Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 8, 2001)
Chewing Tobacco Can Kill You If you believe that you’ll “quit after colleye, ” it may be too late. Think twice. Chewing tobacco is not a safe alternative to smoking cigarettes. Byjessica Gellar Although smoking cigarettes is a relatively com mon social activity for both men and women, most people know that smoking can be deadly. Smoking puts one at a high risk for many forms of cancer, causes high blood pressure, and can kill you over time. These are all highly publicized facts today, mainly as a result of recent court settlements in volving the tobacco industry. There is a strong awareness of the effects of second-hand smoke as well. In Eugene, an ordinance was put into effect this past summer that banned smoking from all work places, includingbars and restaurants, to pre vent against the dangers of second-hand smoke. The adverse effects of chewing tobacco, on the other hand, are generally not given much attention. Only a small percentage of the population, mostly white, male sports players, or those who watch sports chew smokeless tobacco. The habit seems to develop casually at an early age without any regard to the damage that it can do. Did you know that chewing tobacco can also kill you? More than 9,000 people die every year from oral cancers that are caused by chewing tobacco. Chewing tobacco can lead to cancer of the throat, jaw, esophagus, and larynx. Surgery and radiation are used to treat these forms of cancer, but death is a common result. Smokeless tobacco also causes the formation of large white lesions called Leuko plakia in the part of the mouth where one keeps their “dip. ” These have to be scraped out of the mouth during an extremely uncomfortable medical procedure. This is common procedure among high school or college age people who use smokeless to bacco. Chewing tobacco can also leave teeth discol ored, which will not go away with brushing, and it can cause the gum disease gingivitis. Many are unaware that the use of smokeless to bacco is actually more addictive than smoking ciga rettes because chew contains more nicotine than cigarette tobacco. Those who chew often leave their “dip” in for long periods of time where the nicotine is released directly into the blood stream for hours. “Chewing tobacco gives you a buzz, a bit of a good high and can be relaxing during a stressful day,” says Craig Platzke, a University of Oregonse nior. “I know it does not look attractive but I gener Chewing tobacco has just been some thing that I have grown up with plaging sports and having older brothers that chew. I reallg wasn’t aware that it is just as harmful to mg health as smoking cigarettes. --— ally do not do it in public. I usually do it socially with the guys on the hockey team. Chewing tobac co hasjustbeen something that I have grown up with playing sports and having older brothers that chew. I really wasn’t aware that it is just as harmful to my health as smoking cigarettes.” Unlike the second-hand smoke created by smoking cigarettes, the effect of chewing tobacco on others is very minimal. It is not very common to see people chewing in public because everyone knows that it is disgusting. Honestly, can anyone tell me something appealing about a guy with a large bulge in his lip who occasionally projects a wet, dark substance? One of the few annoyances is finding containers full of spit left in classrooms on campus. Although it seems pretty silly, chewing is seen by many as a macho activity. On television, baseball players are often shown chewing, a habit I which is noticed and picked up by admiring youth. You do not see athletes smoking though, do you? There is a different social outlook concerning chewing tobacco—one that makes it appear less offensive. Dagan Bernstein, a senior at the University of Oregon, said, “As a kid when I first started playing baseball, I used to watch the major league players and thought that they were so cool. I would do any thing to be like them. At that time I bought a can of beef jerky that looked like chew and carried it around with me.” Although the negative outcomes of chewing to bacco are not often publicized, and sports players who are idolized chew, giving it a macho stigma, chewing tobacco can kill you. It is difficult while in college to recognize the effects that our actions to day may have, but it is important to be aware of the negative effects that our habits have upon our bod ies. Many feel invincible now but at age 30 or 40 it is impossible to turn back time and correct these mistakes. If you never began to chew, good, you are now aware of many reasons not to start. If you do chew, quitting might not be easy but it is possible and important. Some helpful hints for quitting are: • First you can try to just cut back the number of times you chew • Tell friends and roommates you ’re tryiny to stop • Try not to surround yourself by people who chew at least until you have your urge under control • Clieu>yum or suck on hard candies when you yet the urge to chew • Exercise to release tensions It is also possible to get aids for quitting such as the nicotine patch or nicotine gum from the Uni versity Health Center. We have plenty of informa tion about chewing tobacco and quitting in the Peer Health Education Office located in the Health Cen ter. Saying “I will quit after college,” is not the answer. Nutrition vs Time: Students may try to save time by skimping on nutrition, which will be detrimental in the long run. By Ashley Bunnard As adults in American culture, we experience a day-to-day routine going at break-neck speed — a routine that only gets faster. Unfortunately for many of us, one of the first vital things to go out the window is our nutrition, and our health right along with it. James Gleick’s new bestseller Faster depicts the ways in which Americans cut comers to save time, food being one of them. Fast food has taken the place of the mac-n-cheese box-prepared meal, which was the substitute for Donna Reed style meals. We are on a fast track that is continually speeding up, but no one has handed us the field manual explain ing how to keep our bodies and minds in top performance. Let’s take for instance the Indy-500 style college student breakfast. Many of us stumble out of bed nanoseconds before our morning class or job. Quick pseudo-solution, coffee