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LONDON (Reuters) – Former Olympus Corp head Michael Woodford is close to releasing names of an alternative slate of directors for the board of the company, he told Reuters in an interview, as he fights to return at the helm of the company. Woodfor…

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The new water vapor cigarettes haven’t caught on everywhere yet, but they’re continually gaining in popularity. As a consequence of higher cigarette taxes and ever-more restrictive regulatory action, many smokers have either quit the addiction altogether or began looking for alternative nicotine shipping systems. Though skeptics have expressed doubts about this new technology, there are quite a few benefits to the electronic cigarette that simply cannot be dismissed.

Smokers are no longer accepted

It’s almost difficult to think that smoking was once a common leisure pursuit around the world. For a number of years, one could scarcely tune into a telly program, open a magazine, or watch a movie without seeing somebody with a cigarette in hand. All of that began to change when people began to learn of the alleged health problems surrounding cigarette usage. As a result of that fact and other factors, only a tiny an area of the Western population now smokes regularly.

The fact is that society has made it increasingly uncomfortable for individuals to pursue this characteristic. Health concerns may have started the decline in smoking, but a combination of new taxes and regulations raised to the pace of the trend. Today, very few public places in which a smoker is allowed to participate in what is still a legal characteristic. As a matter of fact, almost all business and government buildings now ban smoking within their premises.

A lurking habit

Despite society’s hostility to smokers and the increased prices related to the characteristic, many people still cling to their right to smoke. The producers of the electronic cigarette understand full well that smokers ought not to be ostracized merely because others find their habit offensive. In a reaction to smokers’ need for an alternative nicotine shipping system, these manufacturers created water vapor cigarettes.

The cigarette in action

To be certain, the very reasoning behind a smokeless cigarette perplexes many smokers. All the same, an easy examination of how the items works makes everything clear. Unlike a conventional cigarette, this product does not use fire to burn paper and tobacco. Instead, it is run by batteries and delivers a smokeless hit of nicotine. The absence of fire and smoke eliminates carbon monoxide and various poisons from the equation, making this a safe way to use nicotine.

The benefits

Apart from health concerns, these cigarette choices are also far less expensive than ordinary tobacco products. They also produce no odor, and less environmental waste than a conventional cigarette product. Vapors disappear quickly when they make contact with the air, and the complete process produces no secondhand effects to offend others in the area.

Moreover, a digital cigarette can be utilized in places where smoking is currently prohibited. That suggests that they can be smoked in restaurants and bars and various public places that do not now allow other types of smoking. Most users only have to spell out that these products produce vapors as opposed to smoke to allay any concerns that others might express.

Obviously, it has to be mentioned that no one is claiming that these products are competent ways to kick the nicotine trait. What they’re, all the same, is a proven and safe method for people to get the nicotine they hunger while staying away from health concerns and criticism from other people. For those reasons alone, these water vapor cigarettes may offer a modern smoking solution that is more than just smoke and mirrors. Visit e cigarette drops and learn about e cigs, if you still need more information, visit e cigarette dse901 for more information.

We live in a busy world, when almost everyone loves to take things within their reach. We live in a world where fast food, remote control, TV, automobiles, gasoline, and electricity are a prerequisite. Modernization has its own conveniences, but it has its own downfalls. It makes us become busy all the time with all the details, so that we don’t have the time to study new things. Take, for instance, the practice of medicine nowadays. A patient comes in, and, after examination and history-taking he is being bombarded with a handful of pills to take with illegible prescription handwriting. The same thing happens to the second patient, then the third patient, and so on. Modern medicine is so monotonous that doctors appear too busy to research on alternative ways on how to promote good health and well-being.

Few of us medical practitioners realize the importance of alternative medicine, and how it opens venues for future research and for the formulation of custom protocols for the individual patient. We think of alternative medicine as “quack” treatments, but do we ever pause to study and examine it in detail so that we can learn from it and apply it to our practice?

Alternative medicine has been defined by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) as a form of healing practice which is “used in place of conventional medicine, such as using a special diet to treat cancer instead of undergoing surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy that has been recommended by a conventional doctor.” It is different from complementary medicine, which is a healing practice being used together with standard medical care, e.g. using acupuncture to help with side effects of cancer treatment; or, integrative medicine, which “is a total approach to care that involves the patient’s mind, body, and spirit and combines standard medical treatments with CAM practices that have shown the most promise”. These three concepts are grouped together as Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM).

