Health Minister congratulates New Brunswick and Manitoba on smoke-free status, Canada

02 Oct 2004

OTTAWA - Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh today welcomed the new province-wide smoking bans in Manitoba and New Brunswick. Both provinces have banned smoking in all public places, including bars and restaurants. The legislation creates the strictest province-wide bans in the country.
"I would like to congratulate New Brunswick and Manitoba, who go smoke-free today, said Minister Dosanjh . "This is a significant milestone that highlights the impressive momentum that has been building across Canada towards establishing smoke-free work places. It is also a timely and eloquent response to the launch this week of mychoice.ca a website funded by the Canadian Tobacco Manufacturers Council that seeks to turn back the clock on tobacco control."
Every year, more than 45,000 Canadians die from disease or illness caused by using tobacco, and at least 1,000 of those are non-smokers. Cigarette smoke is the number one cause of visible indoor air pollution and second-hand smoke exposes people to cancer-causing pollutants. The financial costs associated with employee smoking are also significant. The most recent conservative estimates from 1995 show annual costs per smoking employee can be up to $2,565 per year due to increased absenteeism, decreased productivity, increased life insurance premiums, and smoking area costs. The most recent figures from 1991 estimate that smoking costs the Canadian health care system approximately $3.5 billion every year.
The primary mission of the Federal Tobacco Control Strategy (FTCS) is to reduce disease and death due to tobacco among Canadians. It recognizes that the key to success is comprehensive, integrated and sustained action, carried out in collaboration with all partners and directed at Canadians of all ages. Federal, provincial and territorial Ministers of Health are committed to working together to reduce tobacco consumption in Canada.
 http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=14338  OR

http://www.news.gc.ca/cfmx/CCP/view/en/index.cfm?articleid=100959

Even One Puff Of Smoke Damages DNA, Study Finds – Junk science (where’s toxicology in this?)

WASHINGTON OCT 01, 2004 (Reuters) - Just one puff of a cigarette could damage a smoker's DNA, the first step to cancer and heart disease, researchers said on Friday.

It obviously takes more than that to cause disease, but the team at the University of Pittsburgh were surprised at how little smoke it took to do the initial damage.

http://www.cancerpage.com/news/article.asp?id=7561

Security clamp on final crowd –AU  NRL(National Rugby League)
October 01, 2004

POLICE and sniffer dogs will ensure spectator safety at Sunday night's Grand Final.

Representatives from the NRL , Bulldogs, Sydney Roosters, police and Telstra Stadium met this week to discuss strategies for the big night.

A full house of 82,000 is expected at the match.

Drunk spectators would be refused entry or thrown out and a zero-tolerance policy would be adopted for abusive language and smoking.

"We are working with the stadium to ensure that everyone has a great night," NRL CEO David Gallop said.

"However, at an event such as the grand final, which has a wide cross section of fans and a capacity crowd, it is important that we consider the comfort and enjoyment of everyone who attends."

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,10935119%255E23214,00.html

Charges fly over tobacco buyout proposals
 By Cecil H. Yancy Jr. Oct 1, 2004 9:35 AM
With about a month to go before election day, the tobacco buyout is in danger of going up in smoke because of political maneuvering, say House Democrats.

Keeping Food and Drug Administration regulation out of the conference committee report on the corporate tax bill H.R. 4520 is an “orchestrated” plan to scuttle the tobacco buyout, they claim.

In a conference call with reporters that at times resembled the diagramming of a football play in the locker room, three House Democrats from North Carolina and one from South Carolina, John Spratt, described “what to look for.”

The Democrats say the Republican leadership is setting up a scenario where the bill heads out of conference without FDA regulation and is defeated in the Senate. Republicans in the Senate, such as North Carolina’s Elizabeth Dole, have said that FDA regulation of tobacco is essential to get a buyout passed.

e-mail: cyancy@primediabusiness.com

http://southeastfarmpress.com/news/100104-tobacco-buyout/

An end to marijuana prohibition

The drive to legalize picks up

By Ethan A Nadelmann

Never before have so many Americans supported decriminalizing and even legalizing marijuana. Seventy-two percent say that for simple marijuana possession, people should not be incarcerated but fined: the generally accepted definition of “decriminalization.” Even more Americans support making marijuana legal for medical purposes. Support for broader legalization ranges between 25 and 42 percent, depending on how one asks the question. Two of every five Americans - according to a 2003 Zogby poll - say “the government should treat marijuana more or less the same way it treats alcohol: It should regulate it, control it, tax it, and only make it illegal for children.”

