Why quit smoking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Why quit smoking - Essay Example There are many instances where the smokers give up the habit and then succumb to the temptation. This is because they have made only half-hearted measures to quit smoking and unless one is completely determined to quit, the desire would manifest again and again. Some of the measures like reducing the number of cigarettes one smokes or increasing the interval between successive cigarettes are just temporary solutions and do not lead to any long term de-addiction. There has to be a strong willed desire to quit and the resolve has to be stiff. Though these may seem like harsh words, unfortunately they are the ones that can help in smoking cessation. - There are many who believe that â€Å"tapering† off nicotine usage can lead to quitting smoking. However, studies have indicated that the majority of smokers who quit have done so by abruptly quitting instead of tapering over a period of time. This method calls for will power and resolve and certain modifications to the dietary habits can make a difference. If one can reduce the intake of caffeine, sugar and alcohol, they go a long way in making one move away from nicotine. These are stimulants that aid in a cycle of substance addiction and cessation of any one of these can lead to cessation of the other. The high risk groups are those who take one or more than one of these stimulants in large quantities. - Quitting smoking improves the physical and mental fitness of individuals. So, having an exercise regimen goes a long way in aiding the urge to quit smoking. As they say, a jog around the park can be more addictive than a pack of cigarettes. - The effect of the peer group is one of the most important factors in people deciding to smoke and conversely deciding to quit as well. So, make sure that you get the encouragement of co-workers and friends who do not smoke and try to minimize the

Media’s Sexualization of Children :: Argumentative Persuasive Topics

  Ã‚  Ã‚   One very disturbing trend in fashion, advertising, and particularly recently in the music industry is the sexualization of children, especially girls. They are constantly portrayed as sexual caricatures of adults. In some cases, young children are portrayed scanty-clad. In yet others, they are wearing such outfits and mimicking sexual poses. In other cases, a teenager or young adult is dressed in a way to make her appear younger. She may be wearing a cheerleader uniform, a school-girl uniform, she may be posing clutching a stuffed animal, or with dolls, etc. and she is often posed in a sexual fashion. Britney Spears is the most notable example of this. The then seventeen-year-old donned a little school girl uniform complete with pigtails for her "Baby One More Time" video. However, that uniform blouse was tied up to reveal her mid-drift and her skirt was cut short. There are a wide variety of pictures of Britney Spears available, particularly on the web. It's quite disturbing to flip through these pictures and see one of Miss Spears standing next to a school bus smiling sweetly, then one of her in a tiny cheerleader outfit lying provocatively in the bed of a truck, and then one of her tearing her clothes off. Her early photographs painted her as "the girl next door" type. Even the cover to her first album was a picture of her completely clothed and smiling sweetly. Her photographs and videos then captured her as a school girl "sex kitten", making her appear younger, yet sexualizing her image with tiny tops and skirts.    Our popular culture and our modern society seem to be speeding up the sexualization of young girls. We have a problem in our culture and her name is Britney Spears. When I say "Britney Spears" I mean, of course, all her clones as well, Christina Aguilera, Mandy Moore, Jessica Simpson, etc. All of these girls are either under or hover very close to the age of consent... These girls are marketed specifically to preteen girls and they are not singing about sugar and spice; they are singing about sex. "Give it to me / I'm so addicted to the loving that you're feeding me / Ohhh / Can't do without it, this feeling's got me weak in the knees/ Oh, baby / Body's in withdrawal every time you take it away/ Ohhh/." (Kleinheider)

