Smoking study shows new cancer risk

A new study suggests that people who have smoked for more than 25 years may have caused lung cell damage, which can not be stopped by quitting.

According to researchers long-term smoking appears to trigger a biological switch in the lung, which causes cell growth and this in turn could lead to cancer.

Besides, most smokers die from heart disease. Stopping smoking reduces the risk of heart disease almost immediately. It’s always worth giving up, whatever your age, but the sooner the better.

Scientists say, that smoking causes at least 24 separate diseases and there are clear benefits from giving up smoking at any time.

There are immediate benefits, short-term benefits and long-term benefits from quitting smoking. And there are clear benefits both for individuals and their families – according to the new study.

Within two years of stopping smoking the increased risk ok heart disease is halved. And many other unpleasant diseases, like emphysema, which damage the quality of life can be prevented by stopping smoking.

A large-scale study published in 1994 found that cigarettes would eventually kill one in two smokers, and that smoking was lethal and nicotine was an addictive drug.

Can’t stop smoking? Then cut some risks. The ill effects of cigarette smoking on health and appearance and a social climate is evident. And it is difficult for nonsmokers to understand why anyone continues to smoke. But cigarettes still have a stranglehold on millions of people, many of whom think they cannot quit or have no desire to try.

Clearly, there is no substitute for quitting smoking and banishing it from the air we breathe. But there is reason to believe that active and passive smokers can to some degree counter the ill effects of tobacco. Much of the harm caused by tobacco smoke can be traced to what biochemists call oxidative damage.

To counter such damage, recent studies suggest, the diet should be rich in a group of nutrients known as antioxidants. The major dietary antioxidants are vitamins C and E, beta-carotene and other carotenoids

But vitamin E is hard to come by in an otherwise wholesome diet, for it is most prominent in vegetable oils and margarine, which should be cautiously consumed in a low-fat diet. To raise vitamin E intake to effective antioxidant levels, a daily supplement is necessary. Doctors recommend fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids, especially species like mackerel, salmon, bluefish and sardines, is another good source of protective nutrients. Diets rich in omega-3 fatty acids are associated with a low risk of developing coronary heart disease and suffering heart attacks.

Ex.1 Find English equivalents. Найдите английские эквиваленты:

изгонять из общества, удушение, жирные кислоты, питательное вещество, антиоксидант, сердечный приступ, рак, легкие, бросить курить, сидеть на диете, пассивный курильщик

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DRUGS

More people are abusing drugs today than in any other time in history of mankind and many of those people are youth.

Understanding what drugs are is fundamental for understanding their potential abuse.

Drugs are a psychoactive substance.

A psychoactive substance is something that people take to change the way they feel think or behave. Some of these substances are called drugs and other, like alcohol and tobacco, are considered dangerous, but are not called drugs.The term drug also covers a number of substances that must be used under medical supervision to treat illnesses.

I am going to talk about drugs as those man—made or naturally occurring substances used without medical supervision, basically to change the way a person feels thinks or behaves.

In the past, most drugs were made from plants. That is plants were grown and then converted into drugs such as coca paste, opium and marijuana. Over the years,these crude products were further processed to drugs like cocaine and heroin and finally, in the 20th century, people found out how to make drugs from chemicals.

There are called man—made or synthetic drugs and include ecstasy, LSD, etc. These were initially manufactured for largely experimental reasons and only later were used for recreation purposes. Now, however, with the increased size and scope of the drug trade, people set out to invent drugs especially for human consumption.

For the first time in human history, a whole industrial complex creates and produces drugs that are meant to be used for the sole purpose of "having fan". People use drugs just to escape the reality, to have fun. The majority of them are young, even very young, who do not understand what might happen to them because of drugs

Words:

1. to abuse - злоупотреблять

2. drugs - наркотики

3. mankind – человечество

4. youth - молодежь

5. substance - вещество

6. to behave – вести себя, поступать, держаться

7. to consider – думать, полагать, считать

8. dangerous - опасный

9. to cover – включать, содержать

10. supervision – лечение, предписание

11. to treat - лечить

12. illness - болезнь

13. plants - растения

14. crude - сырой

15. to find – найти, изобрести

16. ecstasy – экстази (наркотик, вызывающий чувство эйфории, широко употребляется на дискотеках)

17. LSD – ЛСД (наркотик, вызывающий галлюцинации)

18. initially – в начальной стадии, вначале

19. recreational – развлекательный, относящийся к сфере развлечений, отдыху

20. purpose – назначение, намерение, цель

21. to invent - изобрести

22. consumption - потребление

23. to escape – уходить от реальности, отключаться

24. majority - большинство