ventilation. Building chimneys will help, but according to Dr. Paré, “the biggest challenge is to convince people to change the way they have lived for centuries.”