Officials reject claims of drug industry's influence London, England

Questioned repeatedly about the effect of the drug industry on doctors' prescribing, medical education, scientific research, and drug evaluation, government officials told a parliamentary inquiry last week that there was no evidence of unhealthy influence.

Four senior officials from the Department of Health and one from the Department of Trade and Industry were giving evidence at the first public hearing of the far reaching inquiry of the House of Commons Health Committee into the industry's influence on the health system.

David Hinchliffe said MPs wanted to consider whether the influence of the drug industry meant that the NHS concentrated too much on cure rather than prevention

http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/329/7467/641-a?ehom

It's the Fitness, Stupid These side-by-side JAMA studies provided an invaluable opportunity for the media to help consumers sort through medical information and come away with a very important message: not all studies are created equal.

 

Now that's news that people can use.

http://www.techcentralstation.com/091604E.html

 

Trick or Treat October 31/03

High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) has become the latest goblin lurking in our foods.

 

It's enough to make your teeth hurt. But, the facts give a completely different story.

 

http://www.techcentralstation.com/103103E.html

 

Smoking in the Dark

Did the tobacco companies fool anyone? Did they fool everyone?

http://www.reason.com/sullum/091704.shtml

 

Smokonomics

Hayek goes barcrawling November 25/03

Julian Sanchez

.

Reality, as social scientists frequently lament, is messy. Laboratory experiments can be rigorously controlled; real life is less accommodating. You can measure which way restaurant revenues trend before and after some new legislation, but establishing causality is a trickier matter. The niggling question always remains: Can we be sure we've isolated the independent variable? Have we controlled for every potential explanatory factor?

But these methodological quibbles are secondary. The Austrian insight that's most important to bear in mind when considering the wisdom of such laws is that, contrary to neoclassical assumptions, real world markets are never in equilibrium. Rather, market activity is a constant discovery process.

http://www.reason.com/links/links112503.shtml

* this has even more significance since the industry only makes 5% of profit after costs

Bar sales down in July according to CSO
17 September 2004 15:32

Bar sales fell substantially in July compared to the previous month, according to seasonally adjusted figures from the Central Statistics Office today. The value of sales was down 5.3% while the amount sold was down 6.4%.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2004/0917/cso.html

 

Outright smoke ban “not a solution” 17 September 2004

An outright smoking ban in Dundee pubs is an unnecessary measure because the licensed trade is taking steps to improve ventilation and help customers kick the habit, it has been claimed, writes Graeme Strachan. Jonathan Stewart, president of Dundee Licensed Trade Association, said an outright ban was not a solution and the city’s pubs were committed to being 50% smoke free by 2007.

A new survey has indicated that licensed premises could lose up to £170 million a year and 30,000 jobs if the ban is implemented.

Total ban no solution

 

Penn State leverages tobacco settlement funds to maximize research
Friday, September 17, 2004

University Park, Pa. --- Funds from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's share of the settlement paid by tobacco companies to 46 states seeking to recover healthcare costs connected to smoking are being leveraged at Penn State to obtain additional funding from federal and other sources in order to maximize the University's health research effort.

Penn State faculty members also are benefiting from the $100 million in settlement funds Pennsylvania legislators used for a one-time investment in three regional Life Science Greenhouses (LSG) formed for economic development. To date, the LSG of Central PA has funded 33 projects, and 13 of them have been Penn State faculty-driven. The LSG also has supported 17 businesses and seven of them have been Penn State spin-out companies.

http://live.psu.edu/story/8112

 

Russellville Approves Smoking Ban  September 17, 2004 Russellville, AR

No more smoking or tobacco use at city parks and facilities in Russellville. The City Council voted Thursday night to ban smoking and tobacco products in city parks, buildings and vehicles.
The ordinance bans tobacco use within 50 feet of all city facilities, but designates the parking lots as smoking areas.
-Smokers will only be allowed to dispose of cigarette butts or tobacco products in waste disposal containers.

-Those who rent or lease city property can establish requirements more restrictive than those adopted by the city.

The ban adopted Thursday was more detailed than one passed by the city Recreation and Parks Commission in June, which called for restricting only cigarette smoking at city parks.

http://www.katv.com/news/stories/0904/173716.html

 

Lawmakers Question Survey Showing Smoking Drop

By David Robinson LITTLE ROCK,Arkansas
A few Arkansas lawmakers on Thursday questioned the validity of a report that shows a decline in smoking in the state.

