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What's the Matter With Chicago? and Seattle and New York and Boston...?
Seattle has always had an identity conflict. Gay bathhouses are allowed, street protests are legendary, and marijuana is, by voter initiative, the police department’s lowest enforcement priority. Each summer a two-day event called Hempfest draws some 150,000 people who openly smoke weed in a city park with the blessings of the cops and the local government, which regards the festival as protected speech.
Yet Seattle has long had an unhealthy strain of nannyism as well. Washington was one of the first states to prohibit alcohol in the last century, and the city’s restrictions on strip clubs and card rooms are legendary. In the last five years, the nanny impulse has gone into hyperdrive.
In 2003 Seattle banned sales of high-alcohol beers and fortified wines in a part of town popular with the homeless and street drunks. Three years later, a city report found that the ban hadn’t reduced petty crime and street drinking. Yet Mayor Greg Nickels and the Seattle City Council slammed through another ordinance expanding the so-called “alcohol impact area” to several other neighborhoods. It’s a measure of just how contradictory paternalism gets in Seattle that you can still walk into a bar in these neighborhoods and buy locally crafted microbrews with even higher alcohol content, albeit at a much steeper price than a 40-ouncer.
In 2005 a state ballot initiative banned smoking in all public places. Unlike similar prohibitions in other cities, there are no exemptions for tobacco stores, cigar bars, or private clubs. As if that weren’t enough, the Washington State Clean Indoor Air Act bans smoking within 25 feet of the doors, windows (closed or open), and ventilation systems of any public building. In parts of Seattle, smokers literally have to stand in the middle of the street to comply with the law.
Ironically, many Seattleites who smoke pot voted for the smoking ban. Perhaps they didn’t look too closely at the language of the law, which prohibits “smoking,” not tobacco.
The city’s deep embrace of environmentalism and “sustainability” rhetoric also has a nanny odor to it. This year, for example, Mayor Nickels pushed the state legislature to enact an excise tax on cars based on their fuel efficiency. (For a change, the idea met with a significant public backlash and died.) But one enviro law did expand local freedom a bit. City Council Member Richard Conlin last year proposed that the city license pygmy goats as pets, partly so that residents can process their yard waste in a more eco-friendly manner. The proposal became law by a unanimous vote.
—Philip Dawdy Seattle has always had an identity conflict. Gay bathhouses are allowed, street protests are legendary, and marijuana is, by voter ini... more -
Smoking Will Kill Up to 1 Billion People in the 21st Century
Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg pledged $500m this week to help curb the habit of smoking around the world. The $500 million would be spent on a campaign that Mr. Bloomberg and Dr. Margaret Chan, director of the health organisation, outlined in February.
This is truly excellent news, and I hope Bill and Mike (we are good friends) can help steer others away from this lethal habit. Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg pledged $500m this week to help curb the habit of smoking around the world. The $500 million would be... more -
N.Y. bans smoking at recovery centers
Many addicts, problem gamblers and alcoholics may find it harder to kick their habits in New York now that the state has become the first in the country to ban smoking at all recovery centers.
New York’s 13 state-run addiction treatment centers have been tobacco free for more than 10 years. New regulations that take effect Thursday will also apply to private treatment centers. Some are worried that people who need help for and alcohol won’t pursue it because they aren’t ready to quit smoking.
“Nicotine helps (addicts) get through the day,” he said. “Now you take the nicotine away from us, it’s almost impossible to get through the day ... addiction is addiction, I understand that, but nicotine is a legal substance.”
Whats next, they take our coffee away as well...? Many addicts, problem gamblers and alcoholics may find it harder to kick their habits in New York now that the state has become t... more -
Bloomberg, Gates pledge $375 mln against tobacco
"New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) co-founder Bill Gates pledged $375 million on Wednesday to fight what they called a global tobacco epidemic.
The billionaires said the money would go to anti-smoking groups working with governments of developing countries such as India and China to curb tobacco use.
Bloomberg, who championed New York City's groundbreaking smoking ban in 2002, is adding $250 million over four years to a program he started several years ago that has $125 million committed to it.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will invest $125 million over the next four years.
"Smoking is an epidemic that can be stopped, and we want more people to get involved," Gates said at his first public event as chairman of his philanthropic foundation since he left his full-time executive role at Microsoft in June.
Gates said China and India should get special attention. Statistics show that by 2030, more than 80 percent of worldwide tobacco-related deaths will occur in low- and middle-income countries compared to half today.
They pointed to declining U.S. smoking rates since bans, including those in bars and restaurants, were introduced in California and New York. Nations such as Ireland, France, Italy and Turkey have followed suit.
They said poor nations could use government-backed incentives, such as higher taxes on tobacco and bans on advertising, promotion and sponsorship.
