Dirty insult to citizens -ON
Nov. 29, 2004. 01:00 AM
Stupid.ca
This site is a publicly funded, dirty insult to all citizens even though it is smokers who are the target. The statement that "tobacco is the only commercial product ... that is both lethal and deadly when used as intended" is so erroneous that it screams propaganda. Prescription and non-prescription drugs, automobiles and an endless list of commercial products on the market can also be lethal and deadly when used as intended.
The government's evangelistic crusade against smokers, at the expense of so many critical issues within health care that need to be addressed, is a blatantly obvious attempt to stir up citizens who really don't believe smoking to be a major issue anymore and to justify future plans for further destruction of freedom of choice and individual rights aimed at 20 per cent of the population of Canada. Tactics of this nature are beneath contempt.
Jan Hogg, Bath, Onthttp://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1101682208136&call_pageid=968332189003&col=968350116895&DPL=IvsNDS%2f7ChAX&tacodalogin=yes
Lawyers wrangle over legality of tobacco ad ban -CANADA
Canadian Press Monday, November 29, 2004
A federal law that bans tobacco sponsorship, restricts advertising and requires large warnings on cigarette packs is unconstitutional, lawyers for Canada's three largest tobacco companies argued Monday.
Imperial Tobacco Canada Limited, Rothmans, Benson & Hedges Inc. and JTI-Macdonald Corp. argued before the Quebec Court of Appeal that the 1997 Tobacco Act effectively constitutes a total ban on advertising, which the Supreme Court of Canada ruled was unconstitutional in 1995.
"Our view is that this is deja-vu, that we're looking at a prohibition which is total again and that the Supreme Court has already essentially decided the matter in 1995," lawyer Simon Potter said outside the courtroom.
"There is no justification for a law which tells people that you cannot evoke images or evoke emotions," said Potter, representing Imperial Tobacco.
The companies said a 2002 Quebec Superior Court ruling upholding the federal law failed to address several key constitutional issues and contained numerous factual errors.
The federal government, the Canadian Cancer Society and anti-tobacco advocates said they will argue during five days of hearings the law is constitutionally valid.
While the restrictions on advertising and promotion infringe on freedom of expression, they are justified as a reasonable limit under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the cancer society said.
"We believe that these laws are essential to protect public health in Canada, to reduce smoking among adults and among children,'' said Rob Cunningham, lawyer for the cancer society."
"And it's working."
The youth smoking rate at 18 per cent is the lowest ever recorded. Smoking among adults has decreased to 21 per cent, compared with 30 per cent before these laws were enforced, Cunningham added.
http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=e17ed4b6-e27e-409b-8e65-ff1d8616ccdd
*article in canoe affiliates also
Smoking bylaw case put off for 2 weeks MB
WINNIPEG - The first Manitoba business owner to face charges under the province's new smoking law appeared in court Monday morning.
Robert Jenkinson, who owns the Creekside Hideaway restaurant in Treherne, faces 13 charges under the new Non-Smokers Health Protection Act.
Jenkinson's lawyer, Art Stacey, says the matter has been put off for two weeks to give Jenkinson time to get on opinion on how to proceed with his case.
No plea has been entered yet, but Jenkinson has vowed in the past to fight the law, which he says punishes rural bar and hotel owners.
About two dozen other restaurant and bar owners are defying the new law by allowing smoking in their establishments.
Provincial officials say it's only a matter of time until they are all charged.
The Non-Smokers Health Protection Act, which outlaws smoking in all public buildings, was passed unanimously in the legislature and enacted Oct. 1. Fines for allowing smoking can run up to $3,000.
http://winnipeg.cbc.ca/regionalnews/caches/mb_smoking20041129.html
Time to Hike the Legal Smoking Age? -NY
By Eyewitness News' Lauren Defranco
(Central Islip -WABC, November 29, 2004) — The minimum age for buying cigarettes may be going up in several of our communities. Lawmakers in one county are trying to raise the smoking age from 18 years old to 19 years old. Eyewitness News' Lauren Defranco reports.
The measure was unanimously passed Monday by the Suffolk County Health and Human Services Committee and it's now awaiting a full vote. Long Island reporter Lauren Defranco has the story.
Why did you decide not to smoke?
Felisha Mention, Student: "Because I see a lot of people with cancer and everything else. I just choose not to do it."
Video: See the Story
Jonathan Zamor, Student: "There's a lady, she can't talk. She has to have that thing in her throat. I don't want that to happen to me ever."
Lauren Defranco: "So you listen..."
Zamor: "Yeah, I'm a good boy. I do whatever my momma told me."
These high school juniors in Central Islip know the devastating physical effects of smoking. But the reality is a lot of students light up in spite of the warnings.
Now Suffolk County lawmakers are trying to curb teenage smoking by raising the legal age from 18 to 19. If they do, Suffolk would join only three other government bodies taking this aggressive action.
Brian Foley, (D) Suffolk County Legislator: "If we can delay, if not prevent, teenagers from starting to smoke, by the time they're in their twenties they'll never start smoking."
So Monday the health and human services committee voted unanimously of the resolution, which could soon become law. This after a spirited public hearing.
