Tobacco use is dangerous

Tobacco kills. Everyone needs to know. Even though tobacco isn’t supposed to be sold to minors, they find their ways. This act isn’t just being selfish, it’s also ignorant, and the consequences can be deadly.

Tobacco of all sorts over long-term use causes cancers of different types. Tobacco causes diseases such as leukemia, kidney cancer, cataracts and cancer of the cervix. Smoking also greatly increases the risk of having heart disease or a stroke. Tobacco is not only well-known for its side effects, it’s also well-known for its chemicals commonly used daily, such as: nicotine, a deadly poison; arsenic, used in rat poison; methane, a component of rocket fuel; butane, used in lighter fluid; cadmium, used in batteries; ammonia, a floor cleaner; hydrogen cyanide, a poison found in gas chambers; formaldehyde, used to preserve body tissue; and carbon monoxide.

Once you’ve started using tobacco, it’s very addictive, making it hard to stop. Addiction to nicotine results in withdrawal symptoms when a person tries to stop. A survey showed that when frequent users were stripped of all types of tobacco for 24 hours, they had increased anger, hostility and aggression and loss of social cooperation. Also, people suffering from withdrawal take longer to regain emotional equilibrium following stress.

Here is an ethnic breakdown of tobacco users: 22.2 percent are Caucasian Americans, 20.2 percent are African Americans, 15 percent are Hispanic, 33.4 American Indians/Alaskan natives, and 11.3 percent are Asian Americans. Of African Americans, men have the highest risk and suffer the most from heart disease and strokes.

We Americans need to address this problem and make it known worldwide. Smoking kills. It’s a proven fact. If you haven’t started, don’t. You will only be killing yourself a puff at a time.

Eryc-Melec Hairston
Oneonta
Hairston is a GED2 student at Job Corps.

Getting into college difficult

We are no longer making a post-secondary education affordable for high school seniors in this country. The rise in college and university tuition costs is placing a financial burden on millions of college-bound Americans and their families every year.

Seniors just out of high school hardly have the means to live on their own let alone accumulate a $50,000 debt, especially with today’s already-high cost of living. Seniors have a tendency to dream big: Doctors, lawyers, teachers, auto mechanics, business owners, and the list goes one. But, by having college tuition at its highest, we are discouraging students from trying to achieve their dreams, causing the number of high school dropouts to reach a national all-time high in the past two years.

Some may say, "Well, that’s what scholarships, grants and federal loans are for." That is fine if you’re a scholastic student or come from a financially deficit family. When a student goes to fill out his or her FAFSA, the information asked for is in reference to the student’s finances he or she has available. And while scholarships and grants are available for merit and financial need through the student’s high school and/or college, they are not guaranteed.

If a post-secondary education is so indispensable in the work force today, why are we making it so complicated for students to obtain such an education? Something must be done before students’ dreams are too far out of reach. How? Simply know the facts or sign a petition if one’s available.

Brittany Caruso
Walton
Caruso is a senior at Walton Central School. Caruso and other students have written letters to the editor as part of Judy Lazina’s composition class.

Regarding our wrongful death suit against Bassett, our concerns for patient safety and context for an apology were missing.

The alarms in the ICU had apparently been deliberately turned off _ a poor decision with regards to patient safety. Monitors recorded the event as oxygen levels dropped for nearly 30 minutes, cardiac and respiratory arrest occurred, and, with staff only feet away, no one came to help because the alarms were off.

I met with Dr. Mayewski of Strong Memorial Hospital, an advocate for "full disclosure" and patient-safety issues. The concept of full disclosure is to reveal the facts of an adverse event to the family and hospital staff. To the family, the hospital offers an apology. The hospital undertakes a review of the event and implements a plan to prevent similar mistakes, thus enhancing patient safety and limiting liability. Mayewski has implemented plans at Strong Memorial to prevent many common medical errors. At Strong Memorial, the ICU alarms can not be shut off, only briefly paused.

Our request for full disclosure including an apology and a preventive plan was denied. Our purpose in proceeding with a lawsuit and report to the Department of Health was to force recognition of this as a patient-safety issue. Both were successful, with Bassett being cited for two deficiencies and being required to implement a plan.

Hospitals and medical personnel are vital to society and provide invaluable services. Yet, the Institute of Medicine estimates deaths due to medical mistakes exceed 100,000 per year, and medical mistakes harm another 1.5 million in the U.S.

Patient safety should be an issue and can be improved. We encourage others to ask for full disclosure. If an explanation, an apology and a plan are not forthcoming, consider whether further action could force the hospital to address patient-safety issues.

Michael Powers
Hartwick