Ratty Test Rationale (from Washington Times)

By Elizabeth M. Whelan, Sc.D., M.P.H. Posted: Wednesday, January 12, 2005
EDITORIAL Publication Date: January 12, 2005

This article first appeared in the January 12, 2005 Washington Times:

Rodents are an insidious health threat -- but I am not talking about disease-carrying vermin. I am talking about rodents in our nation's most prestigious research laboratories. These animals, through no fault of their own, have been scaring us to death for 50 years while restricting our pursuit of an improved standard of living and longer, healthier lives.

A thicket of current federal and state laws and regulations (including Superfund, Proposition 65 in California, and Environmental Protection Agency and Food and Drug Administration regulation of pesticides and food additives) assume a rodent is a little man. Such laws substantially disrupt our nation's economic productivity (including diminishing our food supply) by banning any chemical that at high doses causes cancer in animals. This hasty practice poses a threat not only to our quality of life but also to our very lives and health.

Perhaps you remember some specific examples of government's attempts to ban useful chemicals (like the sweeteners cyclamate and saccharin) because at high dose they cause cancer in rats. Probably you recall the great Alar-apple panic of 1989 when actress-turned-toxicologist Meryl Streep and an activist environmental group (with the EPA's blessing) told us apples presented an "intolerable risk" of cancer in children because they were treated with Alar, which at high doses caused cancer in rodents. More recently, you may remember self-appointed consumer groups argued french fries were a cancer risk because frying high-starch foods produces a chemical called acrylamide, another rodent carcinogen.

But what you might not know is that the rodent-is-a-little-man premise now has spawned unprecedented increases in environmental regulation (purportedly to protect us from cancer) and has contributed substantially to the cost of most goods and services, insurance premiums, legal fees and federal taxes while reducing job opportunities and incentives for innovation. All this without offering any known public health benefit whatsoever.

For example, the so-called Delaney Clause, passed by Congress in 1958, requires the FDA to ban food additives causing cancer at any dose in any lab animal no matter how negligible the risk or what benefits might be lost. The EPA labels useful industrial and agricultural chemicals as "probable human carcinogens" -- subjecting them to regulatory extinction -- on the basis of just one high-dose rodent study. The result: safe and useful pesticides are being banned, depriving farmers of tools to keep our food supply plentiful. Similarly, environmental activists have long pushed to ban chlorine, a critical treatment to ensure water safety, because it is a rodent carcinogen.

What I call "mouse terrorism," the use of high-dose animal tests to justify the banning of industrial chemicals, rests on false premises:

--"To reduce cancer risk we must get rid of all cancer-causing chemicals." This is impossible. Animal carcinogens abound both in nature and man-made products. If we were to apply Delaney Clause standards to natural foods, we would have nothing left to eat.

--"No amount of carcinogens are safe." Not so. It is the dose that makes the poison. Trace levels of natural carcinogens don't harm us, nor does exposure to minuscule amounts of synthetic chemicals — parts per trillion of pesticide residues in food. Sunlight causes cancer, but not at moderate exposures.

--"But you can't reject animal cancer testing. Otherwise, we will just have to wait until cancer occurs in humans." No one is suggesting we abandon animal tests — just knee-jerk interpretations of them. We should evaluate the cancer-causing potential of man-made chemicals, such as pesticides, the way we do naturally occurring chemicals. If a chemical causes cancer in several animal species and has an effect at low and moderate doses as well as high doses, we should be prudent and set tolerance levels of exposure to that chemical — as the government does in wheat and corn for the naturally occurring carcinogen aflatoxin, which causes cancer in a full spectrum of animals. This common-sense approach is vastly different from the harsh regulatory approach taken with synthetic chemicals.

--"If we don't ban chemicals that cause cancer in animals, cancer rates will increase." Actually, just the opposite is true. Public health specialists are becoming increasingly outspoken in arguing that animal cancer tests are ineffective in predicting human cancer risk. Indeed, rat experiments do not even reliably predict cancer risk in mice — much less humans.

Let's end rodent terrorism before it further devastates our economy and way of life.

Elizabeth Whelan, Sc.D., M.P.H., is president of the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH.org, HealthFactsAndFears.com) and an editor of the new book "America's War on 'Carcinogens': Reassessing the Use of Animal Tests to Predict Human Cancer Risk," to be published later this month.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/commentary/20050111-083925-7283r.htm

Tulsa, OK - Despite falling short in its efforts to prevent passage of a new state tobacco tax hike on election day, Northeastern Oklahoma tobacco retailers have found strength in their new organization, the Tobacco Retailers Alliance (TRA).

The group is at work on drafting bylaws and future activities for a national organization serving all tobacco retailers, said Steve Bruner, a Tulsa smoke shop owner, and investment firm president who serves as the organization's spokesman and chairman of public affairs.

He said there are over 350,000 tobacco retailers in the U.S., most with several employees who are tax-paying good citizens.

"Add these up for a do-good small merchant organization," he says, "and you have a formidable organization giving strength to a unified industry supporting good public causes and giving our industry a voice for those true facts that politicians and others are likely to distort for lesser causes to our detriment."

To have the American Indians in policy-making and leadership positions, where it all began in Oklahoma, would be another plus, he added.

Joe Lane, a rancher and independent smoke shop owner, is president of the public education group, which was formed in August.

Lane and Bruner said the first job of the nonprofit educational group has been to lead a state-wide campaign to stop the continuing regressive taxation of tobacco products.

The alliance has embarked on a "good citizenship program of activities to support worthy state programs on behalf of several hundred members who run smoke shops for tobacco products in Oklahoma and bordering states," says Lane.

Bruner adds that there are much better ways to raise public awareness of the need to discourage smoking and other potentially harmful tobacco uses. He feels that the majority of Oklahomans should say "No" to the use of tobacco and "No" to any new taxes freely without the State of Oklahoma passing a law that raises unneeded taxes.

TRA launched a "modest and truthful, unemotional campaign" to gain support in its effort to defeat State Question 713, but it was passed by voters on election day. It increases tobacco taxes as much as $8.00 on a carton of cigarettes and higher on other tobacco products.

The new group has retained veteran public relations executive and leader Dean Sims, founder and chairman of Tulsa-based Public Relations International, for counsel on association management and marketing communications.

http://www.smokeshopmag.com/1204/signals.htm

By Ed Edelson HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, Jan. 28 (HealthDayNews) -- Here's one more study that shows smoking is bad not only for the health of people who light up but also for those around them -- specifically, for children who breathe in their parents' secondhand smoke.

This research comes from Europe, and it finds that children exposed to secondhand smoke on a daily basis have more than triple the risk of lung cancer and an increased risk of other respiratory problems later in life than those who grew up in a smoke-free environment.

The report appears in the Jan. 28 online issue of the British Medical Journal.

While a number of previous studies have shown the same sort of risk, this one is different because "it is one of the few prospective studies in which information about exposure has been collected before information about the outcome," said study author Dr. Paolo Vineis, a professor of environmental epidemiology at Imperial College London.

It also included a large number of people, more than 123,000 in 10 European countries, who provided information on exposure to secondhand smoke and were followed for an average of seven years.

During that time, 97 people in the study had newly diagnosed lung cancer, 20 had cancers of the upper respiratory tract and 14 died of chronic obstructive lung disease or emphysema.

The increased lung cancer risk was the most striking -- 3.6 times greater for those whose parents smoked. That might seem a large number but, Vineis said, "most of these people are nonsmokers, and you have to put together a lot of people to detect a relatively small number of lung cancers."