Close to 100 million Americans - including more than half of those between the ages of 18 and 50 - have tried marijuana at least once. http://www.anchoragepress.com/archives-2004/featurevol13ed39.shtml

Adopts Institute of Medicine Report as Blueprint for Action

    WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Ten years after declaring that obesity is the second leading cause of preventable death and launching Shape Up America!, the first privately funded nonprofit educational campaign to promote healthy weight for life, former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop is lending his clout to a new crusade: preventing the epidemic of childhood obesity in this country.

    Responding to the conclusions of the new report, Preventing Childhood Obesity: Health in the Balance, issued by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), Dr. Koop pledged the resources of Shape Up America! to promote the report's findings and to advocate for swift implementation of the IOM's

recommendations. Dr. Koop also called on all federal agencies that fund research and prevention programs, such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Maternal and Child Health Bureau to address the many gaps in knowledge about childhood obesity identified in the report on an expedited basis. 

    "As a nation, we cannot ignore the pressing problem of childhood obesity, which threatens the health of children as they grow and mature, and

significantly increases the risk of disabling diseases of adulthood which now afflict our children," said Dr. Koop. "The IOM report represents a clarion call for all Americans to take responsibility for stopping the epidemic of childhood obesity."

    Shape Up America! also applauded the IOM recommendations calling for pediatricians, family practitioners and other health professionals to assess and actively discuss a child's weight status (as measured by BMI) with parents. "Physicians can no longer sit on the sidelines as the childhood

obesity epidemic escalates," said Dr. Koop. "Doctors need to be on the front lines in screening for childhood obesity and must intervene early to address the problem head on."

    In addition to health care professionals, the IOM report calls upon schools to conduct at least annual assessments of the weight status of all

schoolchildren. To assist schools in responding to this call, Shape Up America! is unveiling an online tool to automate the process of calculating

and correctly plotting the BMI of children two years and older, which has been a difficult process up to now.  This new tool instantly calculates and plots the gender- and age-specific BMI percentile of a child, and provides a printout of the result.

    According to Barbara J. Moore, Ph.D., president and CEO of Shape Up America!, who served on the 19 member IOM Committee on Prevention of Obesity in Children and Youth, which researched and wrote the report, "Childhood obesity has now become a serious health issue. Changing how our entire society responds to childhood obesity is essential to reducing the prevalence of type 2 diabetes, which is soon to become the most prevalent form of pediatric diabetes."

    Recognizing the causal linkages between obesity and the onset of type 2 diabetes in both children and adults, Shape Up America! created a new term --"diabesity"(R) -- which specifically focuses on this link. Furthermore, Shape Up America! is conducting an educational initiative and has been working with the medical community to develop specific strategies for addressing this public health threat.

    Shape Up America! will also focus its resources on another critical issue addressed in the IOM report: the regulation of food intake during pregnancy and infancy. Because the prevention of childhood obesity begins at conception and continues through pregnancy and infancy, Shape Up America! hosted an international conference on this issue and developed symposium proceedings, which summarized the latest science on the factors that promote self- regulation of food intake and energy balance in infants and very young children.  The proceedings, which will be published in a special supplement of the journal Pediatrics on October 4, will be widely distributed to the medical community.

    "Thanks to the IOM, we now have a report that ranks in importance with the 1964 Surgeon General's report on smoking.  It represents a national blueprint for action for parents, schools, communities and all levels of society," said Dr. Koop. "But because this is a complex, multifaceted problem, reversing the tide of childhood obesity will require the same national commitment that we now give to preventing cancer, heart disease and other major diseases."

    Launched in 1994, Shape Up America! is a national education and public policy campaign working to combat obesity by promoting healthy eating and increased physical activity. Shape Up America! also serves as a change agent for promoting the assessment and medical treatment of obesity by holding conferences, issuing treatment guidance, and conducting programs at medical schools and institutions.

    More information about Shape Up America! is available at http://www.shapeup.org.

shape up America launched

Report Responds to Urgent Need for Comprehensive National Strategy to Combat Childhood Obesity

9/30/2004 9:30:00 AM

To: National Desk, Health Reporter

Contact: Christine Stencel of the National Academies News Office, 202-334-2138 or news@nas.edu

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Reversing the rapid rise in obesity among American children will require a multipronged approach by schools, families, communities, industry, and government that would be as comprehensive and ambitious as national anti-smoking efforts, according to a new report from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies.

"Several of our recommendations challenge entrenched aspects of American life, but if we are not willing to make some fundamental shifts in our attitudes and actions, obesity's toll on the nation will only worsen," said Jeffrey Koplan, vice president for academic health affairs, Emory University, and former director of the CDC. Koplan chaired the committee that developed the report in response to a request from Congress for an obesity prevention plan based on sound science and the most promising approaches.

The report calls for all schools to apply nutritional standards developed at the national level to all foods and beverages served on school grounds, including vending machine products. The standards should include limits on fat and sugar content. To counter downward trends in activity levels, schools should ensure that all students engage in at least 30 minutes of physical activity each day and should expand activity opportunities beyond gym classes.

