The boyfriend who became her pimp
Email to friend Print article
PETITE Kim, from Muar, got into prostitution when her desire to live a luxurious life drove her to sell her body at 16.
She befriended a woman at a local hairdresser who promised her earnings of between RM500 and RM700 per night, depending on "how hard she worked".
"I started working as a part-time GRO at a karaoke bar. I didn't do sex then and only kept the lonely men who came to the bar company," said Kim, 22.
At that time, she earned between RM50 and RM150 a night, depending on the number of customers and the sale of drinks.
But shortly after, she got a boyfriend who was much older and not long after that, she started offering sexual services.
"My boyfriend began introducing clients to me and since I was very young at that time, the men paid between RM500 and RM600 to sleep with me.
In just a few weeks, "the work became a routine" and she was servicing up to four men per night.
"My earnings increased tremendously and I was able to buy anything I wanted."
A prostitute for five years now, Kim says she has no plans to "retire".
"I work on my own and unlike those in hotels and brothels, I don't have to pay any commission to anybody."
She gets her clients by word of mouth and by advertising her "services" on the Internet.
"Most of my clients are introduced by former clients and we normally meet up at a hotel of my choice. The room is paid for by the client, of course."
Her clients are usually men aged 40 and above and they come from all walks of life.
"Most are married men but I never ask why they need my services. We never discuss personal stuff and it's purely 'business'."
Many of her friends left the profession after several years when they had made enough money to set up some small businesses.
"I'm still young and will probably do this for a couple more years until I've saved up enough money."
When asked if the authorities had ever caught her, she says no.
"I am very particular about my clients and where we meet. The authorities normally raid the cheaper hotels."
She says her clients range from middle-income earners to some VIPs who sometimes book her for the whole night.
"Every man has his secrets and desires. I have had men who don't even want to have intercourse, but rather just spend the whole night talking.
"Some only ask me to do stuff while they watch. It's weird."
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Inhaling smoke
Inhaling smoke
New scientific evidence on the damage caused by cigarettes reaffirms the importance of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
THOSE who are habitually exposed to passive smoke run a cardiovascular risk almost as high as those who smoke; people who do not smoke but inhale second hand smoke suffer a 30% increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
But the most alarming factor is the speed with which passive smoking damages the cardiovascular apparatus. Trials that were discussed at the XVI World Congress of Cardiology showed that 30 minutes of exposure to tobacco smoke is enough for changes to occur in the arteries of the non-smokers, which increase cardiac risk.
“We know that just 30 minutes’ exposure to second hand tobacco smoke is enough to produce an observable change in the arterial function of non-smokers,” states Dr Joaquín Barnoya, Research Director of the Cardiovascular Surgery Unit of Guatemala and Professor at the Washington University of St Louis, US.
Passive smoking: 30 minutes is enough to cause observable changes in the arteries.
“Passive tobacco smoke directly damages the endothelium, which is the internal wall of the arteries, responsible for their dilation and contraction.”
The prevention of modifiable cardiovascular risk factors is the central subject of the XVI World Congress of Cardiology, which was held in Buenos Aires from May 18 to 21, 2008.
The adverse effects of smoking and public policies to control it were a central topic at the congress.
Another significant advance in the understanding of the adverse effects of passive smoking is the finding that tobacco smoke contains substances whose pernicious effect on the arteries of non-smokers is not known.
“These are mainly heavy metals like benzene or acroleine, which cause oxidative damage to arterial endothelium and the mitochondria, which is the cell-breathing organ,” explains Dr Barnoya. He warns:
“The longer the arteries of non-smokers are exposed to tobacco smoke, the more they will behave like the arteries of smokers.”
Various trials have shown that passive smoking causes cardiovascular damage equal to 80% to 90% of the damage suffered by smokers.
In the United States alone, 35,000 people die every year as a result of passive smoking. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that by 2025, the deaths associated to tobacco will have tripled; 70% will have occurred in undeveloped countries.
Environments free from smoke
In Italy, California (United States) and other parts of the world that have implemented smoke-free environments, mortality and the incidence of heart infarcts have decreased rapidly. - Reuters photo
“New evidence confirms what is already known and helps us to understand the rapid decrease of heart disease after the implementation of smoke free environments.
“In Italy, California (United States) and other parts of the world which have implemented smoke free environments, mortality and the incidence of heart infarcts has decreased rapidly,” says Dr Joaquin Barnoya, Advisor on Tobacco Control at the Inter-American Heart Foundation.
Trials carried out in Italy and the United States have shown that already after six months’ prohibition of smoking in closed areas, there is a reduction of 11% to 13% in hospital admissions for acute myocardial infarction.
“Now, with the new evidence we have on passive smoking, we can explain why there is such a marked reduction: it is because second hand tobacco smoke rapidly damages the arteries of non-smokers,” states Dr Barnoya.
