Tobacco.org

• El Dorado Hills couple sues neighbor over cigarette smoke  

"In a senior community, you think we'll all be compatible and have the same values," said Richard Ganguet, a retired El Dorado County sheriff's deputy.

But three years after settling into their single-family home in El Dorado Hills' Four Seasons development, the Ganguets are suing their next-door neighbor over cigar and cigarette smoke they say wafts into their backyard and house.

Because of the smoke, the couple say, they no longer sit on their patio. They also try to sandwich in swims in the side-yard lap pool between their neighbors' smoking sessions.

Doug Smith, attorney for the neighboring homeowner, Florence Solone, said the issue is a trivial one that should be resolved by neighbors talking with each other, not with a lawsuit in El Dorado Superior Court.

But disputes between neighbors over secondhand smoke are increasingly making their way into courtrooms and city council chambers.

With smoking banned in workplaces, restaurants and bars, Californians are less willing to tolerate the smell of smoke in their houses or backyards, said Robin Salsburg, a staff attorney with the Oakland-based Public Health Institute's Public Health Law and Policy program.

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• Smoking And Heart Disease Risks Can Cut Life Span By 10 Years 

Middle aged men who smoke, have high blood pressure and raised cholesterol levels can expect a 10-15 year shorter life expectancy from age 50 compared with men without these risk factors.

The Oxford University study published in the British Medical Journal reports data from the Whitehall study, in which the health of 19,000 male civil servants has been followed for almost 40 years since 1970, when they were aged 40-69.

'We've shown that men at age 50 who smoke, have high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels can expect to survive to 74 years of age, while those who have none of these risk factors can expect to live until 83,' says Dr Robert Clarke of the Clinical Trial Service Unit at the University of Oxford, who led the research team. . . .

Dr Clarke says: 'The results give people another way of looking at heart disease risk factors that can be understood more readily. If you stop smoking or take measures to deal with high blood pressure or body weight, it will translate into increased life expectancy.

'It also provides support for existing public health policies. Bans on smoking in public places, efforts to lower saturated fats and salt, combined with medications for those at high risk of cardiovascular disease, when taken together will result in substantial improvements in life expectancy across the population.'

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• Unhealthy men 'may lose 10 years' 

Middle-aged male smokers with high blood pressure and raised cholesterol levels face dying about 10 years before healthier counterparts, a study warns.

The UK study looked at more than 19,000 civil servants aged 40-69 and traced what happened to them 38 years later.

The Oxford study, in the British Medical Journal, said men with these three risk factors could expect a 10-year shorter life from 50 years of age.

The British Heart Foundation said over 40s should have a heart health check.

The study was set up in 1967-70 at the peak of the vascular disease epidemic in the UK.

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• “We need something for people to die,” British tobacco industry  

A 1978 document, recently made known, revealed the sleight used during that time by the tobacco industry of the United Kingdom in order to overcome the crisis in the sector before evidence that cigarettes were harmful: "We need something for people to die," said the report.

According to the consulting agency Campbell-Johnson for the British Association of Tobacco (BAT), tobacco consumption was functional for the Government, due to the fact that cancer and other illnesses associated to cigarettes limited "the number of dependent elderly that the economy must maintain."

The document's author recognizes that "obviously" those arguments "cannot be used publicly," but he insists: "with a general increase in life expectancy, we need something for people to die. In replacement of the effects of war, poverty, and hunger, cancer, considered the illness of rich and developed countries, has a role to play."

This idea, considered a "psychological factor in order to continue the taste people have of smoking as something pleasant, although it may be a dangerous habit, should not be under valuated," the document continued. . . .

One of the actions is to promote a code of conduct among smokers that, if followed, "would assure they wouldn't be accused by non-smokers of arrogantly assuming the right to contaminate the air around them."

"Their tone has to be frank and positive," and one of the objectives must be to "restore the smoker's image as an outgoing and sociable person, and not neurotic, smelly, and marginal as the non-smokers think," concluded the report.

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• Midlife Heart Risk Factors Linked to Later Dementia  

The things that are bad for your heart in the middle years of life -- high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, smoking, diabetes -- are bad for your brain in later years, new research indicates.

High cholesterol levels in midlife were associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia many years later, according to scientists in California and Finland, who tracked almost 10,000 men and women for four decades.

