McGuinty calls March 17 byelection

John Tory to seek seat once held by Eves

Keith Leslie Canadian Press Wednesday, February 16, 2005

TORONTO -- A provincial byelection on St. Patrick's Day in the Dufferin-Peel-Wellington-Grey riding northwest of Toronto is a chance for voters to show Premier Dalton McGuinty they're angry with his Liberal government, opposition parties said Wednesday.

''I think it's a chance to send the McGuinty government a message that people are tired of broken promises,'' said NDP Leader Howard Hampton.

''And it's an opportunity for people to elect somebody who's actually going to be from the riding who'll represent them.''

Hampton was taking a thinly veiled shot at Toronto-based Conservative leader John Tory, who has been waiting for this byelection so he can seek a seat in the legislature and stop watching the proceedings from the sidelines.

Tory said the byelection would be a chance for voters to send a message to the McGuinty Liberals, adding he was pleased the vote would give him a chance to honour his pledge to be in the legislature by the spring sitting.

''I appreciate the fact that Mr. McGuinty has called (the byelection) without any undue delay,'' said Tory.

''I'm sure he wasn't doing that to do me any favours, but I do appreciate the fact there hasn't been a long delay in calling the byelection.''

Tory said wasn't worried about being considered a parachute candidate in the riding, and said voters would respect his honesty for admitting he intends to seek a seat in a Toronto riding in the 2007 general election.

''I think they have good feelings about me, (and) I think they have good feelings, historically and today, about our party,'' said Tory.

''And I think they do have a lot of real big concerns about the Liberal government.''

Finance Minister Greg Sorbara was optimistic about the Liberals' chances in the byelection, even though they lost the previous one in Hamilton East to the NDP, and like Hampton, he couldn't resist taking a shot at Tory.

''We think that the people of Dufferin-Peel-Wellington-Grey are tired of being used as a launching pad for leaders who don't plan on staying very long,'' said Sorbara.

''We think we have a shot at it.''

McGuinty called the byelection Wednesday, three weeks after former premier Ernie Eves quit to clear the way for Tory, who won the Conservative leadership in September.

Eves was pressured to resign by Conservatives who noted another party member had resigned a seat in 2000 so he could run in a byelection after he returned to public life and won the party leadership, succeeding Mike Harris.

Tory was acclaimed as the Conservative candidate this month although he doesn't live in the riding. The long-time party strategist and former head of Rogers Communications has never been elected to public office.

The Liberals intend to nominate local environmentalist Bob Duncanson as their candidate for the byelection at a meeting Thursday at Orangeville District Secondary School.

The New Democrats plan to nominate local teacher Lynda McDougall on Saturday as their candidate for March 17.

The Green Party, which finished third in the riding, ahead of the NDP in the 2003 general election, plans to nominate Ontario leader Frank de Jong as its candidate on Saturday.

http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpost/news/toronto/story.html?id=9d9db317-a4f1-470b-9ad2-417641422f81

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Gene Linked to Heavy Metal Poisoning

February 16, 2005— 

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 16 (HealthDay News) — A gene responsible for spreading the toxic effects of cadmium, and perhaps other heavy metals, throughout the body has been identified by University of Cincinnati (UC) researchers.

The finding may help scientists develop a way to prevent cadmium toxicity in humans. Cadmium, which is present in cigarette smoke, soil and some plants, shellfish and seafood, is suspected of causing birth defects and lung and testicular cancer, as well as damage to the central nervous system, lungs and kidneys.

Studying low doses of cadmium in mice, the UC team found that a gene called Slc39a8 works to transport cadmium to the testes, resulting in tissue death.

"We suspect that cadmium at higher doses could be transported to other regions of the body via the Slc39a8 gene or another gene in this family. We know that humans carry the same gene and gene family. Thus, we have identified a target that could be used to prevent cadmium's toxic effects in human populations," study leader Dr. Daniel W. Nebert, a researcher at the Center for Environmental Genetics, said in a prepared statement.

The study will appear in the March 1 issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"We believe that the Slc39a8 gene could be responsible for the transportation not only of cadmium, but also of other nonessential heavy metals such as lead, nickel and mercury. Identification and characterization of this gene in mice is a significant breakthrough that will improve our understanding of how heavy metals actually cause toxicity and cancer in humans," Nebert said.

More information

The U.S. National Library of Medicine has more about toxic chemicals.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Healthology/story?id=505102

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Smoking Banned at City Parks in Logan, Hyde Park -UT

Feb 16, 2005 10:47 am US/Mountain
Lighting up at city parks in two Cache Valley communities will soon get you a ticket.
City councils in both Logan and Hyde Park approved smoking bans Tuesday.
Hyde Park Mayor David Kooyman said the new law was drafted to help the town secure a healthy community grant to fund park improvements and a trail system, and Logan Mayor Doug Thompson said the action was purely in response to citizen complaints about secondhand smoke and cigarette butts.
The Hyde Park ordinance bans smoking in all public parks, and the Logan Municipal Council decision makes tobacco illegal at the Logan Aquatic Center, Logan Skate Park and Fairview Park.
"Government certainly has a right to dictate their own facilities," said Kooyman, noting that the Clean Air Act already bans smoking inside public buildings. "This extends it from buildings to all facilities. I don't have a problem with it."

http://kutv.com/topstories/local_story_047124929.html

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Stateline Smokers React Proposed Cigarette Tax Increase -IL

by Jarrett Dunbar February 16, 2005 - 1:00 pm - Rockford

Rockford, Illinois- During the State of the Budget address Wednesday, Governor Rod Blagojevich announced plan to raise the tax on cigarettes didn't shock stateline smokers.

"It's been increasing since I've been smoking," says Robert Keeton. "When I started, it was 55 cents a pack, and I'm still smoking today. Regardless of what he does, if you smoke, your gonna smoke all the time anyway."
States all around the country have been increasing the taxes on their cigarettes. The last time the cigarette tax was increased in Illinois was back in 2002, when it went from 58 cents to 98 cents. If the governor gets his wish, the tax will jump to $1.73 a pack. Stateline smokers think it's unfair the government continues to tax them.
"They're always trying to increase the price of cigarettes and they're always coming after the smokers," says Joe Grodecki. "If that's the way they are going to increase revenue, then it's a way to make revenue. Personally, I'm not a big fan of it."
The higher tax will increase revenue to the state, but it may have another affect. It could force smokers to give up the habit altogether.
"In time, I think will, especially if the rates keep going up and up and up," says Grodecki. "Right now, they're at 3.50-4 bucks a pack. A 75-cent increase is going to be about $4.50 a pack. It'll effect me some, but not too much."

http://www.wtvo.com/Global/story.asp?S=2957103&nav=0RePWSGG

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Paris cigarette ban goes up in smoke  FRANCE
Jon Henley in Paris Wednesday February 16, 2005 The Guardian
They are a familiar sight in New York, Dublin and Rome. But it seems huddled groups of smokers puffing away outside bars and restaurants stand little chance of appearing on the streets of Paris.

The city council was yesterday forced to acknowledge that a voluntary scheme launched three months ago aimed at encouraging Paris's 12,452 cafes, bistros and brasseries to declare themselves smoke-free zones had been adopted by barely 30.

"It's early days yet," a spokeswoman said. "The idea is good and I'm sure it will catch on eventually. I think bars and restaurants just had other things to think about over Christmas and the new year."

But in a nation of unrepentant cigarette-lovers, others are less sure.

"It's a daft idea and it was doomed to failure from the start," Yves Bougeard of the catering industry union UMIH, told Le Parisien. "France's existing laws already force bars and restaurants to provide no-smoking areas. Surely that's enough? How can you ask customers to stop smoking when 43% of establishments in Paris also sell cigarettes?"

Under the scheme, devised by the city's deputy mayor in charge of public health, Alain Lhostis, cafes and restaurants can apply for a sticker issued by the Mairie de Paris bearing the words: Ici, c'est 100% sans tabac .

Last month Rome became the latest city to in effect ban smoking in public, outlawing tobacco in all indoor spaces unless they have separate smoking areas with continuous floor-to-ceiling walls and ventilation systems.

Offending smokers can be fined €275 (£190), and proprietors up to €2,000 if they fail to call the police when customers refuse to put out their cigarettes. The Irish Republic successfully introduced similar, though less stringent, legislation nearly a year ago, while smoking bans are common across the US.

The French remain a nation of dedicated smokers: according to the latest government figures, 32.2% of all 26- to 75-year-olds are regular consumers and the figure rises to 36.7% in the 12 to 25 age group. In the face of customer pressure, laws on smoking in public places are widely ignored in most cafes and restaurants.

Proprietors argue that banning smoking would amount to commercial suicide.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1415406,00.html

Different take in Africa's version of Guardian http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=197643&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__international_news/

 

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Peril of smoky pubs -UK

Rebecca Camber

SPENDING just 10 minutes in a smoky Manchester pub has the same effect on your lungs as smoking several cigarettes, according to health campaigners.
Pat Karney, head of the Greater Manchester Tobacco-Free Project, took to the pubs of Manchester to test how inhaling other people's cigarette smoke can affect you.
He was astonished after tests revealed that standing in a pub where five to 10 people were smoking for just 10 minutes had the same effect on your lungs as smoking several cigarettes.
When an expert carried out a carbon monoxide test in a smoky pub on Deansgate on Rachel Zammit - a stop-smoking adviser who has never smoked - he found her lungs had the same level of carbon monoxide as a heavy smoker.
Lungs

But in a pub that had banned smoking, the same test showed the level dropped to that of a non-smoker.
Coun Karney has now called for more pubs to ban smoking.
"We had very dramatic results between a Wetherspoons pub on Deansgate - a smoking pub - and Sinclair's Oyster Bar, which has banned smoking," he said. "It took just a few minutes for the lungs to feel the effects of second-hand smoke.
"Passive smoking can increase the risk of a heart attack or lung cancer by up to 25 per cent. What chance do bar staff in Manchester have of protecting themselves? As more pubs go smoke-free, ones that don't risk staff taking legal action for exposure to second-hand smoke."
Manchester University senior lecturer in public health, Dr Richard Edwards, who conducted the test, said: "Just 10 minutes in a bar, which wasn't even very smoky, made the lungs of a non-smoker the same as a smoker. It is very worrying, considering long-term exposure to such levels can cause serious damage."
The news comes after the Manchester Evening News launched a hotline to help smokers quit, in conjunction with Greater Manchester NHS services. If you want to quit, call 0800 328 8534 from 9am to 5pm.

http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/news/s/146/146237_peril_of_smoky_pubs.html

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ACCC finds 'mild' cigarette advertising misleading -AU

By Lynn Bell for The World Today

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has found that tobacco companies have been misleading people for years about the effects of smoking "mild" and "light" cigarettes.

Anti-smoking groups have welcomed the finding and are now urging the consumer watchdog to take the tobacco companies to court.

British American Tobacco Australia denies its packaging is misleading consumers, but says it is happy to work with the ACCC and the Federal Government to consider alternatives.

Todd Harper, from Quit Victoria, says he has long believed that the terms "mild" and "light" have given smokers the wrong idea.

"There's no doubt that the use of descriptors such as "light" and "mild" has been very misleading for many smokers who have, in an effort to reduce the harm of smoking, switched to these brands," Mr Harper said.