For obvious reasons, the opposition to this is remaining quiet but strong. It's convenience store owners who will have to police the new law and possibly lose business.
Suffolk lawmakers are determined this law will ultimately save lives.
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/news/wabc_112904_suffolksmoking.html
Cigarette Ads in Convenience Stores May Boost Teen Smoking -CA
A new study finds kids who frequent the shops are more likely to pick up the habit.
By Randy Dotinga HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, Nov. 29 (HealthDayNews) -- New research suggests that teens who spend a lot of time hanging around convenience stores are more likely to smoke, even if they're not the type of kids considered to be delinquents.
While the findings don't point to anything other than a possible link between the stores and smoking, they're raising a red flag among researchers who fear the glut of tobacco advertising in convenience stores is having a major impact on young customers.
"It's the only unregulated frontier for this kind of marketing," explained study co-author Lisa Henriksen, a senior research scientist at Stanford University's Prevention Research Center.
In the spring of 2003, Henriksen and her colleagues surveyed 2,125 middle-school students in the Northern California city of Tracy. They asked the children about their smoking habits and their visits to small grocery, convenience and liquor stores.
The findings appear in the December issue of the American Journal of Public Health.
About a quarter of the students visited the stores at least once a day; about two-thirds visited at least once a week.
The researchers found that those who were exposed to tobacco marketing in the stores at least once a week were more likely to smoke.
The researchers then tinkered with the numbers to test the theory that "kids who are up to no good hang out at stores," Henriksen said. They tried to remove the influence of factors such as race, gender, age, exposure to other tobacco advertising and "propensity for risk-taking," a rough measurement of a kid's tolerance for getting into hot water. Even so, the study still found that kids who visited the stores regularly were 50 percent more likely to smoke.
"That was a compelling result," Henriksen said, although she cautioned that the study doesn't prove that visits to the stores make kids smoke; it only shows a link between the two activities.
According to the study, the tobacco industry spends more on in-store advertising than all other forms of advertising combined -- $9.5 billion vs. $1.7 billion in 2001. Tobacco companies cannot advertise on television or radio, and a 1998 settlement with the federal government banned billboard advertising.
The study "shows that the tobacco industry is still able to use the loopholes in the settlement to very effectively market to kids," said Stanton A. Glantz, director of the Center for Tobacco Control Research at the University of California, San Francisco.
Advertising through store displays "may be less efficient for them, but they have enough money and cigarettes are profitable enough that they're able to use a somewhat less-efficient advertising medium," he said. "The cigarette companies wouldn't be spending billions of dollars doing this if it didn't work. They're not fools."
What's next? According to Henriksen, researchers need to get a better handle on the influence of advertisements in convenience stores. "If our purpose is to argue for effective policies that prevent smoking, we need to point people's attention to stores as an area that needs attention," she said.
More information
Learn more about preventing teen smoking from the American Cancer Society (www.cancer.org ).
http://www.healthcentral.com/news/NewsFullText.cfm?id=522595
The elephant in the room -NY
How I learned to stop worrying and love Mayor Bloomberg
by Shaun McElhenny Columnist
In the wake of the Democrats' 2004 electoral defeat, we have never been gladder to be New Yorkers. Sure, we have a president whom 75 percent of us voted against, but in the next four years we can at least revel in a city government dominated by Democrats.
Many see a blight on this idyllic scene in Republican Mayor Mike Bloomberg. Since Nov. 2, talk among New York Democrats is refocusing on dislodging Bloomberg. It is a natural reaction, since a Republican mayoralty is almost an insult to an overwhelmingly Democratic city, especially after a national election in which the Republicans got the best of us.
Yet it is difficult to partake in anti-Bloomberg designs when his mayoralty is altogether refreshing, especially when it comes to New York City politics.
First of all, Bloomberg is a lifelong Democrat. He only switched his registration because wealthy tycoons do not stand much chance in New York City Democratic primaries, where nearly a dozen Democratic officials compete every four years. And even after switching parties, Bloomberg has not been the GOP lackey that some have made him out to be.
Unlike fellow New Yorkers Gov. George Pataki and former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who are nursing presidential ambitions by slavishly supporting President Bush and the national GOP, Bloomberg has been a consistent advocate for the city when it comes to getting our share from a Republican Congress whose constituencies lie elsewhere.
He nearly refused to give his speech at the Republican National Convention after his appeal for more financial assistance from Washington was excised from his speech by Republican staffers. Ultimately, his duties as host mayor compelled him to make his opening remarks.
Also, while critics have cited Bloomberg's budget cuts as evidence that he is out of touch, the blame lies not with Bloomberg but with the city charter. The charter's balanced budget amendment ties the city's hands during a recession. Regardless of the economy, any New York City mayor faced with a deficit is legally forced to raise taxes or cut programs, the two things budget-makers are not supposed to do in hard times. To his credit, Bloomberg struck a balance of both.
In general, though, Bloomberg's mayoralty is valuable because of its style. The worst thing about New York City politics is that politicians play neighborhoods, races and interest groups off one another for their own gain. Bloomberg does none of this, because his ability to self-finance his campaigns buys his independence from narrow interest groups. It seems as though Bloomberg is trying to serve as everyone's mayor.
