Mixed reviews for smoking ban -ON
By Abigail Cukier News Staff Nov. 12, 2004.
Provincial ban a breath of fresh air to some local Legion members
While some members will be upset by a smoking ban in the local Royal Canadian Legion hall, the spokesperson for the Battlefield branch, believes many others would be pleased by the change.
"A lot of people coming into the office have been telling me they're not going because of the smoking. They'll come to the fish fry and come to pay their dues, but don't come to the Legion because of the smoking," said Bob Brown.
He said some members have health concerns, including one man with a lung condition, who can't handle the smoke.
The local Legion has about 810 members, and while Mr. Brown said a smoking ban might keep some members away at first, he believes they would return. He also thinks a smoking ban may bring back members who are staying away because of smoke.
Earlier this month, Ontario Health Minister George Smitherman announced a province-wide smoking ban to be presented to the legislature later this year, which would include private clubs whose premises are open to the public.
In addition to providing veterans the opportunity for comradeship and social activities, the Royal Canadian Legion contributes hundreds of thousands of hours of volunteer time, assisting veterans, running youth and athletic programs and sponsoring seniors' housing projects. But legion membership is declining. To replenish their ranks, the legion opened membership in 2000 to Canadians not associated with the military. Some feel current and proposed smoking bans will drive members away.
In Hamilton, since June 1, smoking has been prohibited in bars, nightclubs, billiard and bingo halls, slot machine facilities and gaming centres, except in designated smoking rooms. All public places and workplaces in Hamilton will become smoke free by June 1, 2008, and designated smoking rooms will no longer be permitted. Private clubs have not been included in any proposed provincial legislation - until now.
A bartender at the Legion's Westborough branch in Ottawa, said she notices a strong decrease in bar sales. That municipality has been smoke-free in private clubs since June 1. While a few non-smokers have returned, business is down about $300 day, she said.
Mike Wood, an employee at the Battlefield Branch, is not worried about a possible smoking ban. Looking around the branch's club room at 2:30 in the afternoon Tuesday, Mr. Wood saw about five smokers out of 50 patrons. He also pointed out the branch already has a non-smoking upstairs room.
http://www.stoneycreeknews.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=brabant/Layout/Article&c=Article&cid=1100256371631&call_pageid=1071061598544
Veterans say province should butt out -ON
By Mark NewmanNews Staff, Nov. 19,2004
Legion members happy with current smoking set up
Some members of Mount Hamilton branch of the Royal Canadian Legion feel the McGuinty government should keep its nose out of their business when it comes to smoking.
The province is looking to ban smoking in private clubs such as Legions, whose premises are available to the public.
"I think it's terrible that they're stopping the veterans (from smoking)," said Ed McLean, president of RCL branch 163 on Lime Ridge Road.
A non-smoker, Mr. McLean noted about a third of the branch's 270 seats are designated non smoking and the organization has three smoke-eating machines in the ceiling.
He said the non-smoking area has been in place for the past seven or eight years and appears to be working well with few complaints.
Mr. McLean said smoking is not a big issue at the branch, noting of the 300 to 400 people that usually come through the doors throughout the day on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays (their busiest periods) about 100 or so are smokers.
Branch member John Waller, a smoker, said he's disappointed that the province is looking to ban smoking at the legions.
"One would have to be a fool to say smoking is good for you," Mr. Waller said. "Even a minority (of smokers) should have a place that they can go if they wish. People doing things that are good for me are beginning to annoy me. I think it's going a little too far."
Mr. Waller said he doesn't have a problem with a smoking ban in workplaces but the province should leave the legions alone.
"It's not a big deal in terms of whether you can or can't smoke, it's the principle of the thing," he said.
Norm Wilson gave up smoking 33 years ago, but feels legion members who wish to smoke should be allowed to do so.
"If if you want to go where there's smoke, you should be able to to go with your friends, you shouldn't be getting pushed out," Mr. Wilson said. "I don't want (the province) to interfere."
Norm Regan, a legion member for 40 years and former smoker, said the province should keep its nose out of their business.
"People pay membership to come in to this club and they know that there's smoking allowed in the club and if they wish to smoke, I think it's their own doing," Mr. Regan said.
All the members who spoke to the Mountain News believe most of the people who visit the branch regularly will continue to do so even with a smoking ban.
"This is where everybody meets," said Kathy Colley.
"I think they should let it lay where it is," added Lucy Martin.
Mr. McLean said the branch, which includes some 1,437 members, has no plans to make any formal complaint to the province about the proposed smoking changes.
http://www.stoneycreeknews.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=brabant/Layout/Article&call_pageid=1069851995821&c=Article&cid=1100818217501
Staff suffer in smoking areas -ON
Nov. 23, 2004. 01:00 AM
Letter, Nov. 22.
Letter writer Thomas Laprad e obviously needs to be educated on the proven health benefits of a smoking ban in restaurants. His pro-business approach (choice of smoking or non-smoking) does not give the workers in these establishments a choice regarding their health.
Allowing smoking sections only gives people who work there the choice of quitting their jobs or suffering health problems (leading to death by cancer derived from second-hand smoke).
A uniform, province-wide ban on smoking in the workplace, including restaurants, bars, bingo parlours and rental halls will make the fairest economic — and health — situation for all Ontarians.
David Cohen, Toronto
the anti side of the coin
The day after at PCVS: Shock and questions -ON
Lance Anderson and Clark Kim Nov 3, 2004
Friday was an eerie day at Peterborough Collegiate for student Jade Jager Clark.
The day after a 70-year-old man collapsed and died after a fight with a 16-year-old male in the back alley, rumours were flying around the school as to what happened.
It was also the same day as Peterborough Collegiate's commencement, with many seniors coming into the school to celebrate their grandchildren's academic achievements.
Jade says a dark cloud is hanging over students, some feeling slighted that the actions of one individual have given the school's students a bad name.
"It's unfortunate it had to happen. A lot of people think (the teen) represents the population. But I'm still proud to be a PCVS student," she said.
On Monday, students were still talking about the Thursday afternoon incident, added Jade. They share mixed emotions about the event that left Ross Dix dead.
