Smoking damages your heart, leads to high blood pressure, infertility

While the popular belief is that smoking largely affects the lungs because they get directly exposed to inhaled smoke, health experts warn that it also impacts the entire cardiovascular system. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), smoking tobacco is globally the second leading cause of heart diseases after high blood pressure. Nearly 12 % of cardiovascular deaths worldwide occur due to tobacco abuse and secondhand smoking. In tobacco cigarette, there is combustion, a burning of an organic material that generates temperatures up to 900 degree Celsius. Chronic exposure to…

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Stokvel members love island holidays, this travel agency found

Earlier this year, Flight Centre launched a new product aimed at stokvel members.  It found that, apart from local destinations, members were saving up for holidays in Mauritius and Thailand. Earlier this year, the travel agency Flight Centre started a stokvel for travel. More than 80 stokvels have signed up, and so far the most popular destinations (apart from domestic trips) are Thailand and Mauritius. A maximum of 30 people can form part of a stokvel – but they don’t have to travel together. To sign-up, members complete a application form,…

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Travel blogger apologizes for clambering onto Pompeii columns for photo

Photo: Nils Travel/Instagram A Belgian Instagrammer has apologized after his picture of himself lounging on top of an ancient column amid the ruins of Pompeii caused outcry in Italy. Posting the photo online last week, the user Nils Travels – a self-described “full-time globetrotter” – initially bragged about finding “a little area that had NO people! Meaning, nobody to yell at me meaning I had to come down from this thing! Exactly what I needed!” But by Monday, the travel blogger had posted an apology after history enthusiasts spotted his…

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This Is What It’s Like To Travel As A Gay Asian Man

Romey Louangvilay in Lombok, Indonesia. As a gay Asian man who works in the tourism industry and loves to travel himself, Romey Louangvilay’s goal is to make travel more inclusive for everyone. A finalist in Forbes’ 2016 Top 30 Under 30 in Marketing & Advertising, Louangvilay is head of communications, overseeing public relations, social media and influencer marketing, at a full-service New York City-based marketing agency where his accounts include Tourism Authority of Thailand, Guana Island in the British Virgin Islands and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). In honor…

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Heart failure causes and symptoms, experts say even moderate drinking could be fatal

Alcohol is bad for our health and we don’t need a doctor to tell us that. However, how much alcohol is ok has always been debatable. There have been many studies conducted on the consumption of alcohol and its impact on our bodies, but there has never been a conclusive figure or amount that we could agree on. But in the interest of good health, it is best to avoid alcohol. Because according this latest study, even moderate level of alcohol consumption may worsen the condition of heart failure patients with a…

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Open heart surgery on a 19-day-old, 2.2kg baby girl conducted successfully

Doctors at a Delhi-based hospital performed an open-heart surgery on a three-week old infant who was suffering from a rare heart condition, offering her a fresh lease of life. The 19-day-old baby was admitted to the hospital on April 10 as an emergency case. The case presented huge challenges at every step, the doctors said. The baby was diagnosed with Infra Diaphragmatic Total Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Connection and the oxygenated blood from her lungs was not reaching the heart. “The blood had to reach the heart in some way to sustain life.…

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