Reps. Herschel Cleveland, D-Paris, and Daryl Pace, R-Siloam Springs, said the Gallup Organization failed to account for cigarettes bought in Oklahoma and Missouri and via the Internet.

The Gallup report said overall adult cigarette use had declined 14 percent from 2001 to 2002. Tobacco sales to minors dropped from 14.8 percent in 2002 to 11.2 percent in 2003.

“These figures are incredibly suspect,” said Pace, noting that other members of the House and Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor committees had questioned the report. “We’ve got to find a better way to get statistics because nobody’s going to buy this.”

Arkansas is using about $16 million of its $50 million annual share of the 1998 national tobacco industry legal settlement to pay for smoking prevention and cessation programs. The report also recommends that the state continue to ratchet up taxes on tobacco to reduce consumption.

The Gallup report says the state’s tobacco control programs should save about $49 million a year based on an estimated $3 savings for every $1 spent in other states with successful tobacco programs.

http://www.swtimes.com/archive/2004/September/17/news/smoking.html

 

*How much is caused by other sources then tobacco?

JEL students meet in Clarinda

Every 72 seconds, someone in Iowa dies from a smoking-related disease.

Nationally, the tobacco industry spends nearly $11.5 billion a year on marketing - which equates to more than $31 million per day.

25 students gather to get news coverage

 

Woodward Fire Chief Shane Pugh announced his resignation at the City Council meeting Monday night .  Indiana
* The Council discussed the possible implementation of a fine to businesses that sell alcohol to minors.
There is currently a fine for underage cigarette sales but not for alcohol sales. Proposed fines might begin at $500 with $1,000 for second offense and so forth. The Council will review a proposed resolution at its next meeting.
currently fine for selling smokes to young, but not alcohol

 

"Old Faithful" Laura

Fox and Friends today (Sept. 17) extended its one-sided coverage of the presidential race between George Bush and Sen. John Kerry to their spouses.

Fox and Friends co-hosts interviewed Devin Friedman, who interviewed Laura Bush for an article in the latest issue of GQ. Friedman said Mrs. Bush was guarded in her answers. For example, he said she would not directly answer the question concerning what she and her husband last argued about. He said on TV, Mrs. Bush could seem "a little plastic" but in person she does connect with people,

Surprisingly, Mrs. Bush likes an occasional margareta and cigarette, he said. Friedman said his sense is that people like Mrs. Bush but are not passionate about her.

Throughout the interview, the co-hosts made a couple attempts to make negative comparisons between Mrs. Bush and Teresa Heinz-Kerry. Steve Doocy pointed out that the first rule of politics for political spouses is to do no damage and insinuated that Mrs. Heinz-Kerry does embarrass herself and her husband. Friedman said, however, that a spouse who is always guarded like Mrs. Bush can fail to connect with people or excite them . E.D. Hill noted that Mrs. Heinz-Kerry, when asked about the title "First Lady," said "Ick." Friedman said that Mrs. Bush also "hates being called First Lady" and that he thought they would be friends. Probably not the answer Hill wanted.

Near the end of the interview, co-hosts Mike Jerrick mentioned that the magazine has a compaion piece about Mrs. Heinz-Kerry, but the co-hosts offered no explanation as to why they interviewed only the author of the Bush article. Nevertheless, the co-hosts did their best to draw comparisons by including negative comments about Mrs. Heinz-Kerry in their questions to Friedman.

http://www.newshounds.us/2004/09/17/old_faithful_laura.php

http://www.tbsource.com/Localnews/index.asp?cid=69970

 

Good news source:  http://www.worldnews.com/

 

1638 China. The Ming emperor decrees any person trafficking in tobacco will be decapitated (1638), the decree proves ineffectual as smoking spreads within the court. A second prohibition is issued in 1641

http://www.erowid.org/plants/tobacco/tobacco_timeline.php3

 

Health warning issued for China's smokers

The World Health Organisation (WHO) is predicting a huge rise in serious illness in China because of cigarette smoking.

China is home to one in three of the world's smokers, who pay as little as 35 cents a pack.

China is also the world's largest producer of tobacco.

The WHO says the problem is made worse by the fact that the tobacco industry is a national monopoly, with the Government having a vested interest.

