From: tmc_6882@yahoo.com  

To:"looped" <looped_ca@yahoo.ca>

Subject:Re: Drew Barrymore Caught Smoking Cigarettes Backstage @ "The KROQ Weenie Roast" Concert

Date:Mon, 28 Mar 2005 22:27:01 -0800

looped wrote:
> Yes your point in life would be to find a reason to hate anyone who smokes!  Well I believe in free choice, and oblivious to you, she has  some.
>
I as an American citizen have a right to my opinion as much as you or Drew Barrymore does.  So if I have a problem with her (especially a person who already has a much documented history with drugs) smoking cigarettes in her movies or in front of cameras out in public, then I'm going to express them.

You know, Drew Barrymore's grandmother Dolores Costello, who if you look closely carries a fairly strong resemblance to her granddaughter (and apparently, also spoke with a lisp like her granddaughter), died from emphysema. The point is, considering her family's fairly close connection with smoking related illnesses, I absolutely don't see the logic of her insisting on smoking (for which he has apparently been doing since the age of 9) so much.

I have tried to email back a response, and it is a non existent account.  So here I am responding in this forum.  I do this to show the rhetoric, and how easily it's manipulated in some people's minds. 

My response: 

1) she can easily afford to get health treatment later in life.  It's not going to cost any one elase.

2) emphysema isn't caused by smoking, so your point is?  it doesn't affect your life, why worry.  Every person takes risks in life.  We can die from getting out of bed.

3) shouldn't the more manageable and larger dangers be put under control, since it's a greater danger!

4) Margo Kidder has managed her psychotic episodes using Vitamin B.  There was an accepted theory that emphysema is caused by lack of vitemins as well.  May be this mismanagement of vitamins is the reason for the genetic link? 

Thanks Linda

Press Survey: Cigarette Tax Vote Would Be Close In Senate
03/24/05

Half of Mississippi's 52 senators say they would vote for a 50 cents-a-pack cigarette tax increase if given the chance.

That's according to a survey conducted Thursday by the Capitol press corps.

The survey of all senators shows 26 would vote for the increase and 20 would vote against it. Four said they were undecided and two senators would not answer.

Lieutenant Governor Amy Tuck has said for months that there is no sentiment for tax increases in the Senate.

Passing any tax increase would take a three-fifths majority. That's 32 votes if all 52 senators are present.

Some lawmakers interpret the press survey numbers to say it's possible to reach the three-fifths threshold. That counts the 26 who say they would vote for an increase, plus most of those who either wouldn't answer or said they were undecided.

Some of the senators who said they'd vote not also said they could change their minds.

The survey of the 52 senators was conducted by reporters from The Associated Press and five newspapers: The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, The Commercial Appeal of Memphis, The Commercial Dispatch of Columbus, the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal of Tupelo and The Sun Herald of Gulfport-Biloxi.

http://www.wlox.com/Global/story.asp?S=3123321

Group Seeking to Overturn Smoking Ban -AZ

PRESCOTT, Ariz. (AP) -- A group of Prescott businessmen are once again leading an effort to overturn a 2003 ballot initiative that banned smoking in nearly all public places, including restaurants.
  
The 2003 initiative allowed a two-year delay for the restrictions to take effect in local bars.
  
The latest effort aims to change the law before the bar restrictions would go into effect.
  
The opposition group called the Prescott Free Business Association, aims to get the issue on the September 13th city primary ballot.
 
The city clerk says the group has until May 13th to collect the required 16-hundred-28 signatures and file the petitions needed to force a new vote.

http://www.kpho.com/Global/story.asp?S=3082963&nav=23KuXXRJ

Institute for Cancer Prevention research or IFCP where now?

Philip Morris to buy indonesian tobacco company
$5 billion offered for No. 3 producer

By Christopher Wang Associated Press

NEW YORK -- Philip Morris International has offered $5 billion for Indonesia's third-largest cigarette producer, a move that would fatten its share of that country's fast-growing tobacco market as health concerns squeeze smoking elsewhere in the world.

Philip Morris, a unit of Altria Group and maker of best-selling Marlboro cigarettes, said late Sunday that it has arranged to buy a 40 percent stake in PT Hanjaya Mandala Sampoerna from its principal shareholders for $2 billion.

It will make a tender offer for the remaining stock at $1.13 a share -- a 20 percent premium to Sampoerna's closing price of 95 cents last Thursday.

The deal values the Indonesian company at $5 billion. Philip Morris would assume about $160 million in debt, the company said in a statement.

The bid by the Richmond, Va., company highlights efforts to expand its presence overseas as government bans and increased awareness of the health risks from smoking have curbed tobacco use in mature markets -- the United States and Europe.

"The market in the United States is not growing at the same rate it used to be. There are beginning to be smoking bans in Western Europe too," said Argus Research's Erin Smith. "Some of the less-developed countries don't have that threat."

Last year, Philip Morris' domestic tobacco sales rose 3 percent to $17.5 billion while international sales billowed 18 percent to $39.5 billion.

An estimated 60 percent of males smoke in Indonesia -- the fifth-largest tobacco market behind China, the United States, Russia and Japan -- and growing numbers of women are smoking, according to some analysts.

A buyout of Sampoerna would position Philip Morris as Indonesia's second-largest cigarette maker with more than a fifth of the market and increase its global market share by close to 1 percentage point, Altria Chief Executive Louis C. Camilleri said on a conference call with analysts yesterday.

The deal also would give Philip Morris a way into Indonesia's market for "kreteks" -- cigarettes with a blend of tobacco and cloves that dominate the industry there. Kreteks account for 92 percent of the country's cigarette market, which is estimated at 210 billion cigarettes a year.

More than 80 percent of Indonesia's kretek market is controlled by No. 1 PT Gudang Garam, Sampoerna and PT Djarum, Lehman Bros. analyst Michael Branca said.

About 700 smaller manufacturers account for a 17 percent share, he wrote in a research note.

Also yesterday, Philip Morris USA was awarded $173 million in damages from Swiss cigarette retailer Otamedia in a trademark-infringement suit.

Philip Morris said the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ordered Otamedia to pay the fine for selling Philip Morris USA-brand cigarettes in the United States.

Otamedia operated the Internet site yesmoke.com, which sells cigarettes around the world and avoids many of the import tariffs and taxes imposed on domestic retailers.