A 16-year-old student was charged with manslaughter, but that charge was withdrawn based on a consultation with medical professionals and the Crown Attorney on Friday. Peterborough police Sergeant Rob Hotston said the case is still active and the possibility of further charges hasn't been ruled out.
"It depends on what evidence is revealed. It's not a question about (the teen) getting off," he added.
But that's the perception some students have. A 16-year-old eyewitness to the back-alley fight told Peterborough This Week he and his peers were shocked that police were withdrawing the charge.
The witness said the man was turning into the alley in his truck and pulled forward into an alcove where a group of teens had gathered before backing into his laneway. That's an area students use to smoke, but it is also a laneway for Aylmer Street residents to get into their driveways.
The eyewitness said the truck "brushed" against a student's coat.
"Words were exchanged and the old guy stepped out of the truck. (More) words were exchanged and the old guy hit the student in the side of the face with a punch," said the witness.
He added the teen was on roller blades and backed off. He sat down, took off his roller blades, put on his shoes and went back over to the man who was still standing there.
"He went and hit the old guy in face," he said.
Other students stepped in and broke up the fight.
"I looked over at the old guy who clutched his chest and he slid down the side of his truck," said the witness.
Emergency personnel were called and arrived on scene. Some students had already started to perform CPR on Mr. Dix.
He was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.
"Some people were really traumatized by this," said the witness.
"It reflects badly on teenagers as a whole and our school...there's a huge stigma attached to everyone at that school now. But the vast majority of students were trying to help this guy."
The backdoors of the school leading to the alleyway has been locked since the incident.
"Out of respect for the community we redirected all of the students to the front of the school," said Anita Simpson, school principal.
Student smokers will most likely have to remain out in front of the school "probably indefinitely" out by McDonnel Street, she added.
To compound the problem, provincial legislation prohibits anybody from smoking on school property, which forces students to stand on public property.
"That's the problem every secondary school in Ontario faces," Ms Simpson said.
"In a perfect world, the students wouldn't smoke."
Since taking over as principal of Peterborough Collegiate in September, Ms Simpson said she didn't receive any phone calls or complaints from neighbours about smokers in the laneway beside the school.
But she had been notified the community has brought up the issue in the past.
With very little real estate, she noted, there are literally no other options at the current time.
"We are looking for a long-term solution."
Mr. Dix, a resident of Peterborough for the past 20 years and co-founder of Markdale Home Hardware, is survived by son John and daughters Laura and Beverly.
A funeral service is held today (Wednesday) at Northview Pentecostal Church at 2 p.m.
http://www.mykawartha.com/ka/news/peterborough/story/2317221p-2684379c.html
A tragedy in every sense of the word -ON
People 'n' Places Nov 3, 2004
Paul Rellinger
In any given year, events occur which are fully deserving of the often-overused moniker of "tragic." Last week's incident in an alley adjacent to Peterborough Collegiate had, and still has, tragic written all over it.
As has been well documented, the incident left a 70-year-old man dead and a 16-year-old boy left to contemplate the result of his actions, be that for a week, a month or a lifetime. Exactly what transpired in that alley last Thursday afternoon remains open to the same conjecture that results when 10 different people see the same car accident. Police generally receive 10 different eyewitness accounts. Such was the case in regards to the death of Ross Dix and subsequent manslaughter charge laid, and then dropped, in connection with his death. What we do know is that alley was, for the longest time, the place for students to enjoy a school day cigarette or two. I say was because as of Monday morning, it was predictably off limits to students as decreed by school administrators. Students are now asked to congregate in front of the school on McDonnel Street.
What we also know is that alley is an access point for driveways belonging to homes on nearby Aylmer Street. Mr. Dix was headed home when students blocked his way, according to an eyewitness. In his frustration, his pickup truck brushed one student. Tempers rose, there was a physical exchange and 9-1-1 was called.
Peterborough Collegiate has existed for many years in harmony with its residential neighbours but this situation was too much for a man who, for whatever reason, repeatedly ran into problems trying to access his driveway. PCVS administrators have quite a dilemma. Provincial regulations won't allow a smoking area on school property. As a result, student smokers congregate at the nearest available location, in this case the laneway adjacent to, but not part of, the school. As such, school staff have no authority over them.
We know Mr. Dix had complained to the school on at least one occasion to move the smokers. What he wanted has been achieved at the cost of his life. Until the regulations change, allowing the establishment of a designated place for student smokers in a monitored setting, the potential for such confrontations will always exist, particularly at schools which are in close proximity to residential areas.
In a perfect world, no one, least of all teens, smoke. In that same paradise, a 16-year-old walks away when threatened by a man 54 years his senior. It's not a perfect world.
Whatever the outcome, make no mistake -- Peterborough Collegiate was a good school before last Thursday afternoon. It still is.
prellinger@mykawartha.com
http://www.mykawartha.com/ka/opinion/columns/story/2317215p-2684359c.html
A designated smoking area for PCVS students urged in wake of fatal alley incident-ON
Lance Anderson ; Nov 24, 2004
Designating a smoking area at Peterborough Collegiate for students was just one suggestion that came out of a meeting Monday night.
Students and neighbours gathered at the McDonnel Street high school to discuss issues raised since the death of Ross Dix, 70.
He was involved in a fight with a 16-year-old male student in an alley behind the school on Oct. 28. The alley was the smoking area for students, but also acts as a laneway for residents, whose homes face Aylmer Street.
Students have since been banned from lighting up in the alley.
According to a witness Peterborough This Week spoke with following the incident, Mr. Dix was trying to get his truck into his driveway when he brushed up against a student.
That sparked the altercation, which led to his death.
The 16-year-old was charged with manslaughter, but that charge was later withdrawn. No other charges have been laid.
To give neighbours and students a chance to voice their concerns, the local public school board hosted a forum.
Many aired their concerns to administration that were present.
"We went in knowing we'd hear the discontent," says Anita Simpson, principal of PCVS.
One issue surrounded smoking. Because the school is landlocked, there isn't much room for students to go. It's board policy that students don't smoke on school property.
However, at Thomas A. Stewart, a cement pad was poured for students to smoke at.