Overall, the risk of all lung diseases was 30 percent higher for those exposed to secondhand smoke in childhood, the study found. Predictably, the risk was "consistently higher in former smokers than in those who never smoked," the report said.

The finding adds to the damage that secondhand smoke is known to inflict on children. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that secondhand smoke is responsible for 15,000 to 300,000 lower respiratory tract infections in children each year, causing 7,500 to 15,000 hospitalizations. The EPA also blames secondhand smoke for as many as 1 million asthma attacks in children annually.

And secondhand smoke can be more immediately fatal to children. It is blamed for an estimated 1,900 to 2,700 cases of sudden infant death syndrome in the United States each year.

"Most countries are introducing laws about secondhand smoke exposure," Vineis said. Most recently, Italy has banned smoking in all public places, including bars and restaurants. New York and other cities in the United States have similar bans.

Smoking at home cannot be banned. But "parents should avoid smoking at all times in the presence of their children," Vineis advised.

Dr. Norman Edelman, a consultant on scientific affairs for the American Lung Association, goes further. "If you must smoke, don't smoke in an indoor area that is shared by anyone else," he said.

One important finding of the new study is that the harmful effect of secondhand smoke is much greater in former smokers than nonsmokers, Edelman said.

"It gives credence to the idea that total exposure to smoke is a major determinant of damage," he said. "Basically, cigarette smoke is bad no matter how you take it in."

More information

The dangers of secondhand smoke are described by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

http://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/health/feeds/hscout/2005/01/28/hscout523688.html

Reuters version: http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=7459257

 Abstract
Objective To determine the risk of lung cancer associated with exposure at home to the radioactive disintegration products of naturally occurring radon gas

Design Collaborative analysis of individual data from 13 case-control studies of residential radon and lung cancer.

Setting Nine European countries.

Subjects 7148 cases of lung cancer and 14 208 controls.

Main outcome measures Relative risks of lung cancer and radon gas concentrations in homes inhabited during the previous 5-34 years measured in becquerels (radon disintegrations per second) per cubic metre (Bq/m3) of household air.

Results The mean measured radon concentration in homes of people in the control group was 97 Bq/m3, with 11% measuring > 200 and 4% measuring > 400 Bq/m3. For cases of lung cancer the mean concentration was 104 Bq/m3. The risk of lung cancer increased by 8.4% (95% confidence interval 3.0% to 15.8%) per 100 Bq/m3 increase in measured radon (P = 0.0007). This corresponds to an increase of 16% (5% to 31%) per 100 Bq/m3 increase in usual radon—that is, after correction for the dilution caused by random uncertainties in measuring radon concentrations. The dose-response relation seemed to be linear with no threshold and remained significant (P = 0.04) in analyses limited to individuals from homes with measured radon < 200 Bq/m3. The proportionate excess risk did not differ significantly with study, age, sex, or smoking. In the absence of other causes of death, the absolute risks of lung cancer by age 75 years at usual radon concentrations of 0, 100, and 400 Bq/m3 would be about 0.4%, 0.5%, and 0.7%, respectively, for lifelong non-smokers, and about 25 times greater (10%, 12%, and 16%) for cigarette smokers.

Conclusions Collectively, though not separately, these studies show appreciable hazards from residential radon, particularly for smokers and recent ex-smokers, and indicate that it is responsible for about 2% of all deaths from cancer in Europe.

http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/330/7485/223?ehom

Geoff Watts, science editor1

1 28 New End Square, London NW3 1LS BMJ geoffATscileg.freeserve.co.uk

The publication of a new collaborative study of the effect of domestic radon on the risk of lung cancer is a reminder that this is a hazard to be taken seriously. 1 Of course, health campaigners will rightly respond that radon gas, the cause of just under a tenth of deaths from lung cancer, is hardly in the same league as tobacco. That said, as a carcinogen worth tackling it does have one great "virtue." Unlike the perilous ingredients in materials that we choose to smoke, the threat posed by radon can be greatly reduced or even eliminated without a painful reliance on willpower or on the exercise of self denial. Unfortunately, the extent to which even the relatively pain-free remedies for dealing with it are actually applied is less then impressive.

The appropriate course of action will depend on the construction of the building and the level of radon to be dispersed. At the lower end of the scale, improving ventilation and sealing cracks in concrete floors may do the trick. With suspended timber floors the aim is to increase the flow of air beneath them—either passively through air bricks or by installing a fan. In houses with a concrete floor and higher radon levels it may be necessary to dig a sump—a small cavity beneath the floor—from which air is extracted, so removing any troublesome gas that might otherwise find its way into house.

Do these arrangements actually work? Passive systems are less effective and, although they have no moving parts to wear out, may still go wrong: airbricks blocked by vegetation, for example. Only a further radon test will reveal if there's been a failure. Active systems are better at removing the gas—but electric extractor fans don't last for ever. The National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) has demonstrated their value 2 and also shown that fans reckoned to have a working life of no more five years may actually run for double that. 3 So even householders too negligent to examine their extractor fans more than once a year still have much to gain.

One form of negligence that's harder to overcome is a disinclination to do anything at all. A brief review of domestic radon published three years ago by the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology made gloomy reading. 4 It reported estimates by NRPB that the gas significantly affects around 100 000 properties in Britain. Of householders whose radon was above the recommended action level (200 Bq/m3), only about 10% were actually tackling the problem. NRPB says it has no reason to believe that the figure has subsequently improved.

Why the poor showing? The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology identified four factors: a reluctance to do anything if the radon concentration is only slightly above the action level; a tolerance of "natural" radiation as opposed to its equivalent from the nuclear industry; inadequate access to reliable advice; and, of course, simple inertia.

Reflecting on his life's work, a distinguished radiation biologist once regretted that radioactivity was invisible. He'd always wished, he said, that he could paint it blue. Maybe our enthusiasm for home protection would get a boost if the gas percolating up through the floorboards had some equally eye catching colour.

Competing interests: None declared.

References

1. Darby S, Hill D, Auvinen A, Barros-Dios JM, Baysson H, Bochicchio F, et al. Radon in homes and risk of lung cancer: collaborative analysis of individual data from 13 European case-control studies. BMJ 2005;330: 223-6.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
2. Naismith SP, Miles JCH, Scivyer C. The influence of house characteristics on the effectiveness of radon remedial measures. Health Physics 1998;75: 410-6.[ISI][Medline]
3. Howarth C. Long term effectiveness of radon remedial actions. Environmental Radon Newsletter 2004;39: 4.
4. Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology. Reducing radon risks in the home. www.parliament.uk/post/pn158.pdf (accessed 29 Nov 2004).

http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/330/7485/226?

P Vineis 1 1 Imperial College, London W2 1PG

Objectives To investigate the association between environmental tobacco smoke, plasma cotinine concentration, and respiratory cancer or death.

Design Nested case-control study within the European prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition (EPIC).

Participants 303 020 people from the EPIC cohort (total 500 000) who had never smoked or who had stopped smoking for at least 10 years, 123 479 of whom provided information on exposure to environmental tobacco smoke. Cases were people who developed respiratory cancers or died from respiratory conditions. Controls were matched for sex, age (plus or minus 5 years), smoking status, country of recruitment, and time elapsed since recruitment.

Main outcome measures Newly diagnosed cancer of lung, pharynx, and larynx; deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or emphysema. Plasma cotinine concentration was measured in 1574 people.

