contnued
with the disease.
"You will not get AIDS from
being in the hospital," he says.
A Healthy Immune System
and AIDS
Human blood contains dif-
ferent types of white blood cells
that play different roles in protect-
ing against disease. Among one
type of white blood cell called
lymphocytes are T cells. Some T
cells, called helper cells, produce
antibodies that fight disease-caus-
ing organisms.
When AIDS strikes, the virus
invades the T cells, stopping the
cells from doing their job in the
immune system. In the T cell, the
AIDS virus reproduces itself at a
tremendous rate and destroys the
cell it has invaded. Eventually, with
the T cells destroyed, the immune
system becomes ineffective in its
fight against disease.
Dr. Katz says AIDS victims
don't die of the disease itself, but
rather from other infections the
body can't guard against once
AIDS strikes.
The Future of AIDS
Dr. Katz is enthusiastic about
the progress made by researchers
in the fight against AIDS. Although
the number of AIDS cases in
Washtenaw County and Michigan
will continue to grow because of
the long (up to three years) incuba-
tion period of the virus, Dr. Katz
believes there is hope in the fight
against this disease.
"The progress made in such a
short time researching this disease
has surpassed anything that has
happened in the history of medi-
cine," Dr. Katz says. 'As for the

future, I am cautiously optimistic
that a vaccine will be developed
to halt the spread of AIDS in its
tracks:"
Dr. Katz says that he isn't
very optimistic about a cure being
discovered, however. Although he
could give no time frame, Dr. Katz
says he believes there will he an
immunization developed similar to
the smallpox vaccine that will stop
AIDS.
"I don't think they'll be able
to cure AIDS as much as stop its
spread," he says. "Look at smallpox.
Through widespread immuniza-
tion, it has been wiped off the face
of the earth."
How Catherine McAuley Health
Center is Combating the AIDS
Hysteria
Because AIDS is such a mis-
understood disease, Catherine
McAuley Health Center created a
task force to study the issues sur-
rounding AIDS. The task force is
working to educate the communi-

oQ

ties served by the Health Center
about the disease as well as its com-
mitment and approach to caring for
AIDS victims.
The task force will also:
" Identify and help with the emo-
tional needs of AIDS patients, fam-
ilies and friends as an integral part
of treatment and educational
offerings;
" Promote community education
programs on AIDS.
If you have questions concern-
ing AIDS, tapes are available by
calling Tel-Med at 668-1551 (Ann
Arbor/western Washtenaw County),
434-6120 (Ypsilanti/western Wayne
County) or 548-2832 (Livingston
County). Tel-Med is a collection of
tape-recorded health messages on
different health issues. To request
the tape on AIDS, ask for No. 571.
You can also call the U.S. Depart-
ment of Health and Human Services
AIDS Hotline at 1-800-342-AIDS or
the Wellness Networks in Detroit at
1-800-482-2404, extension 3582.

No ifs ands or butts!
New Program Gives Support for Kicking
the Smoking Habit

For every smoker who has
kicked the habit for good, there are
at least two others who have started
smoking again after having quit for
a short time. Even though every-
one knows smoking is hazardous to
their health, the will to quit is often
overshadowed by the urge to
smoke.
Catherine McAuley Health
Center's Smoke Stoppers program
puts smokers on the road to recov-
ery by helping them stop smoking
in a safe, effective way. The number
of people who attend Smoke Stop-
pers who still aren't smoking one
year later is 20 percent higher than
what the Surgeon General considers
successful for a program.
And the Smoke Stoppers
success rate will continue to in-
0
What's
Up
Doc?

crease thanks to a new program at
Catherine McAuley Health Center
that provides the extra help needed
for people who have trouble pack-
ing up the cigarettes after taking the
class. The program is a support
group that gives non-smokers-to-
be another opportunity to fight
the urge to smoke.
'A lot of people go back to
smoking as a response to stress,"
says Denise Ford Williams, coordi-
nator of the Smoke Stoppers pro-
gram. "In this program we deal
with coping with stress and we
look at what part smoking has
played in their lives. There are
other things you can do to re-
place smoking."
The new program is offered for
graduates of Smoke Stoppers. These

sessions begin following the com-
pletion of the Smoke Stoppers pro-
gram. Participants can call the
Office of Health Promotion to see
when the next meeting is, Williams
says.
The new program is also less
structured than Smoke Stoppers
and the meetings last one-and-a-half
hours.
"Smoke Stoppers gets you to
quit the habit and this program
helps to maintain that," Williams
says. "We're in the business of self-
control and self-motivation. People
asked for this, they needed it and
now we have it."
For more information on
Smoke Stoppers or the support
group, please call 572-3675.



Here are some tidbits on
smokingfrom our doctor's
corner that may surprise
you:
" Smoking is the single most im-
portant source of illness and
premature death that can be
prevented.
" Annual mortality from smoking
exceeds 350,000 - or more than
the combined number of lives lost
in World War I, the Korean War
and the Vietnam War.
" Smoking is connected to 30 per-
cent of all cancers.
" This year, more women will die of
lung cancer than breast cancer for

the first time in history.
" The amount of carbon monoxide
generated by smoking in a car with
the windows closed can impair a
driver's reaction time and con-
tribute to auto accidents-don't
smoke and drive.
" Smoking is responsible for 1,500
fire deaths annually and accounts
for one quarter of all the mortality
caused by fire.
" Between 30 and 40 percent of all
heart disease each year can be
attributed to cigarette smoking.
* If you smoke two packs a day for
40 years (assuming you live that
long) you will have spent about
$25,000 on cigarettes.

States with the highest number of AIDS cases (shaded in bronze) are
New York, California, Florida, Newjersey and Texas. Cities with largest
number of AIDS cases are New York City, San Francisco, Miami, Newark
and Los Angeles.