Ms Simpson says something similar is a possibility if they can find a location for it.
"We are very limited to our options," adds Ms Simpson.
At the beginning of the meeting, those in attendance were told that details of the tragedy involving Mr. Dix wouldn't be discussed.
Peterborough police Inspector Jack McNamara was at the meeting and says people veered away from questions regarding the case.
He adds it's still under investigation with a case conference scheduled for Dec. 1.
From his observation, Insp. McNamara says those in attendance had legitimate concerns.
Some students, he adds, feel they've been painted with an unfair brush since Mr. Dix's death.
Students spoke about their accomplishments and commitments to the community, says Angela Lloyd, chair of the local public school board.
That was a nice addition to the issues raised by people, she adds.
Other concerns surrounded the gathering of student around the school, littering, and students disrespecting the cenotaph.
A committee comprised of students, school administration, board members and citizens will look at each issue and come up with solutions.
Ms Simpson expects them to start meeting in December.
Rusty Hick, superintendent of student achievement with the board, is confident the students will go along with any decisions to move forward from the tragedy.
"Mr. Dix was the victim along with his family. The school is a secondary victim," he adds.
http://www.mykawartha.com/ka/news/peterborough/story/2372544p-2746173c.html
PCVS incident sad but was preventable
To the editor: Nov 19, 2004
Re: A tragedy in every sense of the word (People 'n' Places, Nov. 3, 2004), Paul Rellinger is absolutely correct when he writes "if teens aren't smoking, or gathering for any other reason, in that alley, that confrontation wouldn't have taken place."
But Peterborough Collegiate had done nothing to stop their students from gathering there and teen smoking is not the focus. Teens may gather there even if they are not smoking.
Again, the school had allowed it.
The real issues are still threefold -- Peterborough Collegiate allowing the students to gather in the alley; a genuine lack of respect between some teens and some elders; and violence can't be tolerated.
Considering Ross Dix has passed away, his actions must now be forgiven and forgotten but the teen who was involved should be reprimanded for his actions.
Just to be clear, I don't believe the teen involved is guilty of manslaughter or murder but assault. Just because he's a teen or because he was struck first does not excuse his action of assault.
This whole thing is a tragedy, as Mr. Rellinger wrote, but it could quite easily have been avoided if respect, common sense, self-control or some earlier action from Peterborough Collegiate had been observed.
Richard Brown
Peterborough
http://www.mykawartha.com/ka/opinion/letters/story/2353994p-2725198c.html
Lawyer hired to battle butt-ban-MB
Group raising cash to aid rural bar owner
Wednesday, November 24th, 2004
By Jason Bell
PUB owners in rural Manitoba have a lawyer in place and are ready for their day in court.
Gary Desrosiers, a spokesman for Rural Hotel Owners, said A.J. Stacey from the Winnipeg firm Thompson Dorfman Sweatman has been hired to represent the first bar owner charged with flouting the provincewide smoking ban.
Two weeks ago, 13 charges were laid against Robert Jenkinson, the owner of the Creekside Hideaway in Treherne.
As of Oct. 1, smoking became illegal in all indoor public and work places, and on some outdoor patios, right across the province. The only exemptions are in federal buildings, such as the Winnipeg downtown post office, and on First Nations.
Under the law, individuals can be fined $500 and businesses a maximum of $3,000.
The hotel owners are raising money to pay for Jenkinson's legal defense.
Desrosiers said a pot of about $50,000 is likely needed to take the case to the finish line.
"We'll take it all the way to the Supreme Court if we have to," Desrosiers said earlier this week.
Desrosiers owns the Brunkild Bar and Grill with his wife, Carrie.
"We're in the process of arranging fundraising events on Dec. 1 in bars all across the province," he said.
"We have no choice but to fight this."
Jenkinson is slated to appear in court this Monday.
Since he was charged, provincial inspectors have laid more charges under the no-smoking law against the owners of Finley's Restaurant in Selkirk.
Part-owner Finley Michaud said the charges weren't for smoking infractions, but for leaving ashtrays out and for failing to post No Smoking signs.
Last week, about 45 rural hotel and restaurant owners met in Brunkild to plan an attack on the legislation. They say the ban is going to put them out of business because smokers are staying home. "Out here, we're in much worse shape than places in Brandon and Winnipeg. They have other streams of revenue... we don't," Desrosiers said.
Healthy Living Minister Theresa Oswald has stated the government will not back down on its provincewide smoking ban, despite growing pressure from rural hoteliers and restaurant owners.
www.winnepegfreepress.com
Genetics affect teen smoking, study finds
By ROSS MAROWITS Nov. 24/04
Canadian Press
Montreal — A faulty gene may lead some young teenage smokers to be even more susceptible to years of nicotine addiction, a new study suggests.
A variation in a single gene -- called CYP2A6 -- slows nicotine metabolism in the liver, resulting in prolonged brain exposure to the drug. Researchers found that teens with the genetic variation were more likely to become nicotine dependent, even though they smoked fewer cigarettes per week than those with the normal gene.These findings complement the results of a previous study on nicotine dependency among teens, said lead author Jennifer O'Loughlin, a McGill University epidemiologist who studies tobacco use among children and teenagers.
The result raises "huge alarm bells" about what prompts people to take up smoking, Dr. O'Loughlin said yesterday. "There's no equivocal message here. There's no safe level of smoking for teenagers," she said in an interview. "The first puff is dangerous."
The $800,000 study, which she described as the first of its kind among adolescents, is to be published on-line in today's issue of Tobacco Control. The research was funded by the National Cancer Institute of Canada, the research arm of the Canadian Cancer Society.
Previous research has shown that those who become chemically dependent on nicotine have a harder time quitting smoking.
The new findings add to the complicated puzzle about teen smoking, said Cheryl Moyer, director of cancer-control programs for the cancer society.
"The more we understand about the process and how different people move through the process of smoking, the more we can start trying to think about target messages instead of this one broad approach for everybody," she said.
Dr. O'Loughlin has followed nearly 1,300 Montreal teens since 1999 as part of a study on genetic and environmental risk factors for nicotine dependence in youth.