Do Americans use complementary and alternative medicine in their daily lives? Absolutely. The NCCAM has reported in 2007 that in the United States alone, 38 percent of adults (about 1 in 9) and approximately 12 percent of children (about 1 in 9) are using complementary and alternative medicine. It has also been found out that CAM use is greater among women and those with higher levels of education and higher incomes.

Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) is further divided into four major categories: biologically based practices, energy medicine, manipulative and body-based practices. In addition, complementary and alternative medicine involves whole medical systems, in the form of homeopathic medicine, which seeks to stimulate the body’s ability to heal itself; traditional Chinese Medicine which uses herbs, meditation, and massage to obtain balance in the body; Ayurveda which originated in India; and Naturopathic Medicine, which supports the body’s ability to heal itself through the use of dietary and lifestyle changes together with herbs, massage and joint manipulation.

Naturopathic medicine trusts in the healing power of nature, such that it avoids synthetics drugs, radiation and major surgery. It stresses the importance of preventive medicine, that is, prevention of illnesses through a healthy, stress free lifestyle.

In this world of pollution, garbage, junk food, bacterial and viral gene mutations, the practice of naturopathic medicine among health practitioners is essential. Synthetic drugs are but a part of the traditional medical system which sees patients as a group, not as an individual. Have you ever wondered why, as practicing health care practitioners, some patients seem to get better than the others? This fact has nothing to do with compliance and risk stratification, as many compliant patients and many young, healthy patients die. This only proves the fact that each of us has a unique genetic make-up. Each patient is unique, thus patient care should be individualized and not commercialized for mass consumption. Thus, we should pave the way for revolutionary medicine—medicine which changes as the world changes; medicine which is not stagnant but is adaptable to change, dynamic and patient-oriented.

The latest breakthrough in naturopathic medicine is plant stem cells therapy. Plant stem cells is a form of therapy which used extracts from buds, young shoots and young roots. These plant parts were chosen to be made into extracts because they were believed to be the center of a plant’s energy and thus, they are the main source of therapeutic effects. These parts, made into plant stem cells, also differ from the adult plant parts because they are less exposed to toxins and pollution.

Plant stem cells contain biologic energy and the genetic information for future plants. Plant stem cells also have an abundance of precious substances such as growth hormones, including auxins, gibberellins, ethylene, abscisic acid, cytokinins, nucleic acids, minerals, oligoelements, flavonoids, vitamins and enzymes. Plant stem cells contain auxins, which are plant hormones which were discovered by Charles Darwin in 1880. These plant stem cells stimulate cell growth and strengthen the immune system. These plant stem cells also contain Indoleacetic acud which helps regenerate tissues and lessens inflammation.

Plant stem cells also contain gibberellins, which stimulate RNA and protein synthesis. The cytokinins found in plant stem cells protect cells as they go into the process of cell division, thus they show promise in cancer therapy. Abscisic acid, also found in plant stem cells create resistance to stress. Thus it is not surprising that plant stem cells are now being used for athletes, growth problems in children, replacement therapy for aging, adjunct to would healing. Plant stem cell therapy increases exercise endurance, facilitates healing after illnesses and hospitalizations. Plant stem cells reverses skin and body aging, firms muscles, reduces weight and body fat, enhances memory, improves vision, makes skin soft, smooth and firm, reverses osteoporosis due to its osteoblastic action, and improves sleep.

Thus plant stem cells are a revolutionary type of therapy in the field of complementary and alternative medicine. Firstly, it is because plant stem cells, as a form of naturopathic treatment, makes the doctor practice the adage “primum non nocere” (first, do no harm), because this type of therapy is effective yet poses the least risk to humans. Secondly, plant stem cells support the healing power of nature inherent in each human being. Third is that plant stem cells remove the causes of diseases and does not suppress and eliminates the symptoms only, unlike synthetic drugs. Fourthly, plant stem cells make the doctor a teacher and a researcher because it encourages him to assume full responsibility over a patient’s health and not delegate it to pharmaceutical companies who do not recognize their patients as individuals but as a pack of people where they could throw their pills at without recognizing their specific individual needs. Fifth, plant stem cells treat the whole person and emphasize the condition of health to promote well-being and prevent diseases for the individual, community and the whole world.