The WHO says more than 1 million people a year die in China from tobacco-related diseases, with the figure expected to rise dramatically in the coming decades.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200409/s1201829.htm

 

Arnold amends restaurant smoking ban 09/17/2004

By Tim Rowden Of the Post-Dispatch

The Arnold City Council on Thursday agreed to amend the city's new smoking ban to exclude existing restaurants that offer separately ventilated smoking sections.
The change will allow existing restaurants that apply to the city by Dec. 31 to install separately ventilated smoking sections in their businesses.
In July, the Arnold City Council approved legislation that would have banned smoking in all restaurants and in bars that derive less than 70 percent of their sales from alcohol..
"All I want is a level playing field," Leve said. "If I lose one out of four of my patrons, I'm out of business.
Missouri town amends bylaw

 

Mushrooms in the medicine cabinet? Researchers explore possibility

BY TOM MAJESKI Knight Ridder Newspapers
ST. PAUL, Minn. - (KRT) - Can the tasty mushroom help fight cancer?

That's a deliciously appealing question a team of University of Minnesota researchers hope to answer within five years.

http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/world/9688575.htm

 

Early success for new cancer vaccine

Doctors hope to trial the vaccine on 20 patients with melanoma early next year.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200409/s1201742.htm

 

bayer retreats from U.S. pill market
Analysts laud move that will slash overhead in line with shrinking sales
bayer retreats from US & Europe

 

Vegetables Help Fight Breast Cancer

The anticancer compound sulforaphane, found in vegetables such as broccoli, brussels sprouts and kale, blocks the growth of late-stage breast cancer cells, a new study says.

http://www.healthfinder.gov/news/newsstory.asp?docid=521015

 

The AdBusters Media Foundation, a Vancouver-based anti-commercialism

group, is suing a number of Canadian broadcasters (including the CBC) for

refusing to air its anti-ad "advertisements."

For more on the AdBusters' lawsuit, see the group's website:

http://adbusters.org/metas/psycho/mediacarta/reading.html

 

You can also watch some of the group's "ads" here:

http://adbusters.org/metas/psycho/mediacarta/rejected/

 

*from Marketplace Newsletter (cbc program)

---

 

News
Smokes Stolen From Atwood Variety Store Sept 15/04

The small variety store in Atwood was hit by thieves early this morning. North Perth OPP were tipped off around 3:30 a.m. about a break-in in progress. Police found the front door had been smashed in with a rock, and about 100 cartons of cigarettes had been taken. A dark coloured pick-up truck was seen leaving the scene. The cigarettes were valued at between five thousand and seven thousand dollars.

http://www.fm102.ca/news.php?artID=2988

 

Nicotine levels disclosed at St. Louis Park restaurants *are any at dangerous EPA levels?  NO
By Teri Kelsh  Sun Newspapers (Created 9/16/2004 9:07:41 AM)

Nicotine testing at St. Louis Park restaurants allowing smoking is complete and the results are posted.

Until Hennepin County makes a decision on whether to ban smoking, the future of St. Louis Park’s program remains up in the air.

http://www.mnsun.com/story.asp?city=St_Louis_Park&story=143580

 

Group plans defense of smoke ban
by algis j. laukaitis

The goal of the "Yes For Smoke-free Air" campaign is to inform Lincoln voters about the health risks posed by exposure to secondhand smoke and urge them to support a stricter smoking ban passed by the City Council in June.
Voters will get a chance to vote on the smoking ban Nov. 2.
A "yes" vote for the ballot measure would outlaw smoking in indoor public places and places of employment. A "no" vote would allow smoking in bars and other businesses where food makes up less than 60 percent of total sales.
http://www.journalstar.com/articles/2004/09/16/local/10055084.txt

 

* They don’t tell you that not driving your car would be better benefit to the community, and environment more

Will Johnson County be next nonsmoking area? - Indiana
By RYAN MOORE
Daily Journal staff writer
First came Fort Wayne.
Then came Bloomington and Morgan County.
Jane Blessing wants Johnson County to be next.
“To save the lives of others, we need to consider a smoking ban in public places,” said Blessing, the director of Partnership for a Healthier Johnson County.
 Will Johnson county be next?