Bloomberg noted difficulties in places such as China, where the government owns cigarette manufacturing companies.
"What we have to show them is that the revenue they get, the profits they get from selling cigarettes, are dwarfed by the expense to society," Bloomberg said."
Hopefully that money doesn't go to make horrible commercials!
"New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) co-founder Bill Gates pledged $375... more -
New Antismoking Signs Are Almost Visible Through the Haze
In a country where one in four people smoke, and where doctors light up in hospital hallways and health ministers puff away during meetings, it was a telling sign that a decade of halfhearted public campaigns against tobacco may finally be gaining traction.
Last May, the municipal government banned cigarettes in schools, railway stations, office buildings and other public places. Chinese athletes are no longer permitted to accept tobacco company sponsorships. Cigarette advertising on billboards will be restricted during the Olympics. Prime Minister Wen Jiabao has declared that the Games will be “smoke free.”
About 350 million of China’s 1.3 billion people are regular smokers, more than the entire population of the United States, and even though 1.2 million people die each year from smoking-related causes, there is a widespread belief that cigarettes hold some health benefits. A cigarette in the morning is energizing, many smokers will declare, and even when confronted with scientific reason, they will cite Deng Xiaoping, an inveterate smoker who lived to 92, and Mao Zedong, who lived to 82.
Health care workers are not exactly the best role models: more than half of all Chinese medical professionals smoke, and a 2004 government survey of 3,600 doctors found that 30 percent did not know that smoking could lead to heart disease and circulation problems. (Unlike cigarettes in much of the world, Chinese brands carry no health warning on labels, although that is scheduled to change in 2011.)
In a country where one in four people smoke, and where doctors light up in hospital hallways and health ministers puff away during mee... more -
Smoker who has 10 cigars a day celebrates his 100th birthday
Since his first puff in 1917 he has smoked 153,000 cigars and 715,400 cigarettes and drunk a shot of whisky in his morning cup of tea every day since the age of 24.
He has not suffered any serious health problems related to smoking or drinking. Since his first puff in 1917 he has smoked 153,000 cigars and 715,400 cigarettes and drunk a shot of whisky in his morning cup of tea ... more -
Menthol is used to hook young smokers
I smoke so this is important to me. I don't endorse smoking, but I support the freedom to choose.
Tobacco companies manipulate the amount of menthol in cigarettes to make those first few puffs more palatable to young smokers, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday in a finding that could fuel support for more tobacco regulation.
"Menthol stimulates the cooling receptors in the lung and oral pharynx," said Dr. Gregory Connolly of the Harvard School of Public Health. "It makes smoking easier."
The study, published in the American Journal of Public Health, comes as the U.S. Congress considers legislation that would give the Food and Drug Administration broad authority to regulate tobacco.
It would appear this report is simply an effort to push support for federal regulation of the tobacco industry, not a scientific review of the menthol category," said David Howard, a spokesman for R.J. Reynolds, a unit of Reynolds American Inc (RAI.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and maker of Camel and Kool cigarettes.
Lorillard Inc (LO.N: Quote, Profile, Research) spokesman Michael Robinson said in a statement: "The American public should view this report for what it is, a politically motivated lobbying tool."
The article is four pages long, but these paragraphs sum it up well. What do you think? Comment below. I smoke so this is important to me. I don't endorse smoking, but I support the freedom to choose. ... more -
Qantas dubbed 'cancer kangaroo'
Anti-smoking lobby groups have attacked a move by Qantas to resume inflight cigarette sales as a "greedy cash grab" at the expense of good health.
Anti-smoking lobby groups have attacked a move by Qantas to resume inflight cigarette sales as a "greedy cash grab" at the expense of ... more -
Throat cancer rising fast in the UK, falling elsewhere
Cases of throat cancer are rising fast in the UK while falling in some European countries, reports the Daily Telegraph.
Gullet or oesophageal cancer is the sixth most common cause of cancer deaths in England and Wales and accounts for more than 6,000 deaths annually.
Over the last twenty years cases have risen by 87 per cent in men and 40 per cent in women but it is not clear why.
Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson (he's had a busy day: http://current.com/items/89103394_young_drivers_to_be_b... highlighted the case of 32-year-old Ben Chandler, a soldier who has served in Iraq and Afghanistan who had problems swallowing and was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer. He suffered a major bleed and went into cardiac arrest but survived and is now receiving treatment.
Sir Liam said cases of gullet cancer are 'sky high' in the UK compared to much of Europe. Cases are also high in Japan, China and India.
The causes of gullet cancer include smoking, drinking, lack of fresh fruit and vegetables and gastric reflux which is associated with obesity.