For this part of the study, DNA from blood samples from 281 of students who smoked were analyzed for CYP2A6. The students, who were about 12 when the study started, also completed quarterly questionnaires that measured their smoking patterns and nicotine dependence, including withdrawal symptoms and cravings.
Researchers said they don't feel it's ethical to notify students who have the defective gene.
Nineteen per cent of the students tested had an altered version of the gene. Among the students with the slowest nicotine metabolism, the risk of becoming tobacco dependent was three times higher than among normal metabolizers.
Students with the normal gene smoked an average of 29 cigarettes per week. Those whose genes made them most susceptible to addiction smoked just 12 cigarettes a week.
Last year, Dr. O'Loughlin published findings from the same sample of students showing that teens who smoked only once or twice reported common symptoms of nicotine addiction.
She said other researchers are now attempting to determine if drugs can be used to mitigate the slower metabolism among those with the defected gene.
http://www.globetechnology.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20041124.gthtobacco1124/BNStory/Technology/
Obesity an enemy in war on cancer
Higher risks, lower survival rates
Wednesday, November 24th, 2004
The Doctor Game /W. Gifford Jones MD.
WHAT a devastating experience it must have been for Elizabeth Edwards, wife of the former U.S. vice-presidential candidate John Edwards, to be told on the day of his election loss, after spending two gruelling years campaigning with him, that she had breast cancer. This was more than enough bad news for one day.
Unfortunately for both sexes, obesity increases the risk of many malignancies.
Dr. Penny Anderson, a cancer specialist at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, reports that obese breast cancer patients are more likely to die than normal-weight women. Yet another blow for Elizabeth Edwards, who spoke candidly during the campaign about her struggles to control weight.
Dr. Anderson and her colleagues studied 2,010 women who had been treated by lumpectomy, radiation therapy with or without chemotherapy for breast cancer. Based on their weight, they were divided into three groups: normal weight, overweight and obese.
After five years, 92 per cent of the normal-weight women had survived. But the survival rate was only 88 per cent for those who were obese. Moreover, obese women were more likely to have developed recurrent cancers.
So why is obesity such a risk factor for breast cancer? Dr. Eleanor Harris, assistant professor of oncology at the University of Pennsylvania, suggests that it's due to increased amounts of the female hormone estrogen.
Prior to menopause, estrogen is produced primarily by the ovaries. But following menopause, the main source is from fatty tissue. The greater the obesity, the higher the level of estrogen. It's been shown that estrogen levels in post-menopausal women are 50 to 100 per cent higher in obese versus lean women. And abdominal fat is a greater risk factor than fat distributed over the thighs, buttocks and legs.
Another explanation is that obese women, who are also more likely to have heart and/or kidney disease, are less able tolerate chemotherapy. And that small breast lumps are more difficult to detect in heavy women.
But if obese males think they're immune to this increased risk of cancer, they had better think again. The National Cancer Institute reports that an increased risk of colon cancer has been consistently reported for overweight males.
The Journal of Clinical Oncology adds that obese men with prostate cancer are more likely to have aggressive tumours. In addition, they experience cancer recurrence more often following surgery than men of normal weight. This is particularly true of African-American males who tend to be more obese than Caucasian men.
Researchers suggest that proteins and hormones stored in body fat may promote cancer growth in obese males. Overweight males also have lower levels of the male hormone testosterone and higher levels of estrogen, which are believed to encourage the growth of cancer.
Obese individuals of both sexes are also two times more likely to develop esophageal (food pipe) and stomach cancers. It's not understood why this happens. Some speculate that it may be related to gastric reflux (heartburn) that occurs more often in overweight individuals.
In a huge study involving 900,000 people over 16 years, Harvard researchers concluded that 14 per cent of cancer deaths in men and 20 per cent in women were caused by being overweight. For several years it's been known that obese people face a greater risk of developing cancer of the gallbladder and pancreas. And overweight women have two to four times the risk of uterine cancer than women of a healthy weight.
These reports are not happy news for Elizabeth Edwards and others who are overweight. It's also known and depressing that aging also increases the risk of breast, prostate and many other malignancies. Obesity and aging is a bad combination for developing cancer.
I prefer to end these columns with hope of a solution, but this one presents difficulties. A famous economist remarked, "In the long run we are all dead." Since getting older is invariably fatal, and we can do nothing about it, this leaves us with the great imponderable: How to fight the current epidemic of obesity. This would require Draconian measures, not acceptable by many, so we will see more obese patients diagnosed with cancer. I prefer happier endings, but I wish Elizabeth Edwards a return to good health.
www.winipegfreepress.com
Canada's Pot Use Higher Now Than in 1990s - Study 
Wed November 24, 2004 3:56 PM GMT-05:00
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - The number of Canadians who admit to having used marijuana recently has nearly doubled since the mid-1990s, according a government health study released on Wednesday.
Fourteen percent of Canadians interviewed acknowledged having used cannabis in the past year, up from 7.4 percent in a similar survey in 1994, and 44.5 percent admit having used it at least once in their lifetime.
The Canadian government introduced legislation this month that would decriminalize having small amounts of marijuana, subjecting those caught with 15 grams, or about a half an ounce, to fines rather than jail terms.
The bill's supporters say they do not want young people to be saddled with criminal records that could prevent them from holding jobs or traveling. Critics argue Canada risks the ire of the United States, which opposes the change.
The drug and alcohol addiction survey, funded by Health Canada, found pot use was highest in British Columbia, where marijuana growing is a major illegal business, and lowest in the small Atlantic province of Prince Edward Island.
Of the people who admitted to pot use in the past year, 18 percent said they did it daily, but 21 percent said they had not used it in the past three months and 25 percent said they had used it only once or twice in the year.
Researches said they interviewed 13,909 people between Dec. 13, 2003, and April 14, 2004, and the results were similar to a study on marijuana and hashish usage that was released in July by Statistics Canada.
http://www.reuters.com/locales/c_newsArticle.jsp?type=topNews&localeKey=en_CA&storyID=6911741
Pseudoephedrine Tied to Heart Attack in Young Man
Wed Nov 24, 2004 02:20 PM ET
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - If a recently reported case is a reliable indicator, the over-the-counter medication pseudoephedrine can cause a heart attack -- even in healthy young adults.
