Lou Piniella, who has the most common form of the ailment, quit smoking and is on medication.
By MARC TOPKIN
Published April 30, 2004
Lou Piniella says he quit smoking cold turkey.
Special Report: Diagnosis diabetes
BOSTON - Lou Piniella had a good reason to quit smoking.
Piniella was diagnosed during the offseason with Type 2 diabetes, a disease that is becoming increasingly common, and reaching near-epidemic proportions, among Americans.
Piniella, 60, had been a heavy smoker for years but quit "cold turkey" before the opening of spring training in February. He also began to take medication to control his blood-sugar levels and is trying to watch what he eats and drinks.
"This had been on the horizon," Piniella said. "I'm taking pills to keep my blood sugar down, and I'm going to go on a diet and lose some weight."
Officials estimate more than 18-million Americans have diabetes, which can lead to blindness, kidney failure, amputations and heart disease and causes about 180,000 deaths a year in the United States. Government officials this week said another 41-million Americans have what would be considered pre-diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes is the most common form, the result of the body not making enough insulin or not using the insulin it makes properly. Insulin moves sugar into the body's cells, so low levels can cause sugar to build up in the blood, and the high blood sugar levels are what can lead to problems.
The effects of the disease can be controlled through medication, exercise and proper care. According to the American Diabetes Association, quitting smoking and reducing the amount of alcohol consumption are two important steps. On its Web site (www.diabetes.org) the ADA says, "Type 2 diabetes is serious, but people with diabetes can live long, healthy, happy lives."
Piniella, who is signed to manage the Devil Rays through the 2006 season, said he doesn't expect the disease to affect his work and didn't mind speaking about his condition to raise awareness.
"If I have it, I have it," he said. "If I can help someone else, then that's good."
Piniella has been a national spokesman for prostate cancer awareness and today is scheduled to make an appearance on behalf of Heartbeat International, a group that, according to its Web site (www.heartbeatinternational.org) "provides implantable cardiac pacemakers to totally indigent patients in developing countries."
- Information from Times files was used in this report.
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