Cigars: safer than smoking cigarettes?

No, cigar smoking isn’t safer than cigarette smoking- even if you don’t intentionally inhale the smoke. Cigars, like cigarettes, contain nicotine, the substance that can lead to tobacco dependence. Historically, cigar smoking has been a behaviour of older men, but the industry’s increased marketing of these products as symbols of a luxurious and successful lifestyleContinue reading “Cigars: safer than smoking cigarettes?”

COVID-19: practical ways to cope with stress and anxiety

Hong Kong endured nearly 8 months of social unrest before COVID-19 hit the city in January 2020. Citizens were already facing a major mental health burden, with the medical journal The Lancet reporting that almost 2 million people in Hong Kong- about 1 in 3 adults in the city- experienced symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)Continue reading “COVID-19: practical ways to cope with stress and anxiety”

Coronavirus COVID-19: dealing with the epidemic and practical tips to protect your health

As the number of coronavirus COVID-19 cases keeps climbing up, education and information are crucial factors in the management of this novel virus that causes pneumonia. As of February 15th, there are 67,100 confirmed cases and 1,526 deaths globally, the majority of which are reported in Mainland China (66,492 confirmed cases). In Hong Kong, panicContinue reading “Coronavirus COVID-19: dealing with the epidemic and practical tips to protect your health”

Study: a bottle of wine a week is as bad as smoking 10 cigarettes

Do you drink a glass of wine a few times a week? New research shows that drinking a bottle of wine a week is the same as smoking 5 to 10 cigarettes when it comes to raising the risk of getting cancer. For women, drinking one bottle of wine each week increased the absolute lifetime risk ofContinue reading “Study: a bottle of wine a week is as bad as smoking 10 cigarettes”

Smoking and memory damage

A new study from Northumbria University has found that people who smoke only on weekends cause as much damage to their memory as those who smoke every day. The Collaboration for Drug and Alcohol Research Group in Northumbria’s School of Life Sciences tested 28 “social smokers” who smoke around 20 cigarettes once or twice aContinue reading “Smoking and memory damage”