Alternative medicine is a major enterprise in India. In November 2009, the government’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare announced the steps it would be taking to promote ‘Indian Systems of Medicine’ in the country, including spending  Rs. 922 crore on the promotion of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga & naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy). Major claims have recently been made for alternative medicine – such as that Ayurveda can be used for anaemia or ano-rectal ailments, and that homeopathy can be used to prevent or cure swine flu, or to treat Aids and malaria.

 

In an era characterised by evidence-based science and politics, should official endorsement be given to remedies that cannot be scientifically proven? Is alternative medicine a form of quackery, which puts patients at risk? Or is the interest in alternative medicine a positive sign that we are beginning to move beyond a too-narrow approach to disease, towards recognising the more subtle relationship between mind and body and the need to find holistic cures? Do traditional medicines play an important role in preventive medicine, contributing to a more affordable and effective healthcare system than the Western medical model?

 

The debate in context:

 

What is complementary and alternative medicine (CAM)?

Many discussions about alternative medicine today take place under the umbrella term ‘complementary and alternative medicine’ (CAM). This implies that alternative medicine should not be seen solely as something that can be used instead of conventional medicine, but can and should be used alongside it. CAM refers to treatments that differ from conventional, or ‘allopathic’, medicine – medicine based on scientific testing that is taught to medical professionals. Systems of CAM have often evolved apart from and earlier than the conventional medical approach used in the Western world. Some such systems, such as homeopathy and naturopathy, have developed in Western cultures; others, such as traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurveda, have developed outside of the West. 

 

Does CAM work – and if so, how?

Critics of CAM argue that the very term is problematic, giving mysticism more scientific credence than it deserves. As the editors of the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) have argued: ‘there is no alternative medicine. There is only scientifically proven, evidence-based medicine supported by solid data or unproven medicine’. Advocates of CAM, however, argue that the lack of scientific evidence about the efficacy of CAM betrays too narrow an approach to the understanding and treatment of illness. They point to the failure of conventional medicine to cure certain serious diseases, such as cancer, and the extent to which patients suffering from these diseases can be helped by therapies like Ayurveda. They note that conventional medicine has itself moved towards a more holistic appreciation of the treatment of disease, and that some natural remedies or techniques, such as the use of quinine to treat malaria, have been adopted and accepted by practitioners of conventional medicine.

 

Even critics of CAM do not dispute that in many cases, alternative remedies can make patients feel better, despite not curing the disease – so isn’t this a worthwhile goal in itself? The importance of preventive medicine, including lifestyle modification, has been globally acknowledged: it is seen as better and more cost-effective to enable people to avoid physical or mental illnesses in the first place, rather than simply trying to treat the disease when it emerges. Alternative medicine, it is argued, has a crucial role to play in this. Furthermore, in a society like India, for which the affordability of healthcare is a major challenge, different models need to be sought that make the most of the country’s experience and expertise, including in the field of alternative medicine. Advocates argue that the orientation of CAM ‘towards self-healing and health promotion (salutogenesis rather than pathogenesis)’ make ‘alternative medicine approaches to chronic diseases especially attractive and affordable for the developing countries’.

 

The rise of CAM

One of the key aims of the government scheme the National Rural Health Mission is to ‘encourage a healthy lifestyle and alternative systems of medicine through AYUSH’. In November 2009, Chief Minister, BS Yedyurappa, told a conference that access and awareness of alternative medicines should be spread in rural areas. The officially-recognised status of alternative medicine in India is also indicated by the reach of the Indian Institute of Alternative Medicines, established in 1991 by Dr.Suresh Kumar Agarwal; and the appointment of Smt. S. Jalaja IAS as secretary to the Department of AYUSH.

 

The growing interest in, and promotion of, alternative medicine by the political and medical authorities is not confined to India. Despite being at the forefront of advances in conventional, ‘Western’ medicine, the USA provides a significant market for traditionally Indian and Chinese remedies. Organisations such as the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine contribute to the official status of alternative medicine in the USA. In the UK, a major debate took place in 2006 about whether CAM should be provided by the National Health Service (NHS). In the USA and UK, affordability of healthcare is also a key issue, raising questions about whether attachment to the Western model of medicine is appropriate even for Western societies, let alone other cultures.

 

A different kind of medicine?