Dr. Alex F. Manini and colleagues at Harvard Medical School in Boston treated a 32-year-old man who experienced severe chest pain 45 minutes after taking two tablets of an over-the-counter cold remedy containing pseudoephedrine and acetaminophen.
The diagnosis of an acute heart attack was made based on laboratory testing, the team reports in the Annals of Emergency Medicine. Further tests showed that the heart muscle had been damaged by the event.
Prior to this episode, the man had been in good health except for a cold, Manini's group explains. Cardiac catheterization showed that his coronary arteries were normal, and there was no history of heart disease or sudden death in his family.
"This case highlights a potential danger of pseudoephedrine even when used by otherwise healthy people," the researchers note. They say doctors should advise their patients to be cautious when they take pseudoephedrine or similar drugs.
Drug-related adverse reactions are a common cause of illness and are among the top ten causes of death, Dr. E. Martin Caravati, of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, points out in an accompanying editorial. In a recent study, pseudoephedrine was found to be the fourth most commonly used over-the-counter drug, surpassed only by pain medications.
Therefore, he says, doctors should perform complete medication reviews with their patients -- including dietary supplements, over-the counter medications and herbal remedies.
SOURCE: Annals of Emergency Medicine, November 22nd online edition, 2004.
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=6911190
* if these people smoked, live with smoker their heart attacks are considered smoke related in statistics
Canadians smoking less, study finds
Last Updated Wed, 24 Nov 2004 20:29:24 EST
OTTAWA - More Canadians are quitting smoking, but the number who eventually return to the habit has remained the same, according to a Statistics Canada study.
The study found that between 1994-95 and 1996-97, about 10 per cent of daily smokers quit. That figure rose to nearly 17 per cent between 2000-01 and 2002-03.
But the study also found that the proportion of former daily smokers who returned to smoking during that period remained the same at around four per cent.
Around 21 per cent of men and 17 per cent of women aged 18 or older smoked cigarettes daily in 2003. Those rates had dropped seven percentage points from 1994-95.
The study pointed to a number of "addiction indicators" that would make an individual more likely to quit.
For example, someone diagnosed with a vascular condition, such as heart disease or stroke, was much more likely to quit than those who had not developed such conditions.
Men and women who had their first cigarette within 30 minutes of waking were less likely to quit than those who waited for more than an hour, the study found.
Smokers living in a home where no one could smoke inside the house also had a better chance of quitting than those living in a home where smoking is allowed.
http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2004/11/24/smoking041124.html
CTV coverage: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1101323438354_13?hub=Health
Vancouver restaurants have a week to remove patio covers -BC
Smokers say they're losing last refuge
John BerminghamThe Province
Wednesday, November 24, 2004
Not only do Vancouver smokers have to light up outside, they're about to be exposed to the elements.
City hall has given 250 bars and restaurants with outdoor patios one week to remove their clear plastic patio covers. The tarps protect smokers from winter wind and rain, but city officials say they're a potential fire hazard and have to come down.
Tom Hammel, streets administration engineer, said the tarps could impede people fleeing a fire.
Another concern is that heaters could ignite the tarps.
"If you enclose an area, you can't allow smoking in it," Hammel said yesterday. "You are starting to enclose a space that's used by smokers."
He also said the tarps trap smoke inside the patio.
"The sidewalk patio is supposed to be part of the streetscape, not a sealed-off area," he said.
If the venues don't comply, they could lose their patio licence.
At the Fountainhead Pub on Davie Street, smokers were fuming yesterday.
"That would be terrible," said Cameron Miller, 40. "It would be wet. It's damn chilly out if you took the covering off."
"Smokers have been pushed out of the bar scene," said Amy Noschese, a 15-year West End resident.
"They are taking my privileges as a smoker away. I just want a comfortable place to perform my bad habits."
Fountainhead owner Phil Moon said he built the patio for his smoking patrons and now pays higher property taxes to the city as a result.
"It's ridiculous," he said. "[The tarps] don't do any harm to anybody. All they do is let people go out and have a cigarette.
"They [city hall] would rather have them all standing outside. You would think they'd be finding ways to help smokers."
Scott Henderson, the fire prevention officer at Vancouver Fire Department, said he's never heard of a tarp catching fire. But he said the tarps could be a potential fire hazard if they caught fire or blocked fire exits.
"They'd probably melt, and someone's going to get burned. That possibility exists."
The Restaurant and Food Service Association of B.C. said smokers are getting hosed again.
"[Restaurants] are trying to create somewhere so people can stand outside in the middle of winter, as opposed to just sticking them out in the street in the rain," said spokesman Geoffrey Howes.
The city should come up with some kind of covering, rather than ripping them down, he said.
Hammel said one solution is to reinstate tarps at a later date, but only after fully testing them for fire.
http://www.canada.com/vancouver/theprovince/soundoff/story.html?id=19aa2c06-3514-46e9-afbc-fa53fc6b31df
P.E.I. tightens tobacco laws
WebPosted Nov 24 2004 08:27 AM AST
CHARLOTTETOWN — The province wants to restrict where cigarettes and other tobacco products can be sold. It introduced new legislation on Tuesday that would take smokes out of a number of retail outlets including pharmacies.
Cigarette machines will be a thing of the past under the new rules. The bill says tobacco products will have to be sold by clerks, they'll have to check that the purchasers are over 19, and will face fines if they don't.
Under the current legislation only the storeowner faces fines for selling to underage buyers.
Sales of tobacco, and everything from pipe cleaners to rolling papers, will be banned from:
*hospitals, nursing homes, colleges, universities, community recreation centres, rinks, theatres, arcades, amusement parks
If the legislation is approved, pharmacies will have six months to remove tobacco from their shelves.