"If they hadn't in fact switched to these brands, we think that many of these smokers would otherwise have quit smoking already."

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), after seeking legal advice, now agrees - it has concluded that the practice is misleading.

Jonathan Liberman, from the Victorian Centre for Tobacco Control, says the finding is a significant development.

"It's the first time that the ACCC has said that they, having considered the evidence, do regard the conduct of the tobacco industry as misleading," Mr Liberman said.

Legal action

Mr Liberman is now asking for legal action.

"We'd be hoping to see the ACCC take the tobacco industry to court under the Trade Practices Act, and we'd be hoping to see the tobacco industry held accountable for the harm that it's caused through this misleading conduct," he said.

"We think that the harm should be paid for by the industry rather than by individuals and taxpayers."

But John Galligan, from British American Tobacco Australia, denies the company has done anything wrong.

"I suppose you have to ask the public what they mean, about what they understand about "light" and "mild"," Mr Galligan said.

"These terms have been around for 50 years on some products and it depends what consumers themselves believes about them.

"Now some people believe that they refer to a particular health related concern. We've never made those claims."

Class action?

Almost one in five Australians smoke.

The Victorian Cancer Council says 95 per cent of smokers choose "light" or "mild" cigarettes, which could result in a large class action.

Mr Galligan says British American Tobacco would welcome a chance to go to court to prove it has not deliberately mislead consumers.

"We don't want to leave anyone under the impression that we believe we've done anything wrong," he said.

"But you know, policy progress takes a long time when you involve the courts."

He says tobacco companies are happy to discuss possible changes to packaging with the ACCC and the Federal Government.

Mr Liberman would rather see wholesale change.

"Actually the product itself needs to be regulated," Mr Liberman said.

"That is, what is allowed to be put into the product, the way it's engineered and then the decisions about how consumer information is to be provided, have to be made by an independent regulatory agency not by the tobacco industry."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/indepth/featureitems/s1303341.htm

 

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Feds, states get tough on Internet smoke sales -PA

By Patrick Burns Intelligencer Journal

Published: Feb 16, 2005 9:33 AM EST

LANCASTER COUNTY, PA - Warning: Not paying taxes on Internet cigarette purchases greatly increases serious risk of a fine and imprisonment.

That is the message the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue will send to Internet cigarette customers in 23 counties, including three people in Lancaster.

The smokers will receive letters demanding tax payments of $1.35 for each pack of cigarettes purchased on the Net

Stephanie Weyant, Department of Revenue spokeswoman, said the letters are meant to inform, not necessarily penalize.

http://www.lancasteronline.com/pages/news/local/4/12062

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Liggett: Not guilty

9:20 AM EST Wednesday

After two weeks of trial and fewer than three hours of deliberations, a Miami jury returned a verdict in favor of cigarette manufacturer Liggett Group, ruling the company not responsible for the illnesses of a smoker.

The verdict, as described by Liggett counsel Clarke Silverglate & Campbell, rules the company not responsible for the throat cancer of a man who allegedly smoked the company's products for more than 40 years. The company was defending itself in the case of Martinez v. Liggett Group.

The trial was held in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court before Judge Gill Freeman, the Miami-based law firm added.

"The verdict confirms the strength of Liggett's defense in individual lawsuits," Clarke Silverglate partner Kelly Anne Luther said. "The jury evaluated all of the evidence in this case and concluded that the plaintiff's claims lacked merit."

In addition to Clarke Silverglate, attorneys Aaron Marks, Leonard Feiwus and Michael Rosenstein of Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman of New York City, also represented Liggett in the trial. That firm is national counsel for Liggett Group, which is owned by Miami-based Vector Group (NYSE: VGR).

http://southflorida.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2005/02/14/daily28.html

 

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Bowler Gary stubs out his career

By MALCOLM FLETCHER  

The fall-out from the new no-smoking rule in bowls has started with the first leading player quitting the sport.

Gary Neal, who plays for Ford in the Furrows Shropshire Premier League, has decided to jack in playing.

But the decision of the 1999 County Junior Merit champion is not due to the ban, but the way it was brought in.

The 22-year-old - who describes himself as a '10 a day man' - said he could easily go without a cigarette on the green, but that was not the issue.

"I feel very strongly about this because I don't agree with the way the rule has been brought in," said Neal.

"Shropshire had seven delegates at the BCGBA annual meeting when the new rule was passed and they all voted in favour of the ban off their own bat.

http://www.shropshirestar.com/show_article.php?aID=29641

 

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France's "right to die" law

Emphasis on changing behaviour makes question more acute

EDITOR—The question of "right" v "responsibility" to die raised by Maio is only enhanced by the current emphasis on reducing future healthcare costs for a group through societal pressures to alter behaviour.1

When people refuse to change their ways after being told of the individual risks incurred by their current status—being over-weight, smoking, etc—the next step is to create a public backlash against the behaviour, based on the presumed damage to the public good. "Fat people cost us [you] x dollars extra per year."

One wonders how long it will be before there will be a public backlash against keeping various groups of ill people alive, on the basis of how much it costs society.

Joan T McClusky, medical writer

New York, NY 10003, USA jmcclusky.icon@medimedia.com

1 Spurgeon B. France passes "right to die" law. BMJ 2004;329: 1307. (4 December.)[Free Full Text]

Competing interests: None declared.

http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/extract/330/7486/311-c

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Hawaii mulls smoking ban for beaches, parks -HI

Violators could be fined $250

Beachgoers are seen on the shores of Waikiki, in this 1998 photograph. Smoking could soon be banned at all of Hawaii's beaches and parks.

Ronen Zilberman / AP file Feb. 12, 2005

HONOLULU - Visitors flock to Hawaii’s shores to snorkel, surf and sink their feet into the unblemished white sands of the state’s beaches. But camouflaged among the coast’s glassy granules lies a hidden peril — seemingly indestructible cigarette butts cast away by smokers.

 In a state where every beach is public, it is possible to light up in the sand outside the toniest oceanfront homes.

State lawmakers want that to stop. Under a bill before the Legislature, smoking would be banned on public beaches and parks, and cigarette butts would have to be tossed only into designated trash bins. Violators could be fined $250.

Several municipalities, including San Francisco and Honolulu, already have some sort of ban.

But Hawaii would be the first state to have such a law on its books. Other states, including Delaware and California, recently failed to pass similar legislation.

Democratic Rep. Kirk Caldwell, author and co-sponsor of the bill, said smoking goes against his idea of basking in the great outdoors.

“When you go to the beach, don’t you think of being in the sun, feeling the wind, feeling the sun on your skin, being in the water? And then there’s someone sitting next to you smoking ... smoke’s drifting down into your face,” he said.

Lawmakers might expect an outcry from those who deal in tourism from countries where cigarette smoking is more socially acceptable than in the United States, he said.

However, he said that when Hawaii counties banned smoking in restaurants a few years ago, tourists didn’t flee as opponents had warned. Reports from the National Restaurant Association showed a 3 percent increase in restaurant revenues in 2003, after bans on Oahu, Maui and Kauai took effect.

And discovering a cigarette butt while digging through the sand could turn off tourists, many of whom come to Hawaii for its pristine, natural beauty, Caldwell said.

Yujiro Kuwabara of the Japan Travel Bureau said the bill is unlikely to be met with much opposition or even surprise from foreign tourists. Even in notoriously cigarette-friendly Japan, smoke-free pedestrian areas have been set up in the nation’s capital.

The only challenge would be to make sure tourists know that things have changed in Hawaii, Kuwabara said.

“As long as we explain the reason to the tourists, I think they will understand,” he said.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6958107/

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Smoking ordinance modified for live music venues -TX

By: News 8 Austin Staff 2/12/2005 12:07 PM

The Austin/Travis County Health Department is changing the way live music venues can host special non-smoking events.

The city streamlined the process of getting a permit and made it easier to open non-smoking venues.
Now venue owners just need to submit a request 10 days before the event instead of 20, and the health department will rule in five days instead of 10.
Also, the venue must be smoke-free from opening time until the all ages show is over.
Under the old rules they had to stay smoke-free all day.
The change comes in response to complaints from the Austin Music Commission.
The new policy only applies to businesses that already have a permit to allow smoking.

http://www.news8austin.com/content/your_news/default.asp?ArID=131183

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Smoking ban ends as profits fall  -UK

A pub in Kent which banned smoking last June has said smokers are welcome again after profits fell.

The landlord at the Junction Inn in Groombridge said sales of beer had gone down during the six months of the ban.   The Junction Inn had introduced the ban in June 2004

Chris Geer said customers who had stopped using the pub have returned since he allowed smoking again.

Later this week councillors in Canterbury will meet to discuss the next stage of a plan to ban smoking in public places run by the council.

'Alienated customers'

Mr Geer ended the ban in January after figures for the last three months of 2004 showed the pub had sold thousands of pints fewer than in the same period in 2003.

He said: "We felt as though we alienated our local customers - people who live in the village and people who like to come out and have a pint after work and like to have a cigarette at the bar.

"Reintroducing it, those people have started to come back now and the bar sales have gone back to something like they used to be."

Last month pub chain JD Wetherspoon announced it will ban smoking in all its pubs by May 2006.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/kent/4263263.stm

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Mother 'Amazed' by Police Letter on Son's Smoking -UK

By Brian Farmer, PA

A mother today criticised a police inspector who wrote to explain that a police community support officer had spotted her 15-year-old son smoking in the street.
Dawn Geer, 43, of Cottenham, near Cambridge, said she “couldn’t believe that police didn’t have better things to do“.
Police defended the letter saying the PCSO acted properly and the inspector was right to let the youngster’s mother know that he had been in contact with police.
The letter, sent by Inspector Paul Ormerod, said Mrs Geer’s son Karl – who will be 16 in May – had been seen smoking at cigarette at 16.45 on January 4.
“Karl was warned, asked to put the cigarette out but refused,” added the letter. “The police will be taking no further action over this particular incident.”
The letter explained that police were running an initiative to “lessen the likelihood of young people becoming vulnerable to the risk of involvement in crime, either as victims or offenders“.
It added: “The purpose of this letter is to make parents or guardians aware of young peoples’ (sic) actions so that they may take steps to decrease the possibility of young people becoming vulnerable in the future.“
Mrs Geer said: “I don’t like him smoking – I’d rather he didn’t. But I can’t believe that the police don’t have better things to do than to tell a 15-year-old to stop smoking then write to me about it.
“It just seems such a waste of time and money. Is it a crime? I was just amazed to be honest.
“I’ve tried to ring up the inspector a couple of times to talk to him about it but he’s never there and I don’t like talking to a machine.”
A police spokeswoman said there were underlying problems with anti-social behaviour in the area and the initiative was designed to combat the problem.
“It is illegal for youngsters under 16 to buy cigarettes and police officers have the power to ask children not to smoke in public and to confiscate cigarettes,” she said.
“The PCSO was acting within his powers. And we feel it is right and responsible to let parents know when their children have been in contact with police.
“There is no suggestion that the child is being prosecuted or that any further action will be taken.
“And the PCSO’s actions had no effect on any other work we do or any other investigations. Officers are obviously assigned to different roles.“

http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=4112214

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Bill introduced to ban smoking statewide

Associated Press

HELENA -- A bipartisan group of lawmakers and public health advocates unveiled legislation Thursday that would ban smoking statewide in bars, restaurants, casinos and all other public places.