Results Over seven years of follow up, 97 people had newly diagnosed lung cancer, 20 had upper respiratory cancers (pharynx, larynx), and 14 died from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or emphysema. In the whole cohort exposure to environmental tobacco smoke was associated with increased risks (hazard ratio 1.30, 95% confidence interval 0.87 to 1.95, for all respiratory diseases; 1.34, 0.85 to 2.13, for lung cancer alone). Higher results were found in the nested case-control study (odds ratio 1.70, 1.02 to 2.82, for respiratory diseases; 1.76, 0.96 to 3.23, for lung cancer alone). Odds ratios were consistently higher in former smokers than in those who had never smoked; the association was limited to exposure related to work. Cotinine concentration was clearly associated with self reported exposure (3.30, 2.07 to 5.23, for detectable/non-detectable cotinine), but it was not associated with the risk of respiratory diseases or lung cancer. Frequent exposure to environmental tobacco smoke during childhood was associated with lung cancer in adulthood (hazard ratio 3.63, 1.19 to 11.11, for daily exposure for many hours).

Conclusions This large prospective study, in which the smoking status was supported by cotinine measurements, confirms that environmental tobacco smoke is a risk factor for lung cancer and other respiratory diseases, particularly in ex-smokers.

(Accepted 23 November 2004)

http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/abstract/bmj.38327.648472.82v1?

How to achieve consistency between the epidemiological studies and the monetary valuation

This paper examines the nature of the information provided by epidemiological studies of air pollution mortality and discusses how best to use it to value the changes in mortality. The frequently-used assessment of impacts in terms of number of deaths and their valuation using the Value of a Statistical Life (VSL) is appropriate for epidemiological studies of the time series type, but they capture only a very small part of the total mortality impact of air pollution. This total impact has been measured in long term cohort studies, which only allow he calculation of the population-average loss of life expectancy (LLE). The paper shows why estimates of the total number of deaths that have been derived from cohort studies are wrong.  To value the total mortality impact of air pollution one needs to measure the willingness-to pay  for a gain in life expectancy. Such studies are only now beginning, in contrast to the numerous VSL studies in the literature.

http://www.bath.ac.uk/cpe/workingpapers/07-04.pdf

The Contra Costa County Tobacco Prevention Coalition decided Thursday to begin lobbying efforts aimed at making the proposed Casino San Pablo development smoke-free.

The Lytton Band of Pomo Indians is currently awaiting the Legislature's approval to begin expanding the casino — which is now a card room — to include 2,500 slot machines and other gaming activities on the current site.

As sovereign nations, American Indian tribes do not have to abide by certain laws, including California's smoke-free workplace law, unless an agreement is struck between the state or local government and tribe.

The San Pablo casino expansion worries health officials who say second-hand smoke already is adversely affecting the casino staff, which could grow by more than 3,000 people if the plans are ratified.

"The truth is, Casino San Pablo employees are being exposed right now," said Denice Dennis, program manager for Contra Costa Health Services Tobacco Prevention Project.

The project staffs the county's coalition, which is comprised of 19 different community groups and agencies.

Although the casino is exempt from the smoke-free law, coalition participants would like to see it be treated like every other workplace, bar or restaurant in the state.

"We feel that everyone who works should be protected and have clean air," said Theresa Boschert of the American Lung Association of the East Bay.

However, the decision on whether to go smoke-free is really up to the tribe, which often takes economics into consideration, said Kathleen Jack of the American Indian Tobacco Education Partnership.

Given that tribal casinos are a big economic resource for American Indians, from the business perspective, it's a scary step to take.

Local officials, though, may weigh in when municipal services agreements are drafted between the Lytton Band and the city of San Pablo and Contra Costa County.

The municipal services agreements will be negotiated once the compact — the tribe's agreement with the state that lays out the percentage of revenue it will receive and other provisions — is ratified by the Legislature.

County Supervisor John Gioia of Richmond, who represents San Pablo, said he intends to address the issue of smoking in the casino during the municipal negotiations.

While he said keeping the casino smoke-free would be the best health solution, Gioia recognizes the tribe may not favor it.

Douglas Elmets, a spokesman for the Lytton Band, said at this time, the casino plans to use a state-of-the-art ventilation system and designate smoke-free areas.

http://www.gamblingmagazine.com/ManageArticle.asp?C=280&A=13528

By JONATHAN BANDLER THE JOURNAL NEWS (Original publication: January 29, 2005)

A 43-year-old homeless veteran fatally stabbed a fellow resident of the Gospel Mission men's shelter because the victim was beating him, the defendant's lawyer said at a bail hearing.

Defense lawyer Russell Seeman told a judge Thursday that a self-defense claim was likely for Neilasan Chung and that his client was anxious to testify before the grand jury that will hear the case. Yonkers police charged Chung with first-degree manslaughter on Dec. 22, the day Joseph Francis was killed.

"Mr. Chung was assaulted. He was not the initiator," Seeman said.

Seeman asked for $10,000 bail, but Westchester County Judge Joseph Alessandro set bail at $75,000 after the prosecutor questioned the defendant's ties to the area and disputed Seeman's account of the fatal altercation.

Chung, who is being held in the Westchester County jail, appeared in court with his left arm heavily bandaged. Seeman said that was a result of surgery he required because Francis had bent his fingers back so far that it fractured bones and tore ligaments in his hand.

Seeman said the fight began in the shelter's smoking area early that morning. He said his client was hit in the face by Francis and left the room a short time later. He said Chung returned with a cigarette and was attacked again by Francis, who grabbed Chung's fingers when he put his hands up to block the blows.

Chung pulled out a knife from his pocket and thrust it into Francis' abdomen as a last resort, Seeman said.

But Assistant District Attorney George Bolen said Francis had defensive wounds on his own hands. He questioned Chung's account in part because there were no other witnesses and because Chung showed a consciousness of guilt by wiping the knife blade and hiding it in a cabinet. Bolen suggested later that Chung might have left the room not to get a cigarette but to get the knife.

Bolen said the trouble between the two may have begun when Francis awoke one morning to find Chung groping him and tickling his feet.

Chung was returned to the county jail after the hearing. Seeman said that his client was not a flight risk, that Chung wanted to remain in the area so he could avail himself of treatment he gets at the VA hospital in Montrose for psychiatric problems he has had since his years in the U.S. Navy.

http://www.thejournalnews.com/newsroom/012905/b0329shelterstab.html

Study of 30,000 counters claim Idea touted by few offended many

RICK WEISS THE WASHINGTON POST
WASHINGTON—There is no such thing as a "cancer personality," a new study concludes.

The study of nearly 30,000 Swedes counters the claim that people may be more likely to get cancer if they are angry, neurotic or otherwise unstable.

The idea of the "cancer personality" has been promoted by some psychologists and others and can be found in some alternative medical books and on websites.

One website, for example, says "lack of self-esteem, the need to people-please, frustrated self-expression, sexual repression, a conflicted mother-daughter relationship and other traits all are part of the breast cancer personality."

Such assessments have angered some doctors, patients and others because they seem to blame patients for their disease.

The new study looked for links between cancer rates and two commonly measured personality traits: extroversion, which relates to a person's need for interaction with others; and neuroticism, a measure of emotional instability.

Led by Pernille Hansen, of the Institute of Cancer Epidemiology in Copenhagen, the team reviewed decades-long health histories and personality data collected from 29,595 Swedes born between 1926 and 1958 as part of a twin registry that country maintains.

They tallied 1,898 cases of cancer in the group but found no association between those diagnoses and any pattern of neuroticism or extraversion.

The analysis, to be published in the March 1 issue of the journal Cancer and posted online last weekend, did not even find evidence that those personality traits were linked to risky behaviours, such as smoking, that might themselves increase one's odds of cancer. It also challenges the idea that personality traits are immutable over time.

The results affirm those of a Japanese study of more than 30,000 people, completed in 2003, that also found no link between cancer and personality traits.