Although research suggests that exposure to food, beverage, and entertainment advertisements may adversely affect kids' eating habits and activity levels, there is not enough direct causal evidence to support banning all such advertising to children. Instead, the industries should develop and implement guidelines for advertising directed at kids. Congress should give the Federal Trade Commission the authority to monitor compliance and take action against ads that fail to comply. Restaurants should continue to expand their offerings of nutritious foods and beverages, and should provide calorie content and other nutrition information.

The report outlines several specific steps that parents should take, including providing healthy foods in the home, actively discussing their children's weight with health care providers, and limiting their children's TV, videogame, and recreational computer time to less than two hours daily.

Communities should support zoning ordinances and plans to enhance sidewalks, bike paths, playgrounds, and other recreational facilities.

------

The Institute of Medicine is a private, nonprofit institution that provides health policy advice under a congressional charter granted to the National Academy of Sciences.

http://www.usnewswire.com/

Smoking Ban Controversy -Columbus, OH

A recent report states that the "Coalition for a Smoke-Free Columbus" was not accurate in stating their reasons to pass a smoking ban.

A statement on the coalition's web-site claims that Big Tobacco was behind the push to collect signatures to put the Columbus smoking ban on the November ballot.

On Thursday, The Ohio Election Commission said that statement is false. The Commission also said the statement pushed people to vote against the measure.

Meanwhile, Central Ohio's second suburban smoking ban is in effect. Worthington is officially smoke-free in bars and restaurants.

http://www.10tv.com/Global/story.asp?S=2372947

Jury Sides With Cigarette Maker in Suit   -Ms,USA

06:48 PM EST - October 01, 2004

The Associated Press
ST. LOUIS

A jury ruled that a tobacco company was not responsible for the death of a 53-year-old woman who developed lung cancer after four decades of smoking.

The jury rejected claims by the woman's daughters Thursday that Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. did not provide their mother, Stella Hale, with adequate warnings of the risks of smoking.

Hale, who died in August 2001, smoked Brown & Williamson's Kool cigarettes for about 40 years, according to the suit.

The company, which merged with R.J. Reynolds in July to form the nation's second-largest tobacco company, said that Hale knew the potential health risks of smoking and chose to smoke anyway.

Jeff Raborn, lawyer for the newly named Reynolds Tobacco Co., said the ruling "underscores the strength of our defenses in these individual cases."

Douglas Dowd, who represented Hale's daughters, said the case was tough to prove because Hale was not alive to testify.

http://www.xposed.com/headline_news/55_ds_1051324.aspx

US tobacco trial witness quizzed on 2nd-hand smoke

29 Sep 2004 21:41:38 GMT

Source: Reuters By Peter Kaplan

WASHINGTON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - A lawyer for cigarette makers fighting the U.S. government's $280 billion racketeering suit sparred with a medical expert on Wednesday over whether the public was misled on the dangers of secondhand smoke.

Pulmonary specialist Jonathan Samet told U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler researchers concluded beginning in the 1980s that exposure to secondhand smoke increased the risk of lung cancer in non-smokers.

"The association between secondhand smoke and lung cancer in adults has been examined in investigations conducted in the United States and many other countries," Samet said in pre-written testimony submitted to the judge.

Until the mid-1990s, cigarette makers made the case publicly that the connection between secondhand smoke and health hazards had not been proven.

All of them now either acknowledge or defer to the warnings of public health officials, who have concluded that secondhand smoke is linked to increased cancer and heart disease risk.

During cross-examination on Wednesday, R.J. Reynolds lawyer Robert McDermott showed the judge a number of earlier studies that had turned up no significant connection between secondhand smoke and cancer, including five studies from 1986 alone.

"Not a single one (of the 1986 studies) showed statistically significant elevated risk, correct?" McDermott asked.

Samet, a professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said the results were statistically significant when researchers examined all the studies together.

Collectively, Samet told the judge, the results indicated exposure to secondhand smoke was associated with a 34-percent increase in lung cancer risk.

Samet said the link between secondhand smoke and disease was made in studies, starting in the 1980s, which found non-smokers who were married to smokers were more likely to develop lung cancer and heart disease than those married to other non-smokers.

Samet also cited a finding in the early 1990s by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that classified secondhand smoke as a human carcinogen.

McDermott, for R.J. Reynolds, quoted from a 1979 report from the Surgeon General that said healthy non-smokers had "little or no physiological response" to secondhand smoke.