Six-term Rep. Tim Dowell, D-Kalispell, proposed the measure with three other legislators as a way to save lives and improve the health of smokers and nonsmokers. Tobacco-related illnesses will kill an estimated 1,400 smokers in Montana this year, and a number of nonsmokers, health officials said.

"Eight hours of working in a bar is just like smoking a pack a day," said Richard Sargent, a Helena physician and leading anti-smoking advocate.

Tobacco, retail and restaurant groups declined to comment on the bill when contacted by The Associated Press. Several have opposed smoking bans in the past as an infringement on private property rights and something that should be decided by local businesses.

Dowell's measure would prohibit smoking inside and immediately around all public schools, as well as restaurants, casinos, bars, government buildings and all other workplaces. It cites secondhand smoke research, smoking death rates and "the need to breathe smoke-free air" as reasons behind the legislation.

Private homes, licensed day care centers, health care facilities, motor vehicles, long-term care facilities and hotel rooms would be excluded, as would rooms used for American Indian religious ceremonies.

Voters in Helena approved an ordinance three years ago banning smoking in all public buildings, but the law has been on hold because of court challenges.

Advocates said the law is needed to protect and improve public health, and that local governments should have the power to enact such bans. Critics countered it infringed on private property rights and cost bars big money in an industry where eight of 10 customers smoke.

In 2003, the Legislature tried to exclude casinos from local smoking bans, but the Supreme Court last year overturned the law, saying it failed to expressly prohibit such bans and had no effect on local ordinances.

"For me, being against smoking is a preservation of life issue," said Rep. John Ward, R-Helena, a local business owner who used to chew tobacco. "For those who smoke it's a pursuit of happiness issue and life comes before happiness."

Other supporters said research has shown smoking bans don't hurt casinos and other businesses as suggested by opponents and could keep more youths from picking up the habit.

"Smoke-free public places help prevent our kids from starting a lifetime of addiction, help adults who want to quit smoking and protect our kids, seniors and hospitality workers from deadly tobacco smoke," Sargent said.

In 2002, a statewide poll conducted by Harstad Strategic Research for anti-smoking groups found widespread support for smoking bans. Among 602 registered voters, 66 percent favored and 29 percent opposed such bans, according to the poll.

At least three states -- California, Delaware and New York -- already prohibit indoor smoking, and several others are considering similar bans.

http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?tl=1&display=rednews/2005/02/10/build/state/18-smokingban.inc

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Man Stabbed After Going Out For A Cigarette- OR

MOLALLA, Ore. -- Molalla police are investigating an overnight stabbing.

Investigators say a 38-year-old man was stabbed around 2:30 a.m. Monday when he went out on his front porch for a cigarette.

It happened in the 100 block of East Fifth Street.

The victim says he heard something making noise by one of his cars. When he went to check it out, the suspect appeared and stabbed him in the shoulder and in the stomach.

The victim was in stable condition Monday at Oregon Health and Science University. The suspect remains at large.

http://www.koin.com/news.asp?RECORD_KEY%5Bnews%5D=ID&ID%5Bnews%5D=1251

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Hospitals cite free care in arguing for Medicaid funding-IA

DES MOINES, Iowa A new report says Iowa's 116 hospitals were forced to write off 353 (m) million dollars last year in care to patients who couldn't pay and provided 64 (m) million dollars in community outreach services such as counseling, nutrition or health screenings.

In addition, the hospitals lost 70 (m) million dollars providing care to Medicare patients and 14 (m) million caring for Medicaid patients. The report says that's because the reimbursement hospitals get for those government programs is below the cost of providing care.

Kirk Norris, head of the Iowa Hospital Association, says hospitals are losing so much money to charity cases that any additional funding through Medicaid or Medicare would help.

The hospitals are using the study to support a proposed increase in cigarette taxes. Revenues from the proposed tax hike would be used to fill a budget shortfall in the Medicaid program, something Norris said is critical to the hospitals' survival.

http://www.kwqc.com/Global/story.asp?S=2946948

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House has decisions to make before passing budget

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- A couple of tantalizing tidbits were unresolved Monday as House lawmakers try to move toward passage of a budget and tax bills by the end of the week.

Appropriations and Revenue Committee Chairman Harry Moberly said Democratic and Republican leaders are looking at a cigarette tax different than the 31-cent-per-pack increase proposed by Gov. Ernie Fletcher. There is also sentiment, among Republicans especially, to do away with the mechanism that would automatically increase the state's cigarette tax if surrounding states raise their own levies.

Moberly also raised the possibility of other changes in Fletcher's tax plan, including the notion of making the tax increases in his package recurring from year to year. Fletcher's plan raises about $110 million in tax money in 2006, but largely because of overlapping tax rates, and the money is not projected to continue from year to year.

"If we do a tax plan, we want to do that much money," said Moberly, D-Richmond. "We would hope it would be recurring."

Democrats are trying a new tactic of working with Republicans in actually putting a budget and tax plan together, and the GOP members are wary of anything that might resemble a tax increase.

GOP leader Jeff Hoover of Jamestown said several of his colleagues have signed pledges that bind them to vote against any tax increase.

On another contentious topic, Moberly said time is running out on expanded gambling as a possible source of new money. Some lawmakers have pushed casino-style gambling, but there has never been a consensus, even among proponents.

"We don't have time to wait around for something to happen on that," Moberly said.

http://www.wkyt.com/Global/story.asp?S=2946750

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Heavy Metal Toxicity Gene Located

Provides a target for preventing toxic effects of cadmium and possibly other dangers

Betterhumans Staff 2/14/2005 4:15 PM

A gene has been identified as responsible for spreading the toxicity of cadmium and possibly other heavy metals, providing a target for preventing their toxic effects in humans.

Found in cigarette smoke, some shellfish and seafood, cadmium is suspected of causing human birth defects, lung cancer and testicular cancer, and is known to damage the central nervous system, kidneys, lungs and developing embryos. It is widely used in batteries, pigments and coatings.

Studying low doses of cadmium in mice, researchers from the University of Cincinnati in Ohio found that a gene called Slc39a8 is involved in transporting cadmium to the testes, causing the death of tissue.

"We suspect that cadmium at higher doses could be transported to other regions of the body via the Slc39a8 gene or another gene in this family," says Daniel Nebert, the study's lead author. "We know that humans carry the same gene and gene family. Thus, we have identified a target that could be used to prevent cadmium's toxic effects in human populations."

This could be particularly important in countries with nutritional deficiencies, as malnourishment can increase the damaging effects of cadmium. Additionally, the researchers think that the Slc39a8 gene may be responsible for transporting other nonessential heavy metals such as lead, nickel and mercury.

"Identification and characterization of this gene in mice is a significant breakthrough that will improve our understanding of how heavy metals actually cause toxicity and cancer in humans," says Nebert.

The research is reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (read abstract).

http://www.betterhumans.com/News/news.aspx?articleID=2005-02-14-2

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NHLBI Study Shows Smoking Cessation Programs Improve Survival

    WASHINGTON, DC, Feb. 14 /CNW/ - New findings from the Lung Health Study (LHS) show that intensive smoking cessation programs can significantly improve long-term survival among smokers. Supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), LHS is a landmark study that differs from many other studies of cigarette smoking in that it was a randomized, controlled clinical trial -- considered the gold standard in determining cause and effect; furthermore, the size and duration of LHS enabled it to more accurately measure the risks associated with smoking than other clinical trials. NHLBI is part of the National Institutes of Health.
    LHS followed nearly 5,900 middle-aged smokers who had mild to moderately abnormal lung function but were otherwise healthy when they enrolled in the study. Participants were assigned to either a 10-week intensive smoking cessation program or to usual care (no intervention). The intervention program included behavior modification and use of nicotine gum, with a continuing five-year maintenance program to minimize relapse. After five years, approximately 22 percent of the participants in the smoking cessation program were sustained quitters, with nearly 90 percent of them continuing their success after 11 years. About 5 percent of those who did not receive the intervention were sustained quitters after five years. After an average of 14.5 years, the death rate among those in the smoking cessation program was about 15 percent lower compared to those who received usual care. The results are published in the February 15, 2005, issue of the Annals of Internal
Medicine.
    "This study shows the substantial impact smoking cessation programs can have on public health, even if small numbers of participants successfully quit," said Gail Weinmann, MD, director of the NHLBI Airway Biology and Disease Program.
    Researchers also analyzed mortality data according to smoking habit regardless of whether participants were in the intervention or usual care groups. At the end of the study they found that sustained quitters had nearly half the overall death rate of those who continued to smoke. In particular, death rates of sustained quitters compared to smokers were nearly one-third lower for coronary heart disease and for cardiovascular disease, and less than half for lung cancer.
    In an accompanying editorial, Jonathan Samet, MD, MS, of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, notes that the LHS findings prove that "smoking is causally responsible for the increased risk for death in smokers." He asserts, "No one can make a serious claim to the contrary in light of this randomized trial evidence."
    Smoking is the single most avoidable cause of disease, disability, and death in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 22.5 percent of adults (46 million) and 26 percent of high school seniors smoke. Smoking contributes to more than 440,000 deaths per year.
    Dr. Weinmann is available to comment on the study. To interview Dr. Weinmann, please call the NHLBI Communications Office at (301) 496-4236.  To interview an expert about smoking and cancer, please contact the National Cancer Institute Press Office at (301) 496-6641.

    Clinical centers for the Lung Health Study were:

    -  Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
    -  Birmingham, Alabama: University of Alabama at Birmingham
    -  Cleveland, Ohio: Case Western Reserve University
    -  Detroit, Michigan: Henry Ford Hospital
    -  Los Angeles, California: University of California
    -  Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: University at Pittsburgh
    -  Portland, Oregon: Oregon Health Sciences University
    -  Rochester, Minnesota: Mayo Clinic
    -  Salt Lake City, Utah: University of Utah
    -  Winnipeg, Manitoba: University of Manitoba
    -  Minneapolis, Minnesota: University of Minnesota (Data Coordinating
       Center)

    For more information about the Lung Health Study, visit http://www.biostat.umn.edu/lhs/.
    Information about chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a condition in which the lung is damaged -- usually due to cigarette smoking -- is available at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/Copd/Copd_WhatIs.html.

 Resources to help smokers quit are available at www.smokefree.gov.

    NHLBI is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Federal Government's primary agency for biomedical and behavioral research. NIH is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Additional information about NHLBI-supported research and educational programs are available online at the NHLBI website, www.nhlbi.nih.gov.

For further information: CONTACT: NHLBI Communications Office,  (301) 496-4236, E-mail: nhlbi_news@nhlbi.nih.gov

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2005/14/c4088.html

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Crabgrass for the Bluegrass State  -KY

Gov. Fletcher’s flawed tax-reform plan.

By Paul J. Gessing February 14, 2005, 8:28 a.m.

Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher of Kentucky, having recently announced his tax-reform plan, has been looking for support from state legislators across the political spectrum. There is of course much for taxpayers to like in the governor’s package, including a reduction of the top corporate income-tax rate to 6 percent (from 8.25 percent) and a repeal of the corporate license tax. The impetus for the focus on income taxes is Kentucky’s notoriously unfriendly tax climate for business. In fact, the Tax Foundation recently found that Kentucky had a worse business-tax burden than all but six states, including slow-growth, anti-business Hawaii, New York, West Virginia, and Vermont.