Health Minister Chester Gillan said the government would rather educate Islanders than use tobacco fines. However, the fines will be raised under the new rules. And stores that keep selling to minors will lose their right to sell tobacco.
http://pei.cbc.ca/regionalnews/caches/pe-tobacco20041124.html
Gene Glitch Tied to Youth Smoking Addiction
Gene Mutation May Make Nicotine Linger Longer in the Body
By Miranda Hitti
WebMD Medical News
Reviewed By Brunilda Nazario, MD
on Wednesday, November 24, 2004
Nov. 24, 2004 -- Smoking may be especially addictive for young people with certain gene mutations.
So say Jennifer O'Loughlin of McGill University and colleagues, after studying about 280 Canadian seventh graders who had started smoking.
A variety of factors determine whether someone initiates smoking and develops a dependence on nicotine. In adults, some studies have shown that nicotine addiction is linked to a person's genetics and the mechanisms in the liver that break down nicotine.
Abnormalities in the genes that break down nicotine might protect a new smoker against nicotine addiction by exposing him or her to nicotine toxicity symptoms, such as dizziness and nausea.
The study looked at the association between the genes that metabolize and break down nicotine and
whether inactive genes would protect young teen smokers from tobacco addiction.
In roughly 2.5 years, more than 29% of the students became hooked on cigarettes.
The risk was especially high for those with an inactive CYP2A6 gene, which oversees clearing nicotine out of the body.
Mutations can leave that gene partially or totally inactive. That could make people more vulnerable to nicotine.
The longer nicotine lingers, the more chance it has to lure the body into addiction.
The students with the gene mutations smoked fewer cigarettes per week than those with the normal gene.
Those with the totally inactive gene smoked about 13 cigarettes weekly, compared with 29 for those with normal genes.
That may be because the nicotine buzz lasted longer in the gene mutation group, reducing their cigarette cravings.
The mutation deserves further study, say the researchers in the December issue of the journal Tobacco Control.
SOURCES: O'Loughlin, J. Tobacco Control, December 2004; vol 13: pp 422-428. News release, BMJ Specialist Journals.
http://my.webmd.com/content/article/97/104253.htm
Smoking Continues to Kill Millions Worldwide
By Steven Reinberg HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 24 (HealthDayNews) -- Deaths from smoking continue to rise around the world, and a mutation in a gene linked to nicotine metabolism may be a cause of nicotine addiction, according to two new studies in the November issue of Tobacco Control.
Smoking was responsible for almost 5 million deaths worldwide in 2000, or about 12 percent of all deaths, according to one of the studies. More than half the deaths were among smokers 30 to 69 years of age.
"In a paper a year ago we showed that smoking accounted for 4.83 million premature deaths around the world," said study co-researcher Majid Ezzati, an assistant professor of international health at the Harvard School of Public Health. "This paper looks at how these deaths are distributed around the world."
Ezzati and his colleague, Alan Lopez from the School of Population Health at the University of Queensland, Australia, used deaths from lung cancer as a measure of smoking deaths. The researchers attributed the use of coal for cooking and heating in poorly ventilated housing to explain most lung cancer deaths among nonsmokers.
They also estimated deaths from smoking due to other diseases, including throat cancers, other cancers, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), other respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and other medical causes.
Ezzati and Lopez found that of the 4.83 million premature deaths linked to smoking, 2.41 million were in developing countries and 2.43 million were in industrialized countries. Men accounted for 3.84 million of those deaths.
The leading causes of death from smoking in industrialized countries were cardiovascular diseases, lung cancer and COPD. In developing countries, the leading causes of smoking deaths were from cardiovascular diseases, COPD, and lung cancer.
According to Ezzati, the areas where deaths from smoking are increasing the fastest are China, India, South America and Eastern Europe. In those areas, "deaths from smoking are catching up to smoking deaths in industrialized countries," he said.
"Smoking magnifies the risk for disease that already exists," Ezzati said. For example, in developing countries such as China, cooking and heating homes with wood and coal is common. That causes very high levels of chronic lung disease, he explained. "Smoking magnifies this background risk," Ezzati said.
In Eastern Europe and India, cardiovascular diseases have high background levels, and these are amplified by smoking, he noted.
The researchers plan on using their study as a base to study trends in smoking-related deaths in the future. Ezzati said that smoking-related deaths have been rising globally. They have also been increasing among women, he added.
While smoking rates have gone down in North American and Australia, Ezzati expects the upward trend in smoking-related deaths to continue elsewhere, especially in developing countries. Since smoking rates have risen in developing countries, death rates will catch up over the next several decades, he said.
"Smoking is no longer a western problem, it's definitely a global problem," Ezzati said.
"That more than 10 percent of the total number of deaths that occur on this planet each year is attributable to tobacco is nothing less than appalling," said Dr. David L. Katz, an associate clinical professor of public health from Yale University School of Medicine. "Use of tobacco is avoidable, the deaths and suffering caused preventable, yet this scourge continues to be actively peddled to consumers worldwide," he added.
"Tobacco remains a global public health scourge," Katz said. He believes that everything possible should be done to stop its use worldwide. "Pain and suffering are not bound by national borders; neither, then, should our public health efforts stop at our border," he stressed.
For the nicotine study, Canadian researchers collected data on about 1,200 seventh-graders. The research team gathered information on smoking habits and nicotine dependence. They also took blood samples to determine the students' genetic profile.
Among 228 teens who smoked but were not addicted, the researchers followed them for an average of two years.
Over two years, 67 of these students became addicted to nicotine. O'Loughlin's group found that those with a mutation of the CYP2A6 gene, which controls nicotine metabolism in the liver, were more likely to become addicted, compared with those who did not have a mutation of this gene. About 6 to 8 percent of the population has this genetic mutation, according to the researchers.
"What we have found is that people metabolize nicotine either quickly or slowly," said lead researcher Jennifer O'Loughlin, an assistant professor of epidemiology from McGill University. "And this is under genetic control."
"People who metabolize nicotine slowly appear to become nicotine-dependent much quicker," O'Loughlin said. The risk for becoming nicotine-dependent is three times higher among those who metabolize nicotine slowly than it is in people who metabolize it normally, she explained.
