Currently, about 250,000 women are not covered by MediShield. This is a significant number that will cause great hardship to the women and add on the burden of their families particularly in old age when healthcare needs escalate.

Thus the NTUC Women’s Development Secretariat (WDS) is partnering the Ministry of Health and the Health Promotion Board in organising a Public Forum and Health Fair – MediShield Coverage for Your Loved Ones. The Guest-of-Honour is Mr. Khaw Boon Wan, Minister for Health. Collaterals to promote the importance of MediShield coverage for their loved ones especially the women would also be launched.

The event will be held on:

Date    :         25 July 2009 (Saturday)

Time    :        9.15am

Venue  :       NTUC Auditorium (Level 7)

NTUC Centre, One Marina Boulevard (Raffles Place MRT, Exit J)

MRT   :         Raffles Place MRT (Exit J)

We would like to invite friends and family members to attend the main event – MediShield Coverage for Your Loved Ones (free admission) and participate in the fringe activities – Public Forum (by registration) and Health Fair (free admission). All activities are FREE.

We are also giving away FREE Health Pack worth S$50 for 1st 500 who turned up on actual day for the main event at 9.15 am. Participants can sms 90188074 with NTUCHealthWIN, name, HP, number of people coming BEFORE 22 July, Wednesday.

Should you require any further clarifications or would like to sign up via email (please also indicate NTUCHealthWIN, name, HP, number of people) and email to wongem@ntuc.org.sg.

Smoking causes skin to break out into acne. This terrible skin problem is due to the harmful carcinogenic chemicals found in cigarette smoke which enters the bloodstream. A hormonal imbalance then occurs which causes the skin to secrete more oil.

Oil or sebum as it’s called is produced to help keep the skin soft and smooth, but too much oil mixes with the dead cells of the skin, resulting in pores becoming clogged and pimples and acne developing.

Learn how you can quit smoking habit in just 38 minutes & 13 seconds..

Acne that’s suffered by smokers is the non-inflammatory type. It is different from the type found in non-smokers. This non-inflammatory type is distinguished by large ugly blackheads and blocked pores.

If you are a chain smoker, the more you’re likely to develop acne. Unfortunately for non-smokers, being exposed to passive smoke can also cause your skin to break out.

There’s also a strong link between acne and women smokers. Around 50% of women who smoke get acne, which can be very damaging to their self-esteem too.

Smokers also secrete less Vitamin E, compared to non-smokers. Vitamin E is necessary for healthy skin. A smoker who has had acne in their teens is also four times more likely to have it when older compared to a non-smoker. To make matters worse, smoking also promotes early aging and wrinkling of the skin.

Learn how you can quit smoking habit in just 38 minutes & 13 seconds..

Exercise regularly. It will regulate hormone production in the body. Have a good diet. Five servings of fruits and vegetables are strongly recommended. Drinking lots of water will also flush the toxins from your body. Try and avoid meals which are rich in fat and sugar too.

Quit smoking! It will definitely lead to improvement in your skin quality and general health.

A corporate drive to encourage women to quit smoking was launched earlier this month in partnership with ‘Fresh Air For Women’, the Health Promotion Board’s flagship campaign to help women smokers kick the damaging habit.

The proportion of young females aged 18 to 29 years who were daily smokers rose from 5.2% in 1998 to 6.6% in 2004 and among these young women, smoking was most prevalent among Malays (17%), compared to their Chinese (5.1%) and Indian (2.4%) counterparts.“It is worrying that younger women are taking up smoking because women bear more health risks than men. According to the World Health Organisation, women smokers are at a higher risk of heart attack than men smokers. Smoking also increases their chances of cervical cancer and impaired fertility. This is why we want to focus our efforts on helping women quit the habit,” said Ms Joann Taylor, Deputy Director, Substance Abuse Programme, Health Promotion Board.

With the increasing number of women smokers in Singapore, Fresh Air For Women (FAFW) has initiated a Corporate Social Responsibility movement aimed at building women’s confidence and strengthening their resolve to quit smoking.

Learn how you can quit smoking habit in just 38 minutes & 13 seconds…..

As part of the initiative, FAFW will distribute free novellas to engage women and get them thinking about the importance of leading healthy, smoke-free lifestyles. The novellas narrate the compelling stories of four women in different stages of their lives and the varied paths that they take to wellness.

