This open letter is to express our gratitude for the landmark decision to ban the sale of pan masala, gutka and all sorts of smokeless tobacco in our state. This is especially welcome as the ban has come on the eve of 'World No-Tobacco Day' which falls on May 31. This is a gift to our fellow human beings, the children, young adults and even unborn new generation of our beloved state. Tobacco is the only product which has the ability to kill 60 percent of its consumers and patrons. Millions die across the globe due to the ill-effects of tobacco, including cancer, heart attacks, angina, high blood pressure, cerebrovascular accidents, cerebral arteriosclerosis and chronic respiratory diseases, chronic bronchitis.

It has also the capacity to produce impotence in males, lack of sperm counts, infertility in females and still births in pregnant mothers.Tobacco kills 10-15 lakh persons annually in India (more than TB, HIV/AIDS, malaria combined) 2,500 deaths daily. It causes 50 percent of cancers in men and 25 percent in women. India has got the highest incidence of oral cancer and other head and neck cancers in the world.

The Director General WHO has said that "The tobacco industry subverted science, economics and political process to market lethal and inherently defective products that impose a massive burden of disease and death on the countries.''Tobacco killed one person every eight seconds. That made it 4 million preventable deaths.

If one product is banned, it indirectly promotes another product with similar contents and that is human tendency. Why not ban the sale of the old Kerala -style pan ("Murukkan") the usage of which is rampant among the low socio- economic strata in our state from time immemorial as well?

Pan /gutka kills only the consumer but cigarette destroys the innocent people around as well. Looking at the quantum of diseases cigarettes can induce as mentioned earlier, why we only target pan and gutka. It is the right of non-smokers and un-born children in the womb of mothers to enjoy fresh air. Why should we not take action or help to reduce that menace also?

There is a regulation and law regarding explicit display of smoking scenes in cinemas and serials.(COTPA-2003). But as we look around we can see it is grossly violated by film makers. When superstars perform any vices, the fans and children will try to emulate them. You could see such huge hoardings across Kerala of several movie stars of Malayalam filmdom with burning cigarettes on their lip. Can you not give stricter instructions to the Censor Board not to sanction release of such movies?

I have direct knowledge from the community survey conducted in Ernakulam district that schoolgoing children are lured into pan chewing by peers and elders. Majority of brands even add ganja and glass pieces to get the "kick" faster and to adhere to one.

Why not educate children on the ill- effects of tobacco through curriculum? If properly taught and if the teachers do not show double standard (tobacco usage among teachers will have negative impact). Will it not add more credibility to the ban?

A "space drink" concocted by NASA to protect astronauts from radiation has been found to be effective against wrinkles, blemishes and other skin damage from the sun.

According to University of Utah researchers, the drink known as AS10 has shown miraculous results on the 180 skin-damaged
participants in their human trials.

They found that after just four months of drinking two shots of the potion daily, UV spots were reduced by 30 percent and wrinkles by 17 percent, the New York Daily News reported.

The drink is a blend of exotic fruits, including acai, acerola, prickly pear, yumberry, grape, green tea, pomegranate and Brazil's cupuacu.

The ingredients provide high amounts of vitamins and phytochemicals that block harmful effects of radiation, the researchers said.

It also has plenty of antioxidants that ward off oxidative stress, or "free radicals" that damage skin cells.

"The skin is the first body tissue to be exposed to UV rays and we know it is sensitive to oxidative stress," explained Dr. Aaron Barson, a nutritional scientist at the University of Utah.

"Our study shows it greatly benefits from a reduction in this stress. The effects of oxidative stress on the skin can be quickly modified and the skin can heal itself by drinking AS10," said Barson, who is planning a larger study this summer.

Participants, mostly women, drank a little over 2 ounces of AS10 a day.

A 25-ounce bottle of AS10 cost about 50 dollars.

Scientists claim to have engineered a protein which allows the body`s immune cells to get inside tumours and attack cancer cells.


The pioneering experiment, published in the `Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences` journal, was carried out by an international team led by Prof Ruth Ganss at the Western Australian Institute for Medical Research.

"Until now, immunotherapy has not been very successful in treating cancer because tumours are very resistant to immune cells," said Dr Anna Johansson, from The University of Western Australia, a team member.