More information
The National Institutes of Health can tell you more about the dangers of tobacco.
http://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/health/feeds/hscout/2004/11/24/hscout522533.html
New York City’s Smoking Ban Goes Up In Smoke In Astoria
by Karen Keller, Chronicle Correspondent November 25, 2004
After inhaling deeply from a cigarette, Gregory Loutos, 45, born in Greece, said governments don’t have the right to tell someone if they can smoke or not.
“I don’t like the American government; I just like America,” said Loutos, wearing a tie adorned with eagles and the colors of the American flag.
Over a year and a half has passed since the March 2002 citywide smoking ban, but it’s not difficult to smoke out the lawbreakers in Astoria.
In the neighborhood’s European-style cafes, owners routinely defy the ban. They say they’re forced to allow smoking in order to retain staple clients, many of them middle-aged and older men from Eastern Europe, where both smoking and defiance are more ingrained in the culture.
“I think it’s worth it to pay the ticket than to lose the customers,” said Paul Gregory, manager of Cafe Byzantio Bar. “This law is bad, very bad.”
Many cafe owners and managers said they enforced the ban initially. But that lasted just a few months, as customers got upset or didn’t come at all, reducing between 20 and 35 percent of total revenue, they said.
At Cafe Athens, Albanian-born Dionysus Mara and his three friends said they turned to their backyards for a place to gather in the months immediately following implementation of the new ordinance.
“No smoking, no coming,” Mara said.
Charlie Tzinlikis, general manager of Zodiak Cafe, a rare establishment that actually enforces the smoking ban, said he believes the Eastern European roots of many local smoker patrons is the reason Astoria is resisting compliance with the law.
“Immigrants, especially Europeans, they want to go against the law,” said Tzinlikis, Greek himself. “In Europe there are no laws to say ‘Don’t do this’ for your personal life,” he said.
Owners of establishments in Astoria, like Cafe Byzantio, say they’ve been fined far more than three times as a result of allowing Loutos and other patrons to smoke.
Fines are paid to the city’s Department of Health. First-time offenders are fined between $200 and $400. For the third infraction, the maximum fine is $2,000, and the city reserves the right to revoke the establishment’s license, according to the health department web site.
Cafe Byzantio has already developed a routine after the arrival of health inspectors, who come at least once a month, Gregory said. “We get a ticket, we give to the lawyer. That’s it. We can’t do anything else,” he said.
“Everybody gets fined,” he said, adding that he believes Astoria has had more smoking ordinance citations than any other neighborhood in the city. The neighborhood is also home to the Arabic water pipe cafes, on Steinway Street, where owners have been unsuccessful at convincing the city to allow pipe smoking indoors.
A health department spokesperson couldn’t confirm whether Astoria has been fined more often than other neighborhoods, because the city doesn’t keep records of fines per neighborhood, only by borough. During the 12 months ending March 31st, Queens had 957 smoking ordinance citations, the second-highest in the city after Manhattan, with 1,713.
Astoria’s cafes are complying with at least one smoking ban requirement, though. Most have No Smoking signs inside.
Versions of the city’s standardized sign, which businesses can download on the health department’s web site, are available only in English, Spanish, Russian, Korean and Chinese.
Translating the signs to Greek or Albanian, however, may not be enough to clear the smoke.
Most of Astoria’s older smoker cafe patrons cited the examples of their smoker grandparents, alive until ripe ages after a life of cigarette puffing.
Tony A., a 47-year-old born in Romania who didn’t want his last name to be revealed, claimed his grandfather lived until he was 110, after a life of growing his own tobacco and smoking it in rolled-up newspaper.
“I enjoy it,” Tony said of smoking, as he inhaled a Marlboro cigarette. He added that air pollution in Astoria, something his grandfather was not exposed to in Greece, is worse for health than tobacco.
“Over there you have horses,” he said.
Spiros Vlissaroulis, 55, said he believes it takes seven years for nicotine from a lifetime of smoking to disappear from one’s body after quitting.
But, in the end, he said, death is determined by a higher force no matter the strength of a smoker’s resolve.
“My father used to say when you’re born it’s written when and where you die,” Vlissaroulis said.
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1862&dept_id=152512&newsid=13431689&PAG=461&rfi=9
Oregon attorney general settles tobacco tax cases
By WILLIAM McCALL
PORTLAND, Ore. - Two of the largest tobacco tax evasion cases in Oregon history have been settled, state officials said Wednesday.
Willamette Valley Distributing and H&K Distributing had evaded a total of more than $2 million in tobacco taxes, according to the Oregon Department of Justice.
Attorney General Hardy Myers announced the plea agreements following a two-year investigation by the Oregon Tobacco Tax Compliance Task Force, which includes representatives from the state Department of Revenue, Department of Justice and Oregon State Police.
Willamette Valley Distributing and its owner, Michael Miller, were indicted in Marion County on charges including racketeering, tobacco and cigarette tax evasion, false reporting of tax information, money laundering and unlawful distribution of cigarettes.
Miller will serve one year in jail and pay $1.5 million in restitution after he and his company pleaded guilty on Monday to racketeering and unlawful distribution of cigarettes, Myers said.
The state also will revoke the tobacco and cigarette licenses for Willamette Valley Distributing, which will be dissolved by court order after it liquidates all assets, Myers said.
On Wednesday, Ronald Kent Hartley, owner of H&K Distributing, pleaded guilty to charges of racketeering, as well as computer crime and filing false tobacco tax returns.
H&K distributed chewing tobacco and other smokeless tobacco products taxed at 65 percent of their wholesale value.
Unlike cigarettes, however, distributors of such products must report sales directly to the state Department of Revenue and are not required to purchase tax stamps and place them onto their merchandise.
Hartley purchased products from a source on the Yakama Indian Reservation in Washington state that does not pay state tobacco tax, requiring Hartley to pay those taxes before reselling the product, Myers said.
An investigation resulted in a 30-count indictment against Hartley, alleging racketeering, tobacco tax evasion, computer crime, filing false tobacco tax information, forgery, money laundering, and income tax evasion.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, Hartley was sentenced to 13 months in the Clackamas County Jail and ordered to pay nearly $1.7 million in restitution.
A judge ordered H&K Distributing dissolved and Hartley stripped of all interest in the company.