Smoking, drinking and poor diet: often the domain of the young. Are generations destined to be affected by this still-mysterious form of cancer?
Cases of throat cancer are rising fast in the UK while falling in some European countries, reports the Daily Telegraph. ... more -
Nicotine 'could help Alzheimer's sufferers boost their concentration'
It is the chemical which makes smokers hooked, but scientists believe that nicotine could have its benefits - and that it could hold the key to new treatments for Alzheimer's.
The "boost" in concentration that smokers experience from cigarettes could help sufferers fight the mental decline associated with dementia, studies suggest.
Tests are already underway on nicotine based treatments which researchers believe could delay the onset of the disease, offering sufferers crucial extra time.
Part of the reason that nicotine, which is also found in small quantities in foods like cocoa and tomatoes, as well as tobacco, is so addictive is because it acts as a stimulant, increasing the flow of adrenaline in the body.
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Studies in rodents have shown that treatments based on nicotine can stimulate parts of the brain which improve concentration and quicken the responses.
Professor Ian Stolerman, from King's College in London, who led the studies, said that such treatments could offer "relief" to dementia patients, tens of thousands of whom are diagnosed in Britain every year.
Prof Stolerman said: "The substances we call drugs, in the majority of cases, actually do have a mixture of beneficial and harmful effects and nicotine is no exception in this."
Prof Stolerman started his research more than 10 years ago, initially not expecting to find that nicotine would have much effect on the brain's ability to concentrate.
His studies prove that the nicotine is more effective than other popular stimulants like caffeine at enhancing the brain's attention span.
His research suggests that the relatively small effect that nicotine has on healthy people would be greatly magnified in dementia sufferers.
The effect of the treatments could allow Alzheimer's sufferers to delay the onset of the disease for months, he believes.
Some drugs using nicotine as a base are currently in clinical trials and could potentially be on the market within a few years.
Prof Stolerman admitted that there is potential for addiction with the therapies.
"The cognitive 'boost' that many smokers experience from nicotine probably contributes to the reason that people smoke cigarettes, so it may not be possible to totally prevent addiction," Prof Stolerman said.
"Nevertheless, the potential for abuse of a medicine based on pure nicotine-like substance is likely to be very small."
He also warned against taking up smoking, because of the range of other harmful chemicals in cigarettes.
There are a number of treatments for dementia on the market which can also work to slow the progression of the disease.
However, many of these have harmful side effects, including incontinence, which Prof. Stolerman said would be absent from nicotine based treatments.
"The current therapies which do not involve nicotine are thought to give an advantage of several months (to dementia patients) but the side affects are really quite serious.
"The hope would be we would have a bit more effectiveness with rather less toxins. What we are talking about is some time, some symptomatic relief."
Prof Stolerman will present a review of his findings at the Forum of European Neuroscience conference in Geneva today (MON).
A spokesman for the Alzheimer's Society said: "Although nicotine has therapeutic qualities, when it is absorbed through smoking the health risks outweigh the benefits. Smoking increases risk of vascular dementia, the second most common form of dementia and is associated with a number of other health risks.
"More research is now needed to find a safe and effective treatment for dementia, with the potential benefits of nicotine, but without the health risks."
More than 800,000 people in Britain have dementia, around 600,000 of whom have Alzheimer's, the most common form. It is the chemical which makes smokers hooked, but scientists believe that nicotine could have its benefits - and that it could hold t... more -
An American pastime: smoking pot - TIME
The Netherlands, with its permissive marijuana laws, may be known as the cannabis capital of the world. But a survey published this month in PLoS Medicine, a journal of the Public Library of Science, suggests that the Dutch don't actually experiment with pot as much as one would expect. Despite tougher drug policies in this country, Americans were twice as likely to have tried marijuana than the Dutch, according to the survey. In fact, Americans were more likely to have tried marijuana or cocaine than people in any of the 16 other countries, including France, Spain, South Africa, Mexico and Colombia, that the survey covered. The Netherlands, with its permissive marijuana laws, may be known as the cannabis capital of the world. But a survey published this mo... more
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McCain jokes about killing Iranians with cigarettes
John McCain, who once sang in jest about bombing Iran, on Tuesday reacted to a report of rising U.S. cigarette exports to the country by saying it may be "a way of killing 'em."
McCain, known for acerbic comments and for sometimes firing verbally from the hip, was responding to a report that U.S. exports to Iran rose tenfold during President George W. Bush's term in office despite hostility between the two states.
A rise in cigarette sales was a big part of that, according to an Associated Press analysis of seven years of U.S. trade figures.
"Maybe that's a way of killing 'em," McCain said to reporters during a campaign stop in Pittsburgh. "I meant that as a joke, as a person who hasn't had a cigarette in 28 years, 29 years," he added, laughing.
