Gym Classy Lady: How I Learned To Love Aerial Yoga (AKA Hanging Upside Down In Silk Hammocks)
Jennifer Aniston Caught With Cupping Marks…But What IS Cupping?
Sleep Paralysis: What Rapid Eye Movement and “Demons” Have in Common (Nothing)
Brave, Badass Teen Speaks Out Against Her Principal’s Abstinence-Only Sex Education
The Solution To Existential Angst? It Might Be Tylenol
Don’t Blame Your Relationship if You’re Gaining Weight: You Have Control (But it’s Not Easy)
Lisa Smirl, a 37-year-old UK college professor, has died of lung cancer after doctors repeatedly dismissed her symptoms as “psychological.” Honestly, I’m not even sure what commentary I can provide on such a sad story, but it felt important to share it here, regardless. More
This is the kind of story that makes you shake your head in sorrow and disbelief. Jennifer Wederell, a British woman with cystic fibrosis (a genetic disease that causes mucus to build up in the lungs and digestive tract), has died after receiving a lung transplant from a donor who had been a heavy smoker. Yes, that means that doctors gave a woman with a disease that affects her lungs, a pair of new lungs—that had been damaged by smoking. More
The world is still saddened by the tragic death of disco legend Donna Summer, who died of lung cancer (which she kept a secret) at just 63. But Summer’s death also raises a lot of questions about the fatal disease–chiefly, if smoking is most often linked to it, why do non-smokers die of lung cancer? More
Vaclav Havel, former playwright, president of the Czech Republic and leader of the Velvet revolution in 1981, died in his country home northeast of Prague today at the age of 75, succumbing to a battle with lung cancer. He was a chain smoker for much of his life, but his health problems also stem from the five years he spent in communist prison for dissident activity, where he suffered a poorly treated case of pneumonia that left him with a lifetime of chronic lung problems. More
Today is the Great American Smokeout, and in honor of its 36th year of encouraging smokers to put down cigarettes for 24 hours–or forever, hopefully–we are taking a closer look at what happens inside the body of a smoker. Most people know that smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in our society, responsible for approximately 350,000 deaths every year. And most people know that smoking damages the lungs, hearts, mouths and skin of smokers–sometimes irreversibly. But do you know just how much? And what exactly that looks like? We’ve pulled together some shocking photos to show you. Take a look:
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Did you know that lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States? In fact, with 437 deaths every day because of it, lung cancer accounts for one out of every three cancer deaths, and it will kill nearly twice as many woman as breast cancer. Here is what you need to know.
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When the word got out this weekend about the death of Kara Kennedy, daughter of the late Senator Ted Kennedy, my first thought was that it must have been due to a recurrence with lung cancer. Then I heard that she actually died of a heart attack (after a workout, no less). And she was only 51.
Whenever I hear news like that, I have to wonder: Is this a wake-up call? For me? For all of us? Granted, reports seem to indicate that her heart was already in a weakened state due to the cancer she was diagnosed with at age 42 and the subsequent chemotherapy and surgery she endured. Not that any age is acceptable to get cancer or have a heart attack, but 42 and 51 respectively are just so young.
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Joining a growing list of reasons why smoking is stupid, a new research study revealed that women who smoke are at a much higher risk for heart disease than men. Specifically, they have a 25% increased chance of a heart attack. More
Scented, paraffin candles can pollute a room with almost as many toxins as those produced by cigarette smoke, according to the UK’s Daily Mail. More
The Sweetest Twitter Marriage Proposal You’ll Ever See
Clueless Mom Gives Birth on a Bike Without Realizing It
True Or False: Marathoners Can Eat Whatever They Want
8 Things You Shouldn't Do Before Bed
Why Don’t More Women Talk About Masturbation?
We feel flattered every time a we get a reader comment, and we jump up and down when we get new fans on Facebook, so you can imagine how elated we were when we discovered that one of our readers created an entire video inspired by one of our posts about quitting smoking. David Carnegie, aka @CreelmanKid on Twitter, posted a link to his video, inspired by the Blisstree post, “What Happens to Your Body If You Stop Smoking Right Now?” in a tweet: More
If you’re smoking in a public space in China right now (bar, restaurant, hospital waiting room, domestic flight, hotel lobby, etc.), then you’re breaking the law. But then again, if you’re smoking in a public space in China right now, you probably won’t get into much trouble, even though the country’s new smoking-in-public-places ban legally went into effect two days ago. (Oh, and you can still smoke at work. Yay!) The reason you’ll get away with lighting up at your leisure? The punishment for violators is nominal and negligible: Sure, maybe a restaurant or bar will get fined $5,000 or less for letting its patrons puff for pleasure. But first, that law would need to be enforced by someone. Which, by any and all accounts I’ve read, it’s not, and may never be. And so far, there aren’t any penalties for individuals who break the new law. WTF, China? Where the hell are all your standard draconian consequences?
Now, I have no desire to deprive Chinese citizens of any of their individual human rights, including their right to smoke if they so choose. (Historically, China has infringed upon its citizens’ rights all too effectively on its own.) But if this country is going to make a weak, half-baked attempt to ban smoking in public places (even just to appease the World Health Organization), then it really should impose some realistic penalties and consequences on those businesses and venues that violate the law. More
Sniff Spring Flowers – Did you know that happiness can improve your sense of smell? And smells can improve your sense of happiness, so go get some spring flowers, stat. (The Happiness Project)
Polyglots Rule – Being bilingual can boost your brain power, so go sign up for some spring extended learning classes before it’s too late. (Shots)
Wake Up Call – Nearly 20% of lung cancer patients still smoke, according to a recent study. (HealthDay) More
MTV’s Jersey Shore is the guiltiest of guilty pleasures, and I shamelessly confess to my crime of being an avid viewer. However, my reactions to the cast members’ antics has progressed from an amused: “Whoa, I can’t believe Snooki and Vinny made out in the hot tub,” to: “Whoa, I’m afraid that Ronnie may actually physically harm Sammi.” As the show has progressed, the risky behaviors of cast members seem to have become more pronounced, or maybe it’s just that as their drinking-clubbing-fist-pumping schtick has become a little stale, I’m paying closer attention to all the stupid, unhealthy things they do. So, here’s a breakdown of six ways that living like a Jersey Shore cast member is hazardous to your health: More
Hopefully, most of us will only ever have to imagine what it would be like to live through a major earthquake, tsunami, or multiple nuclear explosions, much less lose loved ones during these unfathomable events – unlike so many unlucky people in Japan. No matter how many natural and manmade disaster movies you see (Independence Day, The Day After, Armageddon, The Day After Tomorrow, The Towering Inferno, Cloverfield, The Blob, Volcano, Executive Decision, and on and on), the psychological ramifications of living through such a catastrophe are virtually impossible for us to comprehend unless we’ve experienced it ourselves. (And we’ll be talking more next week about these psychological effects as they relate to the tsunami in Japan.) Thing is, the physical after-effects may be even harder to accept. See, in the movies, those characters who don’t die usually end up perfectly healthy, physically speaking. Sure, they’re a little bruised, battered, and bloodied from having just saved the world from the impending natural or manmade disaster, but just throw a blanket over their shoulders and let the paramedics give them a cursory going-over, and they’ll be fine. Not so in real life, particularly when we’re talking about nuclear reactor fires, leaks, and explosions like the ones happening at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma, Japan. More
