Doctors' mistake

With reference to Doctor's best friend (April 18) it is true that proper communication with the patient is an essential tool in medicine. Even Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, advised medical practitioners to create a rapport with patients. But unfortunately the allopathic physicians routinely disregard this priceless suggestion. Alternative healers of all variety have been following the ancient advice quite religiously. This is why alternative medicine is undergoing revival all over the world. I strongly object to the author's notion that all alternate practitioners have been offering sham therapies. Just because the allopaths cannot understand how alternatives work does not mean that it is a dummy effect.

Mandira Goswamee
via email

The real culprit

This refers to Chewing tobacco harms heart (April 4), in which you have correctly pointed out addiction to smokeless tobacco is no less harmful than smoking. Very few people are aware that the real culprit is nicotine which infiltrates blood through different routes, irrespective of the form chosen. Indians really have a wide variety - alkaloid forms enter into the blood through nasal mucosa (as snuff), through buccal mucosa (as gurakhu, zarda, gutkha, khaini, gool and chewing gum), through mucosa of the gut (dokta) and so on. From blood it goes to the brain and brings about a sense of well-being - the reason for getting addicted to tobacco.

Arun Kumar Laha
Howrah-4

Partial views

Iwonder why Knowhow doesn't take alternative approaches seriously. It's time you understand that herbal products are more effective in improving the immune system which enables the body to fight chronic ailments. This is the reason for revival of alternative forms of medicine all over the world, including the US.

Ratan Lal Roy
New Barrackpore