Clearly, the tax-reduction portion of Fletcher’s proposal will be an economic boon for Kentucky. The state is in dire need of an economic “shot in the arm” that will allow it to more effectively compete with its neighbors, particularly Tennessee. As Ohio University economist Richard Vedder points out, in 1970 Kentucky was ahead of Tennessee in per capita income, but by 1990, the average Kentuckian had fallen $1,255 behind the average Tennessean. That gap has only worsened. By 2003 the average Kentuckian made $2,213 less than the average Tennessean. Vedder and others have attributed this yawning gap to two factors: Kentucky’s high income-tax rate and Tennessee’s lack of an income tax.

By taking a whack at his state’s income-tax policies, Fletcher has started a much-needed debate over the taxation of income in the commonwealth. Unfortunately, in order to interest tax-and-spend legislators, the governor has made his tax-reform plan “revenue neutral.” This means that instead of lessening the burden on all Kentuckians by cutting taxes outright, some taxpayers will win and others will lose.

The most prominent losers in Fletcher’s plan would be those who smoke, drink alcohol, or watch satellite television. Smokers would see cigarette taxes rise from 3 cents to 34 cents. This is bad enough, but most troubling is the fact that in the future the cigarette tax would be tied to the cigarette tax rates in surrounding states. Worse, even if nothing new happens, under the governor’s plan the cigarette tax rate would jump to 53 cents a pack by 2008. Alcohol consumers, meanwhile, would see the existing 6 percent sales tax that people pay in restaurants and bars added to package sales of liquor, beer, and wine. Lastly, users of satellite TV services would be subject to a 7.62 percent tax, while telephone and cable television subscribers would see their taxes rise from 6 percent to 7.62 percent. Together, these tax-hike proposals would raise an estimated $214 million in 2006.

In piecing together this complicated, convoluted plan, Fletcher has made both tactical and political errors. For one, the choice between economically vital income-tax reductions and significant tax hikes on smaller groups of people is a false dichotomy. Worse, by proposing a plan that directly harms some of the industries that are too often singled out as whipping boys for tax hikes, Fletcher has hurt his chances for real reform immeasurably.

Instead of gouging a few groups of consumers and industries — industries that have some political clout and are significant employers and taxpayers in Kentucky — Fletcher should act the part of a consistent, conservative governor. That means proposing a frugal budget and looking to cut spending, cut taxes, and reduce the overall size of government whenever possible.

By adhering to the conservative model outlined above, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford has achieved approval ratings of more than 60 percent. Fletcher, on the other hand, has upset several business and taxpayer constituencies on the right, while not winning any friends on the left. (Liberals see his plan as shifting taxes from corporations onto individuals.) Regardless of whether his plan is really revenue neutral — it is too complicated to really tell — Gov. Fletcher should have stuck to the basic conservative messages of frugal government and low taxes, not fancy tax-redistribution schemes where good intentions are trumped by economic reality.

— Paul J. Gessing is director of government affairs for the National Taxpayers Union

http://www.nationalreview.com/nrof_comment/gessing200502140828.asp

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Oklahoma prisons go tobacco free

Feb 14, 2005, 01:25 PM

TAFT, Okla. -- A new tobacco-free policy at Oklahoma prisions went into effect Monday for inmates, as well as staff and visitors.

The ban eliminates all smoking, smokeless tobacco and tobacco-like products, including lighters, matches and cigarette papers from prisons.

Cheryl Bryan, a warden's assistant at Jess Dunn Correctional Center in Taft, says if inmates are caught with tobacco products, they can lose credits they've earned or even their chance at parole.

Staff members who disobey the rules also are subject to disciplinary action. And anyone, including visitors, who violates the rules can be charged with a felony count of bringing contraband into a penal facility.

Prison officials say they expect to find hidden tobacco that inmates have tried to secret away for use after the ban goes into effect.

http://www.kfor.com/Global/story.asp?S=2944996

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Odds are smoking ban won't apply in parlors

By CHRIS BRENNANPosted on Thu, Feb. 10, 2005

HARRISBURG - If Philadelphia tries to snuff out smoking in the workplace, the rule in the city's two planned slot machine parlors may still be, "Smoke 'em if you got 'em."

The law that last year legalized 61,000 slot machines in 14 venues across the state gives the new Gaming Control Board total control over where slot parlors are located and how they are run. And Christopher Craig, an attorney for state Senate Democrats who was instrumental in writing the law, yesterday said Philadelphia would likely have trouble keeping gamblers from lighting up.

Mayor Street last week sent legislation to City Council, introduced by Councilman Michael Nutter, that would ban smoking in most public and private places where people work.

Street's spokesman, Dan Fee, yesterday said the mayor's staff is still trying to determine if the slots law would exempt gaming parlors from a local smoking ban.

"We hope that it does not pre-empt it," Fee said.

Nutter, who pushed a smoking ban in 2000 that stalled politically, yesterday said he thinks the effort should apply to slot parlors.

"This is not a zoning matter," Nutter said. "This is a public health matter."

Street and Nutter have focused on the impact of smoking on employees.

"If a gaming facility is a workplace, and I think it is, I would take the position that it is covered," Nutter said.

The question came up yesterday during a Harrisburg seminar on the slots industry, which is now being created.

Wayne Lemons, director of the Delaware Lottery, said gaming parlors in his state saw a temporary 12 percent decline in business when forced to go smoke-free three years ago.

Linda Kassekert, chairwoman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, said gaming in her state enjoyed a bump up in business at the same time. New Jersey's legislature is now considering a public smoking ban.

"Right now, casinos are exempt," Kassekert said of the proposed law. "That could change."

Pennsylvania's Gaming Control Board could not say yesterday if the slots law would preempt smoking in Philadelphia.

"That's a great question," said board member Chip Marshall. "I never thought, would we get involved in stuff like that?"

Chairman Tad Decker said he wants to know more about the slots law and its impact on a potential smoking ban.

Decker and Marshall emphasized that the law allows municipalities with gaming facilities a 60-day period to offer input before slots licenses are awarded.

Street is putting together a local gaming advisory board to gather the city's views about gaming into a report.

http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/news/local/10861630.htm?1c

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Delco opinions mixed on Phily smoking ban -PA

By SOLOMON D. LEACH, 02/09/2005

UPPER DARBY - Bar and restaurant owners in Eastern Delaware County could be seeing more ashes in their trays soon. What remains less clear is whether or not there would be a warm reception to them.

The discussion came about after Philadelphia City Councilman Michael Nutter introduced a bill last week - with Mayor John Street's backing - that would make it the first city in the state to ban smoking in almost all workplaces, including bars, pubs, taverns and restaurants.

Nutter's proposed bill would prohibit smoking in any enclosed space in which one or more employees work. The only exceptions in the city would be businesses whose on-site sale of tobacco or tobacco-related products make up 15 percent or more of gross sales.
If the bill is passed, there is a chance that places like Heidi's Tavern on Marshall Road or Cawley's Tavern on West Chester Pike could suddenly become safe havens for Philadelphia smokers seeking acceptance and a place away from the cold.
Would this mean an economic boom, or an intrusion on intimate neighborhood dining spots and watering holes just outside the city?
Five days after the bill's introduction, the reaction is still mixed.
"I think it would affect [business] in the beginning until people figure it out," said Bob Williams, manager of R.P. McMurphy's restaurant. "We might get more business, who knows?"
Last year, when similar legislation transformed bordering Delaware into a smoke-free state, a few taverns in Lower Chichester reported an increase in business and patronage. However, Williams is not optimistic that a ban in Philadelphia would have a sustained impact on the surrounding townships. In his words, the boom would only last for "a short period of time." "After everybody gets all the crinkles out of the system and figures it out, it will be business as usual. It's just a matter of people figuring out a new system," he claims.
Another restaurant owner, Jeff McKinney, was somewhat torn about how the possible changes might alter operations at his two Nick's Old Original Roast Beef eateries - one in Springfield and one in Philadelphia.
"Yes, I do believe Philly people would go to the suburbs and frequent places where you can smoke," he said. "Just by seeing what happened in Delaware you can tell. It will affect business and it will affect the entire tax base."
On the flip side, McKinney speculates that the gains he would experience at his Springfield location would not be enough to balance the losses he would suffer in the City of Brotherly Love.
"In the city, I'm going to lose tons of people," he said. "Out here, I'm not sure."
The pending ban could influence his decision on where to set up his third establishment, he added. Instead of Philadelphia, he might consider another site in the suburbs or begin to explore New Jersey.
Should the bill come to fruition, most workers recognize it would have a two-fold effect: It could serve as a stimulus for monetary gain, but it could also cause more domestic disruption.
"I would assume that it would be a good thing in a business sense, but it could be a bad thing in the type of crowd you get," remarked Heidi's employee, Garry Logan.
Councilman Nutter brought forth a similar bill in 2000 that was struck down, but this time he has eight co-sponsors, including seven council members and Council President Anna C. Verna. That, along with a verbal endorsement by Mayor Street, should make getting nine out of a possible 18 votes a strong possibility. According to Legislative Aide William Carter, the bill is currently being scrutinized by a committee, which could take up to three weeks, and will likely confront even more criticism from residents and club clientele.
While the outcome of the bill remains uncertain, Delaware County resident and bartender Gina Tanni has already contemplated the influence the ban would have on her social life.
"I'm a smoker myself, and I would probably be in the suburbs a lot more often," said Tanni. "When I get off work, I like to go to the city and go to some of the clubs, so I'd be hanging around the neighborhood a lot more often."

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1675&dept_id=18171&newsid=13919938&PAG=461&rfi=9

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Anti-tax group holding Fletcher's feet to the fire

By Ryan Alessi HERALD-LEADER FRANKFORT BUREAU Feb 14/05

FRANKFORT - By Ryan Alessi

Earlier this month, several lawmakers found themselves at odds with a Washington-based anti-tax group for trying to disavow "no-tax-increase" pledges they'd signed.

Now the heat's on Gov. Ernie Fletcher and he's still a believer.

Americans for Tax Reform, run by small-government advocate Grover Norquist, has unexpectedly questioned Fletcher's tax proposal, which had been carefully crafted to do just what Norquist says he wants. It wouldn't raise the overall tax burden on Kentuckians -- or at least that's the way Fletcher sees it.

But in a letter, ATR's chief of staff has warned the governor that the group isn't so sure. ATR thinks the plan may violate the no-tax-increase pledge that Fletcher signed in 2003 as he ran for governor.

So far, Fletcher downplays the letter, calling it "a request for clarification." Caught on a Capitol stairway last week, Fletcher dismissed the issue: "I'm not concerned. Everybody's entitled to their own opinion."

But ATR's Norquist isn't just an "everybody" when it comes to taxes, and Fletcher might not get off the hook so easily.

"The governor is in a real difficult spot," suggested Sen. Tom Buford, a fellow Republican from Nicholasville. Norquist isn't a guy Fletcher needs as an enemy if he dreams of a second term in 2007, Buford says.

"He's built himself a name," Buford said of Norquist. "He's made headway through all those different states. And when he gave the governor his support (for Fletcher's tax plan) last time, but doesn't this time, I think that hurts."