and a cigarette — a.k.a. the sludge breakfast — the equivalent of Nascar promoting mud in die place of Penzoil to refuel mid course. They would not do it, and ideally neither would we. Besides, the only nutritional value of our sludge breakfast is a few stimulants and little else. One tiny step up to an actual breakfast is the coffee and doughnut breakfast. In this case, at least we ingest calories, although mosdy from refined sugar and saturated fat; essentially, food with low nutrient density but high calorie den sity. Now, the “Super Plus” breakfast could include orange juice, a cereal bar or whole-grain cereal in general, and a piece of fruit. This provides complex carbohydrates, calories, some protein, calcium, vitamin A & D (if milk is poured over the cereal), dietary fiber, vitamin C, potassium and sodium. This is also a quite mobile breakfast—the fruit and juice can be eaten on the way to class or even in class. The average student’s diet lacks balance and variety. Although there is rarely a shortage of bread in our diet, we often lack the vitamins provided by fruits and veggies and calcium provided by dairy products. Though it is tempt ing to pop a multivitamin (vitamin supplements can only help so much). It is far more sensible to get vitamins through actually eating. Our bodies do not necessarily absorb supplements as well as whole foods in most instances any way. The only way to really ensure your body — and mind — is getting the nutrients for optimum functioning is through a fully balanced diet. Fruits and veggies provide more readily absorbed sources of vitamins and minerals, can be eaten in class and already come in naturally packaged servings as whole fruit. Yogurt can be eaten quickly and easily either in or between classes, plus it is an excellent source of calcium that people our age need in mass quantities to protect our bones, which stop consolidating (improving density) around 30 years of age. Protein can be eaten at any meal in its many forms, but ideally would not exceed 15 % of daily calorie intake or about 300 calories for a 2000 cal/day diet. Excellent sources other than animal products, including nuts, grains, legumes and soy. Protein bars, though an improvement over candy bars, provide carbohydrates, refined sugar, and a lot of fillers along the way — definitely not the best source of protein. The fact of the matter is, that when we deprive our bodies of their proper nutrients, they don’* perform as well and simply wear out faster on the road of life. When nutrition goes out the window, so does our attention span, our overall academic performance, and in comes illness as a physical side effect. Consider how much time you waste when your body responds to poor nutri tion and health with the flu or a cold. The University Health Center is here for everyone to establish and main tain health and to help you to be your body’s top mechanic. If you are con cerned about your nutrition intake, make an appointment with Kristen Ol mos, our registered dietitian. Through the Health Ed department, the Nutrition Analysis Program is a computer program that compares your diet with the recommended daily allowances and is available to all students. We also loan out books about nutrition and have recipes listed on our web page :http://healthed.uoregon.edu. In tak ing these precautions, you could end up saving valuable time in the long run Call us at 346-4456 or come by the Health Ed office. Tooty fruity alternatives Drink socially and remain in control. ByJeremy Arnold Mocktails are a very tasty al ternative to alcohol that do not come with the effects that alcohol brings. A mocktail is not just an other drink minus the alcohol like a Virgin Mary or O’Doule’s. It is a fruity delight that goes down smoothly and has its bene fits. Mocktails serve as a great party drink and can be made very easily. So why would you drink a mocktail? For many people, they prefer not to indulge in alcohol for their health or safety reasons. Mocktails still allow people to drink socially and hang out with friends. Others are not too fond of the bitter beer taste or the po tent flavor some beers have. Addi- ‘ : tionally, they can drink as many : mocktails as they want and not worry about feeling hung over in j the morning. Most importantly, mocktails allow you to remain in complete : control of your actions. It is safe j to drive and you do not have to ; worry about designating a driver. | You are more likely to make re | sponsible decisions about sexual activity while not under the influ ence of alcohol. Instead of the al ; cohol taking control, you keep it. I When you drink mocktails you j are in a totally different state of | mind that allows you to make im ; portant and safe decisions. Being | in control of you actions, instead i of under the influence of alcohol, j gives you a sense of control and f allows you to look out for your ! self. With all the facts and knowl edge that we have from numerous studies concerning alcohol abuse, j you have to begin to ask yourself why you would want to put your self into some of the unhealthy situations that are associated with drinking? Why not adapt a better lifestyle that you feel com fortable and safe with? There is no reason why you should have to put yourself into risky situa tions that include unwanted sex ual advances and death due to drunken drivers. These are only two examples of a fairly large list of second-hand effects of intoxi cation. So now you know die benefits to enjoying the non-alcoholic bev erages so get your blender ready and mix up some of these great j recipes. Almost all necessary in gredients can be found in your fridge or at the local market. Feel free to improve the mocktails to your own desire and add or sub stitute to your approval. Create and enjoy! Jeremy’s Favorite Mocktails Creamsicle 2 scoops ice cream, 4 oz. orange juice. Blend and serve in a tall glass. Top with whipped cream. Fruit Smoothie 1 scoop ice, 6oz orange juice, 1 j cup strawberry, 1 cup banana. Blend until smooth. Johnny Appleseed 2 scoops ice cream, 2-3oz apple juice, splash of orange juice. Blend w/ice and serve in cham pagne glass Cardinal Punch lqt Cranberry juice, 1 pt. orange juice, 2 lemons squeezed or 2 oz lemon juice, 4 qt ginger ale. Com bine juices on ice and chill. Pour into Punch bowl and add ginger ale. Paid Advertising