Bars, eateries worry about effects of the ban
By RYAN MOORE Daily Journal staff writer Sept. 16, 2004
 Morris and Sue Davis sometimes sit in the smoking section when they come to their favorite lunch spot, Don and Dona’s restaurant in Franklin.
Neither one smokes cigarettes, pipes or cigars.
But if Johnson County officials were to ban smoking inside restaurants, bars and other public places, the Davises wouldn’t be on board with the idea, they said.
Bars, Eateries worry

 

Local Resaurant up for Sale (Buffalo, NY, September 15, 2004) –

A Buffalo bar and restaurant owner is putting his business up for sale because he says the smoking ban is killing it.

Jimmy Mac's Owner Rick Naylon is asking $125,000.00 for his establishment. If it's sold, he'd keep the building on Elmwood Avenue. Naylon says drink sales have fallen off dramatically since the ban took effect last year.

Despite the ban, he's allowed people to smoke in his bar and has been fined thousands of dollars by Erie County for doing so.

http://www.wivb.com/Global/story.asp?S=2303743&nav=0RapQvrq

 

Smoking ban loophole has hotel owners fuming
WINNIPEG - Manitoba hotel owners want the province to close a loophole in the new smoking ban.

Beginning October 1st, smoking will be outlawed in almost all public places in Manitoba. But the government has exempted First Nations.

Jim Baker, head of the Manitoba Hotel Association, says many rural hotels dread losing business to bars or gaming centres on reserves.

He says First Nations people make up the customer base of many rural hotels. He worries that people who are adamant about smoking may not leave the reserve. And smokers living off the reserve may choose to patronize businesses on the reserve.

Baker has asked the province for a buffer zone, where off-reserve smoking would be permitted. But the province turned down his request. Officials say they won't get into jurisdictional wrangling.

http://winnipeg.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=mb_smoking20040915

 

Study shows majority would support Smoking Ban

(Indianapolis) -- A new study conducted in Marion County shows a majority of adults feel they should be protected from second hand smoke in work places and restaurants.

A coalition called Smoke Free Indy revealed the study at the city market in downtown Indianapolis Tuesday.

Of the 600 adults surveyed, 88-percent say smoking should be ban in public places.

The group of state and local health organizations is working for passage of an ordinance that would make workplaces and restaurants smoke free in Marion County

http://www.wishtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=2303559&nav=0Ra7Qvmm

                          
Smoking Ban 'Would Save More Lives Than Cancer Drug' UK
 http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3499782

 

Talk Radio: a Roaring Success

Baby D play centers around sarcastic shock jockby Steve Eskew
Prepare to plunge into a piquant world of voices as they invade the nocturnal airwaves.

These voices, spinning like windmills, have acutely infested shock jock Barry Champlain’s already cluttered mind.
Realizing the mutual addiction between himself and the diverse callers to his radio show, “Night Talk,” Champlain regards these disingenuous, desperate voices with consuming contempt, but he defiantly drags them in with the night by nimbly jabbing the switchboard keys as a prelude for battle.
Talk Radio plays at the Baby D Theatre, 6124 Military Ave., through Sept. 26 at 8 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays (6 p.m., Sundays). Tickets are $15, general admission, and $12 for students and seniors. For more information, call 991.9155. (Warning: Considerable cigarette smoking occurs in this show.)

http://www.thereader.com/createpage.asp?contentID=2672

 

LANDMARK TRIBAL JURISDICTION CASE GETS DAY IN COURT FRIDAY

By James Schlett - The Sun Staff

CHARLESTOWN - The extent of state jurisdiction in Narragansett Indian Tribe territory and the fate of a town parcel that could be become tribal property prone to casino development will be debated Friday before three federal appellate judges in Boston.

http://www.thewesterlysun.com/articles/2004/09/16/news/news3.txt

 

Marine Advisory panel makes nonbinding recommendations to council

By Joe Segura Staff writer

LONG BEACH — Canine visits to the popular beach Dog Zone in Belmont Shore could get a new leash on life, and cigarette smokers might continue lighting up on city sands without having to look over their shoulders.

In two separate votes Thursday, the citizens Marine Advisory Commission extended indefinitely the life of the Dog Zone, while voting down a proposed recommendation to ban smoking on beaches. Both recommendations will be sent to the City Council, but neither is binding.