Bloomberg also exhibits a type of candor not usually practiced by today's ultra-polished politicians. If he faces tough decisions, such as those concerning the budget, he says flat out that it was a tough decision and that he made his choice for such-and-such a reason. No excuses, no spinning and no blame game.
And let us not forget NYU students' favorite issue, the smoking ban. You can say all you want about rights, but rights go only as far as no one else is being harmed. Twenty percent of the population does not have any right to poison the rest. Furthermore, from an economic standpoint, the major slowdown in the nightlife business that was supposed to accompany the ban never materialized. Bloomberg is right to be proud of this measure.
This does not mean that Bloomberg should definitely win re-election next year. But it does mean that Democrats should not immediately vote for whomever the Democratic primary produces simply because he or she is a Democrat. It is unfair to take our image of the national Republican Party and project it onto Bloomberg simply because of his party registration.
My vote, for one, is not etched in stone. Depending on who wins the Democratic nomination, Bloomberg has a good chance at being the first politician for whom I have ever crossed party lines. •
http://www.nyunews.com/opinion/columnists/8434.html
Smoking ban could waft through bars, restaurants-MN
City health commissioner wants ordinance by 2005
By Erik Brooks Nov. 28, 2004
Milwaukee health commissioner Bevan Baker is floating the concept of banning smoking at all Milwaukee workplaces, including restaurants and bars, and will craft an ordinance in early 2005.
Baker called the prohibition of smoking in workplaces "good public health policy," despite concerns from business owners, industry groups and smokers sure to resist the ban. He said a push for a "smoke-free city" will be part of his department's agenda for the Common Council in 2005.
Baker said he has yet to approach Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett or aldermen with a specific plan. He said he's waiting until early next year when the "heavy lifting" of balancing the 2005 city budget is complete.
Any ban will meet some resistance, said Ald. Bob Donovan, chairman of the Common Council's Public Safety Committee, which would consider the measure.
"I have seen ridiculous legislation move forward, and in my estimation this would be one of them," Donovan said of Baker's suggestion. "It's the choice of any business to make that determination. I don't think it should be mandated by government."
Business owners contacted by The Business Journal agreed.
"Bars really do seem to be the last bastion for smokers," said Tag Grotelueschen, co-owner of Club Garibaldi, a bar at 2501 S. Superior St., Milwaukee.
He said he would oppose a city mandate, but noted any ban would affect all bar owners equally.
'Absurd' mandate
A spokesman for the Tavern League of Wisconsin in Madison called government-mandated smoking bans "absurd."
"Our people feel, 'This is my business,'" said Pete Madland, chief office manager and former president of the Tavern League. "If I go broke and bankrupt and lose my livelihood on decisions that I make, that's one thing. If I go broke because of decisions that government makes, that's a hard pill to swallow."
Indeed, the effect can be significant, said Jayne Aliota, vice president of Waukesha-based George Webb Corp., which has 40 area locations, eight in the city of Milwaukee. Aliota said George Webb is predicting a 30 percent drop in business at its three Wauwatosa restaurants when that city's smoking ban goes into effect in 2006.
Citywide smoking bans are especially hurtful in areas where patrons can bypass a restaurant in one city and dine at another restaurant minutes away in a city that allows smoking, Aliota said.
Given that perception, a statewide smoking ban would draw more support from business owners because it would "level the playing field," she said.
Heinemann's Restaurants, which has eight area locations including two in the city of Milwaukee, voluntarily went smoke-free more than a decade ago, said Peggy Burns, president of the Milwaukee-based chain.
Because the restaurants were among the first in the area to do it, business dropped 10 percent to 15 percent in the first year, Burns said. It rebounded, although not entirely.
Burns said a growing number of restaurants are choosing to go entirely smoke-free on their own.
Appealing to nonsmokers
Smoking ban supporters, however, say business revenue could actually increase over time, as people who may have avoided establishments with high levels of secondary cigarette smoke may now patronize them.
"Smokers are adjusting to a smoke-free world," said Maureen Busalacchi, executive director of Smoke Free Wisconsin, a Madison-based anti-smoking interest group.
Details of Bevan's proposed ordinance are under consideration, but he called a ban on smoking in restaurants and bars "a great, great starting point." The city two years ago enacted an ordinance banning smoking in all city-owned buildings and vehicles.
The potential prohibition, Baker said, is in line with his goals of reducing "health disparities" among Milwaukee residents, which he promised to do when Barrett chose him to head the Health Department in July.
"I am looking forward to working with all parties to make sure Milwaukee is one of the cities in this country that has a smoke-free work environment," Baker said. "My responsibility as health commissioner is to protect the residents of Milwaukee, and if a smoke-free environment is a means to that end, then I am 100 percent behind it."
Such a ban could lead to improved health and lower health care costs in a city struggling with large insurance premium increases, Baker said.
Baker said he will study the ordinances of other cities and states that have enacted bans.
Eighteen Wisconsin municipalities have some form of smoking ban in place, with most ordinances focused on restaurants. So far, only one Milwaukee County community, Wauwatosa, has banned smoking. Its restaurant ban takes effect July 1, 2006. Franklin city officials are considering a ban on smoking in restaurants.