"We found an association not only with high blood cholesterol, but also borderline high levels," said study senior author Rachel Whitmer, who is a research scientist and epidemiologist at the Kaiser Permanente division of research in Oakland. Researchers at the University of Kuopio in Finland also participated in the study. . . .

For those in midlife with borderline-high readings between 200 mg/dl and 239 mg/dl, the increased incidence was 52 percent, according to the study, which was published online in the journal Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders and funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health. . . .

The other research, reported in the August issue of the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, followed more than 11,000 American participants in a study of atherosclerosis, the hardening of the arteries that can lead to heart attack, stroke and other major cardiovascular problems.

Researchers from the University of Minnesota, the University of North Carolina, John Hopkins and the University of Mississippi Medical Center measured smoking, high blood pressure and diabetes among the participants from 1990-1992. They then tracked them until 2004 to see how many were hospitalized for dementia.

Smokers were 70 percent more likely to develop dementia than nonsmokers

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• Titusville Housing Authority passes new no smoking policy for tenants on oxygen 

Tenants of Titusville Housing Authority-owned units who use oxygen tanks will not be allowed to smoke in the buildings under a new policy that goes into effect May 23.

Housing authority board members on Tuesday afternoon unanimously approved the policy, which bans smoking even when a tenant's oxygen is turned off.

The policy was drawn up after the authority learned of an incident with Altoona Housing Authority. After the Altoona authority had a fire involving a tenant on oxygen, it was advised to put a policy in place that would protect it from being liable for damages.

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• Smoking ban in rental housing examined 

Could smoking inside rental housing be banned in Tacoma? Potentially, but such a ban has legal complexities surrounding it. Tacoma City Council's Neighborhoods and Housing Committee heard a proposal on the topic on March 2.

Jacqueline Strong Moss from the city's Human Rights and Human Services Department mentioned the statewide smoking ban in public places such as taverns, restaurants and bowling alleys. That does not apply to rental housing, she noted.

However, some landlords are increasingly concerned about the costs of cleaning rental units after smokers move out. John Briehl, director of the department, said that as a result efforts to ban smoking in rental units are mostly market-driven. "There has been movement in the industry for smoke-free housing."

Smoking is banned in some public housing. Briehl gave one local example. Tacoma Housing Authority bans smoking in its E.B. Wilson Apartments, which are designated for elderly and disabled renters. Smoking was banned in all 77 units last year. Seattle Housing Authority has one smoke-free complex.

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• While riding bike in Bethpage, man catches fire, dies  

An elderly man who was apparently smoking a cigarette while riding his bicycle home died yesterday after his clothes caught fire on a residential Bethpage street, officials said.

Joseph Rusin, 87, of Bethpage, was seen by a passing motorist at noon engulfed in flames and rolling on the ground on the front lawn of a home . . .

Rusin was probably smoking a cigarette, which ignited the nylon jacket he was wearing, said Vincent McManus of the Nassau County fire marshal's office.

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• Japanese doctor apologises for smoking remark 

A Japanese doctor has apologised after saying that people should smoke themselves to an early death to save the country money on elderly care, according to his hospital.

"It is clear that medical costs will increase if non-smoking spreads," the doctor said last week, according to Ida Hospital in Kawasaki City. "It's better that people smoke a lot and die early."

The man, whose name has been withheld, made the comment at a gathering of doctors, the hospital said.

"The hospital president has reprimanded him severely," said Tetsuya Yamamoto, a public relations official of the hospital.

"He said it was a careless remark and sincerely regrets it,"

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• Health consequences of sustained smoking cessation  

OBJECTIVES ---To estimate the risk of dying from all causes and from specified smoking-related diseases in people who were ex-smokers at two consecutive examinations . . .

RESULTS --- With sustained never smokers as reference, the sustained ex-smokers had adjusted relative risk (95 % CI), of dying from any cause, for men 0.97 (0.80 to 1.18), for women 0.98 (0.65 to 1.48). Corresponding risk for ex-smokers who resumed smoking was for men 1.59 (1.32 to 1.91), for women 1.40 (1.08 to 1.81). For the specified smoking-related diseases, the risk in sustained ex-smokers was not significantly different from the risk in sustained never-smokers, except for lung cancer in men. For ex-smokers who resumed smoking, the corresponding risk was on the whole significantly higher.

CONCLUSIONS ---A more valid and favourable picture of ex-smokers’ risk will be obtained if exposure is being based upon people with two consecutive examinations, years apart. The study confirms clearly the large health benefit of quitting smoking for good.

