Your health: Truths about tobacco

Truths about tobacco

Most young Americans know that cigarettes are addictive, but until 1994, that was secret information, The Washington Post says.

The revelation of that secret is the subject of “Addiction Incorporated,” a documentary by Charles Evans Jr. The film tells the story of Victor DeNoble, a scientist hired by Philip Morris in the 1980s to conduct research on nicotine and create a “safe cigarette” that would not harm smokers' health.

Evans uses animation, with DeNoble himself explaining things, to show how DeNoble conducted tests on rats and “inadvertently created indisputable evidence that nicotine was addictive, something the tobacco companies had long denied.”

Evans wants you to know the measures the tobacco industry took to contest DeNoble's findings, including filing a $10 billion libel lawsuit when ABC News reported on them. If you ever doubted that cigarettes are bad for your health, “Addiction Incorporated” will certainly clear up the confusion.

Go to addiction incorporated.com for more information.

Discussing puberty

For parents who dread talking with their adolescent sons about their changing bodies, Walt Larimore's book, “The Ultimate Guys' Body Book,” may be a help.

Larimore, a family-practice physician, offers a series of 30 questions that he answers in a teen-friendly way with medical evidence and a good sense of humor, according to The Washington Post.

He starts out easy, with what a growth spurt is and how to get bigger muscles; then he gets to the issues that many people are reluctant to discuss, such as the ins and outs of puberty.

Winter skin

Even for people who don't have the cold-induced skin rash urticaria with its red, raised and itchy bumps, winter can be very tough on the skin.

Multiple layers of clothing, the heat from furnaces, and hot showers and baths pull the moisture out of our skin and cause dehydration.

“As a result,” says Jennifer Derry, a clinical skin care specialist in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “we see increasing cases of dry, itching or flaking skin.”

Moisturizers help the problem, but some people may need lotions and treatments to combat winter-beaten skin.

“Humidifiers, fish oil, enzyme facials and hyaluronic acid serums are among the many options for patients,” Derry said.

“Hyaluronic acid is naturally found in the body, helping to moisturize from the inside out. By applying more HA to the skin, it helps to hold in more moisture.”