Madison model
In Madison, a more stringent ordinance outlawing smoking in all places of employment will be phased in starting in 2005, with a restaurant and bar smoking ban taking place starting next July. Officials in Oshkosh, Appleton and Wausau are also considering restaurant smoking bans.
Nationwide, more than 1,800 municipalities have some sort of "clean indoor air law," according to the American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation, a Berkeley, Calif.-based interest group. Of those, 248 have banned smoking in all workplaces. Ten states have laws that ban smoking in either workplaces, restaurants or bars.
Anti-smoking advocates are increasingly pushing for "all encompassing" bans on smoking in workplaces, not just in restaurants or bars, said Dona Wininsky, public policy coordinator for the American Lung Association of Wisconsin, Brookfield. A push for a workplace ban locally is likely in 2005, with Baker's support for the ban a major boost for the effort, she said.
The politics of enacting a ban are among the biggest roadblocks, Wininsky said, although she expressed optimism that "fresh blood" on the Milwaukee Common Council could lead to increased support for a smoking prohibition.
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6605909/
Picking up a nicotine habit at college- USA
Alcohol, peer pressure are key factors in students' decision to smoke
By Arianne Baker November 29, 2004
College smokers are likely to be a Caucasian, non-religious member of a fraternity or sorority who drinks, according to Edith Balback, director of the Tufts Community Health program. This survey, based on national data that is not Tufts-specific, also found that smokers also tend to be dissatisfied with their education and non-athletic.
According to the Office on Smoking and Health at the Center for Disease Control, 80 percent of adult smokers started smoking before the age of 18. Since the strong force of peer pressure in middle school and high school tends to be the principal factor influencing adolescents' decisions to smoke, most anti-smoking campaigns are aimed at the adolescent crowd.
Among the college demographic, the overall number of student smokers stays approximately the same, "Around nine percent start in college and nine percent quit," Balback said.
There are several possible reasons why nine percent of college students start smoking upon attending college. Alcohol plays a role, say both Balbach and Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Robin Kanarek, a researcher in the psychopharmacology of tobacco and nicotine use.
"One feature of college social life which may contribute to smoking is alcohol use," Kanarek said. "Alcohol may make students feel less inhibited and thus contribute to their decision to smoke."
Those suing tobacco companies focus on the firms' advertising practices. National ad campaigns like thetruth.com aim to raise awareness about companies' practice of marketing cigarettes to adolescents.
But some students do not attribute their first smoke to cigarette companies' ad campaigns. "Advertising didn't impact me at all - it was curiosity," freshman Jake Brotter said. Brotter tried his first cigarette when he was in eighth grade.
National anti-smoking campaigns also face limited success. "The anti-smoking ads definitely kept me from smoking up until freshman or sophomore year [of high school]," freshman Josh Lord said. "The first time I smoked a cigarette was sophomore year and I was considerably drunk."
Although anti-smoking campaigns may not prevent all people from taking up smoking, these national ad campaigns appear to have a degree of effectiveness. Junior Holly Ganbold, an international student from Austria, says that there are more anti-smoking campaigns in the United States than in Austria and "people smoke about 25 times more there."
Peer pressure and whether one's friends smoke are also two important factors in the whether students start smoking. "It's not advertising; it's who you're friends with," said Ganbold of her reasons for starting to smoke when she was 16-years-old.
Brotter started smoking regularly during his senior year of high school, when it became easy to buy cigarettes because he had "plenty of friends who were eighteen."
Nicotine's addictive and relaxing properties make cigarettes an appealing stress reliever to stressed students who already smoke - possibly contributing to the fact that most people who enter college as smokers leave as smokers.
"I think that stress does play a role in maintaining smoking behavior," Kanarek said. "We and others have data that show withdrawal from smoking increases feelings associated with stress in smokers. Also, there are data demonstrating that nicotine has mild pain-relieving properties."
Kanarek ventured to say that "if someone who is a smoker has to sit through a three-hour class without smoking, it could be detrimental" to classroom performance.
As far as the effect of smoking on success in school, studies for college-age students are limited. However, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, "smokers have shown impairment across a wide range of psychomotor and cognitive functions, such as language comprehension" during periods of abstinence and/or craving.
Fortunately, compared to other people of the same age group, college students are less likely to smoke. "While the stress of college may encourage some to start smoking or make it harder to quit, higher education as a rule is protective against smoking," Balbach said.
There are accessible resources on campus for those suffering from alcohol and (non-tobacco) drug problems, but the school's resources for cigarette smokers seeking to quit are more limited.
"I think Tufts' priority is alcohol and other drugs that pose an immediate threat to student health - tobacco is more deadly, but it tends to be a slow-motion killer," said Balbach when asked if Tufts' services for smokers are sufficient.
Tufts students are largely aware of the ill health effects of smoking. However, Brotter admits that, though he read about the Great American Smokeout - an effort by the American Cancer Society to help stop smoking that took place on Nov. 18 - he has no immediate plans to stop. "I'll probably try to quit in the next one to five years," he said.
