To cut down on cancer risks if consuming alcohol, The American Cancer Society, recommends cutting down drinks to one daily for women and two daily for men. Alcohol consumption on a daily basis increases the risk of cancers of the mouth, esophagus, pharynx, larynx, and liver in both women and men and also increases the risk of breast cancer in women. The risk elevates after one daily drink for women and two for men.

Oral cancers are six times more common in alcohol users than non alcohol users. About 75 percent to 80 percent of all patients with oral cancer consume alcohol frequently. Smokers who also drink are at much higher risks. Heavy alcohol use is the primary cause of liver cancer. Alcohol alters the liver's ability to metabolize some carcinogenic substances into harmless compounds or to disable certain existing carcinogens. Studies also show a relation between higher risks in breast cancer with alcohol use and the increase risk factor rising with the more drinks consumed daily. Alcohol increases hormones in your body.

If you plan to use the nicotine patch to quit smoking, it would be nice to know up front if it's going to work. Because nothing is more discouraging than making an attempt at something and believing you have help -- only to find out the help was no help at all. The problem seems to be in the basic fact that nicotine metabolizes in the body at different rates for different people. The higher the metabolism rate, the more cravings a smoker experiences. The more cravings, the less likely a standard nicotine patch will be effective. Researchers believe that a simple blood test to measure the rate at which a smoker metabolizes nicotine can predict the success or failure outcome of a smoking cessation program using the patch.

"If a prospective study replicates these results, we will be in a position to recommend this blood test to tailor the type and dose of nicotine replacement therapy for smokers who wish to quit," states Caryn Lerman, PhD, Associate Director for Cancer Control at the Abramson Cancer Center and Director of the University of Pennsylvania Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center.

Here's what I am thinking -- if they know how the body metabolizes nicotine to satisfy the addictive cravings for nicotine, why can't they come up with something that blocks the process before it begins? Thereby making smoking a completely unsatisfactory experience. Just a thought.