He also cited research papers and reports that concluded more precise methods of measuring secondhand smoke exposure were needed, and that other factors, such as diet, should be studied further.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N29714403.htm

'Butt' Display Draws Attention At UC Santa Cruz

POSTED: 6:37 pm PDT September 29, 2004
UPDATED: 7:01 pm PDT September 29, 2004

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. -- A display at the University of California, Santa Cruz, is trying to make some people feel uneasy over one of their habits.

Thousands of cigarette butts were placed in a display on campus. The men and women of the UC Santa Cruz grounds department picked them up during the month of April.

Crew members wanted to show students how gross their jobs are when they have to pick up the butts on the campus.

The display is at Quarry Plaza near the bookstore.

http://www.theksbwchannel.com/news/3771742/detail.html

Cigarette smoke combined with healthy saliva hastens cancer

29 Sep 2004

The Journal of the American Dental Association reported in its August edition that cigarette smoke combined with healthy saliva creates a mixture that can accelerate oropharyngeal cancer, according to researchers in the July 5 issue of British Journal of Cancer.

The report outlined that saliva contains antioxidants molecules that fight and neutralize harmful substances and help protect the body against cancer. Researchers examined its role in the development of oral cancer by recreating the effects of cigarette smoke on cancerous cells of the mouth. They exposed one-half of cancerous cell samples to cigarette smoke alone and the other one-half to a saliva and cigarette smoke mixture.
They used cancerous cells in their study to assess quickly whether the saliva and smoke mixture would speed the cancer development.
Researchers found that cigarette smoke destroyed the antioxidants in the saliva and turned the saliva into a chemical mixture that could accelerate the development of mouth cancer. The longer the cancerous cells were exposed to the contaminated saliva, the more the cells were damaged.
Most people will find it very shocking that the mixture of saliva and smoke is actually more lethal to cells in the mouth than cigarette smoke alone, Esaid study co-author Dr. Rafi Nagler. Our study shows that once exposed to cigarette smoke, our normally healthy saliva not only loses its beneficial qualities but it turns traitor and actually aids in destroying the cells of the mouth and oral cavity. Cigarette smoke is not only damaging on its own, it can turn the body against itself.

http://www.ada.org.au

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=14184

Friday, September 24, 2004 · Last updated 10:10 a.m. PT

Five charged in Washington and Idaho in contraband cigarette case

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

YAKIMA, Wash. -- Five people have been charged with multiple offenses following an 18-month investigation into sales of untaxed cigarettes and raids on a number of Indian smoke shops.

Authorities said it apparently was the first time the Justice Department has brought criminal charges, at least in the Pacific Northwest, over contraband cigarettes intended for sale to non-Indians.

In a 238-count indictment issued by a federal grand jury, the three north Idaho residents and two Tacoma-area men were charged Thursday with money laundering, conspiracy to launder money and conspiracy to traffic in contraband cigarettes.

Money laundering, the most serious charge, carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

The indictment also seeks forfeiture of The Warpath, a landmark Indian smoke shop and convenience store on the Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation in Plummer, Idaho, as well as $2.2 million in cash that was seized at Indian smoke shops and from bank accounts in Fairfield and Fife and about $1 million worth of cigarettes taken in raids last year.

Investigators said the cigarettes involved in the case cost Washington state about $7 million in tax revenue.

"I've heard it estimated that, across the board and not just from this case, the state of Washington is losing as much as $1 million a month from the sale of untaxed cigarettes," said James A. McDevitt, U.S. attorney in Spokane.

Indians may legally buy untaxed cigarettes, but illegal sales of untaxed cigarettes to non-Indians at reservation smoke shops has been a long-smoldering problem for state and federal law enforcement and revenue officials.

"We're not at odds with the tribes, but individuals who allegedly have broken the law," McDevitt said.

Smuggled smokes

*if smokers were such a small group why are they worried about it?

"There's a new kind of smoking jacket in MB -- a parka"

Thursday, September 30, 2004

WINNIPEG - Some Manitoba bar owners are resorting to humour to tell their customers about the province-wide smoking ban that takes effect tomorrow.

They tell customers that there is a new type of smoking jacket in Manitoba -- a parka.

It's a gentle reminder to patrons that they will now have to step outside to enjoy a puff.

Other posters feature a frowning face and the words "Where there's smoke, there's fire ... and a fine."

The Association is also hoping to keep customers in bars through a new contest that includes a chance to win a vacation getaway.

Association president Jim Baker says his members are worried about losing customers because of the smoking law.

The two casinos in Winnipeg have already seen their revenues drop because of a municipal smoking ban that took effect last year

http://www.canada.com/fortstjohn/story.html?id=41685b1e-47be-4872-a707-ee630d99b5ca

Public meetings focus on smoking and zoning

Wednesday, September 29, 2004 Dunchurch (around Perry Sound, Ontario)

by Shelley Heffernan

There will be a public meeting at the Dunchurch Community Centre on October 23 at 9 a.m. for the proposed by-law to regulate smoking in public places and workplaces in the Municipality of Whitestone.