That study concluded that the emotional instability sometimes seen in cancer patients is the result, not the cause, of the diagnosis.

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_

Type1&c=Article&cid=1106779811542&call_pageid=970599119419

Ordinance Extends To Recreation Centers, Open Spaces

January 25, 2005

SAN FRANCISCO -- San Francisco's Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance Tuesday banning smoking in all city parks.

The simple act of lighting up a cigarette, if it's in a San Francisco park, will soon end up costing you several hundred dollars in fines.

Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier proposed the ban.

It extends to city parks, recreation centers and open spaces.

For one, she says second-hand smoke is dangerous, even outside.

"From the reports we've seen, being outside and near cigarette smoke is just as dangerous as being inside near cigarette smoke," she said.

And then there are the cigarette butts.

"We're clearly not able to clean-up all the garbage," she said. "They're four times as likely as any other kind of litter and they are a toxin to the environment."

But other supervisors felt the legislation was excessive.

"If it's indoors, I get it there are real impacts," said supervisor Aaron Peskin. "If it's outdoors, the affected party can move away, what have you. It's already illegal to litter … This feels pretty excessive."

Many smokers agree and some figure there should be a middle ground somewhere.

"I just think we could compromise a little bit more," said Scott Carpenter, a smoker. "Put ashtrays by park benches or maybe have designated smoking areas at least. We don't have to go too far and just ban everything."

The ordinance does make one exception, golf courses, because the operators of the city's course worried the ban would drive off pro-golf tours that bring in a large amount of money to the city.

  In Canada we don't have enough funding to do research, so we use the US  figures and methods.  This is why the 1992 EPA fraud has become a concern.  In that study they lowered the standard from 90% (gold) to 85% .   If people need an explanation on how these studies work go to the forces site as well.  150% isn't that large if you consider that errors are likely and not thouroughly accounted for by advocates.   I have looked at the explanation they give, and  many other sites as well.  They give the same methods on forces to explain  (what relative risk is, and  what to look for to see the crud in the study) reliabilty of studies, as government sites.

In "approved" survey's every person was considered exposed before 1970's.

http://www.nbc11.com/politics/4129836/detail.html

Do you agree with the ordinance banning smoking in all city parks, including recreation centers and open space? Choice Votes Percentage of 158 Votes Yes 62 39%     No 96 61%   Jan 29/05 7:21 pm est

more California

Jury selection begins in Fresno for murder, sexual-abuse case

San Francisco officials ban smoking from some outdoor spaces in city

State sues to block bill penalizing pro-choice legal stance

State to reap bounty for homeless

forums available

Liz Szabo Usa Today January 26, 2005

California's 15-year anti-smoking campaign has dramatically reduced the burden of disease in that state, health officials said Tuesday.

Californians voted in 1988 to raise cigarette taxes by 25 cents per pack, with 5 cents going toward tobacco education, research and other programs. The law went into full effect in 1990, says Kim Belshe, secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency. California banned smoking in most workplaces in 1995, and expanded the ban to include bars in 1998.

State health officials marked the 15th anniversary of the anti-cigarette law by releasing statistics showing the dramatic results of the legislation and campaign:

California's lung and bronchus cancer rates, which were higher than the national average in 1988, have since fallen three times faster than rates in the rest of the country. Incidence rates for five other tobacco-related cancers - esophagus, larynx, bladder, kidney and pancreas - are also lower in California than the rest of the U.S., according to the health agency.

Since 1988, the number of adults who smoke has fallen from 23 percent to 16 percent, one of the country's lowest rates, according to the health agency.

High school smoking rates have fallen from 22 percent in 2000 to 13 percent in 2004, while middle-school smoking rates fell from 7 percent to 4 percent - rates that are far lower than the national average, according to the state health agency. More than 90 percent of California children today live in smoke-free homes.

"These kids represent the first generation of California youth to grow up in a state that is darn-near tobacco-free," Belshe says.

Terry Pechacek, a scientist with the Office on Smoking and Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, says California's record of success should inspire other states.

In March, Rhode Island will become the seventh state to enact comprehensive workplace smoking ban, according to the American Lung Association.

Yet even California has never spent as much on anti-smoking campaigns as the CDC recommends, Pechacek says.

Many states have used money from the 1998 tobacco settlement to help balance budgets, rather than to pay for tobacco-control initiatives. According to a recent lung association report, states are slashing funds for tobacco control. Only five states spend about as much on tobacco control as the CDC recommends.

One of those states, Maine, which once had one of the highest youth smoking rates in the country, saw its middle-school smoking rate drop 59 percent from 1997 to 2003, according to the lung association. Research shows that each 10 percent increase in cigarette prices leads to a 7 percent decrease in youth smoking.

But Belshe notes that states are hard-pressed to keep up with cigarette advertising. California plans to spend $75 million this year on tobacco control. But the tobacco industry spends $35 million on marketing a day, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

Pechacek says states have a strong incentive to curb smoking. On average, each pack of cigarettes sold increases a state's Medicaid costs by $1.30. Tobacco causes 440,000 deaths a year and nearly $160 billion in medical costs a year.

http://www.thedesertsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050126/NEWS10/501260341/1024

`I could barely believe' knifing

Victim screamed, tried to cover face

Teen says killing took 90 seconds

LESLIE FERENC STAFF REPORTER

The first of the three teens charged with murdering a 12-year-old boy took the stand yesterday, casually recounting a harrowing tale of how Johnathan screamed before desperately trying to protect himself as his brother repeatedly stabbed him with a butcher knife.

"I didn't say or do anything," the pale 16-year-old said yesterday, testifying that from his vantage point at the top of the stairs, he could see Johnathan trying to protect his face and head with his hands as his brother plunged the knife into him over and over.

"I could barely believe what I was seeing," he told the jury yesterday, adding that his other friend was in the living room at the time of the attack. "I was shaking very violently and felt very nervous."

That's when the enraged brother, nostrils still flaring, his hands covered in blood, came back up the stairs with the knife ordering the teen to help him move Johnathan's body.

"I'd just seen (him) kill his little brother and I didn't think he'd think twice about killing me," the youth said when asked why he helped drag the boy's body over broken glass on the basement floor to a crawlspace under the stairs.

He testified he didn't have a part in the killing, didn't encourage his friend to do it, or even know it was going to happen.

And it was all over in about a minute and a half, he said of the killing, telling the jury the last thing he remembered before the attack was Johnathan rebuking the teens for trashing the house, saying he was going to tell his parents because he didn't want to be blamed for it.

The three teens have pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the Nov. 25, 2003 slaying. By law, they can't be identified. The other two youths have also pleaded not guilty to attempted murder for an attack on the stepfather of Johnathan and one of the accused.

After the slaying, the teen testified all he could think about was getting out of the house. On his way he encountered his friend's stepfather, angry that someone had been smoking inside. The teen said he apologized several times, telling him he was sorry and then slipped out the front door and ran away, later getting on a bus for home.

He said the two other teens eventually arrived at the same stop and got on the bus with him, but they didn't converse.

The teen said he didn't tell his father what had happened when he got home because he didn't want him "to freak out." Instead, he called a friend and relayed the gruesome tale. As he was leaving the apartment, the teen was shocked to find "people with shotguns. ... I was a little more than nervous," he told his lawyer David McCaskill yesterday. "I figured out they were police officers when they arrested me," he testified.

During his testimony, the teen said he and his buddies had skipped school that day and, while hanging around with the victim's brother at their home, decided to break beer bottles and otherwise trash the house.