Skin Facts

The skin is the largest organ of the body. On the average person, the skin is approximately 3000 square inches and weighs approximately seven pounds. While the eyes are the â€Å"windows of the soul†, the skin is the â€Å"window to the body† because it is the only organ that can be seen. The skin contains 25% of the body’s blood supply, which flow completely through the skin once every minute. The skin is the body’s largest organ of immunity. It is the body’s first line of defence, the boundary where self is designed from non-self, yet it is highly interactive with the environment. Anatomy of Normal Skin Approximately 50% of the body’s primary cells of immunity are housed in the skin at any minute. After puberty, these cells are matured in the skin. The skin is biodynamic, alive up to the stratum corneum the only barrier the skin has to the outside world. The stratum corneum is less than the thickness of one human hair. In one square inch of the skin there are 2800 openings for sweat and oil glands. Over three million sweat glands cover the body, contributing to one of the skin’s many nicknames, the third kidney. In one day, skin will release one to several millilitres’ of water. As we get older, these sweat glands produce less perspiration. Skin perspires, what some people mistakenly call breathing. It takes in about 2. 5% of the body’s oxygen and releases about 3% carbon dioxide. In general, the skin does not breathe from outside oxygen. It works on anaerobic metabolism through our lungs. The skin is a bio-conversion factory. It is the largest hormone and enzyme producing organ of the body. Two distinct layers make up the skin. The epidermis, which covers and protects and the dermis, supports the epidermis and connects it to the underlying muscles. It acts as a heat regular in conjunction with the blood stream and perspiration glands. When the body is exposed to too much heat, there is a rush of blood to the surface of the skin, permitting it to cool. At the same time, the perspiration glands secrete liquid to aid in the process. Sensory erception occurs in the skin, preventing damage to its ability to feel heat and/or cold, giving pleasure by the same ability to feel such things as the smoothness of satin of the softness of down. There is delayed light screening by means of melanin’s reaction to light. Melanin is a dark pigment found in the skin. It is the area where both sebum and perspiration production take place and where these two combine on the surface to form a protective film (acid mantle) which renders the skin less vulnerable to damage and attack by environmental factors (e. . sun, wind, bacteria) and less prone to dehydration. â€Å"pH† is a chemist’s term standing for â€Å"potential of hydrogen† and is used to describe the degree of acidity or alkalinity in the acid mantle of the skin or in a product. It is measured on a scale ranging from 0-14. The centre of the scale, 7, is neutrality (neither acid nor alkaline). A reading above 7 indicates that the substance being measured is alkaline; below 7, acid. As far as the skin is concerned, a normal pH (or normal Acid Mantle) is in the range of 4. 2 to 5. 6. It will vary from one part of the body to another and generally speaking, the pH of a man’s skin is lower (more acid) than of a woman’s. The Chemical Composition of the Skin: Water70. 0% All percentages are approximate, Protein25. 5%as water may range from 60% to 70%. Lipids2. 0% Trace Minerals0. 5% All Other2. 0% There are three main skin layers: †¢The Subcutis contains fat cells and Lipocytes which make lipids. †¢The Dermis contains nerves, blood vessels, sebaceous glands and sweat glands and consists mainly of collagen & elastin. †¢The Epidermis contains keratinocytes, melanocytes and Langerhans cells. The skin, and in fact our whole body, is composed of many different types of cells. These cells have the same fundamental chemical composition but they vary in size, shape and function. The cells that comprise the outer layer of the skin are themselves a series of many layers that overlap each other, thus ensuring that cellular or other fluids cannot escape from the body via the skin except through a cut or break, or by means of special escape routes: the pore of follicles. The outer surface of the skin is comprised of flattened dead cells. Underneath however, there are living cells, which are somewhat fuller, and the deeper one goes into the skin, the fuller and rounder the cells become. At the bottom of all the layers, there is a row of cells, which are the ones that are always growing and in the process, pushing other cells upward, the cells become flattened as they are emptied of their natural fluid through pressure and dehydration. This normal process of shedding and renewal takes about 30 days (which means that after a cell is born in the bottom layer, it ends up on the surface of the skin, dead and ready to shed). The number of things the skin does for us is incredible. It covers us (epidermis and dermis), helps us keep warm (fatty layer), cools us off (sweat glands), keeps itself supple (oil glands) provides ultraviolet ray protection (melanin cells, registers our sense of touch (nerves), and is ornamental (hair, eyelashes, nails). Over time, dead protein cells can build up and block sebaceous and sudoriferous glands. This causes disturbances in the skins pH levels, normal rhythm and proliferation.

Taking a Look at the Enmancipation Proclamation - 656 Words

The Emancipation proclamation is a document that forever changed the outlook on slavery in the United States forever. The document drafted and signed by the 16th President of the United States of America would be the biggest accomplishment of Presidents Lincolns term in office as well changing the focus of the civil war. The proclamation is the most important document signed by President Lincoln and one of the most important documents in the history of the United States of America. On January 1, 1863 the Emancipation proclamation was issued, as the nation approached its third year of the bloody civil war. The proclamation is also one of the most misunderstood documents in American History as it was intended to free all slaves. The document did not end slavery in the nation; it captured the hearts and imagination of millions of Americans and fundamentally transformed the character of the war. The Emancipation Proclamation was first brought to light in the summer of 1862 by President Lincoln as he addressed his cabinet of his intentions to end slavery and utilize it as a war measure to cripple the confederacy. Though Lincolns cabinet didn’t see eye to eye with him on the initial thought of the proclamation because they saw it as too radical and were very apathetic on the subject. It wasn’t until the victory of Antietam, which wasn’t necessarily a victory because it ended in a draw that Secretary of State William Seaward thought that the government could enforce such a