Both Brotter and Lord said that if their younger siblings started smoking, they would tell them to stop. "I would definitely tell them not to," Lord said. Brotter concurred, saying that he would explain to his siblings that "smoking is bad for your health."
Lord added that he would say the same to friends that may be smoking too much. Though Lord says that he is not addicted to cigarettes, he feels that he has many friends who are. "[If they] are smoking a pack a day, I try to get them to cut down," Lord said.
Tufts Health Services offers a range of options to students who want to quit smoking. The Health Services website lists the Tufts AOD program, peer support groups, and a Counseling Center as some of their services.
http://www.tuftsdaily.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/11/29/41aac617bebfd
Experts Assess Lung Cancer Risk Among Smokers
By Ed Edelson Health Day Reporter
MONDAY, Nov. 29 (HealthDayNews) -- The largest study of its kind has come up with hard, cold numbers that pinpoint the risk of lung cancer for smokers and former smokers.
The International Early Lung Cancer Action Project used computed tomography (CT) scans to look for early signs of lung cancer in more than 27,700 smokers and ex-smokers. The results were presented Nov. 29 at the Radiological Society of North America's annual meeting in Chicago.
"Based on our data, we can now predict by age, by how much has been smoked or when a smoker has quit, what is the likelihood of developing lung cancer," said project leader Dr. Claudia I. Henschke, chief of chest imaging at New York-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City.
For example, her team found that 15 cases of lung cancer will be detected in every 1,000 smokers aged 50 to 74, compared to six cases per 1,000 in those under 50.
The total number of cigarettes smoked is also important. There will be 28 cases of lung cancer among 1,000 people who smoked three packs a day for 20 years or more, compared to 16 per 1,000 who smoked three packs a day for 10 to 20 years.
People who have managed to kick the habit are at risk long after they stop, Henschke noted, partly because smokers remain more likely to die suddenly of heart disease. The risk of lung cancer does not decline much until 20 years after the last cigarette has been inhaled.
The benefit of early detection of lung cancer is clear, she said. With annual screening, there is a better than 75 percent chance that detection and surgery will save a life. Without screening, the probability of a cure is no better than 10 percent, the researchers said.
But a screening test runs about $300, Henschke said, so cost enters into the decision. For example, it probably makes sense for someone under 75 to have the test, because the expected life span is more than 10 years and early detection will buy extra years. But someone over 80 is more likely to die of other causes, and therefore the benefit is less certain.
It's a decision that has to be made by each individual, preferably after consulting a doctor, Henschke said, but she acknowledges that a purely logical approach might not be easy.
"The mathematics are there, the data are there, and I hope it can be explained to people," she said.
Another speaker at the meeting described work on a computer program that might make a decision on surgery easier once a mass is detected in a lung.
Researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center are developing software that analyzes a series of CT scans to determine if a suspicious mass is cancerous or noncancerous.
Right now, a lung biopsy is necessary to obtain a tissue sample for laboratory analysis, explained Lubomir Hadjiyski, a research assistant professor of radiology at the University of Michigan Medical School. "We hope we can give correct recommendations that would decrease the number of unnecessary biopsies," he said.
Hadjiyski and his colleagues have already developed a similar program for the diagnosis of breast cancer. Clinical trials of the lung cancer program could start "in a year or two," he added.
More information
What you need to know about smoking and health is outlined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
http://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/health/feeds/hscout/2004/11/29/hscout522554.html
'Lighter than air' breathing more than doubles COPD patients' exercise endurance
Helium/oxygen mixture reduces airflow limitations, lung dynamic hyperinflation and sensation of 'shortness of breath'
BETHESDA, Md. (Nov. 29, 2004) – It certainly makes sense: COPD sufferers have varying degrees of serious breathing difficulties, which keeps them from almost any kind of exercise, especially in advanced stages. So maybe "lighter than air" air would be easier to breath, reduce shortness of breath and perhaps even allow them to do some exercise with all of its physical and mental benefits.
A group of Italian researchers reports in the November issue of the Journal of Applied Physiology that while breathing a low-density mixture of 79% helium and 21% oxygen (called heliox), the length of time that 12 COPD patients could do real exercise was 9 minutes, versus only 4.2 minutes for 12 patients breathing regular air (79% nitrogen/21% oxygen). And the exercise involved wasn't trivial: The subjects cycled "until exhaustion" at a rate of 50 rpm at 80% of their maximal rate measured several days earlier while on air.
COPD: 4th leading cause of death in world and U.S., and rising
The World Health Organization estimates that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD, defined as emphysema and chronic bronchitis) as a single cause of death around the world shares fourth place with HIV/AIDS, following coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease and acute respiratory infection. WHO estimates that 2,740,000 people died of COPD worldwide in 2000; cigarette smoking is blamed for about 85% of cases.
According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), COPD is the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S. and is projected to rise to third place for both men and women by the year 2020. NHLBI says 12.1 million Americans 25 and older were diagnosed with COPD in 2001. Estimated cost of COPD in 2002 was $32.1 billion, of which $18 billion were direct costs.
COPD is characterized by shortness of breath (dyspnea) and exercise intolerance. Among severely affected patients, especially those with emphysema, the inability to exercise or even to move small distances is mostly due to limits on "breathing out" because of limited expiratory flow, and early onset of dyspnea.
