I finally decided to go to the university today. it was soo weird seeing every1 after a long time! its not tht i wanted to go.. but a frnd of mine had his launch of a product today. but tht didnt happen.  :(

today was the promotion day.. bechara humayun was at the dept since 7am! itni jaldi tu woh uth tha bhi nahi hai.. lol. tom is the launch of tht product. its  a perfume called "COPPER"... everthing was all balck n copper today at my dept. even tht tree was all painted blk wid copper written on it!...

he really has worked alot on tht product.... plus they will launch a new fragrance.. non alcoholic.... in a bottle! i mean its gona b the frarance tht will b sold out in the real market!!!

so hopefull tom will b fun! we grsl hav to wear blk dress wid copper jwellery..... i dunno wats the dress code r guys.. guess they'll wear brown shrts wid blk tie or the other way round...

i got to know few ppl frm my ept.. i mean. ive known them but we really didnt talk.. so it was good knowng those ppl too. over all it was a fun day!

the worst part was standing at the bus stop fr almost an hour.. and the bus fr my route was full! but itna late hogaye tha ke jana tu tha hi...  im not used to travelliing thru bus anymore so now its all so scray n weird. plus jab se meri cousin ka bus se accident hua hai.. im more scared now....

 It is difficult to point out a single source responsible for introducing the Sheesha to the public of Pakistan. Nevertheless, it can be safely said that the Sheesha (also known as water-pipe, or hubble bubble) has gained popularity among the younger lot of the country.

Smoking the Sheesha is a relatively new trend in Pakistan but has been there in the Middle East for well over a decade now. Many people rightly link it to the age-old use of the Hookah to smoke tobacco. The traditional Hookah had lost popularity and was replaced by the cigarette in the early 20th century mainly due to the convenience it offered in smoking tobacco. However, the Hookah now makes a comeback in the form of the Sheesha and it is imperative that the reasons behind this transition are understood to predict the outcome of this development.

Anything new that hits the market creates a wave of fascination which produces a counter-wave of discovery. It is probably the single most contributing factor resulting in scores of young and old Pakistanis having a crack at smoking the Sheesha with the majority of them continuing to do so as a habit.

Shehzad, a 22-year-old, admits smoking the Sheesha publicly with his friends at least once a week in order to relax and unwind. He says that the first three sessions were mainly ‘try-out’ sessions to discover his favourite flavour and boastfully admits that he finally settled for Apple. When asked why would he choose the Sheesha over cigarettes, he said: “It’s more acceptable. In fact, it’s trendy and ‘cool’. My parents won’t complain, as it is not harmful at all and I don’t have to carry it with me all the time as it is not addictive.”

Shehzad’s remarks bring to light a major area of concern, which constitutes a host of misconceptions and lenient assumptions made by Sheesha-smokers and the public in general regarding their health. It should never be forgotten that smoking the Sheesha (similar to smoking cigarettes) involves smoking tobacco, regardless of the flavour that gets into the mouth. A time bomb in a gift-wrap is nevertheless a time bomb and is designed to explode. In the same way, smoking tobacco is bound to be injurious to health (as the country’s Health Ministry insists), irrespective of what it tastes or smells.

“But the water in the Sheesha filters all the harmful ingredients,” said Ali, a 19-year-old student, defending the notion that smoking the Sheesha is harmless. False. Water in the Sheesha may filter some of the harmful ingredients, especially those in solid form. However, the harmful ingredients in the gaseous form escape the liquid as part of the ‘sweet-tasting’ smoke that is inhaled.

 It is a well-established fact that tobacco smoke contains a range of harmful ingredients such as carbon monoxide (CO), carcinogens like tobacco specific nitrosamines, and the notorious drug nicotine that is responsible for causing addiction to smokers. A research carried out at the Atomic Energy Medical Centre in Multan and published in Journal Pakistan Medical Association in 1993 indicates that the amount of carbon monoxide in smoke from the Sheesha varies from the type of the Sheesha and can be as high as 1.40 per cent compared to 0.40 per cent in cigarettes. Even the least harmful of the Sheesha, it was found, contained a minimum of 0.38 per cent carbon monoxide. The results indicate that at best the Sheesha smoker is exposed to the same amount of CO as any cigarette smoker and most often he/she is exposed to significantly higher levels of CO.

Further research into the constituents of Sheesha smoke has been carried out in Egypt and Lebanon over the past 30 years. One of these researches was performed at the American University of Beirut and was published in 2003 in Food and Chemical Toxicology Journal. The study involved simulating the smoke produced by the Sheesha by a specialized machine and proved that the smoke contains significant amount of nicotine (the addiction agent) along with other toxic heavy metals such as arsenic, cobalt, chromium and lead. As for tar, the research stated that under normal conditions, smoke produced by a single Sheesha contains approximately the same amount of tar (dry particulate matter) as 20 cigarettes.

Different methods of research to counter-check the above facts have been adopted. An interesting procedure involved checking for carboxyhaemoglobin (COBHb) levels in cigarette and Sheesha smokers after they had been exposed to the respective type of smoke. This study was performed at the Department of Medicine, King Abdul Aziz University in Saudi Arabia and published in the journal, Tropical and Geographical Medicine. Haemoglobin is the oxygen-carrier of blood and delivers this vital gas to different parts of the body. Interestingly, it has a natural inclination towards carbon monoxide. Therefore, any CO inhaled by the smoker is passed on to the blood and the rest of the body. They study showed that COHb concentration in cigarette smokers was 6.47 per cent while in Sheesha smokers was found to be 10.06 per cent (almost 60 per cent more) after being exposed to this type of smoke. The research conclude: “Sheesha smoking as well as cigarette smoking will produce similar harmful effects on the function of ventilatory capacity of both male and female subjects and increase the risk of developing obstructive airway disease, with Sheesha smokers being at a greater risk.”