Just before the ransacking began, the teen said he called his girlfriend and made up a story that he and his buddies were planning to kill his friend's families "and I was going to drink their blood," he testified. He said he "made it up" to impress her.

He tried even harder to impress her when she called him on his cellphone later that day. During that conversation, which the girlfriend secretly taped, all three teens bragged about the killing and how they were lying in wait for the family to come home.

In earlier testimony, court heard that the victim's brother admitted he killed Johnathan, but only remembered grabbing a butcher knife, pushing him down the stairs and stabbing him once. Evidence showed the boy had been stabbed 71 times.

The trial continues Monday.

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_

Type1&c=Article&cid=1106953821998&call_pageid=970599119419

Queen's is last hotel of its kind in province

Grand old dame turns 103

Monday, January 24th, 2005

Bill Redekop

RAPID CITY -- Once upon a time, a King's or Queen's Hotel dotted the countryside at train stops across Manitoba.

Not anymore. The Queen's Hotel in Rapid City, which turns 103 years old this year, is the last one standing. Owners Jim and Lianne Christie were recently presented with a Manitoba Historical Society Centennial Business Award.

"The idea to name a hotel a King's or Queen's was not unusual at all," says Tom Mitchell, University of Brandon archivist. "It was really just a reflection of the fact that in the late 19th century, most people settling here had strong identification as British Imperialists."

Those hotels have vanished one by one. The Queen's Hotel in Dominion City went bankrupt two years ago, and reopened last fall as Stan's Place. Boissevain had a Queen's Hotel, but it burned down ages ago.

Winnipeg still has a King's Motor Hotel on Higgins Avenue, and a Windsor Hotel, now a blues bar. There are also some Royal Hotels, like one in Flin Flon, and both Flin Flon and Brandon have a Victoria Inn. But naming a hotel after monarchy is clearly a thing of the past.

The Queen's in Rapid City, just north of Brandon and 230 kilometres west of Winnipeg, was named for Queen Victoria. It originally opened in 1881. Passengers used to board the Rapid Stagecoach here to transport them to Brandon. It's not known what "Rapid" meant back then in terms of speed, but the trip to Brandon takes about half an hour by motor vehicle today.

The train track came through in 1886. What's the difference between a hotel and a motel? The early hotels were all placed around train stops. The word "motel" was coined from "motorized vehicle" and "hotel," meaning one could drive to the accommodations by car, said Jim Baker, executive director of the Manitoba Hotel Association.

The current Queen's opened in 1902. Someone actually tried to change the hotel's name once, but patrons wouldn't have it.

It's a grand old dame. It's got five white pillars in front, and a white picket palisade off the second floor. The inside has held up well, and the restaurant still posts its daily specials in chalk on a piece of blackboard.

Since 1902, the Queen's has had at least 20 owners, including the local government, which took it over when the Queen's went bankrupt during Prohibition (1918-23).

Jim and Lianne Christie bought it in 1999. They are currently dealing with another government imposition: the ban on smoking.

"I think it's too soon to tell what impact it will have but we've had a bad fall season," said Jim. Bars across Manitoba claim business has dropped 30 per cent since the provincial smoking ban in October, but the downturn in agriculture "with BSE, and poor crops, and late crops" is also a factor, Jim said.

Lianne Christie is more upset about the ban.

"The government says smoking's bad. So VLTs are good?" she said. "You can play the slots, and you can have a lap dancer, but you can't have a cigarette?"

As for the issue of workplace safety, tell that to the people breathing the air at the smelter in Flin Flon, said Jim. "I spent 22 years working for Manitoba Highways smelling fumes from road salts, oils, and hot asphalt. I'm sure that wasn't too healthy."

The Christies say they'll survive regardless of whether a court challenge by some bar owners against the smoking ban is successful.

Owning a rural bar is tough. Nobody gets rich from it. Banks don't even give mortgages for rural hotels, so sellers issue the mortgage themselves.

The Queen's is the focal point of Rapid City, population just over 400. (The town got its name from the Little Saskatchewan River that runs through here. The word Saskatchewan was considered too long, so its aboriginal meaning, "rapid river," was adopted by founding fathers, according to Penny Ham's Place Names of Manitoba.)

The Queen's has a beverage room that seats 50, a coffee shop, and five rooms that go for $20 or $25 a night, depending if you have a room with a bath. Provincial law requires a rural beverage room to keep at least three rooms to let.

"It doesn't matter what you do," said Lianne. "It either starts or ends at the hotel, from weddings to funerals."

www.winnipegfreepress.com

North has best and worst in anti-tobacco list
 CBC News Web Posted Jan 24 2005 09:01 AM CST

WHITEHORSE - The Yukon is coming in last in its class in a national review of anti-smoking legislation.

The Provincial Tobacco Control Councils of Canada says the Yukon is the worst jurisdiction in Canada when it comes to anti-smoking measures.

The Yukon didn't earn a passing grade in any category.

The report graded provinces and territories on things like smoking bans, pharmacy sales and rules for retail cigarette displays.

The national report card rated Nunavut as the top jurisdiction in the country overall for tobacco control.

"We received a "C" in our tobacco taxation which just means we're kind of in the middle of all the provinces and territories on how much tax we charge per carton of cigarettes," says Erin Levy, Nunavut's Tobacco Reduction specialist.

"But in every other section of the report card, we got a pass and we were the only province or territory to get a pass in every section."

The Northwest Territories has the highest tax rate in the country for a carton of cigarettes and got an A+ in that category.

Most of its workplaces are smoke-free, but the N.W.T. failed in the other three categories– public areas smoking, display ads, and pharmacy sales.

• LINK: Provincial and Territorial report cards

Not taken seriously

Despite rating the worst in the country, Yukon department of Health spokesperson Pat Living says the territorial government isn't losing sleep over the issue.

"We didn't take it too seriously," she says.

Living says the group isn't handing out marks for anti-smoking ad campaigns or programs to help people quit.

Otherwise, she believes the Yukon would have earned better grades.

"The Yukon government has put its focus on cessation programs and awareness programs rather than legislation," she explains.

Living notes the Yukon received a failing grade for smoking legislation even though both Whitehorse and Dawson City have municipal bans in place.

http://north.cbc.ca/regionalnews/caches/smoke-yukon-24012005.html

CBC News WebPosted Jan 24 2005 08:42 AM AST
MONCTON  —  A convenience store owner in Moncton has a message for the Lord government – check with retailers before placing a ban on cigarette displays.

Roy Shakibaei says the government has a habit of making decisions without talking to the people affected.

"Business should be consulted about all this," he says. "But as usual, businesses aren't consulted about anything. They know everything, they're all lawyers, they know all the laws and they do whatever they want."

NDP Leader Elizabeth Weir is pushing for a ban on tobacco displays and the Lord government says it will consider the idea.

Weir says young people are more likely to take up the habit if they see a wall of cigarette packages every time they go to the corner store.

But Shakibaei disagrees.

He says the only thing the displays do is inform the customer which brands of cigarettes are available.

"By having cigarettes up here, it's not going to help the teenager start or stop, But the fact of the matter is that when the people come, they can see what kind of cigarette is there and they can tell faster what kind of cigarette they want."

One of the customers at Shakibaei's store says the displays aren't much use to her.

In fact, Emily Landry says she'd rather not see hundreds of cigarette packages every time she goes to the store.

She supports the ban.

"I'm totally for it because I'm a smoker and I'm addicted and I want to stop."

In the past year, New Brunswick has gone from being one of Canada's smokier provinces to one that's earned the praise of the lung association and other health advocates.

A new law went into effect last summer which bans smoking in almost all public places, including school grounds, office buildings, restaurants and bars.