Indeed, Norquist has a record of biting those who stray. ATR is currently waging campaigns against Virginia lawmakers who voted for a tax increase advanced by Gov. Mark Warner last year.

The group's Web site prominently pictures "Virginia's Least Wanted" -- the 34 Republican lawmakers who backed their governor. Warner, a Democrat, is also shown.

More immediately, ATR's ire could hurt Fletcher's chances of getting his tax plan through the General Assembly, where 45 of the 138 members still consider themselves on Norquist's pledge list.

Some Fletcher aides are hopeful that they can avoid political damage by persuading Norquist's group that the governor's plan really does meet ATR's requirement of being "revenue neutral." That means revenue from tax increases is balanced out with cuts in other areas.

In general, the governor's proposal would raise levies on cigarettes, alcohol and satellite television, while cutting personal income taxes and restructuring business taxes.

Damon Ansell, ATR's chief of staff, warned in his letter to Fletcher's staff that the plan might not be "revenue neutral" as advertised, largely because in its current form the cigarette tax would rise automatically over time as surrounding states increase their cigarette taxes.

"This is a recipe for a large and continuing tax increase," Ansell wrote.

Ansell said Friday afternoon that he hasn't yet heard from Fletcher's office.

Daniel Groves, senior advisor to the governor, said he's still working on getting back to them. But he said he's not worried because he's been dealing with ATR about Fletcher's tax plan since last year.

Still, says Rep. Scott Brinkman, a Louisville Republican and one of Fletcher's key allies in the House, Fletcher must walk a fine line. As the state's leader, he's charged with doing what's best for its people. As a politician, he must be mindful of his promises.

"Ultimately it's his decision. He'll have to balance his pledge with the legitimate needs of the people of Kentucky," Brinkman said.

If diplomacy breaks down, administration officials are preparing Plan B.

Stealing a line from Norquist himself, Fletcher's budget director Brad Cowgill notes that the governor made his pledge to Kentuckians -- not to Americans for Tax Reform. So they should be the ones to determine who's right.

"They will have to decide whether the governor has fulfilled his promise or not," Cowgill said. "And I think ultimately they will come to the conclusion that he has."

http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/politics/10894661.htm

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Canadian life expectancy varies greatly depending on ethnic origin

Calgary Barbara Kermode-Scott

People living in northern and remote regions of Canada, many of whom are aboriginal (people who are First Nations, Métis, and Inuit), have life expectancies closer to people living in developing countries than with other Canadians, according to Statistics Canada and the Canadian Institute for Health Information.

Canada has one of the longest life expectancies in the world, but health status and life expectancy vary widely within the country. According to the World Health Organization, life expectancy in Canada in 2001 was 79.5 years (77.0 for men and 82.0 for women). Canada was only 2.1 years behind Japan, which has the longest life expectancy in the world at 81.4 years. Canada has the seventh longest life expectancy for men and the 11th highest life expectancy for women, similar to other wealthy industrialised countries.

The residents of the Richmond area, a relatively prosperous suburb in British Columbia, have the highest life expectancy in Canada at 83.4 years (two years longer than the average in Japan).

In contrast, residents of Nunavik, the Inuit region of Quebec have the lowest life expectancy in Canada, at 66.7 years (66.3 for men and 70.2 for women). Life expectancy in Nunavik falls between that of the Dominican Republic (67.0) and Egypt (66.5), ranked 111 and 112 out of 191 countries. In 2001, the population of Nunavik was 9632, including 8760 people of aboriginal origin.

Statistics Canada also reported low life expectancies in various other northern and isolated parts of Canada. Smoking, heavy drinking, and high mortality rates (partly due to suicides) are also prevalent in these communities. Canada’s National Aboriginal Health Organization has pointed out that, in 2002, the national suicide rate in Canada was 13 for every 100 000 people. In Nunavik, the rate was 82 for every 100 000.

On 27 January 2005, the Health Council of Canada recommended giving high priority to initiatives to reduce health disparities between aboriginal and other Canadians. The council noted that the health of aboriginal people is worse than that of the general Canadian population for virtually every measure of health and every health condition. For example, infant mortality for First Nations people is much higher than the Canadian average (8 v 5.5 per 1000 live births in 1999).

See www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/050201/d050201a.htm

http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/330/7487/326-d?ehom

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Affect Freedom of Choice

Feb. 12/05

IT'S RIDICULOUS to claim that a full smoking ban would affect smokers' freedom of choice. What about the non-smokers' right to not be bombarded by a cloud of toxic tobacco fumes? I want the right to go out and not be poisoned at a band show in a bar or while eating a meal in a lounge.

N. Boileau

(Boiling over.)

http://canoe.ca/NewsStand/EdmontonSun/Letters/

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Time for warning labels on booze

By MINDELLE JACOBS -- For the Edmonton Sun Sat, February 12, 2005

Liberal MP Paul Szabo has been fighting to get warning labels on alcohol beverages for 10 years. Perhaps this time he'll succeed.

In my mind, the Ontario MP's argument is unassailable. The social, health and criminal impact of alcohol abuse is staggering.

Yet, as Szabo points out, booze is the only potentially harmful consumer product that doesn't have a warning label.

 With people filing product liability lawsuits at the drop of a hat these days, you'd think alcohol manufacturers would jump at the chance to protect themselves.

Almost everything you buy has a warning on it, notes Bob Mann, a senior scientist with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.

"If you buy an electric drill, it comes with a warning," he notes. "Alcohol is responsible for more deaths and injuries than electric drills."

Canada should have mandated warning stickers on alcohol years ago, as the U.S. did in 1989, says Mann.

"Other manufacturers are sufficiently responsible to warn consumers about their products. Why can't these guys?" he wonders.

But Howard Collins, executive vice-president of the Brewers Association of Canada, says there's no evidence that labels change people's behaviour.

The association opposes Szabo's private member's bill, which passed second reading in a 225-27 vote in the House of Commons on Wednesday.

The bill proposes mandatory labels on alcoholic beverages about the effects of booze on consumer health and one's ability to operate vehicles and machinery. It would also require a warning to pregnant women of the link between alcohol and birth defects.

"I'm grateful to have that level of support," Szabo says of the endorsement of his bill by other MPs. "It's got a great chance."

When he was first elected in 1993, he had never heard of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). While on the Commons health committee, he read a report on the devastating effects of FAS and it stuck with him.

He says he was also particularly sensitive to the impact of alcohol abuse because his father was a severe alcoholic.

"It was a tragic situation," he says. "Those kind of things must make you stronger."

He faces formidable opposition, however. The alcoholic beverage industry is one of the most powerful lobby groups in the country, Szabo says.

"They have a lot of money behind them," he adds. He's tried repeatedly over the past decade to push the issue, to no avail.

This is the closest he's come to success since 1995 when a previous bill of his passed second reading. But the legislation died when an election was called.

Opponents of warning labels argue that such a move is a simplistic solution to a complex social problem.

There's a greater need for programs that target those at risk of alcohol-related harm, says Collins.

It's probably impossible to prove whether warning labels are effective or not. How could researchers possibly differentiate between the impact of labels and that of other interventions?

Nevertheless, I side with those who support labels. Such warnings may not be effective by themselves but they constitute additional implements in the toolbox of broader public policy measures.

Collins argues mandatory warning labels could prompt governments to make cuts to other substance-abuse programs. It sounds like he's clutching at straws.

In essence, there is simply no downside to Szabo's proposal. What societal harm is there in warning stickers? None. Szabo has the moral high ground on this issue.

http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/Columnists/Edmonton/Mindelle_Jacobs/2005/02/12/928567.html

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Fearing violence, VLT losses, hotel owner complies with smoking ban -SK
 Last Updated Feb 11 2005 08:30 AM CST
CBC News WEYBURN – A Weyburn bar owner who has been ignoring the province's smoking ban has changed his mind and will comply from now on.

 Rob Joyal, owner of the Royal Hotel, received thousands of dollars in fines last month after health inspectors and police raided his bar. Both the hotel and patrons were fined in what was the first major test of the province's Jan. 1 smoking ban.

 But Joyal said two incidents earlier this week caused him to change his mind.

 "I had a rather volatile situation in the bar," Joyal said. "It came very close to turning into a violent situation."

Police and inspectors entered the hotel and were confronted by a rowdy group of customers, he said.

 Joyal said rather than see "bloodshed" in his bar, he's going to comply with the smoking ban.

 The other incident was a letter from the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority threatening to cancel his VLT licence if he didn't comply with the ban, he said.

 "It would hurt me, obviously," he said. "I thought it was very underhanded. They would threaten to take away my livelihood."

 Joyal said he still plans to plead not guilty to his smoking fines when the case comes up in court on Feb. 21.

http://sask.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=weyburn-bar050211

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Smoky bars could lose VLTs, province says

Last Updated Feb 11 2005 04:13 PM CST CBC News

 REGINA – Bars that flout the smoking ban risk having their money-making video lottery terminal machines taken away, the government says.

 Earlier this week, a Weyburn hotel operator who has received thousands of dollars worth of tickets for smoking infractions received a letter from the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority saying his VLT licence might be cancelled.

 Rob Joyal, owner of the Royal Hotel, said he'd lose revenue if he lost the machines. He said he's going to comply with the law from now on, but he's not happy with the way the government put pressure on him.

 "I thought it was very underhanded," he said.

 Liquor and Gaming spokesperson Stephanie Choma said VLTs can be removed for a number of reasons, including activity that is deemed contrary to public interest.

 Choma said Liquor and Gaming was informed by the Health Department that the hotel in Weyburn was not following the rules about smoking, so it wrote the letter.

 "Prohibiting smoking in public places is a major policy initiative for the province," she said. "As operator of the VLT program, Liquor and Gaming decided that it's appropriate to require sites where VLTs are located to comply with this legislation."

 Though hotel owner Rob Joyal has now decided to observe the ban, he still plans to challenge the fines in court.

http://sask.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=bars-vlts050211

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Nova Scotia schools designate areas for smokers

CTV.ca News Staff

In a controversial move, several high schools in Nova Scotia's Annapolis valley have designated areas for students to smoke on school grounds -- despite a provincial law prohibiting minors from carrying tobacco.

The school board says its a matter of safety and that this allows students to get their nicotine fixes without having to leave school property.

One student told CTV News: "I think it's a lot better, we don't have to walk so far from school. No traffic or anything."

The school board insists its not a move to condone teen smoking.

"It's a dilemma. There's no good solution. As one board member put it, it's the lesser of two evils," Annapolis Valley school board superintendent Jim Gunn told CTV.

Every school banned smoking two years ago when the province made it illegal for anyone under 19 to carry cigarettes.

But students at Horton High School simply ended up smoking at the edge of school property near a busy road.

After several complaints, the school board decided to ensure the students would be able to smoke closer to the school.

But before students can light up, they must submit a letter from their parents saying that they are permitted to smoke.

Health Promotion Minister Rodney MacDonald said earlier this week that he'll work to compromise with the school board to find other options because the school board's decision is going against provincial regulations.

"We all regret this. We know it's sending a confusing message, but we're trying to deal with the risk to students and disruption to neighbours," board superintendent Jim Gunn told The Chronicle-Herald.

"These students are already smoking. We're just moving them."