Whitestone council will also hold a public meeting on Saturday at 10 a.m., same location, to consider a new zoning by-law. The proposed zoning by-law will regulate the use of land, character, location and use of buildings or structures in the whole of the municipality. Any person may attend.

Copies of both the proposed zoning by-law and smoke-free by-law are available at the municipal office or on the municipality's web site: www.whitestone.ca

http://www.parrysoundnorthstar.com/story--1096481171/

*Heather Crowe wasn’t exposed to chlorine, mushrooms, hepatitis b (cold sores), plastics, and the over 35 other risk factors in 40 years????

An emotional message delivered to students about smoking -AB, CA

by Kevin Gill

Jasper Booster — Crowe was in Jasper, speaking to local students on Sept. 21, educating them on the dangers of second-hand smoke and driving home the importance of bylaws in towns like Jasper that will protect workers like her in the future.
Crowe was diagnosed with stage 3B non small cell lung cancer (adenocarcinoma) in the summer of 2002. The only risk factor for lung cancer Crowe was ever exposed to was the smoke from cigarettes, as she went about her work as a waitress.* During her 40-year career in that job, she often worked 60 hours per week to help support her family.
Crowe’s cancer is apparently in remission and at the moment she is battling to beat the bleak odds given to her by the doctors - a 15 per cent chance of living past five years.
With the knowledge she has gained through her ordeal, her mission is to spread the message about the dangers of second-hand smoke to as many people as possible. Her dream is to see a day when 100 per cent of Canadian workers are protected from exposure to second-hand smoke at work.
“This is not fair - people shouldn’t get sick like this,” she told the Jasper students. “There must be something I can do...so the next generation of workers are protected.”
Crowe’s presentation to the students was followed by another emotional message, this one from a film on Barb Tarbox. She is the Alberta woman who smoked cigarettes for years and years and was eventually diagnosed with cancer. She used the remaining months of her life to visit schools and warn kids about the dangers of smoking.
Throughout portions of the presentation to students some were moved to tears by the stories of Crowe and Tarbox.
 “I literally wanted to cry,” said Thomas. “Knowing that almost all my family members smoke and I don’t want to see them not get to see me graduate.”
Lackey called the presentation extremely inspirational.
“Everyone should listen to her... this woman is dying. How do you not feel moved by that?” he asked. “I know someone in my family smokes and I want them to be there when I graduate, when I get married, when I have kids. I don’t think that will happen if they keep smoking. I’m kind of scared for them now so I have to try and take some action on that.”
Crowe said it’s also important for some teens to do more than just think about what they heard from her.
“They basically have to follow up (with AADAC programs for youth) and get involved and maybe do a study of tobacco to get them involved that way,” she said. “At least they can know the product and what it’s going to do to them. If it can burn the lungs right out of me and I didn’t smoke it, what’s tobacco doing to them.”
Organizations like AADAC get a real boost from presentations like Crowe’s because it allows someone else who is dealing first hand with consequences of tobacco to get a message out that they work on all the time.
“I thought it was extremely powerful,” said local AADAC Tobacco Reduction Consultant John Heffernan, adding that AADAC has a number of programs to aid teens in quitting smoking

http://www.jasperbooster.com/story.php?id=119268

Tobacco regulation back on Congress' front burner

29 Sep 2004 23:21:41 GMT

Source: Reuters (Recasts, adds Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids quote)

By Joanne Kenen

WASHINGTON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - The long push to grant federal health authorities power to regulate tobacco re-emerged on Wednesday as a top issue in Congress as lawmakers pushed to include it in a massive corporate tax bill they hope to wrap up within the next week.

Anti-tobacco lawmakers want to grant the Food and Drug Administration power to regulate tobacco, including adding bolder health warnings on cigarette packs, regulating advertising, more aggressively combating underage sales and regulating ingredients to make cigarettes less harmful. It could not ban cigarettes or completely eliminate nicotine.

To make the proposal more politically palatable, they twinned the FDA plan with a $12 billion industry-financed buyout to U.S. tobacco farmers struggling with an antiquated price support system.

Both proposals were added to a corporate tax bill being finalized by House and Senate negotiators.

The goal is to finish next week -- but the outcome remains uncertain. Several lawmakers and aides said tobacco remained among the most vexing aspects of the tax talks.

CANDY-FLAVORED CIGARETTES

Matt Myers of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids said the flavored cigarettes were a prime example of why the FDA needed added powers. "Congressional action is the only way to gain government oversight of products like candy-flavored cigarettes," he said.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican, said he favored the FDA language but that his overarching task was to figure out how to get the votes to pass a tax bill originally written to address World Trade Organization sanctions, taxes and the outsourcing of jobs.