Business people have complained that the ban has driven away some of their best customers, but Health Minister Elvy Robichaud says he has no regrets about imposing it.

http://nb.cbc.ca/regionalnews/caches/nb-20050124.html

I am a smoker and when I was growing up everyone and their dog smoked. As children we had the advertisements all around us, in every magazine we read and every show we watched on TV, which weren't many, so we really got into the ads. They even sang songs about smoking cigarettes.

Now with all this non-smoking stuff going on everywhere we the older generation are stuck trying to quit a habit we have had for so long, at our own expense.

The way I look at it is anyone who grew up during the time that smoking was so heavily advertised, while no one warned about the harm of it, should be compensated in our efforts to try to quit. We should have free access to medications, whether it be the patch or pills. When you have a drinking problem or drug problem you get free treatment; why not for us smokers?

Julie Cowie

Winnipeg

Not such an unreasonable request.

http://www.winnipegsun.com/NewsStand/WinnipegSun/Letters/

Hinton Parklander — Come April 1 we can all take a deep long breath. Well, sort of, because the depth of your breath may actually depend on your age.
Hinton town council has passed a smoking bylaw amendment that will prevent smoking in restaurants during the hours children are served.
The amendment in no way states what hours children may be present, or even that children must be served. It is entirely within the right of restaurant owners to now exclude children from their eatery.
The final version of the amendment was compiled with the help of local restaurant owners, the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission and the BLAST committee made up of area high school students.
It’s a kick in the teeth to those students, who worked hard on this amendment, to now face the possibility of not being allowed into the restaurants.
Council must be commended on implementing the amendment, which came about as the result of a non-binding plebiscite in the last municipal election.
But when can the rest of the town experience the same level of protection?
Premier Ralph Klein seems dead set against a province-wide smoking ban, which should fall under his jurisdiction.
Without provincial leadership, the responsibility falls to municipal councils. They have the power and ability to implement laws to ensure their populous and workforce are not harmed.
Even though workplace safety shouldn’t be the responsibility of our town councillors, the duty is theirs by default.
Like all the other responsibilities that have been downloaded to the municipal level, they must face the challenge head on and think about the health of everyone involved.
-B.F.

http://www.hintonparklander.com/story.php?id=139188

By Bradley Fehr Monday January 24, 2005

Hinton Parklander — The air in many restaurants may soon be a little fresher when a partial smoking ban takes effect on April 1.
The ban is targeted at restaurants during the hours in which minors may be present. The bylaw doesn’t include which hours the minors may be present and leaves that decision in the hands of the individual business owners.
If the owner wanted to, they could just not allow minors into their establishment and only maintain the current smoking bylaw, which states that 50 per cent of the dining facility must be set aside for non-smokers.
Nowhere in the regulations does it state that the two sections must be significantly separated, although they must be well-marked and distinct.
The no-smoking signs must be conspicuous.
Another possible avenue for restaurant owners is that they could limit the hours minors are allowed in the restaurant and allow 50 per cent of the seating area to smoke during those hours.
“We have an amended smoking bylaw to take care of the interests of children,” said Mayor Glenn Taylor.
He said the new bylaw is a direct result of a non-binding plebiscite held during the last municipal election in which the major of voters, 61.4 per cent, agreed that children need to be protected from second-hand smoke in restaurants.
The mayor said he is disappointed Alberta Premier Ralph Klein does not see workplace safety as a provincial responsibility.
“I believe smoking in the workplace is the issue and it is under the jurisdiction of the province,” he said. “We’re not in the role of protecting workers rights. There is only so much we can do.”
He added that the town has to be careful which responsibilities they take on. Klein recently stated that a province-wide smoking ban won’t happen and it is up to individual business owners to decide if smoking should be allowed. He said this despite the fact that Health Minister Iris Evans was floating the idea of a province-wide workplace smoking ban.
Taylor agreed with the premier on one point.
“The business owner can decide what sort of clientele they attract,” Taylor said.
The bylaw also includes provisions for bars and lounges to establish non-smoking areas, but doesn’t require they do so or what size they need to be. Proscribed penalties for breaking these regulations include $100 fines for first and second offences. Larger fines and even jail time can be issued by judges for summary convictions.

http://www.hintonparklander.com/story.php?id=139185

CBC News Last Updated Jan 24 2005 03:02 PM MST

EDMONTON – Health Minister Iris Evans says she hopes to have no-smoking legislation ready by the end of February.

It would first be seen by a standing policy committee made up of Conservative MLAs.

Evans, who first floated the idea of a province-wide workplace smoking ban 10 days ago, said calls to her Sherwood Park constituency office have been running six to one in favour of some sort of tobacco-reduction initiative.

She couldn't say whether that meant six to one support for a total ban.

"I think it's been very interesting feedback," Evans said. "There's been good points presented."

Evans said she is also hearing from her fellow MLAs "with different views of how we could advance that."

Friday, Premier Ralph Klein backed off his declaration that there won't be a province-wide smoking ban while he's in charge, saying he's now open to having a debate on the issue.

He said Albertans will have a chance to make their positions known.

After Evans suggested looking at a province-wide smoking ban, Klein was quick to reject the idea, calling it "useless" and counter-productive.

Klein did say he favoured banning smoking in any place frequented by children.

Manitoba, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and PEI have all put province-wide workplace smoking bans in place.

http://calgary.cbc.ca/regionalnews/caches/ca-smoking-evans20050124.html

Canadian Press January 24, 2005

REGINA (CP) -- It is taking time for most of Saskatchewan's health authorities to begin enforcement of new provincewide no-smoking rules.

While one health region in Saskatchewan has already begun to ticket bar owners and patrons under a weeks-old smoking ban, many others are just getting up to speed on the new law.

In the southeast corner of the province, inspectors for the Sun Country Health Region have handed out several tickets to a bar owner in Weyburn though Premier Lorne Calvert had given businesses until March 1 to comply with the ban.

Nine other health regions contacted Monday have yet to issue a single ticket for the Jan. 1 ban, which calls for all enclosed public places to be entirely smoke-free.

In December, the government announced a 60-day grace period where public health officers would focus on educating businesses and individuals about the ban, rather than ticketing. But last week, Health Minister John Nilson said any establishment or patron in flagrant non-compliance of the law would be fined.

However, most regions aren't quite at that stage; many have only partially completed the initial education process.

Officials from a number of health regions say a shortage of inspectors coupled with large areas to service have kept most regions from reaching all businesses quickly.

In some regions, as few as 10 per cent of businesses have had a personal visit from an inspector.

"We're still in (our) infancy," said Ron Belak from the Heartland Health Region in west central Saskatchewan. "We've got about 46,000 square miles (119,000 square kilometres) to cover. It's a big district for just two people."

Inspectors in most regions say there has been more resistance from establishments that serve alcohol than those that serve food.

Rural areas have so far been more resistant than urban areas, such as Moose Jaw and Saskatoon, that already had municipal bans in place, say officials.

Grant Paulson from the Sun Country Health Region says despite some non-compliance, most businesses in his district appear to be embracing the ban.

"We've been doing compliance checks throughout our region and we have visited, on at least one occasion, just about every place, particularly restaurants," he said.

The response to the ban has been mostly positive in the northern half of the province, according to James Irvine, medical health officer for the three northern health areas.

He said since the north has the highest percentage of smokers, the health concerns have spearheaded compliance.

