Katharine D. Gardner | writer + editor

I’ve been working with Rob Ashe to start a newspaper–The Paper. Our first publication will come out in January, 2011. Click on Rob’s picture to watch a video about our mission–or read our letter below.

Rob Ashe, Founder and Publisher of The Paper

We are a different newspaper. In a positive way. Not a fluffy positive way, but a meaningful, real way. There are a lot of great people and things happening in Menlo Park, Woodside, Portola Valley, and Atherton that we think deserve attention. We want to be a voice that highlights the good, significant, and meaningful parts of our community.

We don’t want to print yesterday’s news. Our articles and photos are timeless; meaningful stories that will be relevant for a long time.

Our stories are inspiring, but sometimes they might be challenging. We will highlight the role models in our community–the people that we want to be more like. We don’t want to fill your heads with gossip or depressing news; there is enough of that. Much of the current news features the worst events that happen in our community. Of course it gets our attention, but through fear.

We’ve found that what’s most meaningful in our lives is when we stop thinking of ourselves. Focusing on others and what’s right with the world feels more significant and purposeful. We forget this easily though, and need a constant reminder. The Paper is that reminder–that righteous kick in the ass, or if you prefer the less vulgar; the angel on your shoulder.

Maybe you’re happy with where you are, and how things are going. That’s wonderful. But we know a lot of people that want more. We believe in our community, but think that we can be even better. We have the privilege of being one of the most innovative, trendy, and wealthy communities in the world. At The Paper, we want to encourage the use of our influence for the betterment of our own community, and those that look up to us.

We don’t have the answers, but know we can come up with them together, as a community. Let’s talk about critical issues and ask the questions that need to be asked. Let’s inspire the world, starting with ourselves.

You might be wondering where I’ve been and why I haven’t posted since May…

I’ve been in a cultural, language, and rain immersion “program” in Oaxaca, Mexico since June. Unfortunately, the program doesn’t come with reliable internet.

The next few posts will be of the medical anthropology sort. In addition to learning Spanish and how to hang-dry laundry during the rainy season, I have also had the opportunity to compare and contrast medical practices between the United States and Mexico. The first post is about the widespread use of syringes for medication administration in Mexico.

Luckily, I have not had the experience of using my airlift insurance yet, however. In my recently published article,“Will Health Insurance Cover You Overseas?” I have some health insurance recommendations for travelers–such as purchasing airlift insurance.

Conflicting medical advice seems to be more prevalent than ever. For instance, we now know that long-term use of aspirin can lead to deadly, internal bleeding. Just recently, though, reports about cardiac benefits were being touted and we were told that “one apple and an aspirin a day, keeps the doctor away.”

For years, fish continued to win the gold for healthiest food. But now we have to be weary of fish—and only eat certain types that are raised in certain places and are not contaminated with certain chemicals like mercury.

Smoking, since I was born, has always been considered one of the most detrimental habits. Almost everything you read about “being healthy” includes something about managing your weight and not smoking. It would be outrageous for a doctor to prescribe nicotine, or tell a patient to keep smoking.

Or would it?

I just returned from the ABDA (American Behcet’s Disease Association) Medical Conference in Orlando with a new perspective about smoking. My first clue that smoking might be pushing its way back into society should have been the extremely large number of the participants smoked. During breaks, instead of sitting inside checking email like most medical conference attendees, I found many of the patients outside in the hot Florida sun inhaling cigarettes.

Talking to patients outside I heard comments like, “I tried to stop smoking but my symptoms got worse.” Or, “My doctor doesn’t believe me, but I am so much healthier when I smoke.”

Then some of the non-smokers would chime in, “I know. I quit smoking and I’m trying to manage my symptoms with prescribed medications, but I still don’t feel as good.”

This was surprising to me, but not as shocking as the news that Dr. Yusuf Yazici, rheumatologist and researcher at NYU, presented during his lecture; “The Latest Treatments for Behcet’s Disease.”

Behcet’s disease is an autoimmune disease that results from damage to blood vessels throughout the body, particularly veins, and according to Dr. Yazici, “Nicotine patch therapy should be used more as a treatment.” He went on to discuss other new treatments for Behcet’s such as cytokine therapy and biologics as if there was nothing controversial about his earlier comment.

Can smoking really be good for your health?

There are many contradictions but few seem so paradoxical. Apparently the good side of this bad drug has been known for quite some time. Autoimmune disorders, like Behcet’s, are treated with immunosuppressants, of which nicotine is one. Logically, then, it would follow that nicotine would help. I wonder why this is “new” news then.

A 2004 study published in the Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology concluded that “Tobacco smoking suppresses the immune system…Interestingly, smokers have a lower incidence of some diseases, including ulcerative colitis, sarcoidosis, endometriosis, uterine fibroids, farmers’ lung, pigeon breeders’ disease, Parkinson’s disease, and Sjögren’s syndrome. Many of these diseases are inflammatory in nature or have an inflammatory component.” (1)

Even though there is new, compelling evidence that nicotine therapy reduces symptoms of autoimmune diseases, like Behcet’s, we should know by now that nothing is that simple when it comes to your health (especially treating an autoimmune disease).

Do your research, and of course “talk to your doctor,” before running to the corner store for a pack of smokes if you think nicotine might benefit your condition, because limited knowledge is dangerous. Understanding all of the previous dietary and medicinal suggestions for your illness, for instance, can provide a framework and healthy skepticism for the newest health advice. Just like knowledge of history reveals that mistakes are often made, proving the benefit of discernment today and tomorrow.

History can also remind us that:

Many of the ingredients in a cigarette are still undeniably bad for the body. Thus, nicotine patches—not cigarettes themselves—are being suggested. See the 2004 paper published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, entitled, “Nicotine and Biochanin A, but Not Cigarette Smoke, Induce Anti-Inflammatory Effects on Keratinocytes and Endothelial Cells in Patients with Behçet’s Disease” for more information. (2)

We cannot assume that nicotine helps with all symptoms because “the efficacy in the treatment and prevention of other systemic manifestations of BD is not proven,” according to a recent study published in March 2010 in the Oxford Journal of Rheumatology. This study does conclude, though, that “Both smoking and nicotine-replacement therapy may be efficacious not only on oral aphthae, but also on other mucocutaneous manifestations”—major Behcet’s symptoms.

The research is still contradictory. For instance, Behcet’s is a type of vasculitis. Vasculitis simply means inflammation of the blood vessels. And therefore there is a logical argument stated on the website of Arthritis Research UK which says “Avoid smoking. It makes the blood vessels constrict (become narrower inside) and can therefore make vasculitis symptoms worse.”