Health officials noted that 86percent of the people in the state do not smoke, prompting commission vice chairman Bradley Whyte to quip if that means 14 percent go to the beach. "It sounds like we're using a hammer on a gnat,' he added.

http://www.presstelegram.com/Stories/0,1413,204~21474~2391655,00.html

 

---

Too many children are still targeted by big tobacco. Now is not the time abandon the truth campaign

14 Sep 2004

Statement of John L Kirkwood, President and CEO American Lung Association
Now is not the time to abandon the truth campaign, because, the truth is that tobacco companies still market to kids. Too many children and teens are still targeted by big tobacco. Each year, the tobacco industry spends in excess of $11 billion to market its deadly product. Every day 6,000 children under 18 start to smoke for the first time, close to 2,000 of them become established daily smokers. This is intolerable. The earlier a smoker starts, the more likely he or she is to die from tobacco use. Now is not the time to abandon the truth® campaign.
The truth® campaign is key to the work being done across the nation to reduce tobacco addiction. Coupled with meaningful policy change that has increased cigarette taxes and eliminated smoking in public places in many communities and states, the truth® campaign’s message has hit the mark with teens, using unique language and imagery that teens understand. The truth® campaign is edgy, pointed, sometimes funny and often deadly serious but always tells the truth® about the tobacco industry.
The American Legacy Foundation took the truth® to the teens of America. The 1998 Master Settlement Agreement between 46 states and the tobacco industry compelled payments that endowed the Legacy Foundation to fund an education campaign -- the truth® campaign. The clear intent was for this to be a sustained approach. Despite public pronouncements, the tobacco industry has not truly changed. It is still marketing to kids. The unvarnished truth® provided an effective, creative counter punch to the Marlboro Man. Still, more than 1 in 4 high school students smoke. We need the truth® to maintain the fight. We need the truth® to confront the next class of kids susceptible to tobacco.
At the time of the Master Settlement, the attorneys general repeatedly stated publicly that reducing teen smoking was the goal. We understood that in order to sustain this effort, the education campaign would have to continue. We call on the state attorneys general to amend the Master Settlement Agreement to continue to fund the truth® campaign. The courts should compel the industry to fulfill the intent of the Master Settlement Agreement and fund the effective truth® campaign.
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.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=13391

 

New guide to asthma safety at work

14 Sep 2004

.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=13392

 

Reservation Gas Station Sparks Price War Cloquet, Minn
Sep 14, 2004 6:41 am US/Central
(AP) The new tribally owned gas station on the Fond du Lac Indian Reservation is offering cheap gasoline -- so cheap that it's started a local price war.
The price war that started after the station opened in August has delighted consumers, stymied competitors and may represent a new test of independence as the tribe exercises its growing economic muscle. It also has captured the attention of state regulators who enforce laws against predatory pricing.

http://wcco.com/localnews/local_story_258074543.html

 

MILD DRINKING DURING PREGNANCY DEFENDED -England

BY O.VERGNAULT
11:00 - 14 September 2004 A Bristol health expert has urged mums-to-be not to panic over reports that even small amounts of alcohol could harm an unborn child

watch as tide turns towards alcohol ban

 

Survey shows majority backs public smoking ban MARSHFIELD, WI

and the survey says

 

Judge's turn to be judged

ALBANY - An attorney for suspended City Court Judge Henry Bauer was contrite Monday in front of the state Court of Appeals as he fought for his client's judicial career.

 judge being judged

AMA threatens WA Govt with legal action over smoking- Australia

On National Quit Day, the Australian Medical Association (AMA) has threatened to take legal action against the Western Australian State Government on behalf of people who contracted illnesses as a result of passive smoking.

The AMA says the Government has a responsibility to protect staff at pubs and clubs by banning smoking.

President Paul Skerritt says the Gallop Government should follow the lead of the Queensland Government to outlaw smoking in all enclosed spaces and on many public beaches.
"It's very much an industrial safety problem," he said.

"It could be solved by the Western Australian Government with the sweep of the pen today if they wanted to go the way that the Queensland government have.