These developments show that CAM is not an unregulated, maverick market, but is fast becoming subject to official and scientific research and regulation. Advocates of CAM argue that quacks can be weeded out by better training and standard-setting. Some also argue that criticism of alternative medicine arises from a Western bias, which distorts the facts about CAM and refuses to countenance its effectiveness. Critics, however, point to concerns about the safety of certain forms of alternative medicine. Discussions about the affordability of alternative compared to allopathic medicine lead to concerns that patients are being duped by irrational treatments that will not make them better. Shouldn’t a universal healthcare system ultimately seek to provide proven cures for illnesses, rather than taking the cheaper but less effective route of alternative medicine?

 

Key terms:

 

Complementary and alternative medicine

 

Conventional medicine

 

Preventive medicine

 

Quackery

 

AYUSH

 

Ayurveda

 

Homeopathy

 

Placebo effect

 

Essential reading

 

Alternative System of Health Care Indian Government

 

Needed: ‘basic’ doctors of modern medicine Meenakshi Gautham and K.M. Shyamprasad The Hindu 5 November 2009

 

When East Meets West: Why Consumers Turn to Alternative Medicine ScienceDaily 20 November 2009

 

In defence of scientific medicine Michael Baum Manifesto Club

 

Q&A: Complementary therapies BBC News Online 23 May 2006

 

Interview With Ashis Nandy: ‘Every tradition has its dark side’ Parshuram Ray Humanscape January 2001

 

 

For:

 

‘Alternative’ Medicine Is Mainstream Deepak Chopra, Dean Ornish, Rustum Roy and Andrew Weil Wall Street Journal 9 January 2009 

 

Reflections on Ayurveda Dr Mohana Krishnaswamy The Hindu 4 September 2001

 

Health Care Reform Should Include Preventive Medicine Navi Radjou Harvard Business Review 7 August 2009

 

Holistic medicine demystified Dr Hiramalini Seshadri The Hindu Magazine 15 May 2005

 

Against:

 

Where doctors fail Dr. Sudha Vidyasagar The Hindu 5 September 2009

 

Sticking a needle in alternative medicine Stuart Derbyshire spiked 28 November 2007

 

Ayurveda under the scanner Meera Nanda The Hindu Magazine Vol 23, Issue 07, April 08 – 21, 2006

 

Book review: Suckers – How alternative medicine makes fools of us all Eisha Sarkar Mumbai Mirror 5 November 2009

 

 

Further reading:

 

An interview with Dr. V. Sukumaran MBBS, MD (ped) health and mind science consultant Malini Suryanarayanan 14 June 2000 The Hindu: Opportunties

 

Role of Ayurveda in the Management of Cancer Dr. Joban Modha and Dr. Neha Modha Boloji.com 2 December 2007

 

Focus: Alternatives in holistic healing Pratibha Gadhalay The Hindu: Opportunities 14 June 2000

 

Skin Deep: Ancient, but How Safe? Abby Ellin New York Times 17 September 2008

 

Awash in Ancient Hindu Wisdom Peter Jaret New York Times 9 March 2006

 

Bottling Ancient Secrets Michele Orecklin Time Magazine 31 July 2000

 

Placebo effect Robert T. Carroll The Skeptic’s Dictionary

 

Sense About Homeopathy Sense About Science September 2006

 

All in the mind? Anjana Ahuja The Times (London) 24 May 2006

 

The Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the United States National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine December 2008

 

Kerala’s Crisis in Public Health C.R. Sonam Boloji.com 3 February 2007

 

Complementary and Alternative Medicine May Reduce Risk of Some Diseases US Disease Control Project June 2007

 

 

 

In the news:

 

Drugs for affordable health care sought The Hindu 21 November 2009

 

Ayurvedic methods to cure ano-rectal ailments Naveen Kumar Times of India 21 November 2009

 

Promotion of Alternative Medicine System Press Information Bureau: Government of India 20 November 2009

 

Anaemia treatment by ayurveda from December 8 Simran Virk Times of India 17 November 2009

 

CM bats for alternative medicine Expressbuzz 15 November 2009

 

‘Need to combine Ayurveda with modern medicine’ Times of India 15 November 2009

 

Medicine takes an alternative route Nikhila Henry Times of India 26 September 2009

 

‘Homeopathy can prevent, cure swine flu’ Times of India 18 August 2009

 

Alternative medicine to the rescue Chitra Nair Times of India 13 August 2009,

 

Boost for public healthcare Times of India 9 July 2009

 

‘Rs. 4,000 crore for alternative medicine’ The Hindu 22 March 2009