Other short-term health hazards including the spread of infectious diseases by mouth (if the same Sheesha is used by multiple smokers), and the potential for receiving higher doses of psychomotor stimulant, which can result in physical dependence at some time in the smoker’s life. Even though no major withdrawal symptoms are known, experts believe that the insistence to use the Sheesha even with known health hazards, financial cost, and reported reluctance to quit smoking are more subtle, but definite signs of dependence. It is not rare to find a Sheesha smoker who has been smoking for some time socially now chooses to do so even in solitude, a trend well-known to cigarette smokers.

Like short-term health risks, long-term health hazards have also been predicted by various studies and are similar to those which exist for cigarette smokers. These include the risk of lung and oral cancers, the decrease in pulmonary function, and a high occurrence of cardiovascular diseases among smokers. Smoking mothers face much higher possibilities of giving birth to babies with low birth weight, low Apgar scores and respiratory distress.

Recently, smoking tobacco was banned in public places in New York and a similar action is about to be taken in London. These measures have been introduced to act as a protective shield not for smokers, but for non-smokers. Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) is injurious to health, irrespective of gender and age of the individual which is subjected to it. In Lebanon, an increase in the incidence of respiratory diseases among young children has been linked to their exposure to ETS. Other health hazards in children are similar to those resulting from cigarette smoke, such as upper respiratory function, asthma, and the sudden infant death syndrome. n

wel... everything was going all smooth, no tension in the city, nothing tht sort of. frst the accident hapnd at FAIZAN-E-MADINA.. and 50 women along wid children were kiled. and then on 12th of rabiul awwal... i.e. 11th of april a bomb blast took place at nishtar park where a jalsa was going on!

the tension and terror in the city is at its extreme. yesterday not a single shop in my area was open. and not even today! all the petrol pumps and international food chains are closed coz they are the target when such thngs happen.

its soo quiet everywhere. its like in this big city of khi. no one lives here. its been 2 days now, u cant go out. and ppl hav declared a strike even tom. fr 3 days all the educational institutes are closed!

well.. we all hope that the situation gets better ASAP! coz its all so creepy and ppl are freaking out. no general store is open. if people need anything they dont know where to go n get it from. not a single petrol pump is open. wat if someone needs gas in his car or anything! he cant do anythign about it. it really is creating porblems fr common man now.

why guys everywhere in pakistan are all flirt and find ways to talk to a girl??!!!
is it men's nature or they just want to do it.?????

i had my toefl test on the 11th of April 2006. The examiner frst came in and said... " i am ur examiner, not your FRND! so keep tht relationship till the end of tht exam!!!" one would thnk that who would like to b frnds wid u?

then... when i was done with the formalities of filling out the form, and signing on like 3 papers... he asked me.. " how tall are you asma?"... i said "5'9".... he said " thts a good height.. follow me and i will tell you where u hav to to sit! as asked to do i did the same.

after my listening and strucutres part, i had 5 mins break and had to leave the examination room. the listening was so EASY! i thnk i didnt do good in grammar. but after my 5 mins. i had to do my reading and essay writing. i chose to write my esaay rather than typing. when i called my examiner.. he was literallu whispering! i asked him y r u whispering? im in ur office not in the examination room... tu he said. oh ok.i frgot tht... so he gave me the paper, explained me the instructions and i finshed writing my essay in 25 mins. time allotted was 30 mins. :)

after gvng my test, i had to wait outside fr my dad to pick me up. so there were other students, who had their exam at 1pm. i met this grl from UK. when we started talking, i found out tht shes interested in the same course as i am. and as she was frm UK.. so igot to know more info frm her about the universities and living exp etc.

to this other grl i was telling her tht wen i came around 8am. there were like 4 guys waiting outside, and i thought tht all 4 hav to give the test. but then i found out tht only 1 is giving the test while the other 3 were there fr his moral support and back up!!!! lol.. that was soo funny! the moment i said this.. the examiner came outside.. and said... wat was so funny asma?! are u 2 scandalizin me???? ... isaid.. NO! y would we do tht.. we are just talking generallyy......

to he said.. i'l be there in 5 mins.. and will ask u wat was soo funny!! i mean GO TOHELL!!!! y u have to listen to each n everything im saying?!!!! koi aur kaam nahi hai kya?!!!!

while i was waiting fr my father, a guy came in at 1:10pm. he was late fr his exam bcz the exam was to start at 1, and ur registration timings shuld be 30 mins b4 the test! so the examiner guy came outside.. and they both were like having this argument and both accusing each other.. noe thnking tht theres a girl sittgin outside. so they ahould atleast not swear in frnt of me!

kher.. when the guy went inside. the examiner turned towards me ... and all he said was FUCK!!!!!! how come u guys live wid such ppl in this country.... all i could say was.. we do, and we are surviving... and ur living in the same country too....

then he said. ur still here? i said im waiting fr my dad to pick me up ... examiner: " ok , if hes not here in like 5 mins. i'l cal u in my office and we'll do a lil gup shup!!!"

all i said was.. im sure my dad will b here any min.
and he went inside...

i mean.... ur an examiner! u dont have to get frndly wid students coming there, or u knoe try to get free! ajeeb insaan tha. kher i was not the only grl he was flirting wid... any grl who was there fr the test....  flirt!

I just came back from a party... or u can say a get together... it was FUN!! after such a looooong time we all cuzins sat together and had a great time!!!

i miss those days.. when we used to c each other very often.. ab tu every1 is soo busy tht we hardly meet each other in months!

 im sooo tired now.. i thnk i shuld get some sleep. hav to wake up early tom

zzzzzz