"I can't let five pages (seal the fate) of a 600-page bill," he said."

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N29628711.htm

*Good, now all the deaths that were associated with tobacco can now be linked with the Real reason, VIOXX

Merck to Withdraw Vioxx Because of Heart Risks (Update3)

Sept. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Merck & Co. withdrew its Vioxx painkiller, which generated $2.5 billion in sales last year, because of a link to heart attacks and strokes.

Vioxx, Merck's No. 4 product last quarter, and Pfizer Inc.'s Celebrex were the first in a new class of painkillers designed to be gentler on the stomach. Chief Executive Raymond Gilmartin already was under pressure after a study released last month showed that Merck's top-selling cholesterol treatment Zocor failed to help patients who had just had a heart attack.

FDA Issues Advisory

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an advisory urging patients taking Vioxx to consult with a doctor about alternative medications. Vioxx is used to treat conditions ranging from arthritis to migraines.

``Although the risk that an individual patient would have a heart attack or stroke related to Vioxx is very small,'' the study suggests that patients taking the drug face twice the risk of a heart attack compared with patients on a placebo, Acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Lester M. Crawford said in a statement.

Next-Generation Painkiller

Merck is seeking U.S. approval of its next-generation painkiller, known as Arcoxia, which like Vioxx and Celebrex is designed to narrowly target an enzyme that is linked to pain and swelling. The withdrawal of Vioxx won't affect that application, Merck's Plohoros said. The FDA's decision on Arcoxia is due in late October.

``This raises issues about Arcoxia,'' said Wendell Perkins, who oversees $800 million at the Johnson Family of Funds in Racine, Wisconsin. ``Will it have the same issues, and will the FDA take more time to review the product?''

Arcoxia has been sold in the U.K. since 2002.

In August 2001, German drugmaker Bayer AG withdrew its cholesterol medicine Baycol after it was linked to 52 deaths worldwide, including 31 in the U.S. The drug was Bayer's No. 3 medicine and the fastest growing of its top sellers at the time, and the withdrawal cost the company 900 million euros that year.

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000006&sid=azH1LI6DDYs0&refer=home

Health secretary John Reid has signalled an all-out ban on smoking in pubs could be averted. -UK

Speaking at the Labour Party conference Mr Reid said: “With New Labour it’s going to be a bit more difficult to do deals in smoke-filled rooms.”

But he stopped short of declaring an all-out ban was on the cards. The government’s policy will be set out in the White Paper on public health, which is now not expected to appear before December.

One insider said he had received indications that legislation was likely to ban smoking in workplaces, including pubs, but make exceptions for wet-led pubs and clubs. Discussions were going on about how food pubs would be defined, he said.

The source added that Mr Reid, a former smoker, had made the difference in the government’s approach on smoking and “there is still plenty to play for”.

There are signs that the government has been encouraged by the five-year plan to restrict smoking to 20 per cent of trading space by 2010, launched by five pubcos last month.

http://www.thepublican.com/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=14980&d=32&h=24&f=23&dateformat=%25o%20%25B%20%25Y

Make your views clear on smoking -UK
Tom McCabe

SMOKING in public places is something of a hot topic at the moment - both politically and socially - and rightly so. Smoking, as we all know, is an extremely dangerous habit, and is the cause of an estimated 13,000 Scottish deaths each year and is responsible for thousands more hospital admissions.
Cancer and coronary heart disease are usually seen as being the conditions most closely linked to smoking. However, the European Respiratory Society (ERS) recently held its annual congress in Glasgow, where it announced that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) - also known as chronic bronchitis - would become the fourth-biggest killer worldwide. There is no cure for COPD and the vast majority of cases are caused by smoking. * I have included many studies stating that COPD caused by GENES!
http://news.scotsman.com/opinion.cfm?id=1142552004

History of smoking significantly reduces survival in head and neck cancer patients

30 Sep 2004

A new study shows that a history of smoking affects survival in patients with cancer of the head and neck. Patients who had smoked fewer than 100 cigarettes in their lifetime were three times more likely to have better overall survival, disease-specific survival, and recurrence-free survival compared with patients who had a current or previous history of regular smoking.
 http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=14215

No Smoking... Parkville considers ban on smoking; Liberty watches

 By: Theresa Bembnister  September 30, 2004, Staff Writer

Area residents gathered in Parkville last week to discuss enacting a citywide public smoking ban. Dr. Rex Archer of the Kansas City Department of Health attested to the dangers of smoky environments. Teri Harr of Maryville shared her community's experiences after adopting a smoke-free ordinance.