In Uruguay, which ratified the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2004 and started implementing it in 2005, taking measures to forbid smoking in places of work and all public areas, advertising of tobacco products and the increase in taxes and price of tobacco, a 90% reduction of air pollution was observed in indoor areas.
“This was verified by measuring the presence of particles smaller than PM2.5, which are the most dangerous air pollutants because they are inhaled deeply, reach the alveoli and enter the circulation and the rest of the body,” says Dr Eduardo Bianco, Director of the Tobacco Control Program of the Inter-American Heart Foundation and President of the Tobacco Epidemic Research Center (CIET) in Uruguay. “In 2005, average levels were 210PM2.5, whilst in bars, levels reached a mean of 314PM2.5.”
The implementation in Uruguay of the measures of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which has already been ratified by another 153 states, reduced air pollution in indoor areas and small particles to 24PM2.5, well below the 65PM2.5 which are the maximum level advised by international norms. “This makes Uruguay one of the countries with the best quality of air in indoor areas,” Dr Bianco concludes.
Learning from the Rayuela Project
The need to implement public policies capable of confronting the problems of smoking was reflected in the results of the Rayuela Project (word in Spanish that means “hopscotch”).
This initiative of the Argentine Foundation of Cardiology and the Argentine Federation of Cardiology implemented in public and private schools in the cities of Buenos Aires and La Plata in Argentina assessed the results of a programme aimed at reducing the incidence of new smokers among 10 to 13 year old pupils.
Prior to starting the project, which was based on games activities designed to enhance protection factors and reduce vulnerability to different risk situations for the health of teenagers, a survey of 1,676 initial participants showed that more than 60% of the pupils who had smoked or who were smoking could obtain tobacco without any restrictions in their usual sale points.
“Although the Rayuela Project failed in its attempt to reduce the incidence of new smokers, the analysis of results showed interesting aspects for the development of future intervention programmes for teenagers,” states Dr Maria Inés Sosa Liprandi, Co-Director of the Rayuela Project and the ARCONTA (Argentina against Tobacco Program).
“In the Argentine context, where cigarettes are very cheap, the advertising aimed at teenagers is very aggressive and smoke free schools very few.
We may conclude that the implementation of school programmes as the starting point is not the most effective one for an integral tobacco control programme,” she concludes.
The investigators of the Rayuela Project were also able to observe that the children most receptive to tobacco advertising were also the most susceptible to start smoking.
“There is sufficient evidence on the factors that have an influence when smokers begin to smoke: product accessibility, family attitudes, group pressure, personal and educational factors and advertising,” says Dr Sosa Liprandi. “Among them the last seems to be directly responsible for recruiting the population (for tobacco consumption).”
The conclusions of this study provide new scientific evidence on the importance of the Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (FCTC), which points to key aspects to prevent teenagers starting smoking, observed in the Rayuela Project, such as the prohibition of advertising tobacco products to which teenagers are particularly vulnerable.
This article is courtesy of the World Heart Federation. The World Heart Federation is a non-governmental organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, dedicated to the prevention and control of heart disease and stroke, with a focus on low- and middle-income countries. It comprises 196 member societies of cardiology and heart foundations from over 100 countries covering the regions of Asia-Pacific, Europe, East Mediterranean, the Americas and Africa. For more information, visit www.worldheart.org and www.worldcardiocongress.org.
New scientific evidence on the damage caused by cigarettes reaffirms the importance of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
THOSE who are habitually exposed to passive smoke run a cardiovascular risk almost as high as those who smoke; people who do not smoke but inhale second hand smoke suffer a 30% increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
But the most alarming factor is the speed with which passive smoking damages the cardiovascular apparatus. Trials that were discussed at the XVI World Congress of Cardiology showed that 30 minutes of exposure to tobacco smoke is enough for changes to occur in the arteries of the non-smokers, which increase cardiac risk.
“We know that just 30 minutes’ exposure to second hand tobacco smoke is enough to produce an observable change in the arterial function of non-smokers,” states Dr Joaquín Barnoya, Research Director of the Cardiovascular Surgery Unit of Guatemala and Professor at the Washington University of St Louis, US.
Passive smoking: 30 minutes is enough to cause observable changes in the arteries.
“Passive tobacco smoke directly damages the endothelium, which is the internal wall of the arteries, responsible for their dilation and contraction.”
The prevention of modifiable cardiovascular risk factors is the central subject of the XVI World Congress of Cardiology, which was held in Buenos Aires from May 18 to 21, 2008.
The adverse effects of smoking and public policies to control it were a central topic at the congress.
Another significant advance in the understanding of the adverse effects of passive smoking is the finding that tobacco smoke contains substances whose pernicious effect on the arteries of non-smokers is not known.