Heliox appears to positively change multitude of lung mechanics
In the current study, the more than doubling in the time COPD patients could exercise "was associated with a significant reduction in lung dynamic hyperinflation (DH) at isotime (Iso; when the patients stopped exercising during regular air breathing), as reflected by the increase in inspiratory capacity (IC) to 1.97 from 1.77 liters and a decrease in dyspnea" scoring to 6 from 8.
The researchers said that "heliox induced a state of relative hyperventilation as reflected by the increase in minute ventilation" to 38.3 versus 35.5 liters, and minute ventilation over carbon dioxide output to 36.3 versus 33.9 at peak exercise, and by the reduction in arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide at Iso to 44 from 48 and at peak exercise to 46 from 48.
The study, "Effect of heliox on lung dynamic hyperinflation, dyspnea, and exercise endurance capacity in COPD patients," was conducted by Paolo Palange, Gabriele Valli, Paolo Onorati, Rosa Antonucci, Patrizia Paoletti, Alessia Rosato, Felice Manfredi, and Pietro Serra from Dipartmento di Medicina Clinica, Servizio di Fisiopatologia Respiratoria, Università "La Sapienza," Rome, Italy.
Palange et al. says the "most likely explanation for our finding is that heliox improved maximal expiratory flow and maximal ventilatory capacity, as reflected by the increase in resting forced expiratory volume and by the increase in tidal volume, mean expiratory flow, and minute ventilation at peak exercise. Importantly, the improvement in maximal expiratory flow determined a significant reduction in lung dynamic hyperinflation and dyspnea, as reflected by the significant increase in inspiratory capacity (IC), inspiratory reserve volume and IC/minute ventilation, and decrease in dyspnea at Iso.
"All of these positive changes in lung mechanics allowed the patients to markedly improve exercise endurance time," they note.
And finally, "it is likely that the exercise protocol used, capable of inducing high levels of ventilation relative to subject's maximal ventilation for a prolonged period of time, has amplified the effect of heliox breathing in reducing turbulent airway resistances," the authors say. In a related observation, they believe that "the high-intensity constant work rate test utilized allowed us to clearly detect the beneficial effect of small changes in lung mechanics induced by heliox breathing on exercise capacity."
Next steps
The authors conclude that "heliox breathing, by reducing airflow limitations, lung dynamic hyperinflation and dyspnea sensation, is capable of improving high-intensity exercise endurance capacity in moderate to severe COPD patients." However, they note that "further studies are needed to verify the potential role of heliox supplementation during exercise rehabilitation programs in COPD patients."
Source
The study, "Effect of heliox on lung dynamic hyperinflation, dyspnea, and exercise endurance capacity in COPD patients," by Palange et al. appears in the November issue of the Journal of Applied Physiology, published by the American Physiological Society.
Editor's note: A copy of the research paper by Palange et al. is available to the media. Members of the media are encouraged to obtain an electronic version and to interview members of the research team. To do so, please contact Mayer Resnick at the American Physiological Society, 301-634-7209, cell 301-332-4402 or mresnick@the-aps.org.
The American Physiological Society was founded in 1887 to foster basic and applied bioscience. The Bethesda, Maryland-based society has more than 10,000 members and publishes 14 peer-reviewed journals containing almost 4,000 articles annually.
APS provides a wide range of research, educational and career support and programming to further the contributions of physiology to understanding the mechanisms of diseased and healthy states. In May, APS received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM).
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-11/aps-ta112904.php
PRODUCT MARKETING NEWS
20 Years After Nicorette's Introduction GlaxoSmithKline Offers a Dramatic Change for Smokers-
- New Nicotine Gum Combines Intense Flavor and Effective Treatment --
PITTSBURGH, November 29, 2004 /PRNewswire/ -- For 20 years Nicorette(R) nicotine gum has helped millions of Americans trying to quit smoking, and now the famous remedy is taking a cue from today's popular chewing gums to give more smokers another reason to quit -- great taste, an easier chew and an intense minty flavor. For hundreds of years mint has been a widely popular flavoring and even an herbal therapy for headaches, coughs, colds and the lack of concentration or productivity; now a long-lasting minty flavor is being added to Nicorette -- called Nicorette Fresh Mint -- to attract more smokers to the gum that is clinically proven to help people quitting smoking.
Nicorette nicotine gum, NicoDerm(R) CQ(R) nicotine patch and the Commit(R) nicotine lozenge are marketed by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Consumer Healthcare and have helped more than 2 million people stop smoking by providing low, safe doses of nicotine to ease withdrawal from cigarettes. Smokers familiar with the flavor of the original Nicorette gum will be truly surprised by the taste and texture of new Nicorette Fresh Mint. Like many of today's popular chewing gums, Nicorette Fresh Mint has a hard outer coating that bursts with mint flavor. The new formulation meets the needs of consumers who felt the original gum was not soft enough and expected a flavor more like standard chewing gum.