Dow Jones Newswires contributed to this story.

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050315/BUSINESS/503150351/1003

Disparities in health care are pervasive in America

Healthcare News Published: Tuesday, 15-Mar-2005

Disparities in health care are pervasive in America. These disparities adversely impact the cardiovascular health of Americans, especially African Americans, Hispanics, poor and uneducated people, according to a report in a special disparities themed issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Health disparities refer to differences in health indicators of population groups whether defined by race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status or geography.

Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) analyzed national health surveys to assess the prevalence of cardiovascular disease and overall quality of life of U.S. adults age 18 and older and found a wide range of differences. They said the disparities data may help develop new public policies and programs to close the gaps.

"In general, the population subgroups most significantly and adversely affected were African Americans, Hispanics/Mexican Americans, people with low socioeconomic status, and residents of the southeastern United States and the Appalachians," said George Mensah M.D., acting director of the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion at the CDC.

People with less than a high school education also tended to have more cardiovascular disease and related risk factors, regardless of race or ethnicity.

"These disparities appear to play a key role in the observed differences in the overall life expectancy and quality of life of the population subgroups," he said.

Health care disparities should matter to all Americans, Mensah said. "To paraphrase what Dr. Martin Luther King said about justice, 'poor quality health care anywhere, is a threat to quality care for all Americans everywhere.' As a heart specialist, I am aware of the power of prevention and the remarkable advances we've made in the treatment and care of heart disease and stroke. I am always saddened to admit that many ethnic minorities, persons with low income, those with less than a high school education, women and millions of Americans without health insurance do not get the quality health care we are capable of delivering."

In the study, men and blacks had more premature death due to cardiovascular disease, compared with women and whites, as measured by years of potential life lost before age 75.

In 2001, overall U.S. life expectancy was 77.2 years. Life expectancy was higher in women than men by 5.4 years and higher in whites than blacks by 5.5 years. Men lost 1708.3 years of potential life per 100,000 persons due to "diseases of the heart" compared to women, who lost 765.4 years. Blacks lost 2,248.9 years of potential life per 100,000 persons compared to whites, who lost 1,115 years.

Particularly surprising, Mensah said, were findings about obesity.

"Educational attainment reduced the prevalence of obesity, especially in men," he said. "In contrast, African-American women had a high prevalence of obesity and abdominal obesity regardless of educational status. These data suggest the need for increased emphasis on understanding the determinants of obesity in African-American women and investing in policies and programs to decrease obesity."

Eliminating health disparities is the overarching goal of the Healthy People 2010 national public health agenda, Mensah said. In this study, CDC researchers examined the most recently available population-based data on disparities in cardiovascular disease and its related risk factors.

Researchers reviewed the results from three major studies:

• Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), a random telephone survey conducted by state health departments and the CDC;
• the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2002; and
• the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), a continuing nationwide sample survey of the civilian non-institutionalized population collected through household interviews.

The BRFSS and NHANES survey results were designed to represent the entire U.S. population.

Also among their findings:

• Hispanics were least likely to have health insurance, least likely to receive flu or pneumonia vaccinations, and had the highest prevalence of poor or fair health.
• Data from the Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) showed the median prevalence of obesity was 39.2 percent for American Indian men and 37.5 percent in women, compared with only 2.9 percent in Asian/Pacific Islander men and 3.6 percent in women.
• According to NHANES data, black women have the highest prevalence of obesity at more than 47 percent regardless of education level.
• Data from REACH also showed that cigarette smoking was common in American Indian communities with a median of 42.2 percent for men and 36.7 percent for women. According to BRFSS, black men without a high school diploma have the next highest smoking prevalence at 41.8 percent.
• Blacks had the highest prevalence of hypertension, the highest self-reported prevalence of diagnosed diabetes, and the highest rate of hospitalizations for stroke.
• People with less than a high school education were more likely to smoke and to report that they had been diagnosed with diabetes.
• People with higher education were more likely to have health insurance.
• Ischemic heart disease and stroke were inversely related to education, income and poverty status.
• Among Medicare enrollees, congestive heart failure hospitalization was higher in blacks, Hispanics and American Indians/Alaska Natives than among whites.
• Residents of the southeastern United States had the highest rates of hospitalizations for congestive heart failure and stroke, and the highest age-adjusted death rate for stroke and heart disease.
• Cholesterol levels were highest among white men, Mexican American men and white women regardless of education levels.
• Hospitalization rates were higher in men for total heart disease and acute heart attacks but higher in women for congestive heart failure and stroke.
• Women consume more fruits and vegetables than men; and daily intake of five or more servings of fruits and/or vegetables was low in all groups and lowest in black and white men with less than a high school education.

This study did not examine the reasons for these disparities, or present information on access to care, disease management or indicators of the delivery of quality cardiac care.

Researchers noted that despite several national calls to action for aggressive prevention and control of cardiovascular risk factors, little progress has been made in reducing physical inactivity, poor nutrition and prevalence of hypertension.

"Most importantly," Mensah said, "although some significant improvements – such as reductions in gender disparities in cardiovascular disease (CVD) – have been noted, disparities in CVD mortality based on race/ethnicity have remained largely unchanged, and disparities in the morbidity of major CVD appear to be increasing."

Co-authors of the study are Ali H. Mokdad, Ph.D.; Earl S. Ford, M.D., MPH; Kurt J. Greenlund, Ph.D.; and Janet B. Croft, Ph.D.

http://www.americanheart.org/

http://www.news-medical.net/?id=8428 

Tobacco industry pays scientists to challenge secondhand smoke's link to infant death risk

07 Mar 2005

The link between secondhand smoke and sudden infant death has been discredited in the last few years in scientific articles paid for and influenced by cigarette manufacturers, according to a new study of once-secret industry documents.

The key article, commissioned by Philip Morris and published in a respected pediatric epidemiology journal in 2001, discounts the significance of research showing a link between exposure to secondhand cigarette smoke and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). The article has been cited in at least 19 other scientific papers, misleading physicians, their patients and researchers about the risk of secondhand smoke exposure.

"Undermining people's understanding of the link between secondhand smoke and SIDS places infants everywhere at increased risk," according to Stanton Glantz, PhD, director of the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at UCSF and senior author of the new study analyzing the tobacco company documents.