Lawyers for Hartley and Miller could not immediately be reached for comment on Wednesday.
The Oregon Tobacco Tax Compliance Task Force was created by the Legislature in 2001 to protect the state's tobacco tax revenue, which helps fund programs such as the Oregon Health Plan, schools and law enforcement agencies.
http://www.katu.com/consumernews/story.asp?ID=72919
Smoking Rates Among European Women Skyrocketing
11/24/2004
Smoking among European men is declining, but smoking rates are increasing significantly among European women as more advertising is specifically targeted at female audiences, the International Herald Tribune reported Nov. 22.
The dramatic increase is especially seen in southern Europe and the former Eastern bloc. Two decades ago, few women in these nations smoked, but now smoking is common, particularly among young women.
In Germany, for instance, a government study found that half the women aged 15 to 30 smoke. In the former East Germany, smoking among women has increased threefold since 1989. Smoking has also increased substantially among teenage girls in Austria, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, England, Finland, and Scotland.
"What used to be seen as a male habit is now common in both sexes, and more girls are starting than boys," said Dr. Amanda Amos, a professor of health promotion at the University of Edinburgh.
If the trend is not reversed, health experts said Europe will be faced with an epidemic of cancers and heart disease in the upcoming decades. A study conducted this year by the International Agency for Research on Cancer already showed an increase in lung cancer "in both younger and older women and in almost all countries" throughout Europe.
"The trends with women smoking are going up, not down," said Dr. Martina Pötschke-Langer, head of the cancer-prevention unit at the University of Heidelberg's Cancer Center. "The tobacco industry has focused its advertising campaigns on the young, especially girls and women."
Cigarette makers contend that their advertising is aimed at adults. "We do not market to kids under 18, which we believe is inappropriate, but we feel we should be allowed to communicate with adult smokers, from all walks of life," said Nerida White, director of external relations for Philip Morris International.
http://www.jointogether.org/sa/news/summaries/reader/0,1854,575262,00.html
Oak Park Health Board moves smoking ban law -IL
BY CHERI BENTRUP STAFF WRITER
Oak Park's Health Board recommends village trustees approve an ordinance that would ban smoking in all work places, including restaurants.
Three of the six-member Health Board - Chairwoman Lois Halstead, Garry Cooper and student member Matthew Terebessy - voted last Wednesday to recommend the move, with member Richard Brode abstaining. Two members, Dr. Kinfe Gebeyehu and Janet Holden, were absent.
"We would like to see this board take a stand on it prior to the new board coming on," said Dr. David Ansell, one of the organizers of Smoke-Free Oak Park, which lobbied the Health Board to move the measure. "We're hopeful we'll get that accomplished by March."
Four of the seven Village Board seats are up for election in April, and Ansell thinks there is enough support on the current board to pass the smoking ban.
Halstead expects the recommendation will go before trustees at their Dec. 6 regular meeting.
"We recommend supporting the smoke-free work place ordinance and we recommend there be a public hearing, much like we did for the animal limits and we offered to organize that, if they wish it to happen," Halstead said.
If the board desires, hearings could take place early next year, with trustees discussing the ordinance in a February study session.
"That's the timeline we're recommending," said Health Department Director Georgeen Polyak, liaison to the Health Board. Whether trustees accept the recommendation and accompanying timeline is their decision, she said.
Ansell said ordinance addresses a public health issue.
"We go to restaurants to eat. I would love, as a physician, if people wouldn't smoke. We're not opposed to smokers. We're against smoking in restaurants. If people need to smoke they can go outside, just like they do at their places of work," he said.
Ansell, an internist, said an employee working an eight-hour shift in a restaurant would inhale carcinogens from second-hand smoke that are equivalent to smoking 16 cigarettes.
"The reason for this is when you disallow smoking in public places, cigarette sales go down and people quit. It hits the tobacco industry right in its pocket," Ansell said.
"We dug a 1,000-foot hole in Barrie Park because of a potential risk, yet we're exposing our children and high-risk adults to this degree every day. There are 4,000 carcinogens in second-hand smoke," he added.
Smoke-free Oak Park, a volunteer group of residents seeking the ban, expects some opposition.
"There's nothing in Oak Park that's not controversial," Ansell said. "We think we can market Oak Park as a smoke-free place to go. There is community support for this."
Ansell said smoke-free states have reported rises in restaurant business.
Some people have told Ansell they would prefer a statewide or countywide smoking ban to prevent customers from traveling to another community to smoke, but he said the support for a smoking ban must come from the municipalities.
"If Oak Park goes smoke-free, the pressure on Chicago will increase and maybe the state will go (smoke-free). It certainly won't be the other way around. There will not be a state law without local pressure," Ansell said.
Skokie and Wilmette enacted similar laws during 2003, and DeKalb is considering a workplace ban.
Downtown Oak Park, which represents 25 restaurants and coffeehouses, has not taken a stand on the smoking ban, said Executive Director Donna Ogdon Chen. Several of those businesses have voluntarily gone smoke-free, she said.
"Downtown Oak Park has not taken a formal position, but I am aware several Downtown Oak Park members are concerned about this," Ogdon Chen said.
She expects the Downtown board of directors will discuss the proposed ordinance at its next meeting, Dec. 14.
"I would expect the board to have a serious discussion about this," she said.
Restaurant owners are concerned about the village going smoke-free because they fear they will lose business, Ogdon Chen said. Oak Park ordinance requires that restaurants with 45 seats or more designate 75 percent of their dining area as smoke-free.
Sixty-eight of the village's restaurants have voluntarily banned smoking, Halstead said. "The data that have been collected do not show significant impacts on restaurants. There is no convincing data it hurts business," Halstead said.
http://www.pioneerlocal.com/cgi-bin/ppo-story/localnews/current/rf/11-24-04-443935.html
Worker brought tobacco, pot into jail, police say
November 24, 2004
A correctional officer at Marion County Jail II has been accused of trying to bring marijuana and tobacco inside the Downtown facility.
Durand Huggins, 27, Indianapolis, was arrested early Tuesday on a preliminary charge of trafficking with an inmate, a Class C felony.
WebPosted Nov 25 2004