"When smokers try to quit without help they often experience unbearable cravings and withdrawal symptoms, which are the main reasons they return to cigarettes," states Bill Slivka, Vice President of Smoking Control, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare. "Nicorette Fresh Mint allows smokers to fight their nicotine cravings as they happen, reducing withdrawal symptoms like irritability and difficulty concentrating. It provides safe, controlled doses of medical nicotine without the harmful tars and poisons found in cigarette smoke."
Nicorette(R) Fresh Mint works the same as original Nicorette and is available in two strengths, 2mg for smokers of 24 or fewer cigarettes each day and 4mg for smokers of 25 or more cigarettes each day. This latest addition to GSK's stop-smoking aids is available over-the-counter in most drug stores, mass merchandisers and supermarkets. The Nicorette Fresh Mint starter kit includes a complete user's guide that explains the process of quitting, how Nicorette Fresh Mint works and why it is important to chew it differently than regular gum. In addition, smokers can receive specific tips for success and advice about staying smoke-free that are offered free with enrollment in the Committed Quitters(R) program, at http://www.quit.com/ .
About Committed Quitters(R)
Committed Quitters is an individualized behavioral support program that is available for free to people using GSK's stop-smoking products. Using Nicorette as directed could double a smoker's chances of quitting cigarettes versus a cold turkey quit attempt, but adding this online support program greatly increases the chances of success. Smokers who have used Nicorette with the assigned support materials from our original Committed Quitters program had quit rates 71 percent higher than people who used the gum alone.(1)
Committed Quitters includes customized materials that provide coping strategies, advice and incentives for staying smoke-free. The Committed Quitters program has been used so far by more than 600,000 smokers. For more information about Nicorette Fresh Mint and the Committed Quitters program, visit the Web site http://www.quit.com/ .
About GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare
GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare is one of the world's largest over- the-counter healthcare products companies and ranks second globally in sales of oral care products. Its more than 30 well-known products include such medicine cabinet staples as Abreva(R), Aquafresh(R) toothpastes and toothbrushes, Goody's(R) Headache Powder, Nicorette(R), NicoDerm(R) CQ(R), Commit(R), Sensodyne(R) and Tums(R).
About GlaxoSmithKline
GlaxoSmithKline is one of the world's leading research-based pharmaceutical and consumer healthcare companies. GlaxoSmithKline is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer.
(1) Shiffman S, Paty JA, Rohay JM, Di Marino ME, Gitchell J. The efficacy of computer-tailored smoking cessation material as a supplement to nicotine polacrilex gum therapy. Archives of Internal Medicine 2000; 160: 1675-1681.
Web site: http://www.gsk.com/http://www.quit.com/
Ticker Symbol: (NYSE:GSK)
DownloadsFinal.pdf
http://www.pharmalive.com/News/index.cfm?articleid=193820&categoryid=10
Boy, 11, burned in vicious attack - AU
Liam Houlihan November 30, 2004
THREE young men attacked an 11-year-old boy, stubbing a cigarette on his stomach for commenting on the dangers of smoking.
The boy's attackers threw him against a wall and pinned him to the ground by his throat before burning him.
The victim's mother said the attack may have been prompted by her son's comment that the young men smoking thought they looked tough, but were just killing themselves.
The attack happened at the car park of the Mooroolbark McDonald's on September 21.
The boy's mother described her son's attackers as cowardly bullies. "He has a real fear of these boys coming back to get him. I didn't think this could happen to our boy," she said.
The boy's family did not find out about the attack until the boy's doctor noticed the burn two weeks later. The victim was walking with two friends when the older boys heard his comment, and then attacked him.
The men are aged 16 to 20. The main attacker had short blond hair. The victim and his family do not wish to be identified.
"He was basically so scared he didn't mention it to anyone -- not even his family," investigating officer Senior Constable Daniel Sciore said.
The boy from outer eastern suburb The Patch, near Monbulk, had told his family his cut and swollen lip -- received in the attack -- were the result of a fall.
The boy said he and his friends did not report the attack to police because they were scared the attackers might kill them.
Sen-Constable Sciore from Mooroolbark police said he had never seen an attack like it where there was such a huge difference in age between the victim and offender. He described the young victim as polite, well-spoken and well-mannered.
"I saw his injuries two weeks (after the incident) and they were still very serious. The attack can only be described as vicious," he said.
Sen-Constable Sciore said the scene of the attack would have been very busy and someone would have seen something.
Police currently have no leads and are appealing to anyone with information about the man or his two companions to contact Crime Stoppers or the Mooroolbark police.
"It was in broad daylight. Someone would have seen something. This sort of behaviour is not on and it has got to be stopped," Sen-Constable Sciore said.
Herald Sun
http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,11539404%255E2862,00.html
Tobacco giant penetrated Asian markets via smuggling and political influence
Posted By: News-Medical in Miscellaneous NewsPublished: Monday, 29-Nov-2004
British American Tobacco (BAT)'s strategy for global expansion combined complicity in smuggling with high level political influence across Asia, new research reveals.
A series of papers published in the journal Tobacco Control, based on analysis of previously secret internal BAT documents, reveal extensive evidence, both of the critical role of contraband in corporate strategy and the company's oversight of widespread smuggling activities across Asia, and its attempts to undermine health policy. The papers look at BAT's activities over the past two decades during which transnational tobacco companies have expanded into Asia's emerging markets as traditional western markets have declined.