Analysis of the Philip Morris documents shows that the company sought and paid an author to write an article for publication in a scientific journal, guided his writing and suggested changes in his conclusions in order to call into question the published studies showing links between secondhand cigarette smoke and SIDS.

The new report was prepared by researchers at UCSF and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and appears in the March issue of the journal Pediatrics.

The article Philip Morris commissioned was part of the company's overall scientific strategic plan for addressing secondhand smoke (SHS) and childhood health issues, the documents show. One document summarized the "impact assessment" for this project as follows: "Should provide the necessary scientific background for a policy on the acceptability of smoking around children."

The key article acknowledges that smoking during pregnancy can endanger the fetus, but casts doubt on the published scientific finding that secondhand smoke increases the risk of sudden infant death -- a finding highlighted in 1992 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and reinforced by the California Environmental Protection Agency in 1997.

The tobacco company carried out this disinformation campaign even after the landmark 1998 settlement between all of the major U.S. tobacco manufacturers and 46 states. In the settlement, the tobacco firms agreed to pay the states $206 billion over the first 25 years and continuing amounts after that, and agreed to stop creating controversy about the evidence linking smoking and disease.

The tobacco industry's disinformation campaign regarding secondhand smoke and maternal and child health can be counteracted, the UCSF and CDC researchers write in their analysis.

"Secondhand smoke must be recognized as an established, controllable risk factor for SIDS, like prone sleep positioning," they conclude. "Clinicians and public health officials should intensify their efforts to promote reducing infant exposure to secondhand smoke as an effective strategy for reducing SIDS."

The documents show that the tobacco industry hired scientists on at least two different occasions to prepare articles challenging the SHS/SIDS connection. The first one failed to attract an influential journal. But then Philip Morris retained a consultant to write a comprehensive review of all known risk factors for SIDS. Philip Morris was to provide the literature review, and the hired scientist was to write the paper. The company's documents show that Philip Morris budgeted $50,000 to $100,000 for this project.

The company's papers reveal a concerted effort by Philip Morris to influence the paper's content and conclusions. When the author completed his first draft, he sent it to the company for review. The original conclusion stated that secondhand smoke increased the risk of SIDS. But a Philip Morris scientific affairs executive questioned this conclusion. The author accommodated many of Philip Morris' suggested changes, and when he submitted his final draft to them, he had removed his original conclusion about the effect of secondhand smoke on infants. Instead, he wrote that "the majority of the effects of smoking can be explained by prenatal smoking by the mother," and that postnatal (infant) secondhand smoke effects were "less well established" than prenatal smoking.

As published, the article mentions the financial support of Philip Morris, but does not acknowledge that the article was initiated, reviewed and influenced by the tobacco company. Not only does the limited acknowledgement mask the extent of the tobacco company's influence on the conclusion, but totally hidden from view is the fact that the article was essentially conceived by the tobacco company in the first place, UCSF's Glantz points out.

"This study of Philip Morris activity since the tobacco industry signed the Master Settlement Agreement in 1998 shows that the industry continues to use its 50-year old strategies to sow confusion about the real dangers of secondhand smoke and to distort the entire scientific process," says Glantz.

The tobacco industry documents were made available as part of the Master Settlement Agreement, in which among other things, tobacco companies pledged to cease their efforts to discredit research on smoking and health. To this end, the current Philip Morris web site includes this statement:

"Public health officials have concluded that secondhand smoke from cigarettes causes disease, including lung cancer and heart disease, in non-smoking adults, as well as causes conditions in children such as asthma, respiratory infections, cough, wheeze, otitis media (middle ear infection) and sudden infant death syndrome. In addition, public health officials have concluded that secondhand smoke can exacerbate adult asthma and cause eye, throat and nasal irritation."

"The new study shows clearly that Philip Morris continues to orchestrate a behind-the scenes effort to undermine the credibility of the health warnings their web site acknowledges," Glantz says.

In their paper, he and his co-authors call into question the practice of accepting tobacco industry funds to support research.

"The tobacco industry's long and consistent history of manipulating the content and presentation of scientific results raises questions about publishing work funded by the tobacco industry," they write.

First author on the study is Elisa K. Tong, MD, a postdoctoral fellow in the UCSF Division of General Internal Medicine. Co-author is Lucinda England, MD, a medical epidemiologist in the Division of Reproductive Health at the CDC.

The research was funded by the National Cancer Institute. 
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=20839
 

SMFM: Smoking linked to higher risk of open neural tube defects

Heavy smokers had more than twice the risk of non-smokers; risk appears to be dose-dependent

By Patricia Nicholson

RENO, NEV. – Smoking during early pregnancy has been linked to an increased risk of open neural tube defects (NTDs) by a University of Alberta study presented here at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine meeting.

Previous studies had identified smoking as a risk factor for folate deficiency, said study author Dr. Kirsten Gustafson, of U of A's department of obstetrics and gynecology in Edmonton. Despite equivalent folic acid intake, smokers have lower levels of serum folate in their blood.

To investigate whether smoking had an impact on open neural tube defects, Dr. Gustafson and co-author Dr. Sujata Chandra studied pregnancies diagnosed with an open NTD between 1992 and 2002 at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, the referral site for all high-risk pregnancies in northern Alberta. All singleton pregnancies with open NTDs, including deliveries, fetal deaths and terminated pregnancies, were considered.

Of the 191 diagnosed cases of open NTDs, 99 met the study criteria. Exclusion criteria included anticonvulsant use, multiple fetal anomalies, chromosomal abnormality or a previous child with an open neural tube defect. A control group was matched for age, month of conception and postal code, which served as a rough socioeconomic indicator.

Dose relationship

The findings indicate that, compared with non-smokers, women who smoked during pregnancy had a higher risk of open neural tube defects (odds ratio 2.2, with a 95% confidence interval of 1.25 to 3.93). Women who smoked less than half a pack per day had a lower risk than heavy smokers (odds ratio 0.58 compared with heavy smokers, with a 95% confidence interval of 0.42 to 0.82).

The NTD risk associated with smoking appears to be dose-dependent. These research results indicate that women who smoke may require higher doses of folic acid to help prevent NTDs.