The Chronicle-Herald reported that about 200 to 300 students are expected to have their parents' permission to smoke at five out of the eight high schools in the district.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1108237158210_10/?hub=Canada

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Smoking bylaw needs tuning -AB

By Laurel Nadon Editor Wednesday February 09, 2005

Nanton News — The Town’s new smoking bylaw was put in place to protect all people from the negative effects of smoking, but several businesses are getting around that intent.
Signs going up which say that smoking is allowed and minors aren’t is a clear sign that the bylaw needs some adjustments. The point of the bylaw is to ensure that all people can enter a business without breathing smoke. It’s in place to protect staff as well as customers, so the right to a safe work environment is protected.
The intent of the bylaw is to restrict smoking, not which businesses minors can enter. Businesses may think that their minor customers are few and far between, but these youth will become adults who will continue to take their business elsewhere. They have family and friends who will be sure to hear about it if they’re asked to leave a business because of their age.
Any business owners who were against this bylaw being passed had a chance to act. Consideration of this matter by council was written about in the pages of The Nanton News, and the town office also placed ads in the paper advising residents of this.
At the public hearing held Dec. 6, prior to second and third readings of the bylaw, only good things were said of the bylaw. A representative spoke from the High River/Nanton Community Health Council and letters were read from three residents all in favour of the bylaw.
This was the time to protest, not after the fact.
Businesses turning away minors are within their rights. These signs don’t break the smoking bylaw - they have the right to decide who can enter their business. There’s no law either that businesses can’t restrict women, seniors, non-Caucasians or handicapped people, but that would be wrong too.
The bylaw needs to be revamped to include the statement that minors may not be restricted from a public facility as a means to allow smoking.
Let’s get back to the original intent of the bylaw and provide safe work environments. The bylaw needs to protect people, not restrict youth.

http://www.nantonnews.com/story.php?id=142193

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Smoking rooms the big talk at council meeting - AB

by Kevin Gill
Wednesday February 09, 2005

Jasper Booster — Should Jasper’s smoking control bylaw allow for ventilated smoking rooms in bars? That’s one of the central issues council is focused on after deferring second reading of the proposed bylaw at its last regular meeting.
Council made the move so municipal officials could do additional research on designated smoking rooms and to consider input from members of the public who attended the Feb. 1 council meeting.
Only a handful of residents were at the meeting to put forth their points of view about the proposed bylaw, and among them were co-owners of a local business that has operated a designated smoking room since it opened several years ago. Archie Karas of the Downstream Bar told council that the designated smoking room in that establishment has worked extremely well.
“It provides an excellent place for people who do want to smoke to go and provides the rest of the bar with very clean air and a healthy environment,” he said. “Non-smokers seem to enjoy the place thoroughly and nobody has ever complained that they don’t like the presence of the smoking room.”
Karas said that eliminating the option for bars to build smoking rooms would create a series of other problems. Among the biggest would be groups of smokers gathering outside the doorways of bars, especially during the peak summer months.
“There would be a lot of people standing outside a lot of bars smoking a lot of cigarettes,” he said. “It’s going to be a bit of a nightmare to control.”
Mayor Richard Ireland called the work done by the Downstream “progressive,” but explained that designated smoking rooms had been left out of the bylaw in large part because of the direction council was given by residents during a public meeting back in November.
The residents who looked at the issue indicated that a level playing field for businesses was most important.
“In order to achieve a level playing field there had to be a move to an outright ban,” said Ireland.
He added that when you start looking at the requirements for ventilated smoking rooms, some businesses, because of the age of their buildings and their physical characteristics, etc., would just not be able to build such rooms.
Ireland also said that following Banff’s lead of phasing out smoking rooms over a period of several years also did not make sense to council.
“We didn’t want to look at the probability of encouraging people to put in very expensive smoking rooms only to have them remove them a few years down the road.”
Tony Mastrianni of the Downstream Bar also spoke before council, and responded to the concept of a “level playing field.” He said eliminating the option of having a smoking room sets the playing field at a low level. By giving everyone the option to have a smoking room, that sets the playing field higher for everyone, he said, by giving them an opportunity to maximize their customer base, which is what all businesses are after.
No other bar owners spoke before council but Jasper resident Art Jackson, who was involved with the original Smoke Free Jasper petition, did make some comments.
He reminded council why the whole smoking control bylaw process was started in the first place.
“Health to me is the issue,” he said. “It’s not a matter of money, it’s not a matter of inconvenience, it’s not a matter of what it looks like outside on the street - it’s health.”
Second reading of the proposed bylaw is scheduled for the next regular council meeting on Feb. 15 at the Emergency Services Building.

http://www.jasperbooster.com/story.php?id=141913

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It's time to quit the tobacco habit

David Berman Financial Post Saturday, February 12, 2005

Shares at a peak: Litigation risk has subsided - temporarily

Sale of alcohol to minors a concern

Complaints from Chateauguay residents concerning the sale of alcohol to minors in Kahnawake cigarette kiosks have not fallen on deaf ears.
"I spoke to (Kahnawake) Grand Chief Mike Delisle about it and he is preoccupied with the problem," noted Chateauguay Mayor Sergio Pavone. "He showed himself to be very open to discuss it and certain measures have already been taken."
Authorities from the reserve, Pavone says, have asked establishments situated near the Chateauguay border to remove their posters announcing the sale of liquor. "They are putting pressure on the vendors," Pavone said. "I am happy that they are taking the situation in hand. I told them the pressure was starting to mount in Chateauguay."
Kahnawake is also forbidding the sale of alcohol to minors on its territory. But this is not the only place where the law is being stretched, the Mayor noted. "There are underage kids who are frequenting bars and dépanneurs in Chateauguay and elsewhere in Quebec," he acknowledged.
Alcohol in Kahnawake tobacco shops started to spring up in droves following the SAQ strike in Quebec.
This business is legal and is controlled by the Kahnawake Alcohol and Gaming Commission through a series of agreements drawn up with the provincial government a few years ago.
In one boutique advertising red and white wine, Le Soleil noted that the shop was not offering any famous-name brands. The choice was limited to a few products that are available in convenience stores, such as L'Entre-Côte. A few bottles of hard liquor were also available.

http://www.hebdos.net/lsc/edition72005/articles.asp?article_id=79729

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Light, mild and misleading

By GLORIA GALLOWAY Monday, February 14, 2005 - Page A8

Cigarette labelling fools one in four smokers, studies say

OTTAWA -- Studies commissioned by Health Canada show that many smokers remain "confused or misled" by the labels "light" and "mild" and one prominent anti-smoking activist says the fact that cigarette packs still bear these labels is a testament to the strength of tobacco companies.

After a major advertising campaign informed Canadians three years ago that light and mild cigarettes are just as harmful as regular ones, the federal government commissioned two studies -- one in 2002 and one in 2003 -- to monitor how smokers responded to the labels.

Although a majority of the smokers surveyed perceived that all cigarettes are equally damaging to their health, the studies, which have never been publicized, found that one in four still believed the light and mild brands were safer.

"They really established the case that the labels were misleading and that the labels were making [smokers] feel that the cigarettes were safer," said Cynthia Callard, executive director of Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada.

"The fact that we have this expertise and action isn't happening isn't so much a signal about government incompetence, it's more about the power of the industry."

Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh said this year that he wants to ban the "light" and "mild" labels, which the tobacco companies say refer only to taste. But Mr. Dosanjh also said he would have to consult with the justice minister regarding potential backlash from the tobacco companies. His office was unable to provide information late last week to indicate what steps, if any, he was taking on the matter.

Former Liberal health minister Alan Rock threatened to institute such a ban in 2001 but he was shuffled from the portfolio before he could act. His successors, Anne McLellan and Pierre Pettigrew, did not move on the file.

Because the federal government pushed the tobacco companies in the 1970s to introduce and promote light and mild cigarettes, the government found itself in the uncomfortable position late last year of joining Imperial Tobacco in fighting a class-action suit that charged the packages labelled light and mild constitute consumer fraud. Last week, the B.C. Supreme Court certified that suit, launched by Kenneth Knight of Robert's Creek, B.C.

The decision came a day before Ms. Callard obtained copies of the studies, conducted by a Montreal research firm, that had been shelved in the National Library. The first study targeted 609 smokers in six shopping malls in different areas of Canada. The second was based on phone interviews with 1,198 people, about half of whom were smokers.

Ms. Callard said the studies contain "very important findings" because they show that cigarette package labels do not do what the tobacco companies say they do and just give smokers a cue to flavour.

Smokers surveyed in 2002 said the light and mild labels related to certain cigarette characteristics, including addictiveness, nicotine level and throat irritation -- but not taste. That study found that cigarettes that are labelled light or mild present a more desirable image -- two-thirds of smokers regularly purchase a light or mild brand.

The 2003 survey found significant confusion among smokers regarding the meaning of the words light and mild. While 45 per cent of smokers said they opposed removing the words from package labels, compared to the 37 per cent that approved of removing them, six in 10 said they would not be annoyed if they were taken off the packages.

That second survey also found that the level of resistance would be likely to grow should the removal decision not be properly communicated or explained.

By not releasing the studies the government is "hiding their light under a bushel -- and it's quite a light." Ms. Callard said.

"This is very, very, very good research, and they're not providing people with the information that they need to know."

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20050214/TOBACCO14/TPHealth/

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Common foods laced with chemical

By ANDRÉ PICARD AND AVIS FAVARO Monday, February 14, 2005 - Page A1

Levels of PBDEs rise, new research shows

Everyday foods consumed by Canadians -- such as salmon, ground beef, cheese and butter -- are laced with chemical flame retardants, according to research commissioned by The Globe and Mail and CTV News.

In fact, the research found that Canadian foods are among the most contaminated with polybrominated diphenyl ethers in the world, with levels up to 1,000 times higher than those found in tests in European countries.

PBDEs are a class of about 25 chemicals that are used as flame retardants in foams, textiles and plastics. They are ubiquitous in modern homes, with the chemicals leeching out of furniture, rugs and electronic products, such as televisions and computers. It is not known exactly how PBDEs migrate from such products into human tissue, but they have been found in industrial sewage sludge, in wildlife and in fatty foods such as meat and fish.

It is unclear what impact the regular absorption of PBDEs has on human health. Nor have scientists established safe levels for the chemicals in humans.

But scientists do say that research conducted on animals -- which suggests these chemicals can impair memory, cause learning disabilities and alter thyroid hormone levels -- is disquieting and should raise red flags.

"These are persistent toxic chemicals . . . and certainly it is undesirable to have these toxic chemicals in our food supply," said Arnold Schecter, a professor of environmental sciences and public health at the University of Texas, who has done pioneering work on PBDEs.

Research done last year on a group of B.C. women found high levels of PBDEs in their breast milk, but the source was unclear.

"All of a sudden you find out you have something awful in your body and you wonder: 'Where is it coming from?' " said Erin McAllister, a Vancouver mother who took part in the study. "We all suspected it was coming from the food."

To find out, The Globe and Mail and CTV News commissioned an independent laboratory, Axys Analytical Services Ltd. of Sidney, B.C., to test 13 foods commonly consumed by Canadians.

Flame retardants were found in virtually all the foods, sometimes at relatively high levels. Farmed rainbow trout had levels of PBDEs of 3,638 parts per trillion and farmed Atlantic salmon 1,942 ppt. Sausage had 242 ppt and butter 384 ppt, while cheese had PBDEs levels of 23 ppt and milk 10 ppt. Only chicken had virtually undetectable levels. Environmental chemicals tend to accumulate in fat, so not surprisingly fattier foods had higher levels.

