The old saying “Man doesn’t live by bread alone” may not convincingly impress people at large that they need much more than bread itself (the term bread representing all that we consume as food, both for pleasure and to keep soul and body together). Further, the expression “Man shalln’t live by bread alone,” attributed to Jesus, uttered while  He was in the wilderness being tempted by Satan, amounts to sermonising. In either case, people invariably take liberties in choosing foods that adequately meet their needs of nutrition in addition to the kick they get out of enjoying the dishes on offer. Lessons learnt while overindulging in consuming food tend to be forgotten soon enough, only to do an encore as it were at the next eating opportunity, often bugged by the factor of addiction. Doing harm to one’s health only on the food front by not adhering to the do’s and don’ts principle may be the bane of one section in the population. The rest fall into a more unsafe zone by seeking other means of getting that kick, notably smoking and consuming alcoholic beverages.

The human body, being exposed  to many situations hurting its acceptable norms of living free from afflictions, is endowed with mechanisms to overcome the threats to life, only to a certain extent. However, the cases of smoking tobacco and drinking spirits provide for very limited scope for the body to face their harmful consequences. But, the addicts couldn’t care less. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) provides scientific evidence on tobacco as a cause of cancer and on strategies to reduce tobacco use.

Similarly, regular and excessive consumption of spirits has also been shown to hurt the liver by leading to cirrhosis of the vital organ, other than many deteriorative neurological conditions, which are beyond even the medical profession to restore the normal functions of the human brain. Knowledge on and understanding of the intimate connect between human health, nay ill health and tobacco as well as liquor can be accessed effortlessly nowadays, but there are no matching number of takers for the information.

In a people-friendly move, the Government of India has promulgated many laws to dissuade the land’s people from indulging in smoking and drinking, even within harmless limits. But, those indiscreet addicts in particular, who are disdainfully disregarding the alerts, have proved to be forewarned, yet not forearmed.