Nearly two-thirds of the pregnancies diagnosed with NTD were terminated. Dr. Gustafson said this study is the first to control for terminations, folic acid supplementation and other variables such as age and body mass index.

"It adds to the power of our study," she said.

Posted on Tue, Mar. 15, 2005

http://www.medicalpost.com/mpcontent/article.jsp;jsessionid=DBCIDHIIFKNA?content=20050314_195538_4176

Sarcoidosis risk associated with environment

Pesticide exposure linked to greater likelihood of granulomatous conditions

By Heather Ennis January 25, 2005

DENVER – A new study has identified several factors that may be associated with a mystery disease with no known cause and a puzzling epidemiology.

Researchers found that people with sarcoidosis, a systemic granulomatous condition that can affect nearly every organ system, were more likely to be involved in agricultural work, have occupational exposure to pesticides and report mouldy or mildewy environments more than those without the disease.

Though normally a mild condition, sarcoidosis can result in lasting tissue damage. It is characterized by an inappropriate immune response leading to numerous granulomas throughout various organs—including the lungs, skin, lymph nodes and eyes. When needed, treatment is usually a several-month course of prednisone. There are scant data on the prevalence of sarcoidosis, but some U.S. reports have estimated the incidence at approximately 11/100,000 people among white Americans and 35/100,000 among black Americans. It is more common in Canada and Northern Europe.

Odds ratios

Researchers recruited 706 patients at 10 sites in the U.S. with newly diagnosed sarcoidosis and an equal number of matched controls without the disease. Occupational and other exposures were determined using an interview and questionnaire, and the results suggest a positive association between sarcoidosis and agricultural work (OR=1.46), insecticides at work (OR=1.52) and the presence of mould or mildew in the workplace (OR=1.61).

"It says that in the research, we need to look more diligently at the exposures and the risk of disease in agricultural settings. It suggests we should continue to look harder for microbes that might be causing sarcoidosis," said Dr. Lee Newman, a pulmonologist at the National Jewish Medical and Research Centre in Denver and primary author of the study. "It does not prove that either agriculture or pesticides or a particular microbe in a mouldy environment causes sarcoidosis, but the followup research should focus on those areas."

The links can be added to a growing list of occupational factors previously associated with sarcoidosis, including employment in health care, firefighting, military and lumber industries. Though various other potential triggers have been suggested, the cause of sarcoidosis remains obscure.

The strongest association in the study, which was published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, was found between sarcoidosis and cigarette smoking. Smokers were significantly less likely to have the disease than non-smokers (OR=0.62), indicating smoking may confer protection from sarcoidosis.

"Tobacco smoke does tend to inhibit or quiet down certain immune system cells so they're not as good at triggering an immune reaction," said Dr. Newman, who noted this isn't the first time the tobacco link has appeared in sarcoidosis research. "The studies don't prove that smoking is protective, but the association is there and certainly looks like it's protective."

The nature of sarcoidosis as a single disease has also been questioned. While American blacks often suffer a more severe form of the disease, it is most common in Scandinavian countries, where patients usually suffer fewer and less acute symptoms.

"It may be that when we talk about sarcoidosis, we really should be talking about different subsets of disease," said Dr. Newman.

Canadian prevalence

There are no good data on the prevalence of the disease in Canada, but the pattern is closer to that of Scandinavia than the U.S., according to a Canadian doctor who treats sarcoidosis.

"Canada has one of the higher incidences," said Dr. Rob McFadden, a respirologist at St. Joseph's Health Care in London, Ont., who follows approximately 30 sarcoidosis patients at any given time. "The most benign form we tend to get in Canada is very common in Scandinavia. It's a different disease in American blacks."

Though the most recently identified associations add to a growing body of sarcoidosis research, both doctors urged physicians not to overinterpret the results. No causative factors have been found, they said.

"Probably, it's reasonable to take a good occupational and exposure history," said Dr. McFadden. "But you wouldn't want to overreact to that because you'll convince some poor guy who's just unlucky and got the disease that it was due to some place he worked. There's not enough evidence to prove that."

http://www.medicalpost.com/mpcontent/article.jsp?content=20050123_130706_980

American Lung Association Links Socio-Economic Factors to Environmental Health Hazards

i-Newswire, 2005-03-18 - The Hispanic community is disproportionately exposed to environmental hazards such as air pollution, according to a new study by the American Lung Association. The report, Lung Disease Data in Culturally Diverse Communities, provides a definitive link between air pollution and lung disease prevalence in communities of color.
“In many instances, Hispanic communities are disproportionately affected by environmental exposures, which can lead to a host of lung diseases. This publication calls on legislators and community leaders to fight for stricter air pollution standards, said Donald Woods, Vice President of Cultural Diversity for the American Lung Association. “The American Lung Association is committed to educating these communities about lung disease and achieving our mission to eliminate lung disease and promote lung health.”
Lung Disease Data in Culturally Diverse Communities shows that Hispanics and African Americans together suffer disproportionately from asthma, compared to Whites, and provides important information about clean air and the long-term effects of exposure to tobacco smoke and air pollution. The report calls attention to the health disparities and other socioeconomic factors that may account for the high prevalence rates within diverse communities.
According to the report, lung disease affects people of all cultures, races, and ethnicities, but some groups have higher rates than others. The study shows that Hispanics are more than twice as likely as either African Americans or Whites to live near high traffic areas such as freeways and other areas with heavy diesel truck traffic. These areas have higher levels of air pollution and increase the risk of lung disease and premature death. Studies have shown that Puerto Ricans may have higher asthma prevalence rates and higher death rates than other Hispanic subgroups and non-Hispanic Whites.
Click here for the Lung Disease Data in Culturally Diverse Communities: 2005 report
About the American Lung Association
For 100 years, the American Lung Association has been the lead organization working to prevent lung disease and promote lung health. Lung disease death rates continue to increase while other leading causes of death have declined.
The American Lung Association funds vital research on the causes of and treatments for lung disease. With the generous support of the public, the American Lung Association is “Improving life, one breath at a time.”
For more information about the American Lung Association or to support the work it does, call 1-800-LUNG-USA ( 1-800-586-4872 ) or log on to http://www.lungusa.org.
American Lung Association
If you have questions regarding information in these press release contact the company listed below. Please do not contact us as we are unable to assist you with your inquiry. We disclaim any content contained in this press release.

http://i-newswire.com/pr10770.html

Industry plays down passive smoke -UK

Tobacco chiefs have clashed with Scottish politicians over the threat passive smoking poses to health.