Gary Worden, co-owner of the voluntarily smoke-free restaurant, Piropos, said that the decision should be left to business owners.

The Sept. 21 meeting resulted in a 4-3 vote by the Board of Alderman to table the citywide issue in favor of reviewing a possible regional smoking ban

If adopted, the model ordinance would outlaw smoking in all workplaces and in 75 percent of hotel/motel rooms.

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1452&dept_id=155076&newsid=13023619&PAG=461&rfi=9

Association To Discuss Statewide Smoking Ban -MN
Sep 30, 2004 6:29 am US/Central
Duluth, Minn. (AP) The Minnesota Medical Association is considering whether to support a statewide ban on smoking in workplaces.
More than nine-thousand physicians are represented by the group.
State Senator Scott Dibble says the MMA's support would bolster efforts to enact a statewide workplace smoking ban.
The Minneapolis DFL'er sponsored a proposed statewide ban on smoking in bars and restaurants last session. The bill cleared an important Senate committee but never received a hearing in the corresponding House committee.

http://wcco.com/localnews/local_story_274073119.html

Eighteen More Pub Chains Join Smoking Clampdown-UK
By Graham Hiscott, Consumer Affairs Correspondent, PA News

Eighteen pub companies have signed-up to an industry initiative severely restricting smoking in their premises, it was announced today.
They join five companies which were the first to agree the no-smoking policy earlier this month.
The latest wave will mean around 40% of pubs and bars in the UK will be covered by the new rules.
The policy commits companies to ban smoking at the bar by the end of next year and to expand the amount of no-smoking floor-space in premises to 80% by December 2009.
 http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3567028

Government plans controls on smoking -UK

Wed 29 September, 2004 20:46

BRIGHTON (Reuters) - Health Secretary John Reid says the government is poised to introduce controls on smoking in public places.

But he suggested Britain would adopt its own model rather than copying Ireland, where legislation has banned smoking outright in pubs.

"With New Labour it's going to be a bit more difficult to do deals in smoke-filled rooms," Reid told the ruling Labour Party's annual conference on Thursday.

He said he would make it easier for people to make healthier choices, including those "who want to give up the fags."

Government ministers are working on draft plans on smoking restrictions and Reid is expected to make an announcement to parliament shortly.

The government is keen to strike a balance on smoking between being accused of engineering a "nanny state" and of failing to do enough to protect the public from passive smoking.

Labour would adopt "the British way" in relation to policies on healthcare, Reid said -- a clear hint it would not adopt Ireland's outright ban, according to aides.

The government is expected to seek a compromise solution, with different restrictions for different types of public places, from bars to pubs to restaurants.

http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=593460&section=news

By Michael John McCrae
Sept. 30, 2004

No more cheerleading from me. It causes too much pain and anguish for the members of the other team. The other team is full of “rage”. They have done so much quality research and found so many quality “forgeries” to make their point that George W. Bush is the most evil and untrustworthy Hitler and Taliban like person on the face of the earth. How can we conservatives continue in the face of such “proof”? I know I can’t bear to watch one more tear fall from one more liberal cheek. So I quit!
Yes, it is true. Global Warming is all the fault of evil Republicans. Evil Republicans revel in the destruction of the planet. All Republicans pray that the world becomes so polluted that billions of people will just die and leave their family fortunes to death taxation at the front door of the Congress; so they can be scooped up and spent on military programs and buildings and Aircraft Carriers named after Ronald Reagan! How crass of those Republican taxaholics!
http://www.useless-knowledge.com/articles/apr/sept397.html

Butting in -CA,USA

I TOTALLY AGREE with Gary Cicotte's Sept. 27 letter on the proposed ban on outdoor smoking in San Francisco. Supervisor Alioto-Pier had better look at the declining state of her district instead of creating new policies. She should take care of the existing problems and do her job. The streets have never been dirtier, the homeless/bum population has tripled, and urine and feces could be seen everywhere if she ever took a moment to check on the Van Ness/Polk neighborhood. I have to step over bums to get home every day.

I really wish that our supervisors were elected only based on their qualifications.

If she is so worried about the cigarette butts, perhaps it would be a good idea to have more trash cans in the main streets so there is not so much litter on the streets.

Anita Daniel

http://www.sfexaminer.com/article/index.cfm/i/093004op_letters

Vaccinating against Vice

The technology and political interest are there, but inoculating kids against bad habits might do more harm than good

By Shannon Klie 9/30/2004 11:23 AM

The bell rings and Bobby rushes outside to meet his friends in the field behind the school. When he gets there some older boys are smoking. One of them smiles at Bobby and hands him a cigarette. "Wanna drag?" he asks. At 13, Bobby has never smoked before. Not wanting to look like a geek, he takes the cigarette. He inhales, sputters and coughs. The smoke burns his throat and makes his eyes water. He tries again. He doesn't cough, but the cigarette tastes horrible.