"As a cancerous tumour grows, it forms a solid ball which is difficult for immune cells to get into and even if they can penetrate the tumour, the environment inside it either kills the cells or makes it difficult for them to function.

"We engineered a protein called TNF-Alpha so that it went straight to a pancreatic tumour and stayed there without toxic side effects outside the tumour. TNF-Alpha affected the blood vessels in the tumour in a surprising way which opened the solid ball so that immune cells could get inside.

"We thought it might damage the blood vessels because TNF-Alpha can be very toxic, but in low doses it actually improved them and increased healthy blood flow, helping immune cells to get inside the cancer," she said in a release.

TNF-Alpha has been shown to enhance the tumour`s response to chemotherapy but until now researchers did not understand why. This study provides insights on how low-dose TNF-Alpha works in tumour and also shows for the first time that it can be combined with immunotherapy.

Fifteen more persons with suspected dengue fever have been admitted to hospitals in Chennai, Madurai and Coimbatore districts even as health authorities carried out fogging and spraying operations to contain the spread of the disease.

In Chennai, three more cases were reported taking the total number of cases detected in the city to 129 this year. Health officials said that the patients were responding to treatment. Screening camps have been organised at major railway stations as the authorities were worried that people from the southern region coming to city could be bringing the virus along with them.

In Madurai, seven new dengue positive patients were admitted to the Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH) on Saturday.

Dr A Pragadeshwaran, Resident Medical Officer (RMO), GRH, said one of the patients was from Madurai district while the others were from neighbouring Theni and Virudhunagar districts.

The RMO said that all the patients were stable and they were recovering well from dengue.

Meanwhile, Madurai Mayor V V Rajan Chellappa and Corporation Commissioner R. Nanthagopal visited a few areas, including Subramaniyapuram, Mela Anuppanadi Housing Board, Ellis Nagar and Sellur Market, where fogging and spraying were being done to control the dengue causing mosquito.

The scene is not very different in Coimbatore where, despite claims of adequate preventive measures by health authorities, five more persons with symptoms of dengue have been admitted to the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital in the past two days.

With this, sources said, there were seven person undergoing treatment at the hospital for the deadly viral infection.

One patient was from the city and the rest from neighbouring districts. Four of the cases were from the Tirupur district while Erode and Karur districts have accounted for one case each.

Strikingly, most of the admitted persons were in the age group of 16 to 28 years.

"Fever, coupled with headache, especially beneath the eyes, and pain in the bones are the early symptoms of dengue," said P Ravi Kumar of Coimbatore Medical College Hospital.

"People should go for a blood test immediately after they betray such symptoms for early detection," Ravi Kumar added.

Health officials said prevention of water stagnation was of paramount importance to preventing the spread of the disease.

"Aedes aegypti mosquitoes breed only in fresh water and spread disease only during the day time," said Deputy Director of Public Health, S Senthilkumar.

"People should make sure that there is no water stagnation around their houses. Even a disposed water cup could be a source for the mosquitoes to breed," Senthilkumar added.

Meanwhile, the city corporation has started fogging operations in areas prone to acute mosquito breeding.

With the arrival of spring season, women are feeling overly pressured to slim down and shape up to fit into a bikini.

And a new survey has revealed 68% of women would give up sex for at least a month in exchange for their ideal, 'summer ready' beach body.

About 82% of women say the feel overly pressured to slim down before summer, according to the survey conduced jointly by Shape magazine and FitSugar.

More than 50% of women say they hate their abs, while 29% revealed they are most insecure about their thighs, the Daily Mail reported.

When it comes to working out, 47% admit to working on their abs more than any other muscle group.

Women who feel pressured to slim down cite Facebook as a large contributor.

90% of readers said that they would never 'like' a photo of themselves tagged wearing a bikini, and 44% would remove the tag or ask their friend to take down the photo.

Shedding the 'last stubborn pounds' before hitting the beach was also a big concern, with 79% of respondents saying they want to lose at least five pounds this summer.

60% of women admitted to dieting in anticipation of bikini season, with 53% cutting calories, 22% forgoing carbs, and 15% trying other strategies.

Most women however are embarking on their diets using healthy meals and exercise - with only 1% using juice fasts, and 3% relying on detox diets to meet their weight-loss goals.