Last Updated: Tuesday, 15 March, 2005, 20:04 GMT

The Tobacco Manufacturers' Association (TMA) played down claims that second-hand smoke causes disease while talking to Holyrood's health committee.

But MSP Mike Rumbles said research had concluded there was a link between passive smoke and cancer.

The exchange on Tuesday came as the pub and tobacco industries try to urge parliament to abandon its smoking ban.

The director of trade and industry affairs at the TMA, Christopher Ogden, conceded to the committee that second-hand smoke can be "annoying and irritating to non-smokers".

But he said reports of its links to death and disease had been overblown by the anti-smoking lobby.

He said: "What we do object to is the distortion of science to further an anti-tobacco agenda.

"It's one thing to tell smokers they're harming themselves but quite another to say that by smoking they are harming others.

"The whole issue of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) is being driven by a strident, determined anti-smoking lobby whose ultimate objective is a tobacco-free world.

"Our view is that the scientific evidence does not prove causation between ETS and death or disease."

Conclusive evidence

Mr Ogden said even a former editor of the British Medical Journal admitted the risks of passive smoking had not been definitively answered.

However, Mr Rumbles, the Liberal Democrats' health spokesman, said the World Health Organisation (WHO) had concluded second-hand smoke was carcinogenic to humans.

The representative of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association (SLTA) at the same meeting said it found claims of hundreds of deaths a year of non-smoking bar workers from passive smoke to be "incredible".

Asked by Mr Rumbles whether he accepted second-hand smoke was carcinogenic, the body's chief executive, Paul Waterson, would not be drawn on the issue.

He said: "We don't know of any bar workers at all that are dying through this. We think these claims are grossly exaggerated."

The SLTA is opposing the smoking ban, claming it will lead to the loss of an initial 2,300 jobs in the leisure and hospitality sector once it is introduced.

The organisation also claimed the move would increase alcohol abuse by encouraging people wanting to smoke and drink to do it at home, outwith the controlled environment of a pub.

Later, the chairman of the British Hospitality Association's Scottish committee, Paddy Crerar, appealed to MSPs to exempt hotel bedrooms from the legislation.

He argued that hotels with guests from heavy-smoking countries on continental Europe could be badly hit if the ban covered their rooms.

Another witness, George Ross, representing Royal British Legion clubs, asked for politicians not to rush the ban as it could push some smaller clubs out of business.

He asked the committee: "Give us time. We are trying to modernise but I feel that bringing in this complete ban all at once is provocative against my members."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/4352211.stm

Study Examines Racial Differences Among Children To Environmental Tobacco Smoke Exposure

SourceCincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center

CINCINNATI -- A new study may help explain why African American children suffer disproportionately from tobacco-related illness.

The Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center study shows that African American children with asthma have significantly higher levels of cotinine -- a substance produced when the body breaks down nicotine -- even though these children's parents report lower exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, commonly known as second-hand smoke.

"There are at least two possible reasons why African Americans have higher levels of cotinine," says Stephen E. Wilson, MD, a scientist at the Cincinnati Children's Center for Environmental Health and the study's lead author. "Numerous studies have demonstrated significant racial differences in the metabolism of tobacco-related products. But differences in additives to cigarettes commonly smoked by African Americans, such as menthol, could also explain the observed racial differences."

The study will be published in the March issue of Environmental Health Perspectives and is currently available online at http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/

The study is based on data from the Cincinnati Asthma Prevention study, an ongoing study of the Cincinnati Children's Center for Environmental Health. Dr. Wilson and his colleagues measured cotinine in the blood and hair of 222 children with asthma. Cotinine is considered the best marker of environmental tobacco smoke exposure. The investigators also assessed exposure to environmental tobacco smoke using a validated survey.

Surprisingly, the investigators found that African American children with asthma had higher levels of cotinine in the blood (1.41 ng/ml vs. 0.97 ng/ml) and hair (0.25 ng/mg vs. 0.07 ng/mg) compared to white children. This pattern held true even after taking into account tobacco smoke exposure, size of home and other sociodemographic characteristics, according to Dr. Wilson.

"These differences in cotinine could provide clues to the racial differences in tobacco-associate morbidity and mortality," says Dr. Wilson. "If African American children are more susceptible to tobacco-induced toxicity, we should target policy initiatives to reduce exposure among this population."

Editor's Note: The original news release can be found here

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/03/050309144253.htm

Smoke shop robbery turn deadly

Policeman opens fire, kills suspectSam Lewin 3/17/2005
A tribal police officer shot and killed a fellow tribal member that was trying to rob an Indian smoke shop in Reno, Nevada.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation said an officer with the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony Tribal Police Department shot the suspect twice at the Colony Smoke Shop II. The spokesman said the shooting happened as the officer was trying to apprehend the suspect.
The man that was killed has been identified as 26-year-old Kyle Melendez. Melendez, who was armed, allegedly tried to flee the shop when authorities approached, and he later turned on the officer, prompting the shooting.
Reno-Sparks Indian Colony spokesman Don Vetter told the Native American Times that Melendez was an enrolled member of the tribe and has a large family in the area. He also said the incident was something that was “out of character” for Melendez.
An employee at the smoke shop who said her name was Lawanda said that the store’s management had no comment on the shooting.
The Reno-Sparks Indian Colony operates five smoke shops. The shooting happened across the street from the tribe’s senior center.
This is not the first time an Indian smoke shop has been targeted by violent robbers. Last month an Arkansas City man was sentenced to seven years in federal prison for the November 2003 armed robbery of the Otoe Missouri’s Chilocco Smoke Shop in Kay County, Oklahoma. Cody Wayne Griesel, 24, and his accomplice, David Dean Ambroz each pointed a gun at two female employees of the business and two customers and ordered them to get down on the floor while they rifled the cash register, officials said. Ambroz had earlier been sentenced to more than six years in prison for his role in the robbery.

http://www.nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=6169

Proposed smoking ban adds Atlantic City casinos -NJ

* added fraternity, clubs etc.