He declined further comment on the report.
John McCain, who once sang in jest about bombing Iran, on Tuesday reacted to a report of rising U.S. cigarette exports to the country ... more -
Skunk smokers 18 times more likely to develop psychosis
That 'sticky-icky' you might have been smoking could make you eighteen times more likely to develop psychosis, compared to those who only smoke hashish.
Dr. Marta Di Forti of Kings College London conducted the research into skunk use and found rather alarming results. 80% of people who had experienced psychosis - delusions and paranoia - had smoked some hi-grade, compared to 76% of people who had no mental health problem who had smoked hash.
That 'sticky-icky' you might have been smoking could make you eighteen times more likely to develop psychosis, compared to those who o... more -
Britain's smoking ban 'has saved 40,000 lives'
It's been nearly a year since the nationwide ban on smoking, and a new report says that it triggered the biggest fall in smoking ever seen in England. According to figures, more than 2 billion fewer ciggies were smoked in the last year, and 400,000 people quit. Researchers say this will save 40,000 lives over the next decade. It's been nearly a year since the nationwide ban on smoking, and a new report says that it triggered the biggest fall in smoking ever ... more
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The Dutch ban public smoking tommorrow.
Following the lead of Ireland which took a tough stance against tobacco in 2004. The Dutch will join the list of European countries that ban smoking in cafes and restaurants.
How will this effect their tourist industry? Following the lead of Ireland which took a tough stance against tobacco in 2004. The Dutch will join the list of European countries th... more -
Percentage of teen smokers holds steady at 20%
The number of teens who smoke has stopped declining, and anti-smoking activists worry that complacency is setting in, the Washington Post reports. The latest survey shows that 20% of kids between the ages of 13 and 17 light up, a figure that has generally held steady since 2003. It remains a marked improvement from the figure of 36.4% n 1997, but the leveling off has health officials worried.
"The lack of greater progress in recent years is a clear warning to elected officials to resist complacency and redouble efforts to reduce tobacco use,” one lobbyist said. Activists say state money for anti-smoking campaigns has dried up since a 1998 settlement against Big Tobacco. They also say that tobacco companies continue a subtle campaign to lure teens through promotions and by working to keep characters puffing away in TV and movies.
source: Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/20... The number of teens who smoke has stopped declining, and anti-smoking activists worry that complacency is setting in, the Washington P... more -
Man Holding Cigarette 'Zapped' By Lightning
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- A man watching TV and listening to music inside an Orange County apartment was struck by lightning while holding a cigarette out of a window.
Adam Rice was struck on the hand Wednesday afternoon at the Whisper Lake apartments, located on state Road 436 south of University Boulevard.
"All of sudden it sounded like fireworks go off, just loud pops, like, constantly," Rice said. "The whole house lit up blue, and I got zapped on my hand."
smallest toes on one of his feet.
"My foot just kind of burns a little and stings when I walk," Rice said.
The lightning strike also caused a small brush fire nearby.
"I called the fire department and I (said), 'I just got struck by lightning and the woods are on fire," Rice said. "Next thing I know my body felt like I stuck a fork in an outlet. I just dove off my bed until it was gone," Rice said.
Rice refused medical treatment and said he will be going on a date Wednesday night.
Watch Local 6 News for more on this story. ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- A man watching TV and listening to music inside an Orange County apartment was struck by lightning while holdin... more -
Cuba unveils lung cancer vaccine
Cuban scientists on Tuesday unveiled a therapeutic lung cancer vaccine which they say is the first in the world and extends the lives of victims by up to five months. Gisela Gonzalez at the Havana Molecular Immunological Center, where the unveiling was held, said that research on the Cimavax EGF vaccine began in 1992, with the first clinical test in 1995.
It is the first registered vaccine in the world designed to battle lung cancer, said Gonzalez, who heads the medical team that developed the compound.The vaccine, based on two proteins, triggers an immune response from the victim's body and has no side effects, Gonzalez said.
The research team's director of clinical investigations, Tania Crombet, said that the vaccine serves as a compliment to conventional methods like chemotherapy and radiotherapy, allowing cancer victims to live between four and five months longer, and improves their breathing and decreases their pain.
The vaccine is available in Cuba, and will be commercialized in Latin America, starting in Peru, Gonzalez said. Cuban scientists on Tuesday unveiled a therapeutic lung cancer vaccine which they say is the first in the world and extends the lives ... more -
Video game Florida anti-tobacco ad
This is just opening up great ideas for video games.
Smoker: the game. You'd have to bum cigarettes, look extra cool when you're smoking them, have a cough attack during your work out, swear you're going to quit, and then smoke 5 after as the bar closes. This is just opening up great ideas for video games. ... more
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