teenage Text Messages to help smokers quit
Loved ones…at the young tender age when still emergent oral motor habit patterns intersect with peer group and tension…. at that specific intersection in time and place cigarettes can become desirable….and a life long habit is born….

Loved ones now a new avenue has intersected and made a new and healing pathway for young people to kick the habit of smoking.

Text messages can help young smokers quit cigarettes. And can be a new weapon to combat escalation in youth smoking.

"This is a very encouraging result. We want to develop the concept further but this trial confirms that a text-based approach has the potential to be a powerful resource in reaching and helping young smokers," Dr Rodgers said. . "We view Stomp (N.Z. university test program) as just one of the first applications of the advances in mobile technology to help individuals become experts in managing their wellness.

There were 1705 young smokers from around New Zealand (who all wanted to quit) enrolled in Stomp. Half of them were in an "active" group and received intensive text intervention leading up to an agreed quit date and one month of free texting. This included regular personalised text messages that encouraged them to give up smoking or provided distraction at the key moment when tempted to light up. "There are several ways we think it worked," said Dr Rodgers.

"Free texting acted like "chewing gum for the fingers" and helped with distraction as people texted friends and family. We sent personalised texts on things like coping with urges to smoke, avoiding weight gain, and just plain general interest stuff on sports, music and fashion.

"Using text crave, participants could "pull" a message of support. Text polls and quizzes added further distraction.

A lot of people picked up on text buddies too, with people who were due to quit around the same day helping each other out." Typical messages of support were: "Who else r u giving up smoking 4? Write down 4 people who will get a kick outta u kicking butt. Your mum, dad, m8s?"

Dr Rodgers said the treatment effect was consistent in participants of different ages, sex, income level or geographic location - it could be particularly effective in helping young Maori who have been not been able to be reached via traditional smoking cessation programmes. Co-authors of the report, Dr Dale Bramley and Dr Tania Riddell from the School of Population Health at the University, helped develop message content that was of particular relevance to Maori. "Being able to tailor the programme to suit the needs of individuals was the key to its success amongst Maori participants," said Dr Bramley. "We produced a number of messages on topics such as Te Reo, Maori legends and Maori traditions." Quit rates remained high at six months, but Dr Rodgers said further study was needed to more closely quantify progress, extend the range of follow up testing and establish how success compared with other interventions over the longer term. Future studies would also look at the use of newer multimedia phones which offer further opportunity for providing quit information and distraction.

Loved Ones include the enlightend citizens of New Zealand and all their loved ones in your prayers.
- posted by Samuel Bell @ 11:22 PM 0 comments

 
"It came out of the blue,"
Loved ones in the harmony of life....no energy is wasted....Blake and Ryan Leitch have been invited to meet the mentor teacher...Stephen Hawking .....Blake, 13, and Ryan, 15, suffer from congenital spinal muscular atrophy...both wheel chair bound with significant disabilities.... They got the invite after they were most active in participating in the development of a new healing device....a laser for those with profound communication impairments...this New Zealand invention allows them to use a laser headset or hand unit to select keys on a specially designed keyboard, cutting out the physical demands of entering keystrokes and allowing them to use a form of shorthand.

"It's just huge, it's a whole new world for them and for the family."

Inventor Mike Watling is a technician at Watercare Services,… Realize Technology took over development of the keyboard in 2002 and it will be officially launched today.
Mr Watling said stroke victims could use it, people with arthritis or just about anyone whose ability to physically cope with an ordinary keyboard was impaired. "I think there's a tremendous future for it." Loved ones include all these gentleman and all their loved ones in your prayers and petitions....oh yes...it is ok for me to share this with you... Stephen Hawkings is himself an ultra terrestrial or avatar.
- posted by Samuel Bell @ 8:44 AM 0 comments

 
Cupid has a smile oh so sweet
Loved ones your prayers have been answered.... Switzerland's Barry Callebaut has developed a range of oh so delicious chocolate said not only to appeal to the tastebuds but also to protect the heart.

This Swiss gentleman is the world's largest producer of chocolate, Barry Callebaut has plans to offer not only "guilt-free" such a gnostic thought!, such as no-sugar, ranges but also "good-for-you" chocolate....a most loving gnostic christian dimension....

The company's secret is polyphenols, a natural ingredient in vegetables and fruit that are plentiful in cocoa beans but are partly destroyed in the process of making chocolate.

Polyphenols could prevent cancers and cardiovascular diseases, and tests in rats have already shown they can help improve memory and the ability to learn.Once you start eating these goodies you will never forget to eat more...

"What started this off is the so-called French paradox," said Barry Callebaut's head of research, Dirk Poelman. "People in the south of France live longer, although they drink a lot of red wine and eat fatty cheese."

Red wine also contains polyphenols but Poelman said at half the level found in dark chocolate.

That could prove to be the firm's formula for success.

Barry Callebaut, whose retail brands include Sarotti and Gubor, has developed a way of preserving the polyphenols in the process of making chocolate from the cocoa bean, to be sold under its Acticoa trademark.

The polyphenol-rich "good-for-you" chocolate as well as sugar-free "guilt-free" chocolate were launched in April in Belgium...Angels by the legion trumpted the arrival....

Because most of the polyphenols - antioxidants that are said to be good for cholesterol levels, blood pressure and long-term memory - are lost in fermentation, a proportion of beans in Acticoa chocolate are just washed but not fermented. Awsome prayers and petitions .....

Barry Callebaut, created in 1996 by merging Callebaut with French rival Barry, has teamed up with universities to scientifically prove the health benefits for humans of its polyphenol-rich chocolate.

"We can't make any claims yet so we are doing these tests," Poelman said. "The point with this chocolate is that you eat it because it tastes nice and then on top of that it can also be good for you."

For now, polyphenols seem to be a godsend only for lovers of dark chocolate.
- posted by Samuel Bell @ 9:41 PM 0 comments