Re: Beer is good for you (fwd) and smoking

[Tuan V Nguyen <t.nguyen@garvan.unsw.edu.au>]

Hello folks, 

	I am not sure (if not to say doubtful) whether 
beer is good for you, but I do hear and read that red 
wine is good for your health in general. My own research 
and my colleagues' works here and a body of credible 
medical literature indicate that MODERATE intake of red 
wine seems to (a) prolong your life; (b) make your bone 
stronger and (c) reduce the risk of cardiovascular 
diseases. 

	The problem is that drinking almost always goes 
with smoking. Smoking IS, on the other hand, bad for 
your health. Despite some ludicrous claims, smoking 
definitely has deleterious effects on almost every organ 
in your body. It is no wonder that we have medical 
societies which are friendly to the wine industry, but 
not to the tobacco industry.

	The sad fact is that multinational tobacco 
companies, while have been "chased" by Western 
governments, are increasingly setting their market base 
in countries like Vietnam and China. I feel even sicker 
after seeing our national tobacco company join in 
welcoming them to our soil. These multinational 
companies are trying exploit our social habits and 
introduce a very deadly agent to our population. 

	Sometimes, I am wondering whether our ancestors 
knew something which we don't when they said "Nam vo^ 
tu+?u nhu+ ky` vo^ phong". However, by now we do know 
that "ddie^'u thuo^'c la` dda^`u ca^u chuye^.n" is no 
longer appropriate.


	T V Nguyen