Over time, other children become addicted but not Bobby. When he was younger, his parents vaccinated him against nicotine as part of a government-sanctioned program. He can't feel nicotine's pleasurable effects, so doesn't get addicted to cigarettes.

Far-fetched? Not at all. Successful trials with nicotine and cocaine-specific vaccines could make Bobby's story a reality soon. And it was widely reported this summer that the British government could soon be considering a program to vaccinate children against addiction to nicotine, cocaine and other drugs. So the technology and political interest are there.

But while the allure of using neuropharmacological treatments, such as drug-specific vaccines, as weapons in the ongoing war on drugs might be hard to resist, many scientists and ethicists believe that such government-mandated inoculation could cause more harm than good.

http://www.betterhumans.com/Features/Reports/report.aspx?articleID=2004-09-30-1

Battery Creek students arrested
Carolina Morning News
Two Battery Creek High School students were arrested Wednesday afternoon after a bus driver suspected someone was smoking pot on the bus.
"The bus driver smelled what she thought was marijuana smoke and pulled over," said Beaufort County School District spokesman John Williams.
The bus driver then flagged down a passing sheriff's deputy.
All the students were taken off the bus, which was then searched. "Nothing was found," Williams said.
Students' backpacks were not searched, he said.
Two teenagers - a boy and a girl - were arrested, said Debbie Szpanka, Beaufort County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman.
"They weren't arrested for pot, but for being mouthy," she said.
Battery Creek Principal Rodney Jenkins was notified of the incident and consequences are sure to follow, Williams said.
http://www.lowcountrynow.com/stories/093004/LOCpotbrief.shtml

TETRA: A Popular Revolt -Wales

 Costing £2.9 billion, the UK's new police communication system Tetra has been described by one independent scientist as likely to cause 'more civilian deaths than all the world's terrorist organisations put together'.

Before the Tetra mast was erected in Llanidloes, the nearest thing to a health scare there was the fact that the local Kwik Save was no longer selling prunes in apple juice.
And then, stealthily, on a bank holiday weekend in May, the mobile phone company O2 (through its subsidiary MMO2) erected a Tetra mast in the heart of the town. O2's idea of 'consultation' was legal but risible: it did little more than inform the mayor and town council that it was putting the mast up, whether Llanidloes liked it or not.
And Llanidloes did not.
 Tetra stands for 'Terrestrial Trunked Radio'. It is the new police communication system using microwave radiation and low-frequency electromagnetic pulsing, and is operated by O2 under the brand name Airwave

Not everyone, however, is so enthusiastic about Tetra. Dr Gerard Hyland, an expert in low-level radiation, member of the International Institute of Biophysics and prominent Tetra critic, states: 'With the Tetra roll-out we could be seeing a pandemic of brain tumours in 10 years.' Low-frequency radiation, says Hyland, affects brain function and the blood-brain barrier and degrades the immune system. Children are known to absorb far more radiation than adults. Writing in the medical journal The Lancet in November 2000, Hyland stated: 'Radiation is known to affect the brain rhythms, and children are particularly vulnerable... The main effects are neurological, causing headaches, memory loss and sleeping disorders.'

When a Tetra mast was switched on in Dursley in Gloucestershire people there complained of migraines, sleeplessness, nosebleeds and being 'shocked awake' up to 15 times a night. At a school in Littlehampton, Sussex, 11 children had to be sent home on the day that a nearby Tetra mast went live. The children suffered dizziness and, like the residents of Dursley, severe headaches and nosebleeds. (Interestingly, the local ommunity did not know the mast had been switched on, so the children's reactions could not have been psychosomatic.) At Drumcarrow Hill in Fife a Tetra transmitter has been in operation since the late 1990s. Only about 200 people live around the mast, but there have been at least seven recent cases of cancer and five cases of motor neurone disease (MND) diagnosed in the area over the past five years. (Normally, no more than two people to every 100,000 is diagnosed with MND per year.)
MND is a particularly nasty and fatal degenerative disease. Last year Dr Neil Cherry, former associate professor of environmental health at Lincoln University, died from it, convinced he had contracted MND as a consequence of his long exposure to low-frequency radiation, the potential health hazards of which he researched. Cherry's work suggests that low-level radiation, and Tetra, could also cause heart and blood problems, interference with bone marrow and tumours.
The industry seeks the endorsement of the British police, which are seen as conservative, safety-conscious and well-equipped; it would be a kind of celebrity endorsement: 'as seen on The Bill. 'That,' says Grahame Blackwell, '[would be] a strong selling point. It's a very cynical use of our emergency services.'
 http://www.theecologist.org/article.html?article=475