World No Tobacco Day

May 31st will be observed all over the world as “NO Tobacco day”. According to WHO, Tobacco use is an epidemic and ‘ the leading preventable cause of death in the world’. In the WHO report on the Global tobacco epidemic, 2008, it is stated that 100 million people died due to tobacco in the 20th century. And unless immediate action is taken, it is estimated that by year 2030, the annual death toll will be more than eight million, of which 80% will be in developing countries. In order to galvanize action against this epidemic, in May 2003, The WHO health assembly adopted the Framework convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) treaty. This treaty has been ratified by most nations and many Western countries have successfully brought a decline in the prevalence of smoking by issuing smoke-free laws.
The Indian Government , too , participated by passing the ‘The Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act’ in May 2003. This act sought to prohibit smoking in public places, ban advertising of tobacco products, regulate nicotine and tar contents of products and issue health warnings . The Indian Government along with other anti-tobacco social groups also received funding from international philanthropic organizations to control tobacco use. Though there has been some progress in tobacco control, India faces several impediments in restricting and regulating tobacco usage. First of all, there is a diverse range of tobacco products available and the usage also varies by location and gender. Monitoring and surveying use of tobacco is one the biggest challenges. Only 20 % of tobacco consumed is in the form of manufactured cigarettes, while the rest are bidis, hookah, and smokeless forms such as snuff, gutka and pan masala. In rural areas, the largest consumption is in the form of raw tobacco leaves. Awareness of the health hazards caused by tobacco is another major issue. While health warnings are depicted on manufactured cigarettes, bidis and other smokeless tobaccos have not been targeted. Lobbying by the tobacco industry( especially bidis and pan masala) have also delayed the full implementation of the Act.
Tobacco control can be successful only if it is self-enforced and this can be brought about by the people only when they fully understand the danger of tobacco. It is imperative to have a program to train leaders who can work at the grass-root level to create awareness about the harmful effects of tobacco, implement prevention policies and help people who want to quit . The Government , on the other hand, must enforce a complete ban on advertising and sponsorship as well as raise taxes on products. The tobacco industry lobbyists and groups who oppose these policies must realize that the people of every nation have the right to life and right to good health which can be achieved through smoke-free environments.

Social networking

Social networking sites are here to stay. The popularity of Facebook, Twitter has taken even the founders by surprise. Even the Pope is now on Facebook, in an attempt to rekindle Christianity . I , myself , had refrained from joining these sites as I did not see what benefits it had to offer me over email or blogs. But recently, I joined a lesser know networking site called Geni. Geni is a family networking site , wherein it allows you to create your family tree and then connect everyone on the tree. I had heard about this Geni through my husband’s family, which was on the site already and so I decided to take a look . I found that one could post birthdays , anniversaries and other important events on one’s profile and then Geni would send reminders to the rest of the family about these events when it was due.One could also find extended families and in-law families, find who is related to who and so on. I found some of my dad’s family, but none of my mom’s. So, I created a family tree for myself, including my grandparents and the siblings of both my parents . As each of them joined the tree , their own trees and in-law trees got merged with mine. I now have 1400 family members connected to my tree! For a community such as mine(Hebbar Iyengar), where one is related to another in more ways than one ( ‘tenkol sambhandam’), it is both fascinating and mind- boggling! This site has become a source of entertainment and discussion among family members. And for someone like me who’s jobless( though I do like to call myself a full-time mom, its not always so!), I spend a couple of hrs everyday reading family news , upcoming events and sometimes figuring out who is the person I just got a birthday reminder for! The positive side is that I am now closely connected to some of my relatives (like my dad’s family), with whom I did not bond as well earlier. I now have information on most of my families( including grand aunts , grand uncles and in-law’s in-laws) birthdays, names of their children, where they reside and where and when they went on vacation! And so I’m hooked to social networking sites. Now, I’ve gotten onto Facebook, LinkedIn and Bigadda. This has also inspired me to blog and so here I am with my own blog now. Cheers to social networking...

Kennedy Space Center- Launch mission

We have recently seen on TV, the video footage of the launch of the Atlantis space shuttle on its mission to repair the hubble telescope. It is a spectacular sight to see and astronauts going on these missions are the heroes who are cheered and applauded as they get ready to set off. But this is really the beginning of the end of a long drawn process. what many are not aware of are the thousands of hours that are put into getting the space craft ready for blast-off. I had the opportunity to visit NASA Keenedy Space Center ,just a week before the Atlantis launch and got to see the behind-the scenes activities.

It all starts with the pre- mission planning which can be 4 to 10 yrs before the launch. In this phase, the launch date and site along with the launch vehicle is selected.Next comes the actual mission planning which includes costs, dates for spacecraft delivery and vehicle assessment. Then comes the manufacturing phase when all parts of the launch vehicle are manufactured ,tested and finally delivered to the launch site.

At the launch site , in this case, the Kennedy Space Center, there are designated facilities where the spacecraft undergoes final preparation.

1.Vehicle Assembly Building : This is one of the largest buildings in the world( 3rd largest in the US)- standing 525 ft tall , covering 8 acres and enclosing a volume of 3.6 million cubic mts. As the name suggests, the different parts of the space shuttle are assembled and tested befor it is moved out to the next part, Launch complex 39.

2.Launch Complex 39:

a. Orbiter Processing facility: is a sophisticated hangar where technicians check evry inch of the spacecraft between missions. KSC has 3 hangars which make up the OPF.

b. Launch Control Center: The launch team gathers here to monitor and prepare the shuttle for launch. There are 4 firing rooms in the LCC. These are the famous glass-walled rooms shown on TV and movies, where the launch director gives the final 'GO' .

c. Crawler Transprters: KSc has 2 crawler transporters, each about half the size of a soccer field and weighing about 6 million pounds . The crawler transports the assembled space shuttle to the launch pad at an average speed of 1 mph! One of the important features of the crawler is its hydraulic system, which allows it to carry the shuttle up the gentle slope of the launch pad, keeping it perfectly level.

3. LaunchPads 39A and 39B

This is the final destination of the shuttle . There are 2 identical launch pads at KSC. On each of them are 2 large grey towers. The taller one is the Fixed Service structure , which includes the elevator and swing arm that astronauts use to board the shuttle.

When the final 'GO' for launc is given, the shuttle's 3 main engines and 2 solid rocket bosters are ignited and the shuttle lifts off to begin its mission.