The papers have been co-written by tobacco control policy experts from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) in an international collaboration with other researchers. The documents used are being made available through the Guildford Archiving Project, efforts that are improving public access to millions of pages of documents from BAT.
The articles published today explore the strategies used by BAT to pursue rapid growth in key Asian markets, raising serious questions about corporate conduct:
- The first comprehensive analysis of cigarette smuggling in Asia highlights the critical importance of contraband to BAT's regional strategy. This illicit trade has enabled BAT to enter closed markets, to undermine health regulation, and to earn huge profits. The company's documents demonstrate how BAT aimed to carefully manage the availability of smuggled cigarettes while maintaining sufficient separation to allow deniability.
- In China, where the government maintained a firm grip over foreign investment and imports of international cigarette brands, BAT exploited contraband to circumvent import quotas. Documents also show how the company sought to undermine the World Health Organization's Tobacco Free Initiative in China, and to influence China's participation in negotiations for WHO's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).
- Documents detail how BAT identified Cambodia as an attractive target for investment as the country emerged from civil war in the early 1990s. The company viewed Cambodia as strategically valuable in facilitating contraband activities in the region. BAT has also exploited the country's minimal advertising restrictions and sought to prevent advances in tobacco control legislation.
- In Thailand, tobacco companies collaborated to undermine government efforts to require full disclosure of cigarette ingredients. The documents indicate the successful exercise of political influence within the highest levels of government in Thailand and among key embassies.
- In Indonesia BAT has sought to compete with the locally dominant manufacturers of clove-based cigarettes (kreteks). Attempts were made to adapt the image of BAT brands to appeal to Indonesian women. Efforts to develop a kretek-like product were eventually withdrawn amid fears of exposing the company to charges of double standards.
Jeff Collin of LSHTM, who co-authored all of the new papers, comments: "BAT has sought to reverse the impact of long term declines in smoking rates in Europe and North America by aggressively targeting developing countries. Asia is the key to the company's future prospects, and its own documents highlight the dubious tactics used to accelerate its progress in the region. Importantly, the documents also provide a powerful resource for developing effective policy responses to such tactics."
http://www.lshtm.ac.uk/
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=6521
Tougher action needed to stop cigarette sales to children -AU
Posted By: News-Medical in Child Health News Published: Monday, 29-Nov-2004
Retailers should be licensed to sell cigarettes, and the licence revoked if they are caught selling tobacco to children, the Australian Medical Association (WA) said today.
"The State Government is relying on heavy fines to deter retailers, but the threat of losing their licence would be a far stronger deterrent," said AMA (WA) President Dr Paul Skerritt.
"One has to question how effectively we can police the fines system and how often the courts have imposed the maximum penalty in the past."
Dr Skerritt said banning point-of-sale-advertising, limiting displays of tobacco products and restricting cigarette vending machines to licensed premises were welcome initiatives by the State Government - but they should have been introduced much earlier.
"The measures being announced now by the Health Minister were advocated by the Health Department more than 18 months ago," said Dr Skerritt.
"The Government refused to act because it did not want to upset the tobacco and liquor industries.
"On the eve of an election they have promised a raft of reforms which will do nothing to reduce passive smoking for at least another 18 months."
Dr Skerritt said the AMA (WA) was disappointed that Mr McGinty had attacked the association's zero-tolerance attitude to passive smoking as "playing politics".
"We are not prepared to compromise on this issue and we make no apology for putting the health of the community ahead of everyone else's business interests," he said.
"Sadly, our members deal directly with the victims of lung cancer, throat cancer, heart disease and all the other smoking-related illnesses.
"They don't have a lot of sympathy for those who will only take action when the Australian Hotels Association says it is comfortable with the timetable for new regulations to be introduced.
"Many more lives will be lost while we wait for the new rules to take effect."
http://www.amawa.com.au
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=6510
Liverpool and London push for smoking ban -UK
Published 29th November 2004
Liverpool and London have joined forces in petitioning Parliament to pass smoke-free laws in the two cities.
Liverpool City Council and the Association of London Government (ALG) - representing London’s 33 councils – have made the decision to pressure government because neither feels the white paper on health does enough to protect workers.
The councils are to formally place private bills before Parliament to ban smoking in pubs, clubs, restaurants, shops and offices to protect employees being exposed to cigarette smoke. The legislation is being put forward on health and safety grounds and is similar to laws already in force in Ireland and New York.
Sir Robin Wales, chair of the ALG, said: “People have the choice of smoking or not, or whether they wish to stay in smoke-filled environments. However the people working in our leisure venues do not have that choice.
“Recent polls have shown that Londoners themselves back a ban on smoking in public places. This bill is evidence of boroughs listening to and acting on the concerns of their local communities.”
Mike Storey, leader of Liverpool City Council, added: “In Liverpool over 100 people die each year from cancer caused by passive smoking. We take this issue extremely seriously. As a city council we have a duty to protect employees and customers, and our bill will do exactly that.”
The bills are being introduced in time for the next legislative session and
Read the Report