"Even though we don't know exactly the meaning of these levels for the health of children or adults . . . we think the smaller the amount, the safer it would be for people eating the food," Dr. Schecter said.

But Samuel Ben Rejeb, associate director of the bureau of chemical safety in the health products and food branch of Health Canada, said the level of PBDEs in the country's food supply has been closely monitored for years and there is no cause for alarm.

"The levels found in food are very low. They vary in parts per trillion and very low parts per billion -- levels that in general were found to not pose a health risk for Canadians."

Dr. Ben Rejeb noted that while food is one of the ways people are exposed to PBDEs, it is not the only one and likely not the biggest source of exposure.

Dr. Schecter said that while it is easy to dismiss levels in food as insignificant, the chemicals do accumulate in the body. He said it's also likely PBDEs pose similar risks to human health as their chemical cousins, polychlorinated biphenyls. The use of PCBs was curtailed in the 1970s after they were found to cause birth defects, impair brain and memory functions, and increase the risk of some forms of cancers.

Many European countries have clamped down on the use of PBDEs in the past decade on the assumption that the chemicals are not good for humans.

Peter O'Toole, program director for the Bromine Science and Environmental Forum, the group that represents manufacturers of flame retardants, said PBDEs "have never been demonstrated to have any human or environmental effects. We're far below any level of potential risk to humans."

The benefits of adding these chemicals to household products and mitigating the impact of fires is well established, Mr. O'Toole said. (Fires claim about 400 lives a year in Canada; these rates have fallen since fire retardants became widespread, especially in furniture, although many officials attribute the change to falling smoking rates.)

Beverly Thorpe of Clean Production Action, a Montreal-based consumer group, said the new data on levels of PBDEs in common foods reaffirm her belief that these chemicals should be banned.

"I think it's scandalous that we are still allowing chemical producers to manufacture these chemicals . . . It's scandalous that we are allowing industry to use them as flame retardants."

Ms. Thorpe said her biggest concern is the impact on children who are exposed to these chemicals over a long period of time, and could develop physical and developmental problems. (One popular but unproved assumption is that the rise in rate of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder is due to PBDEs.)

"Any synthetic chemical we are finding in breast milk and food has got to be a major alarm signal that we have to stop production of these chemicals," she argued.

Ms. McAllister shares those concerns and is worried about her daughter Jessica, now 18 months old. "Children are inhaling these poisons every day . . . breathing it and eating it every day."

André Picard is the public health reporter at The Globe and Mail.

Avis Favaro is the medical reporter at CTV News.

Next week: Other sources of PBDEs

Chemicals we eat

The following foods were tested for the presence of polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs, chemicals widely used as flame retardants. Animal experiments suggest PBDEs may be linked to learning difficulties and thyroid problems.

	Parts per trillion
Farmed rainbow trout	3,638
Farmed Atlantic salmon	1,942
Extra-lean ground turkey	450
Butter	384
Sausages	242
Pork chops	56
Medium ground beef	32
Pacific wild salmon	30
Ice cream	27
Cheese	23
Whole milk	10
Chicken	0

SOURCE: AXYS ANALYTICAL SERVICES LTD.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20050214/CHEMIC14/TPHealth/

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Extent of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and its dose-response relation to respiratory health among adults

Wasim Maziak , Kenneth D Ward , Samer Rastam , Fawaz Mzayek  and Thomas Eissenberg Respiratory Research 2005, 6:13     doi:10.1186/1465-9921-6-13

Published 8 February 2005

Abstract (provisional)

Background

There is a dearth of standardized studies examining exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and its relationship to respiratory health among adults in developing countries. Methods- In 2004, the Syrian Center for Tobacco Studies (SCTS) conducted a population-based survey using stratified cluster sampling to look at issues related to environmental health of adults aged 18-65 years in Aleppo (2,500,000 inhabitants). Exposure to ETS was assessed from multiple self-reported indices combined into a composite score (maximum 22), while outcomes included both self-report (symptoms/diagnosis of asthma, bronchitis, and hay fever), and objective indices (spirometric assessment of FEV1 and FVC). Logistic and linear regression analyses were conducted to study the relation between ETS score and studied outcomes, whereby categorical (tertiles) and continuous scores were used respectively, to evaluate the association between ETS exposure and respiratory health, and explore the dose-response relationship of the association. Results- Of 2038 participants, 1118 were current non-smokers with breath CO levels < 10 ppm (27.1% men, mean age 34.7 years) and were included in the current analysis. The vast majority of study participants were exposed to ETS, whereby only 3.6% had ETS score levels < 2. In general, there was a significant dose-response pattern in the relationship of ETS score with symptoms of asthma, hay fever, and bronchitis, but not with diagnoses of these outcomes. The magnitude of the effect was in the range of twofold increases in the frequency of symptoms reported in the high exposure group compared to the low exposure group. Severity of specific respiratory problems, as indicated by frequency of symptoms and health care utilization for respiratory problems, was not associated with ETS exposure. Exposure to ETS was associated with impaired lung function, indicative of airflow limitation, among women only. Conclusions- This study provides evidence for the alarming extent of exposure to ETS among adult non-smokers in Syria, and its dose-response relationship with respiratory symptoms of infectious and non-infectious nature. It calls for concerted efforts to increase awareness of this public health problem and to enforce regulations aimed at protecting non-smokers.

http://respiratory-research.com/content/6/1/13

More Evidence that Passive Smoking Causes Lung Cancer

Two studies recently published in the British Medical Journal confirmed that there is a significant association between passive smoking and lung cancer.

In the first study, researchers affiliated with the International Agency for Research on Cancer found that “environmental tobacco smoke is a risk factor for lung cancer and other respiratory diseases, particularly in ex-smokers.”[1] Researchers from Hong Kong also “found significant dose-dependent associations between passive smoking and mortality from lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, stroke, ischaemic heart disease, and from all cancers, all respiratory and circulatory diseases, and all causes.”[2]

Lung cancer is the most common cancer in the world and is the leading cause of cancer death, with 160,000 deaths in the U.S. annually. The highest incidence of lung cancer is among smokers of tobacco products. However, nonsmokers who live with smokers absorb and metabolize carcinogens that have been linked to an increased incidence of lung cancer. Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), or secondhand smoke, is often referred to as involuntary or passive smoking. Researchers have estimated that ETS is responsible for approximately 3,000 lung cancer deaths per year among nonsmokers in the U.S.

The European prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition (EPIC) study looked at 500,000 healthy volunteers from 10 European countries recruited between 1993 and 1998. They also identified a subgroup of 123,479 never smokers or smokers that had stopped smoking for at least 10 years. The average follow-up of this group was 7 years. Using direct comparisons between those expose and not exposed, these authors reported a 30% increase in all respiratory diseases and a 34% increase in the incidence in lung cancer in people exposed to ETS. The risk of all respiratory diseases was increased by 50% exposure to ETS in previous smokers. When the investigators used more sophisticated statistical techniques that take into account other risk factors, the increase in all respiratory diseases caused by ETS was 70%, with a 76% increase in lung cancer. They also reported that “frequent exposure to environmental tobacco smoke during childhood was associated with lung cancer in adulthood.”

The Hong Kong study looked at ETS at home and death from any cause. They found a “34% increase in all cause mortality” from ETS. They also reported significant correlations between dose of exposure and mortality rates from all causes. The validity of these observations was strengthened by lack of correlation with ETS exposure and accidental deaths.

Individuals who smoke and live with non-smokers can reduce the risk of lung diseases and cancer to their co-inhabitants by refraining from smoking indoors. Individuals can also avoid frequenting places where smoking is still allowed.

References:

[1] Vineis P, Airoldi L, Veglia P, et al. Environmental tobacco smoke and risk of respiratory cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in former smokers and never smokers in the EPIC prospective study. British Medical Journal. 2005;330:277-287.

[2] McGhee SM, Ho SY, Schooling M, et al. Mortality associated with passive smoking in Hong Kong. British Medical Journal . 2005;330:287-288.

http://patient.cancerconsultants.com/news.aspx?id=33263

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Tobacco lobby threatens to derail global antismoking treaty

Fiona Fleck Geneva

World Health Organization officials say that a global anti-tobacco pact that becomes law on 27 February still has a long way to go before its tough antismoking measures are adopted in many countries.

WHO's 192 member states adopted the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2003. Since then, 168 countries have signed it; 55 of these have ratified it, but only a few have passed its terms into law.

The convention includes a comprehensive ban on tobacco advertising, marketing, and sponsorship; tough standards for health warnings on cigarette packets; and a ban on descriptions such as "lights" and "low tar."

At a meeting at WHO's headquarters in Geneva earlier, member states proposed creating an independent body to help them implement the treaty without becoming vulnerable to pressure from the tobacco industry.

Spokeswoman Marta Seoane said that governments had proposed that the treaty secretariat should be accountable to countries that ratify it and that it should be based at WHO. Japan, whose government partly owns and controls the world's third largest tobacco company, Japan Tobacco, had opposed the plan.

Ms Seoane said that WHO member states also agreed to invite non-governmental organisations—who had lobbied hard to fend off industry pressure and push for a tough antismoking treaty—to meetings of the future secretariat.

They agreed that a screening mechanism was needed to keep out pseudoactivists in the pay of the tobacco industry. These proposals will be decided at a meeting in coming months.

"There's still a lot to do; the real work will start now at country level with the implementation of the treaty," Ms Seoane said, adding, "So far the response has been good."

The treaty was adopted despite a sustained campaign by the tobacco lobby via certain governments to dilute it—particularly the United States, Germany, and Japan.

Signs indicate, however, that pressure from the industry has not let up. At the Geneva meeting, the United States proposed a clear reference to global trade rules in the future secretariat's rules of procedure, even though the legally binding treaty gives governments the right to prioritise health over trade issues.

"If this is adopted, advertising, labelling, all of these things could still be attacked under trade law," said Kathryn Mulvey of US non-governmental organisation, Corporate Accountability.

Tobacco companies have shifted their marketing focus away from the rich industrialised West to developing countries. Poor countries are now more vulnerable to the powerful tobacco industry and need support in implementing tough anti-tobacco measures.

Ms Mulvey said that recently a group of Kenyan parliamentarians was invited on a beach holiday by a tobacco company ahead of a debate in the Kenyan parliament on tobacco control.

http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/330/7487/325?ehom

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Smoke-free workplaces would hit tobacco profits

Lynn Eaton London

Tobacco multinationals would lose an estimated £310m ($575m; euros in sales every year if UK workplaces were smoke free, claims the BMA's chairman, James Johnson.

His comments come in the foreword to a report, Smoke-free World, from the BMA's Tobacco Control Resource Centre, in which doctors' leaders from eight countries describe the success of antismoking legislation.

"Powerful vested interests peddle myths that smoke-free legislation is unnecessary," wrote Mr Johnson. "They say it is unworkable, unpopular, and will lead to economic ruin. Such predictions are little more than scaremongering. The evidence shows that smoke-free laws save lives."

In the report a statement from the Californian Medical Association seems to confirm this. Smoke-free laws were introduced in California in July 1998, and since then, says its president, Dr Robert Hertza, "California's lung cancer rates have fallen six times faster than in US States without smoke-free laws."