"I think we've seen so much the effect of tobacco and health issues and we've had a lot of discussion over the last few years about the negative impact of tobacco," he said, adding "some communities have moved into the direction of smoke-free even before the ban."

http://www.canada.com/saskatoon/starphoenix/news/story.html?id=9502c405-51f7-4949-a4b3-930cbf29e5c9

Fri Jan 21, 2005 09:26 PM GMT

By Will Boggs, MD

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A study in Swedish twins confirms that smoking is associated with a reduced risk of Parkinson's disease.

"The association in part is explained by genetic influences," Dr. Nancy L. Pedersen from the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, told Reuters Health. "Hence, further attempts to study risk factors in general for Parkinson's disease should entertain the possibility that there are complex interactions between genetic mechanisms and putative risk factors."

Pedersen and her colleagues investigated the previously reported link between smoking and a reduced risk for Parkinson's by analyzing data from the Swedish Twin Registry.

The authors found that both current smokers and past smokers were less likely to develop Parkinson's disease than people who had never smoked.

The association was stronger in men than in women and the risk of Parkinson's decreased as the number of cigarettes smoked per week increased, the authors note in the Annals of Neurology.

As to the reason for the association, the researchers note that cigarette smoke may contains chemicals that protect nerve cells from damage.

Further analysis showed that neither alcohol nor coffee was associated with Parkinson's disease risk.

"We have not planned any further studies directly, although we may be exploring whether there is a genetic interaction between smoking and certain genes," Pedersen said.

SOURCE: Annals of Neurology, January 2005.

http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=7397850

Fri Jan 21, 2005 07:15 PM GMT

By Anthony J. Brown, MD

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The innate capacity to repair damaged DNA seems to affect a woman's chance of developing breast cancer. Deficient DNA repair appears to triple the risk of breast cancer, researchers have found.

"A lot of studies have looked at the link between DNA repair capacity and lung cancer risk, but few studies have evaluated the association with breast cancer risk," Dr. Regina M. Santella, from Columbia University in New York, told Reuters Health.

Santella's group used various lab techniques to compare the DNA repair capacity of cells obtained from 158 women with breast cancer and from their sisters who didn't have cancer.

The average percentage of damaged DNA that could be repaired was significantly lower in the breast cancer patients than in their unaffected siblings, the investigators report in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Moreover, as DNA repair capacity diminished, the risk of breast cancer rose, with about a 3-fold difference between those with the highest capacity versus those with the lowest.

Santella said these findings could have implications for breast cancer screening. "The ultimate goal is to understand an individual's risk for cancer development so that you can better target screening and prevention efforts."

She noted that the assay used in the present study looked at just one of many DNA repair mechanisms. "At this point, we're interested in conducting a study using an assay that measures a different DNA repair pathway. Looking at the status of several different pathways may give a better estimate of breast cancer risk."

In a related editorial, Dr. Marianne Berwick, from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, and Dr. Paolo Vineis, from Imperial College in London, point out that measuring DNA repair capacity is complicated at present. Once simple and rapid assays are available, it may be possible to develop "interventions to reduce cancer incidence and mortality."

SOURCE: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, January 19, 2005.

http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=AVIFIL2LUCW32CRBAEKSFFA?type=healthNews&storyID=7397025

Fri Jan 21, 2005 11:42 PM GMT

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The two popular painkillers Vioxx and Celebrex, heavily marketed as "super-aspirin," were prescribed for millions of patients who did not need them or should not have taken them, researchers said on Friday.

Merck & Co. Inc's Vioxx was recalled in September because a study linked the drug to increased risk of heart attacks and strokes, while Pfizer's Celebrex is under a cloud after data showing a similar heightened risk.

The study by doctors at Stanford University and the University of Chicago found the two COX-2 inhibitors were taken by millions of people who were not at risk of gastrointestinal bleeding, the main reason patients were told to switch from aspirin and other lower-cost painkillers.

COX-2 inhibitors cost 10 to 15 times as much as the drugs they replaced, the study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine said.

"We found a rapid, nationwide shift away from older, inexpensive drugs with better established safety and efficacy to newer, costly drugs with no real history," said study author G. Caleb Alexander, a medical ethicist at the University of Chicago.

Within a year of being introduced in 1999, Vioxx and Celebrex were being heavily promoted as "super-aspirin" and bringing in billions of dollars in revenue annually, the study said. Merck spent $161 million in 2000 on direct-to-consumer marketing of Vioxx, it said.

Using data from the National Center for Health Statistics, the study concluded that 73 percent of patients considered at low or very low risk of gastrointestinal problems should not have been considered for the newer drugs. Gastrointestinal bleeding usually affects only at-risk patients who must take aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, for long periods, it said.

By 2002, 17.6 million patients at low risk of gastrointestinal bleeding, or 66 percent of those patients, were taking one of the two COX-2 inhibitors, the study said.

The drugs were also taken by millions of people who should not have been, including 16 million people suffering from congestive heart failure, or liver or kidney dysfunction. These patients might also have been hurt by NSAIDs, it said.

"The findings demonstrate the challenge of limiting innovative therapies to the settings in which they are initially targeted and maximally cost-effective," Alexander wrote.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is convening a panel next month to examine the COX-2 inhibitors, including Pfizer's new entry Bextra, which has also been found to raise the risk of heart attack in people who have had heart bypass surgery.

Spokesmen for Pfizer and Merck could not immediately comment.

http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=NN4FZA0BM4P1CCRBAELCFFA?type=healthNews&storyID=7398548

Saturday, January 22, 2005

The Local Government Association says it is not surprised councils want no part in enforcing Queensland's new smoking laws.

Councils can volunteer to police the smoking bans on patrolled beaches, near children's playgrounds and outside buildings.

But a number of them have this week revealed they have refused.

The association's Tony Good says he expects most of Queensland's 125 councils will decline any enforcement role.

"The majority of the anecdotal feedback we're getting from members would suggest that the majority probably, at this stage, won't be opting in to the enforcement program," he said.

"It is understandable given the amount of resources that is required to administer any form of enforcement."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200501/s1286819.htm

By Peter Kaplan

WASHINGTON, Jan 19 (Reuters) - A tobacco company lawyer was forced on Wednesday to retract some earlier testimony in the government's $280 billion racketeering suit -- that Philip Morris had not debated the possible dangers of smoking before 1997.

Philip Morris USA General Counsel Denise Keane conceded it would be "preposterous" to say -- as she did in a 2002 interview in the case -- that until 1997 Philip Morris had been mute on whether smoking was a proven cause of disease.

"These statements do not convey what I intended to convey at that time," Keane told U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler.

The concession came after Justice Department lawyer Andrew Goldfarb pointed out that the Altria Group (MO.N: Quote, Profile, Research) unit had spent decades disputing any proven link between cigarettes and disease.

Philip Morris revised its stance in a 1997 statement to Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch that promised to refrain from debating the issue further and to defer to public health authorities, who had long concluded smoking caused lung cancer, heart disease and other maladies.

In October 2000, the company went further and agreed on its Web site that smoking causes lung cancer and other diseases.

In her 2002 testimony, Keane said the company had made a decision to break out of "isolation" with the Hatch statement.

Keane told the court on Wednesday that her statements in 2002 arose from a misunderstanding between her and Goldfarb during the deposition.

"I take responsibility for any miscommunication between you and I," Keane said, testifying in the fourth month of the tobacco trial.

Filed in 1999, the government suit targets Altria; Loews' Lorillard Tobacco unit, which has a tracking stock, Carolina Group (CG.N: Quote, Profile, Research) ; Vector Group Ltd.'s (VGR.N: Quote, Profile, Research) Liggett Group; Reynolds American Inc.'s (RAI.N: Quote, Profile, Research) R.J. Reynolds Tobacco unit and British American Tobacco Plc (BATS.L: Quote, Profile, Research) unit British American Tobacco Investments Ltd.

