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Sure, you've been thinking about quitting the smoking habit. Of course, there are lots of reasons to quit. You may be concerned about the effects of smoking on your health or the money you spend on cigarettes. Or maybe you'd just like to set a better example. Whatever the reasons, you can get help with quitting by going to smokefree.gov, a site that offers five different ways to help you begin and follow through on the quitting process.
Created by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the site offers an online "cessation guide" that walks you through the steps necessary to quit. You'll find solid advice for overcoming potential stumbling blocks to quitting such as cigarette cravings or "sneaking a smoke."
Also, the site has a "Did You Know ... " page with more than three dozen facts about smokers, along with research citations to back them up. Examples: Your appeal to the opposite sex could triple as a nonsmoker, and your immune system improves every day after you quit.
Perhaps you'd like some human contact to help you. The site offers three routes:
The site also has several publications that can be downloaded, including materials for smokers older than 50, and for those who have recently quit. There's also a booklet on quitting for Spanish-speaking smokers.
To get started on the road to being a nonsmoker, or to get information to help a loved one quit, go to www.smokefree.gov.
Every year, 600,000 or more Americans are diagnosed with shingles, a painful skin disorder caused by reactivation of the chickenpox virus. If you've had chickenpox, you may be at risk for shingles, especially if you are over age 50. In fact, half of all Americans will have had shingles by the time they are 80, according to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
In the past, shingles treatments and prevention tactics have been limited. But the latest research has shown that if action is taken early--within 72 hours of an outbreak--shingles can be effectively treated with antiviral medicine.
But how do you recognize shingles, and how is the disorder treated? A Web site sponsored by the National Institutes of Health answers these questions. At http://nihseniorhealth.gov/shingles/toc.html, the site thoroughly explains shingles, including its causes, risk factors, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment. The site has a very effective list of frequently asked questions, which includes photos of shingles patients and a four-minute video clip to answer "What Is Shingles?"
If, after viewing the site, you still want to know more, you'll find a link to a lengthy list of other online resources, courtesy of the federal health information site MedLine Plus.
With just a mouse click, kids can make believe they are doing the detective work of FDA investigators as they look for conditions in factories and warehouses that might cause products to be unsafe.
This fun activity is one of several found in a newly revised FDA Kid's Page.
Also included are:
The site also has a "Parent's Corner," with links to helpful information on pregnancy and birth, child care, childhood diseases, and general health and safety.
Experts tell us that common diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes can run in families. If one generation has high blood pressure, it's not unusual for the next generation to have similarly high blood pressure.
To help focus attention on the importance of family health history, the Office of the Surgeon General has created a Web site that allows you to download a tool called "My Family Health Portrait." You can use it to plot major diseases and disorders that have occurred in your family as far back as two generations ago. With a copy of the history in hand, you can work with your doctor to individualize your care and screen for hereditary diseases for which you may be at higher risk.
Create your family health portrait.
FDA.gov is written by John Henkel, a member of the FDA's Website Management Staff.