mommysboy

It's a familiar tale- I've read it perhaps a hundred times. There's no doubt vaping is a health boon for hardened smokers. It's just the selling of nicotine (a mild narcotic) to youngsters in strong fruity flavors that also creates a public health concern. Regrettably we don't know the long term health consequences. Thailand won't legalize e-cigs imo, it'll just become less illegal over time- long term expats will know what I mean by this.

Given the invidious choice, I'd rather do porridge in a British prison than a Thai one. In his position, I'd think it wise to book a return to Blighty.

Unfortunately, the second we start volunteering information we're in their narrative-it's like stepping in quick sand. The big mistake is to assume that the police are fair or only interested in the truth. If you're a suspect, whether guilty or not it's best to be polite but essentially unhelpful.

At your expense no doubt, for a whopping 35k a month!

WHO does say they are harmful, and there is growing concern from prestigious institutes like John Hopkins. Thailand basically does what WHO recommends, which is to ban ecigarettes. Common sense thought is that used years on end some health problem is likely to occur- it's just not natural. If they'd just been used as a cessation device for confirmed smokers they'd definitely be a good idea, because they are now proven safe over the short to mid term. But it's just not going to happen in Thailand. The biggest problem is that they are marketed to young people in all sorts of flavours, and some of the gear out there is unregulated. Even in the UK, there are growing concerns whether e cigs are so safe after all.

Life can be quite hard. We're going through a period where in fact real opportunity is much lower than in the previous 60 years and everything is going to be about minimizing and downsizing- that's extremely painful for most. However, expectations amplified by social media are sky high. I'm afraid for many, perhaps even a big majority, it's back to a 1930's lifestyle and that's hard to take, especially when the wealthy appear to be getting even wealthier. On paper, the solution is easy but ultimately won't happen.

Sorry, I shouldn't have said that probably. The point I wanted to make is that although a food may not be the best it can still be useful- bananas have a fair amount, are very cheap, convenient, and almost everyone seems to like them. We all need potassium of course, but in any case it isn't as easily assimilated as sodium I think, so using it to offset excess sodium intake won't really work. I just spoke to one of my doctor English students, who immediately mentioned 'MSG', as being the major cause. Apparently in the noodle bar restaurants, etc, it goes in by the bag full. If there is one single culprit it's likely that, which kind of figures because there's a lot of salt in the western diet, but probably much less MSG.

A banana will give you a good amount of potassium, as will a medium sized potato, and many other easy to eat/prepare foods, such as oats, beans, etc. No need to get too 'elitist' about any one food.

People who don't exercise or keep themselves in trim are much more prone to all sorts of morbidities including kidney disease, primarily because they tend to be overweight and inactive. Sure, diet matters to some extent, as does basic genetic disposition. But, it is too reductionist just to focus on salt, or even food generally. If we were to focus on food, I notice a lot of Thais simply don't eat fruit and veg.

Globally, I believe the leading causes are diabetes and high blood pressure. Salt could certainly be a factor in the latter. But I doubt it's the main player suggested here. It's intriguing though- why so high?

Having thought about it, I think I'm inclined to agree. Not that even one person isn't a serious issue for that poor soul, but you do have to also ask why just that person ?, while perhaps a million others are ok. I reckon it must be some extreme sensitivity, or perhaps there is some important other element in the story.

It's not just about the global economy is it? Or even about tourism?

Now, in the UK there are sporadic reports of some quite serious lung complaints in young people. I think these are linked to illegal disposables. Possibly these are rare instances in already vulnerable people, but It's a little worrying. I'm a vaper by the way. The Vaping industry really shot itself in the foot when by negligence or otherwise it made these excessively tasty products openly accessible to youngsters. It's a pity because vaping is a real public health boon to confirmed smokers.

What I mean is : I would like to see some comparison of numbers with the general population. This would give us an idea of the scale of the problem.

I'd like to see some greater context, eg, do we really mean most of the very small number of serious long covid sufferers suffer..........? Best to remember that in fact the vast majority of people recover completely within days or weeks.

This story broke 3-4 years ago. It's nothing new. It's more complex than one might think. The husband concerned has always been in contact. Wrong to speculate on his guilt or otherwise.

Under certain circumstances it can happen to anyone imo, especially at low or vulnerable points in life. Of course it's obvious to everyone else, which makes it appear stupid.

The only thing damaging the reputation of Thailand are the ridiculous laws that stop people harmlessly enjoying themselves: the law against vaping exemplifies this.

68 years of good health for men! If true, that's probably better than most other countries. People live longer in the west, but the last 10-15 years aint pretty imo.

Around 25 years ago in England it became de-criminalized for a short while and, true to form, I rather over indulged with predictable consequences. I guess I could give it a go again. I do find moderation pretty difficult in all honesty. I'm not knocking smoking, drinking, pot, etc- it's just my problem, but an awful lot of people are the same. My dad was a heavy smoker, and a bit of a boozer too, but it suited him- he came to a sticky end, had really bad health from 75 onwards, but I think we all go much the same way these days. Hard work did for him too!

Interesting. There would need to be a lot more evidence than that, but it's a starting point. For me, the problem was always limiting intake. If you can do it, I'd say a beer or glass of wine a day (just one) is likely beneficial. After that it becomes unhealthy in other respects. I haven't had any alcohol for 5 years- I don't miss it and feel saner for it. However I never found any alternative painkiller that remotely works as well as a bottle of wine.

Well it's either a 'family job' or a bank 'inside job'. The trouble is if the bank is the arbiter then you kind of already know what their decision is going to be.

Well said- It's something that the 'I don't understand why' folks can't quite grasp. Also vaping may be quite acceptable, even encouraged by health authorities, where smoking is concerned.

In the Thai authorities view vaping is unhealthy, some even claim it is worse than cigarettes, and that it is a public health threat for teenagers. Quite how they reached these conclusions is beyond me. There are also numerous socio/political factors, as well as the interests of tobacco monopolies. The WHO is basically against vaping incidentally. (According to UK Gov Health agencies they are 95% safer and recently they have been saying more than 95%: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/e-cigarettes-around-95-less-harmful-than-tobacco-estimates-landmark-review )

It's a sensible solution that will not work, however.