The Justice Department wants the industry to give up $280 billion in past profits and is seeking tougher rules on marketing, advertising and warnings on tobacco products.

Tobacco companies deny they conspired to promote smoking and say the government has no grounds to pursue them after they drastically changed marketing practices as part of the 1998 settlement with state attorneys general.

Goldfarb said that even though the company acknowledged the dangers of smoking in 2000, it still did not do enough to publicize its change of heart.

Keane disagreed and said Philip Morris had worked hard to draw consumers' attention to its new stance, directing them to the company's Web site through a variety of means, including retail brochures, notices on cigarette packs, television and newspaper ads.

http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=DZ4WOFP5V55X4CRBAEKSFEY?type=topNews&storyID=7373738

PIKEVILLE, Ky. The surgeon general's warning that smoking can be hazardous to your health takes on a whole new meaning inside a coal mine -- where the flick of a cigarette lighter could trigger a deadly methane gas explosion.

Despite the danger, coal companies have recently been finding miners smoking underground, which is illegal.

Most coal companies have taken a hard line against smoking _ frisking miners, even searching lunch boxes in government-ordered pat downs.

The U-S Mine Safety and Health Administration has found cigarette lighters or matches to be the cause of several deadly methane explosions in coal mines. One killed eight miners in Norton, Virginia in 1992.

Miners caught smoking face jail time and fines of up to 25-hundred dollars in Virginia, which strengthened its law after the Norton disaster. Coal miners convicted of smoking underground can get one-to-five years in prison.

Jeff Gillenwater with Richmond-based Massey Energy calls smoking underground "definitely a big no-no." Massey is the largest producer of central Appalachian coal.

He says smoking anywhere on Massey coal property results in immediate dismissal.

http://www.wavy.com/Global/story.asp?S=2843561

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - A bill to ban smoking in Utah bars survived its first committee hearing.

Touted as a workplace environment issue, the bill passed 4-1 Friday in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee after a lengthy debate on a proposed substitute bill to only make fine-dining clubs smoke-free. The substitute bill did not pass.

Still, supporters of the approved legislation said other hurdles lie ahead.

''This is not a slam dunk by any stretch,'' said lobbyist Dave Spatafore, who is pushing the ban, along with restaurant owner Tom Guinney. ''It's much easier to kill a bill than pass one.''

Utah law now allows bars to choose whether to ban smoking, and some clubs tout themselves as smoke-free. Most of the state's 245 private clubs, though, allow smoking.

The bill faces staunch opposition from the hospitality industry.

Bob Brown, owner of the downtown Salt Lake bar Cheers To You, said those entering bars know they're going somewhere people smoke. He added that almost all his bar employees smoke and didn't want a ban.

''It should be a matter of choice - period,'' Brown said. ''Twelve percent of Utahns smoke. They need a place to go.''

Sen. Greg Bell, R-Fruit Heights, was the lone dissenting vote. He said he worried that the bill was too broad.

''I do not feel, as a conservative, that government should reach into a private club where workers know full well what they're getting into,'' he said.

http://www.casperstartribune.net/apdata/wire_detail.php?wire_num=181832

Good site for sayings

http://www.ofspirit.com/quotations.htm

Minnesota asthma meeting.  They are getting funding from pharmacies,

http://www.mnasthma.org/mnasthma/wcrac/WCRACMinutes10022004.pdf

Guy Dresser, This is Money, 25 January 2005

PUBS operator JD Wetherspoon looks set to become the first chain to ban smoking completely in all its outlets at least two years ahead of a Government-imposed restriction.

The company said today that 60 of its pubs will be non-smoking by May this year, some 10% of the total. The remainder will be smoke free by May 2006, two years before the Government ban comes into effect.

Wetherspoon spokesman Eddie Gershon admitted that there was a risk customers could go elsewhere if they wanted to have a cigarette with their pint, but described it as a 'calculated risk'. Wetherspoon has had non-smoking areas in all its 650 pubs for the past 12 years.

'Will we lose business? We don't think so. I wouldn't say it's a major risk. Nowadays there are far more non-smokers than smokers and even occasional smokers tell us they'd prefer to be in a less smoky environment.

'The Government's own ban is chaotic and there are too many ways around it. They've said the smoking ban will apply but you can be exempted if you don't serve food. Now there's a debate about what type of food is or is not covered. We would rather be clear and upfront about it. We're telling our customers where we are with regards to smoking.' Shares in the company fell 9ľp - nearly 4% - to 250Ľp in early trading.

The Government has said that smoking will still be permitted in pubs that sell only packaged food such as nuts and crisps rather than freshly made items and prepared meals. The get-out clause for pub operators has been described as 'unworkable' by anti-smoking campaigners.

The British Medical Association last year expressed disappointment that the Government had not opted for a total ban on smoking in enclosed places.

Wetherspoon's announcement puts the group at the forefront of a major change in the licensed trade. The company has frequently set itself apart from its competition. Last week finance director Jim Clarke told This is Money that the company would not be joining any 24 hour opening bandwagon, describing all-day opening as something for which there was insufficient demand.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/business/articles/timid397375?source=

ALAN JONES AND JANE BRADLEY

PUB giant Wetherspoons announced today it was to make all its outlets across the UK smoke free.
The company, which owns 650 pubs, said that smoke bans would be in place in 60 establishments from May this year.
The move comes ahead of the Scottish Executive’s anti-smoking legislation which will make it an offence to light up in public areas including pubs, supermarkets, universities and private clubs from the spring of 2006. Similar legislation for the rest of the UK is expected a year later.
The move by Wetherspoons was welcomed today by unions and health campaigners who urged other pub chains to follow suit. But the announcement saw the company’s share price tumble by 3.9 per cent to 250 pence.
JD Wetherspoon has seven pubs in Edinburgh and the Lothians, including two in the city centre, one in Leith and another two at Edinburgh Airport.
And two of the pubs - Edinburgh’s The Playfair in the Omni Centre, and Wetherspoons on Almondvale Road, Livingston, are set to bring in the smoking ban in only a few weeks.
"Ten per cent of our pubs are bringing in the ban early and these two pubs in Edinburgh and the Lothians will be among them," said a spokesman for Wetherspoons.
Announcing the move, company chairman Tim Martin said: "An increasing percentage of the population are giving up smoking and a significant number of people are staying away from pubs and restaurants because they are too smoky.
"We have pioneered non-smoking areas but we now feel it is the right time to go one step further.
"We believe the Wetherspoon approach of a complete ban after a period of notice is the right one."
Dame Helena Shovelton, chief executive of the British Lung Foundation, said: "We welcome the announcement.
"There are eight million people in the UK living with a lung condition, and for many of them, going into a smoky pub environment runs a real risk of triggering a lung attack, which can result in hospitalisation."
And Campaign group Ash (Action on Smoking and Health) welcomed the announcement as a "significant development" and urged other pub chains and companies to follow suit.
Spokesman Ian Willmore said: "This is great news for Wetherspoons’ staff as well as the general public. Wetherspoons are acting in advance of the rest of the industry."
The Government is planning to bring forward legislation banning smoking in all workplaces and most pubs but those which do not sell prepared food will not be covered. The TUC also welcomed the announcement and called on other companies to follow suit.
General Secretary Brendan Barber said: "One of Britain’s biggest pub chains is acting to save its staff from the dangers of second-hand smoke. The bogus arguments that banning smoking is a threat to the pub, club and restaurant business must now fall flat on its face."

http://business.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=88832005

AP Monday, January 24, 2005 5:48 p.m. ET