By Rosa Cirianni ASSOCIATED PRESS March 15/05

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/gaming/2005/mar/15/518451748.html

UPDATE 1-US government witness to urge tobacco execs' ouster

(Adds comment from Philip Morris lawyer)

By Peter Kaplan Mon Mar 14, 2005 05:50 PM ET

WASHINGTON, March 14 (Reuters) - A government witness scheduled to testify in the racketeering case against cigarette makers will recommend that the courts oust senior tobacco industry management, according to court documents.

Harvard business school professor Max Bazerman will testify on behalf of the government that "structural changes" are needed to prevent the industry from future wrongdoing, the Justice Department said in a pleading filed with the court on Friday.

Those changes include "the removal of senior management and changes in oversight and reporting arrangements," the government said.

Bazerman was at the top of a list of witnesses the government listed in the pleading. They will testify later in the case about what remedies should be imposed if the judge concludes that the industry violated civil racketeering laws.

The government's case, which has been in trial since September, is based on accusations that the industry conspired for decades to mislead the public about the dangers of smoking.

But last month the case was dealt a serious blow when a federal appeals court ruled that the government cannot use civil racketeering laws to force the industry to repay $280 billion in past industry profits.

Last month's 2-1 decision by a panel of the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit stripped the government of its strongest potential penalty in the racketeering case. The government had been seeking $280 billion in past profits from the industry.

The appeals court said that under the law, the government can only seek remedies that are "forward-looking."

Bazerman and some other witnesses listed by the government on Friday were aimed at bolstering the government's case for nonmonetary remedies.

However, tobacco industry lawyer David Bernick said on Monday there was no legal basis for seeking to force out industry executives. He said government lawyers had never raised the idea before, and were "inventing something on the fly in order to gain leverage in the case."

Bernick represents Brown & Williamson, which was a unit of British American Tobacco Plc (BATS.L: Quote, Profile, Research) before being acquired by R.J. Reynolds in 2004.

Philip Morris lawyer Dan Webb said the government was "trying to put on more remedies because they lost disgorgement."

"The government's just made up a new remedy because they're scrambling," Webb said.

Targeted in the government's lawsuit, filed in 1999, are Altria Group Inc. (MO.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and its Philip Morris unit; Loews Corp.'s (LTR.N: Quote, Profile, Research) Lorillard Tobacco unit, which has a tracking stock, Carolina Group (CG.N: Quote, Profile, Research) ; Vector Group Ltd.'s (VGR.N: Quote, Profile, Research) Liggett Group; Reynolds American Inc.'s (RAI.N: Quote, Profile, Research) R.J. Reynolds Tobacco unit; and British American Tobacco unit British American Tobacco Investments Ltd.

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

http://yahoo.reuters.com/financeQuoteCompanyNewsArticle.jhtml?duid=mtfh37226_2005-03-14_22-50-15_n14490680_newsml

Ex-Vermont scientist won nearly $3m from US

By Carey Goldberg and Scott Allen, Globe Staff March 18, 2005

In the worst case of scientific fakery to come to light in two decades, a top obesity researcher who long worked at the University of Vermont admitted yesterday that he fabricated data in 17 applications for federal grants to make his work seem more promising, helping him win nearly $3 million in government funding.

Eric T. Poehlman, a leading specialist on metabolic changes during aging, acknowledged that he altered and made up research results from 1992 to 2002, including findings published in medical journals that overstated the effect of menopause on women's health.

Under a plea agreement with federal prosecutors, Poehlman, 49, will be barred for life from receiving federal funding, pay back $180,000, and plead guilty to a criminal charge of fraud that could bring jail time. He agreed to ask scientific journals to retract and correct 10 articles they published by him.

''Dr. Poehlman fraudulently diverted millions of dollars," said David V. Kirby, the US attorney for Vermont. ''This in turn siphoned millions of dollars from the pool of resources available for valid scientific research proposals. As this prosecution proves, such conduct will not be tolerated."

The fraud charge carries up to five years in prison, but lawyers involved in the case said Poehlman would ask for leniency and would probably get a lesser sentence or possibly no prison time at all.

Poehlman's misconduct was detected and exposed by a former University of Vermont lab technician, Walter F. DeNino, who once viewed Poehlman as his mentor.

Poehlman was a star among obesity researchers. For years at the Universities of Vermont and Maryland and, since 2001, at the Université de Montréal, he won millions in grant dollars, copious prizes, and accolades from the students he mentored.

Over two decades in which he published more than 200 journal articles, he built a reputation as a leading authority on the metabolic changes that come with aging, particularly during menopause. He also studied the genetics of obesity and the impact of exercise, often following human subjects over time to document how their physiology changed.

Now that stellar career has unraveled. Poehlman resigned from the Université de Montréal in January. He did not respond to requests left at his Montreal home and with his attorney to be interviewed.

Some colleagues speculated that Poehlman buckled to an exaggerated perception of the pressure to publish papers and win grants to keep his laboratory going. Or perhaps he was so sure he knew the right answers that he cut corners to get to them, they said.

DeNino, the lab technician, said in an interview that he does not know what Poehlman was thinking, but the benefits were clear: The fabricated data made his grant proposals more appealing and his papers more publishable, helping Poehlman become one of the better-funded researchers at the University of Vermont.

Poehlman's work was not so groundbreaking that the fabrication will require rethinking any major doctrines on obesity or aging, several colleagues said. But scientists must now wonder which parts of Poehlman's work they can rely on, according to Susan Roberts, a metabolism specialist at Tufts University, who said news of the fabrication left her saddened and disbelieving. ''Some of his work was pretty influential," particularly on the physical decline that comes with aging, she said.

''I have a book chapter I'm revising right now which, the last time around, had a lot of references to him," she said in an e-mail. ''We are going to pull them all to be on the safe side, hoping that in the future we can put back in those that prove to be OK."

Poehlman's is the most serious case of research fraud since a mid-1980s investigation led to an admission from University of Pittsburgh psychologist Stephen Breuning that he had falsified data on the use of stimulants in children, said Chris Pascal, director of the federal Office of Research Integrity, which investigates research fraud. Breuning was sentenced to 60 days in prison.

Serious research fraud is exceedingly rare, Pascal said, although cases serious enough to warrant barring a researcher from receiving federal funds for a while come up several times a year.