"It is something that should be fixed immediately."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200409/s1198883.htm

 

Mankato Rejects Smoking Ban Sep 14, 2004 6:51 am Mankato, Minn. (AP) http://wcco.com/localnews/local_story_258075340.html

 

Manitoba asks students to pick anti-smoking ad

The Manitoba government is asking almost 120,000 students to decide whether they want their next anti-smoking campaign to be delivered with wry humour, graphic realism or a heartwrenching personal touch.

ads won't stop current smokers

 

King of New York
He doesn’t dismiss this suggestion out of hand. "Maybe [the attacks were politically motivated]. Who knows? But I think the wheels are falling off this administration."
His clash with Mayor Bloomberg, a former friend, about the right to smoke in New York is scarcely less bitter. Since the city outlawed smoking in the workplace (one of the models for Jack McConnell’s proposed ban in Scotland) Carter has been repeatedly caught flouting the law. He was reportedly dobbed in by a Vanity Fair staffer. "In a city of eight million people, they have 12 inspectors - and they’ve been to my office three times. I think the fine is 200 for three times, then it’s 2,000 dollars." He laughs and gives a little shrug that suggests that this isn’t much of a deterrent. "I find it a vague form of harassment.
"There was never one mention of this smoking ban before the [mayoral] election," he adds - something the First Minister might also like to ponder. "The fact is, it does change the tenor of the city. I’m convinced that a big muscular city like New York is very dependent on being a magnet for young people to come here and stay up late at night, to smoke cigarettes, to drink, to talk, to succeed at whatever they came to New York for.
"If you start taking away those things, they’ll find another city to go to. And when they do, New York will become middle-aged very quickly. Once it becomes middle-aged, you lose so much of the energy. Then even the middle-aged people find it boring."
Carter was once one of those young people who came to smoke and drink and make their fortune. Born in 1949, he spent his earliest years in Europe, where his father was stationed with the Royal Canadian Air Force, before growing up in Ottawa’s suburbs. At 25 he became editor of the Canadian Review, but there were already signs that he saw his future in the States.
http://news.scotsman.com/features.cfm?id=1062372004

 

No call for pub smoke ban - UK

Health Secretary John Reid has said he believes there is no "overwhelming" public demand for a smoking ban in pubs, as claimed by some lobby groups.

Junior health minister Melanie Johnson said on Thursday the government would be "taking action" on smoking in public places in forthcoming White Paper.

But Dr Reid suggested an outright ban in pubs was not on the cards.

lobby groups not public behind ban

Cancer Campaign Targets Pubgoers - UK
Pubgoers are being targeted by a campaign to raise awareness of bowel cancer.
Charity Colon Cancer Concern (CCC) hopes its risqué slogan “Sh*t Scared” will get the attention of the public in efforts to cut deaths from the disease.
Celebrities including former Bond girl Honor Blackman and Emmerdale actress Elizabeth Estensen are helping to launch the 18-month campaign tomorrow.
 http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3486051

 

Bracken contamination could cause cancer Sep 12 2004- Wales

 DRINKING tap water could be to blame for a high number of gastric cancer incidents in Wales during the 1980s and 90s, according to scientists in Denmark.

Bracken-contamination-could-cause-cancer

 

U.S. To Open Tuesday 280 Billion Dollar Big Tobacco Suit AFP: 9/13/2004

WASHINGTON, Sept 13 (AFP) - No settlement talks were underway Monday, one day before a federal lawsuit seeking 280 billion dollars from tobacco companies was set to open, US Department of Justice officials said Monday.

The case, which took five years to reach trial on Tuesday, alleges that the country's largest tobacco companies manipulated nicotine levels, lied about the dangers of smoking, and targeted young teens with multibillion-dollar advertising campaigns.

http://www.turkishpress.com/turkishpress/news.asp?ID=27077

 

The EPA'S Flawed Study of Environmental Tobacco Smoke & Lung Cancer

 

Economics of NHL lockout

The hockey league's labor deal expires at midnight tonight, and a work stoppage threatens the entire season.

By Susan Bourette | Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor

TORONTO – Brian Smyth is already bracing for a winter of misery.

"It's going to be a long, cold, lonely season," he says, sitting in a downtown Toronto sports bar festooned with hockey posters, banners, and jerseys. "Hockey is our lifeblood. Without it, there will be no joy. Nothing to celebrate or talk about."

high check to business

 

Tweed - Council votes to support examination of no-smoking bylaw

 by Shannon Binder Bray  Tweed , Ontario   09.13.04

* around Belleville, Ontario

Although Councillors Jim Flieler and Jo-Anne Albert voted against it, a motion was passed at the Municipality of Tweed's September 7 meeting to support a request made by the Municipality of Hastings Highlands (Maynooth area) with regard to the county wide no-smoking bylaw. The request, aimed at the County of Hastings, is for the County to "revisit [the bylaw]—with a view to permitting designated smoking rooms" within area municipalities. The designated rooms would be an alternative to the already established "total ban" and would allow establishments the opportunity to regain lost revenues as a result of the bylaw.
 island county to pass bylaw

