De-addiction
Alcohol and smoke: the case for less, and for none
Two habits where the health advice has not softened with time - it has hardened.
Healthy World
De-addiction
Alcohol and smoke - the case for less, and for none.
Most health advice becomes more nuanced as evidence accumulates. These two have gone the other way.
Tobacco
There is no safe level. Not a few a day, not only socially, not only with friends. This includes gutka, khaini and paan masala, which are behind India's very high rate of oral cancer - smokeless does not mean safe.
The encouraging part is how quickly recovery starts. Circulation and lung function begin improving within weeks of stopping, and excess risk falls year on year afterwards. Stopping is worth doing at any age and after any number of years.
Alcohol
The old idea that a little was protective has not survived better research. The current position is simpler: less is better than more, and none is better than less.
Dependence is a medical condition, not a character defect. It responds to treatment, which is more than willpower can say.
Getting help
If stopping on your own has not worked, that is information about the problem rather than about you. Withdrawal from alcohol in particular can be medically dangerous and should be supervised. A doctor can help with medication, structure and referral, and India has both government de-addiction centres and the national helpline on 14446.