In fall 1997, Poehlman hired DeNino, then a University of Vermont senior, to work part time while he tried to make the US Olympic triathlon team. Poehlman also mentored him, inviting him to coauthor papers and analyze data for him.

''I thought of Dr. Poehlman as someone who would be instrumental in my future," said DeNino, who planned to eventually go on to medical school.

DeNino said he did not notice anything amiss until October 2000, when Poehlman asked DeNino to analyze some preliminary results from a project called the Vermont Longitudinal Study of Aging. DeNino said Poehlman reacted strangely when he turned in his analysis of test results on about 150 women after menopause.

Contrary to Poehlman's expectation that the women's health would broadly decline, some women actually saw improvements in their cholesterol levels and blood pressure.

Poehlman took a computer disk of the data home for the weekend, ostensibly to look for clerical errors and statistical anomalies, and when he gave it back to DeNino for reanalysis, the data painted a much darker picture of post-menopausal health, DeNino said.

At first, DeNino assumed he had made the mistake. But when he compared the original data against the revised data from Poehlman, he could see that, in women who seemed to be getting healthier over time, Poehlman had reversed the order of test results, making it appear that cholesterol levels and blood pressure readings had gotten worse, not better. ''He was trying to exaggerate the age-related deterioration of menopause," DeNino said.

DeNino presented his concerns to Poehlman, who responded in two separate memos that the changes were just an effort to correct clerical mistakes and other problems. DeNino was not persuaded and reported Poehlman to university officials. ''I could not escape the fact that a powerful, respected scientist was obviously struggling to explain his actions by layering lie upon lie," said DeNino.

DeNino says that at least four University of Vermont researchers told him privately that they had concerns as well about some of Poehlman's work. However, no one else had spoken up to university authorities. ''I was in a unique position to act," DeNino said. ''I did not rely on Dr. Poehlman for funding, a post doc [research position], or a salary."

The University of Vermont took DeNino's accusations seriously, he said, but he quickly realized the difficulty of being a whistle-blower against someone as powerful as Poehlman. Other colleagues in Poehlman's lab doubted DeNino's claims, while Poehlman's attorney threatened to sue him if he spoke against Poehlman outside of the investigation.

Poehlman managed to keep DeNino's allegations against him quiet for several years. In 2001, as the University of Vermont was investigating DeNino's accusations, he resigned his tenured professorship and took a step up in the academic world. He accepted an endowed chair -- a high honor usually reserved for very senior professors -- at the Université de Montréal, which apparently knew nothing of the charges.

In recent days, some colleagues and friends who were aware of the federal investigation defended Poehlman.

One, David B. Allison, an obesity researcher and professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, said that based on the facts of the case from the initial university investigation, he believes that Poehlman ''committed no act of scientific misconduct."

''I believe he's innocent, and I believe that he is being broken financially to the point where he's ready to give up the fight because he has no more money to fight with, and that's the way the game works," he said.

The University of Vermont investigation concluded that Poehlman had fabricated most of the data used in a six-year study of changes in 35 women after menopause, which was published in The Annals of Internal Medicine in 1995. In 2003, the journal retracted the paper.

It also found that Poehlman had used fraudulent data in applying for one federal grant, and that triggered a broader investigation by the US attorney's office in Burlington, Vt., and the Office of Research Integrity, which resulted in yesterday's agreement.

Poehlman is expected to be arraigned and plead guilty to fraud within weeks. Federal prosecutors have promised to take no position on his request for a more lenient sentence because he has recently cooperated with authorities.

Under the federal whistle-blower protection statute, DeNino will receive $21,600 before taxes and his legal fees will be paid, but he scoffs at the notion that he pursued the case for money. He only formally applied for the reward in 2004 when he retained attorney Philip Michael to protect him in the final stages of the federal investigation.

DeNino, now 28 and a post-graduate student at Columbia University in New York City, said he considers his long fight ''an accomplishment for the process that is in place to ensure that truth in science is preserved."

''Funding should be appropriated to those who deserve it," he said.

http://www.boston.com/

Stu Bykofsky | Lemmings!

POLITICIANS STAMPEDE TOWARD BAD BAN

THE LEMMINGS are racing toward the cliff.

Stampeded by a notion that "everybody's doing it," misleading science, "clever" polling and a zealous desire to "save" less than 1 percent of the workforce, City Council is poised to enact a ham-handed, unnecessary, draconian ban on smoking in public places that extends even to private clubs.

Before you dive over the cliff, Dear Council, divorce yourself from the ripe rhetoric. Ask more questions.

You've heard about cities - even whole countries! - banning smoking.

If you buy the "they do it, so we should do it" argument, understand the first European government to ban smoking was... the Third Reich. Yes, the real Nazis were the first Nicotine Nazis.

How about jurisdictions that reject or amend bans? In the past month alone, the Virginia Senate defeated a restaurant smoking ban 26-14; a ban was defeated in North Dakota's House of Representatives 47-45; the Montana House of Representatives exempted bars and casinos from state smoking ban rules by 58-42; Indiana voted to scale back a smoking ban to simply require family restaurants to offer nonsmoking sections. There are many more.

The Great Satan is "second-hand smoke," also called "passive smoking," and "environmental tobacco smoke." It's got more aliases than a Mafia hitman.

Dear Council, most smokers DON'T die from smoking. A third die "prematurely" from "smoking-related" causes, estimates Andy Hyland, a research scientist with the Roswell Park Cancer Institute, who testified before you. That's "smoking-related," not smoking-caused, and half of those deaths occur in people over 70. That doesn't sound all that premature.

The chance of a nonsmoker dying of "second-hand smoke" is infinitesimal. I do not say it can't happen; I do say it is not a raging monster of death and disease. Tobacco is but one of many factors affecting health, which is why some countries have higher smoking rates yet lower cancer rates than do we. Would that be true if tobacco were the only villain and if second-hand smoke were as deadly as some claim?

Did EPA tilt stats?

The landmark EPA report that first linked second-hand smoke to cancer has been attacked as bad science by one side, defended by the other. I believe, based on my reading, the EPA tilted the stats toward a desired outcome. Am I sure? No. Are you sure they didn't? (The flawless EPA currently is accused of publishing incorrect auto mileage figures.)