 

30-Something Smokers Prone To Heart Attacks PITTSBURGH, PA

Study: Heart Attack Risk 5 Times Greater In Men

http://www.wpxi.com/health/3727222/detail.html

 

Experimental Smoking Vaccine Shows Promise 9/13/2004
 

Clinical trials indicate that an experimental vaccine is showing early signs of effectiveness in helping people stop smoking, Peer View Press reported Sept. 7.
 http://www.jointogether.org/sa/news/summaries/reader/0,1854,574597,00.html

 

'Cigar papers' sold as taste treats, but officials say they're all about pot

By DAVID PERRY, Sun Staff

Ah, the Royal Blunt. A 3- by 5-inch sheet of tobacco and premium paper that comes in 13 flavors including sour apple, chocolate, watermelon, black cherry and cognac is selling for about a buck apiece at area convenience and liquor stores.

http://www.lowellsun.com/Stories/0,1413,105~4746~2387921,00.html

 

Kelly Snuffs Out Smoking Ban
Sep 13, 2004 12:28 pm US/Central
St. Paul (WCCO) St. Paul Mayor Randy Kelly snuffed out a smoking ban for his city Monday.
http://wcco.com/localnews/local_story_257132845.html

 

Rip-roaring battle for Edwards’s seat in N.C.
By Peter Savodnik

The Hill spent the first 10 days of the post-convention season on the campaign trail in four Senate battleground states — North Carolina, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Colorado. All have open seats; two being vacated by Republicans, two by Democrats.
http://www.thehill.com/news/09142004/northcarolina.aspx

 

---

The Effect of Air Pollution on Lung Development from 10 to 18 Years of Age

W. James Gauderman, Ph.D., Edward Avol, M.S., Frank Gilliland, M.D., Ph.D., Hita Vora, M.S., Duncan Thomas, Ph.D., Kiros Berhane, Ph.D., Rob McConnell, M.D., Nino Kuenzli, M.D., Fred Lurmann, M.S., Edward Rappaport, M.S., Helene Margolis, Ph.D., David Bates, M.D., and John Peters, M.D.

 Abstract http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/short/351/11/1057

The Great Obesity Scam By Alan Caruba September 13, 2004
CNSNews.com Commentary from the National Anxiety Center
 Is the day far off when the federal government will decide what you eat and how much? The assault on the personal freedoms of Americans continues unabated. First it was the decision whether to smoke or not and now it involves the food you ingest.
 Obesity scare continues to fuel gov't size

 

Pub's smoke-free week result is a draw Liverpool Echo Sep 13 2004

Fiona has now designated half the pub smoke free on a permanent basis.

Ban went so well only half of pub non-smoking

Huckabee at Southern Governors Meeting in Virginia  RICHMOND, VA

SEPTEMBER 13, 2004 - Posted at 7:55 a.m. CDT

http://www.kait8.com/Global/story.asp?S=2292160&nav=0jshQpqx

 

ERI talking alarms target fly smokers  England
RUTH ARMSTRONG HEALTH REPORTER

TALKING smoke detectors have been brought in by health chiefs in a bid to crack down on smoking outside the Capital’s main hospital.
When someone lights up near one of the sensors a recorded message is blared out, telling the smoker to stub out their cigarette.
Last week world experts gave their views on the matter at a national conference in the Capital.

http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1074312004

 
Smoked out - uk
But the rather Draconian measures now being taken to discourage smoking at the main entrances of the hospital seem rooted in a desire to improve the hospital’s image rather than a concern about people smoking.
Whether health chiefs like it or not, smokers do have the right to smoke. The majority of patients and visitors will accept that they cannot do so inside the hospital building and they will respect that.
But the fact that some computerised messages will bark at smokers who dare to light up at the ERI’s main entrances seems unlikely to persuade them to stop.
Indeed, trying to send smokers to separate shelters to light up could even lead to some people becoming more entrenched in their habits.
If it is true that most smokers do actually want to quit, then why doesn’t the health service try offering these people more support to do so?

http://news.scotsman.com/opinion.cfm?id=1074772004

 

BERRYVILLE.- Missori
* The JPs extended the smoking ban in county buildings to add the new jail.