From a young mother who wants to be a good role model for her daughter to a single woman who starts to notice the effect of smoking on her fitness level and skin, the stories are based on the experiences of real-life smokers who have made the decision to stub out the habit. Previous Fresh Air For Women campaigns have shown that women relate best to the sharing of real-life stories. Personal encounters give impetus to women to make a change in their lives.

Major players like Page One Bookshop, Top shop, Dorothy Perkins, Robinsons, Coast, River Island, Principles, Wayang Retreat Spa Group, Lush Nails, The Spa Esprit Group, The Nail Spa & Wellness, Le Futur Jewels and SHS Hair Studio Prestige as well as the Shunji Matsuo Hair Salon Group have signed on to this CSR initiative. They will contribute to the campaign by displaying these novellas prominently at their outlets islandwide.

Learn how you can quit smoking habit in just 38 minutes & 13 seconds…..

Entitled “Confessions of Real Women”, the novellas, which are tastefully designed in the style of popular “chick-lit” titles consist of four individual stories: “A Goddess and Her Little Goddess,” “When Age Isn’t Just a Number”, “Running Through The Haze” and “The Big Pay-Off”. The novellas are already available at the above-mentioned locations.

Join and Support us in our Anti-Smoking Campaign by giving support and encouragements to those who are trying to quit smoking or your personal pledge to quit smoking in 2009.  For further details go to Healthy Times Magazine Anti-Smoking Campaign here.

High levels of carbon monoxide and nicotine in a woman’s bloodstream during pregnancy causes the mother’s blood vessels to become constricted and this reduces the supply of life-giving oxygen and nutrients to the baby.

Learn how you can quit smoking habit in just 38 minutes & 13 seconds…..

Without much oxygen and nutrients, the growth of the baby is seriously affected. The baby ends up being born prematurely so it is small and underweight. When babies are born prematurely, they are very weak and they need constant medical care and supervision, which means they have to stay longer in the hospital.

Other dangerous effects of smoking are miscarriages and fetal brain damage. Smoking can also lead to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). The baby’s risk of getting SIDS increases with each additional smoker in the household, with the number of cigarettes smoked a day and with the length of exposure to cigarette smoke. The airways of the baby are smaller and cigarette smoke will make them vulnerable to breathing problems after birth.

Learn how you can quit smoking habit in just 38 minutes & 13 seconds…..

Smoking during pregnancy also retards a child’s learning ability and can cause attention deficit disorder. The child can also develop serious respiratory problems like asthma which can also contribute to sleeping problems.

It is important that all expectant mothers act responsibly to the life of their unborn babies. Always keep your home and your baby’s

Besides those benefits, exercise has also been shown to reduce the incidence of diabetes, colon cancer, breast cancer, gallbladder disease, obesity, depression, anxiety, osteoporosis and osteoporotic fractures. Other benefits include having better sleep as well as feeling and looking more energetic.

Before you start exercising, it is important for you to warm up. Take a slow walk for about five minutes and stretch your muscles and joints to prepare your heart and body for the work-out. It is important that you do a proper warm-up so that you reduce the risk of injuries.

After warming up, you can start exercising. There are various aerobic exercises that you can try that includes brisk walking, dancing, cycling, aerobics, rowing, kayaking, swimming, Tai-Chi, badminton, table-tennis or even more challenging activities like tennis, wakeboarding and rollerblading.

If you have never exercised regularly before, then start off with slow sessions of about 5 to 10 minutes and progress gradually. Exercise at a moderate intensity first then increase the pace if you feel comfortable doing so. However please slow down if you are panting. It is important not to overexert yourself.

Apart from aerobic exercise, also include strength training into your exercise programme. Strength training with dumbbells, your own body weight or even bottles filled with water or sand can help tone and strengthen your muscles, allowing you to do more with less effort, such as carrying your groceries without any aches or pains later on.

After your exercise session, remember to perform a cool-down. Walk slowly for about 5 minutes and do some gentle stretches to allow your heart rate and blood pressure to return to resting values. Inadequate cooling-down may cause giddiness or even fainting due to lowered blood pressure and pooling of blood in your legs.