Dr James Reilly, president of the Irish Medical Organisation, said that more than 7000 somkers quit in the six months before the ban on smoking in public places became law in March 2004.

In the recent white paper on public health for England, Choosing Health—Making Healthy Choices Easier, the health secretary, John Reid, announced plans that will partially ban smoking in enclosed public places ( BMJ 2004;329: 1201, 20 Nov [Free Full Text]).

Vivienne Nathanson, BMA's head of science and ethics, said: "These doctors are telling us that partial measures don't work. If you work in a government building you'll be lucky, but if you work in a pub that does not serve food, you'll have a greater chance of developing lung cancer or heart disease.

"It's time for the UK government to play fair and protect everyone from exposure to secondhand smoke at work."

Meanwhile in Cuba, a country renowned for its high quality tobacco used in cigars, a ban has been announced on smoking in public places, including hospitals and workplaces. According to official statistics, 32% of Cubans smoke.

Smoke-free World is available at www.bma.org.uk/ap.nsf/content/smokefreeworld

http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/330/7487/325-a?ehom

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Asbestos related cancer deaths set to rise -UK

Abergavenny Roger Dobson

Deaths from exposure to asbestos are increasing and will peak in the next decade, according to new research. Annual deaths from mesothelioma among men in Britain will rise to between 1950 and 2450 a year between 2011 and 2015, compared with 153 deaths in 1968, say researchers writing in the British Journal of Cancer (published online ahead of print publication) on 25 January (www.nature.com/bjc, doi:10.1038/sj.bjc.6602307).

They predict that the total number of deaths since 1968 will rise to 90 000 by 2050, with 65 000 of those deaths after 2002.

In the study, researchers from the Health and Safety Executive, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and the Institute of Cancer Research, used Poisson regression analysis to model male mesothelioma deaths from 1968 to 2001 and to predict numbers of male deaths in 2002-50.

The British mesothelioma register contains all deaths 1968-2001 for which mesothelioma was mentioned on the death certificate, and these data were used to predict the future burden of mesothelioma mortality.

The report says that mesothelioma is a formerly rare cancer that is almost always caused by asbestos exposure, with 85% of cases in men. The risk is highest in occupations with substantial exposure to asbestos. The disease is rapidly fatal; most affected people die within a year of diagnosis. It has a long latent period between first exposure and diagnosis, which is seldom less than 15 years and often exceeds 60.

The annual number of mesothelioma deaths in Britain has risen increasingly rapidly, with deaths in 2001 12 times higher than in 1968, says the report. It says that men born in about 1940 have higher death rates than any previous or subsequent birth cohort.

"Using a statistical modelling approach, mesothelioma mortality in Great Britain is predicted to peak at around 1950-2450 deaths per year some time between 2011 and 2015. Around 90 000 deaths are predicted to occur by 2050, with 65 000 of these occurring from 2002 onwards," say the authors.

The report says that after this peak, the number of deaths is expected to decline rapidly. The eventual death rate will depend on the background level and any residual asbestos exposure.

The report cites other studies which have made similar mortality projections for other countries. In the United States, a peak at about 2000-4 of about 2000 cases has been estimated. In Australia, the incidence of mesothelioma is expected to peak at about 700 cases a year in 2010, and in the Netherlands it has been predicted that pleural mesothelioma will peak at about 2028, with up to 900 cases a year. In France, the number of deaths is predicted to reach a peak at 2200 cases a year some time after 2020.

http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/330/7487/327-a?ehom

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Dealing with editorial misconduct

What about spin?

EDITOR—With reference to Godlee's article on editorial misconduct I would like to have seen a commitment to apply the same standards of rigour to press releases and media commentary that announce the published research.1 Don't blame hype all on the press. Journals have been known to feed the frenzy by:

-Allowing generalisations to be made from narrow and specific results

-Giving undue prominence to a single "contrarian" result, when many others suggest the opposite

-Allowing evidence free assertions about long term promise of things, such as cures for cancer

-Allowing purely theoretical constructs to be interpreted as reality and empirically based

-Interpreting statistical insignificance as evidence of no effect rather than insufficient power or a demand for excessive though arbitrary confidence thresholds.

And, I'm sure there are more.

Clive D Bates, former director, Action on Smoking and Health UK

London N16 5UF clive_bates@yahoo.co.uk

Competing interests: None declared.

Godlee F. Dealing with editorial misconduct. BMJ 2004;329: 1301-2. (4 December.)[Free Full Text]

Related Article

Dealing with editorial misconduct

Fiona Godlee
1 BMJ 2004 329: 1301-1302. [Extract] [Full Text]

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Environmental tobacco smoke and risk of respiratory cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in former smokers and never smokers in the EPIC prospective study

P Vineis, epidemiologist1, L Airoldi, P Veglia, L Olgiati, R Pastorelli, H Autrup, A Dunning, S Garte, E Gormally, P Hainaut, C Malaveille, G Matullo, M Peluso, K Overvad, A Tjonneland, F Clavel-Chapelon, H Boeing, V Krogh, D Palli, S Panico, R Tumino, B Bueno-De-Mesquita, P Peeters, G Berglund, G Hallmans, R Saracci, E Riboli

1 Imperial College, London W2 1PG

Correspondence to: P Vineis

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.

http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/abstract/330/7486/277?

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Mortality associated with passive smoking in Hong Kong

S M McGhee, associate professor1, S Y Ho, research assistant professor1, M Schooling, research associate1, L M Ho, senior computer manager1, G N Thomas, research assistant professor1, A J Hedley, chair professor1, K H Mak, consultant, community medicine2, R Peto, professor of medical statistics and epidemiology3, T H Lam, chair professor and head of department1

1 Department of Community Medicine, University of Hong Kong, 21 Sassoon Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China, 2 Department of Health, Student Health Service, 4/F Lam Tin Polyclinic, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China, 3 Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford OX2 6HE

Correspondence to: T H Lam

   Introduction

Passive smoking can cause death from lung cancer and coronary heart disease, but there is little evidence for associations with other causes of death in never smokers. A recent study showed increased all cause mortality with exposure to secondhand smoke at home but did not examine associations with specific causes of death and dose-response relations.1 We have published estimates of the mortality attributable to active smoking in Hong Kong 2 and now present the related findings on passive smoking at home.

   Participants, methods, and results

 
Details of the sample selection and data collection have been reported.2 Each person who reported a death in 1998 at four death registries was given a questionnaire which asked about the lifestyle 10 years earlier of the decedent and of a living person about the same age who was well known to the informant. Passive smoking was identified in the interview with the question, "Ten years ago, in about 1988, excluding the decedent/control, how many persons who lived with the decedent/control smoked?" Decedents or controls who lived with one or more smokers were classed as exposed. Cause of death was obtained from the death certificate.

 

We selected never smoking decedents and controls aged 60 years or over because there were few younger controls. To avoid selection bias, we included only cases and controls who had a living spouse at the time of reporting. We used logistic regression to derive odds ratios adjusted for age and education, and for sex when men and women were combined.

What is known on this topic

There is strong evidence that passive smoking is causally associated with death from lung cancer, coronary heart disease, and all causes, and also with acute stroke

What this study adds

The dose-response relation between passive smoking and mortality from stroke and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, as well as from lung cancer, ischaemic heart disease, and all causes of death, strengthens the causal link

 

We identified 4838 never smoking cases (55% male) and 763 never smoking controls (55% male). All controls were used in the analysis for each specific cause of death.

We found significant dose dependent associations between passive smoking and mortality from lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, stroke, ischaemic heart disease, and from all cancers, all respiratory and circulatory diseases, and all causes (table). The association between mortality and passive smoking did not differ between males and females. Deaths due to injury or poisoning were not associated with passive smoking.

View this table: [in this window] [in a new window]   Number of subjects who were or were not exposed to secondhand smoke at home and odds ratios (adjusted for age and education, and for sex when men and women were combined) for mortality in people aged 60 or over, Hong Kong. Values are odds ratio (95% confidence interval) unless indicated otherwise

   Comment

 
Dose dependent associations between passive smoking and causes of death are consistent with previous findings for lung cancer and coronary heart disease and extend the evidence on stroke. Previous studies have shown associations between passive smoking and first acute strokes,3 4 and we have now shown a dose-response relation with mortality from stroke. Previous studies focused on ischaemic strokes but Chinese populations have a greater incidence of haemorrhagic stroke than do white populations,5 implying that many of the strokes in our study may have been non-ischaemic. Passive smoking probably affects all stroke subtypes, as does active smoking.

 

Our finding of a 34% increase in all cause mortality is consistent with but higher than that (15%) in the New Zealand cohort.1 Exposure to secondhand smoke at home is higher in Hong Kong than in New Zealand due to crowded living conditions. Before the 1990s, awareness of the danger of passive smoking was lower and smokers smoked freely at home.

We focused on passive smoking at home because the proxy reporter could most reliably supply these data, and we adjusted for education, which was also reliably recorded 2 and is a good proxy for social class in Hong Kong. As data on cases and controls were derived from the same proxy, reporting bias should be minimal.2 If our results are not due to residual confounding, they provide further evidence that the dose-response associations between passive smoking and stroke and all cause mortality are likely to be causal.

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See Editorial by Kawachi

This article was posted on bmj.com on 27 January 2005: http://bmj.com/cgi/doi/10.1136/bmj.38342.706748.47

We thank W L Cheung for help with analysis; the Immigration Department of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for data and assistance; and, in particular, the relatives who provided information.

Contributors: THL, SYH, AJH, KHM, and RP designed and carried out the study on which this analysis was based; SMcG, MS, LMH, and GNT planned and carried out this analysis; and all authors contributed to writing the paper. SMcG and THL are guarantors.

Funding: Hong Kong Health Services Research Committee (#631012) and Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health.

Competing interests: THL is vice chairman and AJH a former chairman of the Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health.

Ethical approval: Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong.

   References

1 Hill SE, Blakely TA, Kawachi I, Woodward A. Mortality among never smokers living with smokers: two cohort studies, 1981-4 and 1996-9. BMJ 2004;328: 988-9.[Free Full Text]

2 Lam TH, Ho SY, Hedley AJ, Mak KH, Peto R. Mortality and smoking in Hong Kong: case-control study of all adult deaths in 1998. BMJ 2001;323: 361-2.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

3 Bonita R, Duncan J, Truelson T, Jackson RT, Beaglehole R. Passive smoking as well as active smoking increases the risk of acute stroke. Tobacco Control 1999;8: 156-60.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

4 Iribarren C, Darbinian J, Klatsky AL, Friedman GD. Cohort study of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke and risk of first ischemic stroke and transient ischemic attack. Neuroepidemiology 2004;23: 38-44.[CrossRef][ISI][Medline]

5 Kay R, Woo J, Kreel L, Wong HY, Teoh R, Nicholls MG. Stroke subtypes among Chinese living in Hong Kong: the Shatin stroke registry. Neurology 1992;42: 985-7.[Abstract]

(Accepted 12 August 2004)

http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/330/7486/287?

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When people refuse to change their ways after being told of the individual risks incurred by their current status—being over-weight, smoking, etc—the next step is to create a public backlash against the behaviour, based on the presumed damage to the public good. "Fat people cost us [you] x dollars e