“These are mainly heavy metals like benzene or acroleine, which cause oxidative damage to arterial endothelium and the mitochondria, which is the cell-breathing organ,” explains Dr Barnoya. He warns:
“The longer the arteries of non-smokers are exposed to tobacco smoke, the more they will behave like the arteries of smokers.”
Various trials have shown that passive smoking causes cardiovascular damage equal to 80% to 90% of the damage suffered by smokers.
In the United States alone, 35,000 people die every year as a result of passive smoking. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that by 2025, the deaths associated to tobacco will have tripled; 70% will have occurred in undeveloped countries.
Environments free from smoke
In Italy, California (United States) and other parts of the world that have implemented smoke-free environments, mortality and the incidence of heart infarcts have decreased rapidly. - Reuters photo
“New evidence confirms what is already known and helps us to understand the rapid decrease of heart disease after the implementation of smoke free environments.
“In Italy, California (United States) and other parts of the world which have implemented smoke free environments, mortality and the incidence of heart infarcts has decreased rapidly,” says Dr Joaquin Barnoya, Advisor on Tobacco Control at the Inter-American Heart Foundation.
Trials carried out in Italy and the United States have shown that already after six months’ prohibition of smoking in closed areas, there is a reduction of 11% to 13% in hospital admissions for acute myocardial infarction.
“Now, with the new evidence we have on passive smoking, we can explain why there is such a marked reduction: it is because second hand tobacco smoke rapidly damages the arteries of non-smokers,” states Dr Barnoya.
In Uruguay, which ratified the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2004 and started implementing it in 2005, taking measures to forbid smoking in places of work and all public areas, advertising of tobacco products and the increase in taxes and price of tobacco, a 90% reduction of air pollution was observed in indoor areas.
“This was verified by measuring the presence of particles smaller than PM2.5, which are the most dangerous air pollutants because they are inhaled deeply, reach the alveoli and enter the circulation and the rest of the body,” says Dr Eduardo Bianco, Director of the Tobacco Control Program of the Inter-American Heart Foundation and President of the Tobacco Epidemic Research Center (CIET) in Uruguay. “In 2005, average levels were 210PM2.5, whilst in bars, levels reached a mean of 314PM2.5.”
The implementation in Uruguay of the measures of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which has already been ratified by another 153 states, reduced air pollution in indoor areas and small particles to 24PM2.5, well below the 65PM2.5 which are the maximum level advised by international norms. “This makes Uruguay one of the countries with the best quality of air in indoor areas,” Dr Bianco concludes.
Learning from the Rayuela Project
The need to implement public policies capable of confronting the problems of smoking was reflected in the results of the Rayuela Project (word in Spanish that means “hopscotch”).
This initiative of the Argentine Foundation of Cardiology and the Argentine Federation of Cardiology implemented in public and private schools in the cities of Buenos Aires and La Plata in Argentina assessed the results of a programme aimed at reducing the incidence of new smokers among 10 to 13 year old pupils.
Prior to starting the project, which was based on games activities designed to enhance protection factors and reduce vulnerability to different risk situations for the health of teenagers, a survey of 1,676 initial participants showed that more than 60% of the pupils who had smoked or who were smoking could obtain tobacco without any restrictions in their usual sale points.
“Although the Rayuela Project failed in its attempt to reduce the incidence of new smokers, the analysis of results showed interesting aspects for the development of future intervention programmes for teenagers,” states Dr Maria Inés Sosa Liprandi, Co-Director of the Rayuela Project and the ARCONTA (Argentina against Tobacco Program).
“In the Argentine context, where cigarettes are very cheap, the advertising aimed at teenagers is very aggressive and smoke free schools very few.
We may conclude that the implementation of school programmes as the starting point is not the most effective one for an integral tobacco control programme,” she concludes.
The investigators of the Rayuela Project were also able to observe that the children most receptive to tobacco advertising were also the most susceptible to start smoking.
“There is sufficient evidence on the factors that have an influence when smokers begin to smoke: product accessibility, family attitudes, group pressure, personal and educational factors and advertising,” says Dr Sosa Liprandi. “Among them the last seems to be directly responsible for recruiting the population (for tobacco consumption).”
The conclusions of this study provide new scientific evidence on the importance of the Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (FCTC), which points to key aspects to prevent teenagers starting smoking, observed in the Rayuela Project, such as the prohibition of advertising tobacco products to which teenagers are particularly vulnerable.
This article is courtesy of the World Heart Federation. The World Heart Federation is a non-governmental organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, dedicated to the prevention and control of heart disease and stroke, with a focus on low- and middle-income countries. It comprises 196 member societies of cardiology and heart foundations from over 100 countries covering the regions of Asia-Pacific, Europe, East Mediterranean, the Americas and Africa. For more information, visit www.worldheart.org and www.worldcardiocongress.org.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