JP's extend ban in county buildings to a new jail

Smoking Bylaw is immoral, not health based says Judge

 

bylaw about control, not health     smoking bylaw immoral

Where's the corporate responsibility?
should Altra be allowed to speak at University?

Corporate responsibility

 

Killer corporate responsibility
*second article on page
OK Mr. Brown ("Who defines corporate responsibility" Sept. 10), I feel very, very, very sorry for you. Really though, I don't. I watched my grandmother die of emphysema and lived with her one-legged, bedridden body for the first 13 years of my life. Moral of the story - life ain't fair. She smoked because she wanted to, needed to, whatever. She still made the decision herself well after the surgeon general of the United States of America warned against smoking. It was 1969. Your attempt to gain sympathy doesn't make me feel sorry for you - it makes me sick.
 http://www.dailytexanonline.com/news/2004/09/13/Opinion/The-Firing.Line-716631.shtml

 

Report: Texas 2nd in spending money to lobby Legislature

They say everything's bigger in Texas, and political lobbying is no exception. A report issued Wednesday by Texans for Public Justice, a non-partisan research organization, says Texas is second only to California in dollars spent to lobby the Legislature.
"Those doing the lobbying are not the average Joe, that's for sure," McDonald said.

news notes lobbyists get large funding

 

NZers urged to join Aust class action against tobacco companies 13 September 2004

* Yes, make the economy run better through litigation (not)
New Zealanders are being urged to join an Australian class action court case against tobacco companies.

Australian case plaintiff Ms Cauvin, 40, suffered from emphysema and was a lung transplant recipient. She had been smoking regularly since she her early teens, ASH said.

ash solution- sue till they go bankrupt

 

Pill, Anyone?

Americans are no strangers to using chemicals for altering their mental state. No, we don't mean marijuana or ecstasy for recreational purposes, but rather good old No-Doz caffeine tablets -- or just a pot of coffee -- to stay awake cramming for a final exam, or an over-the-counter sleeping pill to get some rest.
 http://www.techcentralstation.com/091304A.html

 

Teen anti-tobacco group pushes for FDA regulation

Members of a teen anti-tobacco group held a press conference Thursday in Fairfield to lobby Iowa's congressional delegation for legislation that could make tobacco subject to regulation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Students used as pinion

 

Casinos in Nebraska will affect other games

 Charity dollars

 

Firefighter Killed As Wildfire Turns Deadly GROVELAND, Calif.

The Mariposa County Sheriff's Department arrested a 34-year-old man Sunday on charges of purposely setting the fire with a match inserted inside a cigarette. The man, Brian Chambers, 34, is also considered a suspect in a string of other purposely set fires in Mariposa over the last two weeks, Grizzell said.

"The problem with this one is it's in difficult terrain. we have low humidity tonight and the fire behavior is very dangerous," he said.

Chambers was being held on $75,000 bail early Monday.

Arsonist uses cigarette to start fires

 

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John Stossel is co-anchor, "ABC News 20/20" and author of"Give Me A Break: How I Exposed Hucksters, Scam Artists, and Cheats and Became the Scourge of the Liberal Media," due out early next year.

http://www.acsh.org/healthissues/newsid.97/healthissue_detail.asp

 

Political correctness is stubbing out our liberty- Scotland
GERALD WARNER

WE fight not for glory, nor riches, nor honours, but for freedom alone - that which no honest man surrenders, except with his life... Put that fag out! Don’t you know there’s a war on - a war against individual liberty?" http://news.scotsman.com/opinion.cfm?id=1071802004

 

Adcock works behind scenes Sunday, September 12, 2004

Health commissioner's background lends itself to combating bioterror

 http://www.laramieboomerang.com/news/more.asp?StoryID=101884

Institute for Cancer may close unless injected with funding.

They owe the government $5.7MILLION, after audit discovers that grant money misspent.  The money is supposed to be spent on cancer related research.  This is the second time the organization has been found to be improperly spending funding.   Last time it was $4 MILLION that got spent improperly, in 2000.  How many times will the public allow for shoddy budgeting? 

"They have taken $5.7 million and spent that on things other than grants-related research," said Michael Miller, a spokesman for the National Cancer Institute, the government's main agency for funding cancer research. "Yes indeed, they do owe those funds."

http://www.thejournalnews.com/newsroom/091104/a01p11cancercenter.html

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