As we age, we are more likely to die of cancer or heart disease - even if not exposed to smoke. But if you smoked - ever, no matter how little - by God, the Nicotine Nazis will insist that's what killed you.

In a recent letter to the Daily News, American Cancer Society Regional Vice President Patrick Delaney wrote that a "large majority (76 percent) of Philadelphians favor prohibiting smoking in workplaces, including bars and restaurants."

Those polled were asked which of two statements they most agreed with.

1. As long as smoking is a legal activity, people should be allowed to smoke inside public places such as offices and restaurants even if it means others may be exposed to second-hand smoke.

2. Even though smoking is a legal activity, people should NOT be allowed to smoke inside public places such as offices and restaurants if it means others may be exposed to the effects of second-hand smoke.

Delaney mentioned bars, which the poll question did not. An innocent mistake?

The poll was rigged by including "second-hand smoke," which many Americans have been led to believe is deadly as a cobra. Dear Council, would the results would have been the same if the question had been worded:

Being as smoking is legal and keeps your taxes low because of the staggering tax load on cigarettes, should it be permitted in public as long as smoke is kept away from nonsmokers?

Carcinogens in salad

Yes, second-hand smoke contains carcinogens and carcinogens "can" kill - even carcinogens in your health salad.

Testifying before you, Dear Council, Michael McFadden, author of "Dissecting Antismokers' Brains," held up a glass of water and said it contained arsenic, a carcinogen found in tobacco smoke. "The same amount of arsenic... would be inhaled by a typical 'passive smoker' while sitting in a room with a smoker smoking 165,000 cigarettes," he told me.

Lots of things are carcinogenic, but it's the amount that counts, and most of the toxins in cigarettes are quite low. (McFadden recommends www.smokersclubinc.com for a wealth of info.)

Tobacco smoke contains 4,000 "chemicals," the American Heart Association says, but admits only "40 are capable of causing cancer." Just capable, not does. Why mention the other 3,960 "chemicals?" Scare tactic?

Dear Council, reducing unwanted smoke is a good goal that can be achieved by insulating smokers from nonsmokers with top-of-the-line air-filtration systems or even by closed smoking rooms (which were created in some Ireland pubs after the ban).

You don't have to dive over the cliff.

http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/living/11139380.htm

Court makes room for smokers

By BRIAN CALLAWAY Bucks County Courier Times

Doylestown - Smokers will soon find themselves banished from the area outside the main entrance to Bucks County's courthouse.

People have long congregated for cigarette breaks near the building's Court Street doors, but since the county started subjecting visitors to metal detectors and X-ray machines last month, that area sees lines of people waiting to get inside.

"They didn't want people out there standing in a plume of smoke while they waited," said Stacey Martin, county public information director.

The county also worried that people who take multiple smoke breaks could be more burdensome on the security checkpoint, she said.

"They take up resources to have to be searched however many times a day they smoke," she said.

To accommodate smokers, the county is setting up an outdoor patio area off the building's second floor. While some people already smoke there, the county won't force smokers to use it until they add things like a tarp to keep people dry in case of rain.

Officials said that work should take two or three months to complete, but they didn't know how much it would cost yet.

Handicapped people will be the only ones exempt from the new smoking restrictions, since the newly designated smokers' area is only accessible by stairs.

The move in Bucks is coming as some companies and governments have made headlines for cracking down on employees who smoke.

Montgomery County, for instance, is considering a proposal to stop hiring people who smoke in an effort to help cut back its healthcare costs.

Bucks officials, though, said they haven't considered any similar steps

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/111-03172005-464308.html

Philadelphia Medical Schools Unite Behind Smoke-Free Law; Hold Press Conference in Support of Councilman Nutter's Bill

3/16/2005 10:17:00 AM

To: City and Assignment Desks

Contact: Katherine Gajewski of the Breathe Free Philadelphia Alliance, 215-988-0458, Web: http://www.breathefreephiladelphia.org

PHILADELPHIA, March 16 /U.S. Newswire/ -— Representatives from each of Philadelphia's five Medical Schools, including Drexel, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Temple University and University of Pennsylvania, will join Councilman Michael Nutter at a press conference to show their unified support for smoke-free Philadelphia workplaces today, Wednesday, March 16, at 3 p.m. outside Room 404 in City Hall. The medical students, members of the American Medical Association, and the American Medical Student Association will then visit the Offices of Council President Anna Verna; Councilman Frank DiCicco; Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell; Councilman Darrel Clarke; and Councilman James Kenney to demonstrate their support of the smoke-free law.

"This important public health measure will not only protect Philadelphians by allowing everyone to breathe smoke-free air, but it will also help attract young professionals to stay in Philadelphia after completing their schooling," said Karen Siren, MPH, a second year medical student at Temple University.

All five medical schools' student governments have expressed strong support of the smoke-free law, and have adopted resolutions that outline their support. The students have received overwhelming support from their Faculty and Deans in their effort to see all of Philadelphia's workplaces become smoke-free.

"We all know how bad smoking is for you," said Siren. "We're just starting to understand the broad range of health hazards from secondhand smoke. Recent studies have linked secondhand smoke exposure to both breast cancer and heart attacks. This new evidence makes it even clearer that the time is now to take this simple measure to protect the health of all Philadelphians from the dangers of secondhand smoke. As medical students and healthcare professionals, we have made it our prerogative to live in a city that puts the health of its citizens first. We have met with our Dean, Dr. John Daly, and, as a physician, he supports this measure wholeheartedly and is working with us to let City Council know how important this is. My colleagues at Jefferson, Penn, Drexel and PCOM have done the same and met similar success."

"Philadelphia's medical schools produce one of every five doctors in the country, and hospitals are the city's largest employer," said Jonathan Pak, president of Temple's Chapter of the American Medical Student Association. "It is essential that Philadelphia is also known as a leader for its commitment to public health."

Student leaders from the each of the schools student governments, the American Medical Association and the American Medical Student Association will attend the press conference. The medical students will encourage the City Council to consider the trend of young professionals who earn their professional degrees in this city, but opt for more health conscious and progressive communities that have embraced smoke-free laws, such as Boston, New York City, and California. When faced with the choice of where to begin their careers and raise their families, young professionals want to be able to consider Philadelphia as an option.

http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=44418