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• Vitamin E May Decrease Mortality Of Elderly Male Smokers, Yet Increase Mortality Of Middle-aged Smokers 

Six-year vitamin E supplementation decreased mortality by 41% in elderly male smokers who had high dietary vitamin C intake, but increased mortality by 19% in middle-aged smokers who had high vitamin C intake, according to a study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology. . . .

the effect of vitamin E on respiratory infections has significantly diverged between different population groups suggesting that the effects of vitamin E may not be uniform over all the population.

Dr. Harri Hemila, and Professor Jaakko Kaprio, of the University of Helsinki, Finland, studied whether the effect of vitamin E supplementation on mortality might diverge between different population groups. They analyzed the data of the large randomized trial (Alpha-Tocopherol Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention Study) which was conducted in Finland between 1985-1993 and included male smokers aged 50-69 years. There were 3571 deaths in 29,133 participants during the 6-year supplementation of 50 mg/day of vitamin E.

Although vitamin E had no overall effect on mortality, its effect was modified by age and dietary vitamin C intake. Vitamin E had no effect on participants who had low dietary vitamin C intake, less than 90 mg/day. However, in those who had high vitamin C intake, over 90 mg/day, the effect of vitamin E diverged so that it increased mortality in young participants (50-62 years), but decreased mortality in old participants (66-69 years). . . .

The researchers concluded that "in people younger than 65 years, taking vitamin E supplements should be strongly discouraged, until clear evidence emerges that some population groups of younger or middle-aged people benefit". . . .

* Harri Hemilä and Jaakko Kaprio. Modification of the Effect of Vitamin E Supplementation on the Mortality of Male Smokers by Age and Dietary Vitamin C. American Journal of Epidemiology, February 13, 2009

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• Rich or poor, tobacco still a killer 

Whether one smokes tobacco or not has a greater impact on life span than being rich or poor, the largest study of its kind reported.

Previous research in developed countries have shown that disparities in income translate into significant gaps in health and longevity.

But the extra years of life that, on average, come with being in the highest social brackets are more than wiped out by smoking, showed the study, which tracked mortality rates over a 28-year period among 15,000 men and women entering into old age.

Lighting up likewise cancelled out the survival advantage enjoyed the world over by women, who generally live several years longer than men.

The findings also confirmed that it is never too late to quit: ex-smokers had survival rates much closer to those who had never smoked than to those with a confirmed tobacco habit.

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• Smokers Have Rapid Aging Defect 

Cigarette smoke causes the same cellular defect seen in people with Werner's syndrome -- a rare genetic disease that makes people age very fast.

Smoking speeds the aging process, causing smokers to die about 10 years before their time. Now researchers may have found a clue to this process, giving them unexpected new paths to treatment.

The clue comes from the observation that smokers aren't the only people who age too fast. In their 20s, people with a rare genetic disorder called Werner's syndrome get gray hair, thin skin, and hoarse voices.

They soon develop cataracts, diabetes, hardening of the arteries, and weak bones. In their 40s or 50s, they tend to die of heart disease and cancer.

Smokers also age prematurely and tend to die of heart disease and cancer. Might there be a link?

Yes, say University of Iowa researchers Toru Nyunoya, MD, and colleagues.

Werner's syndrome is caused by a mutation in a gene called WRN. The gene makes the WRN protein that protects and repairs DNA in every cell of the body. . . .

When the researchers cultured lung cells in the laboratory, they found that cigarette smoke extract decreased the cell's WRN production -- and made the cells age more quickly.

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• Effects Of Smoking Linked To Accelerated Aging Protein 

A University of Iowa study is apparently the first to make a connection between a rare, hereditary premature aging disease and cell damage that comes from smoking. The study results point to possible therapeutic targets for smoking-related diseases.

The investigation found that a key protein that is lost in Werner's syndrome is decreased in smokers with emphysema, and this decrease harms lung cells that normally heal wounds. The findings appear in the Feb. 6 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

While people know that smoking is bad for health, not all the mechanisms by which smoke damages the body are fully understood, said Toru Nyunoya, M.D., assistant professor of internal medicine at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine and a pulmonologist with University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

"Smoking can accelerate the aging process and shorten the lifespan by an average of more than 10 years. We focused on what happens within the lungs because of the similar aging effects, including atherosclerotic diseases and cancer, seen in people with Werner's syndrome and people who smoke," said Nyunoya, whose study was based in the lab of senior author Gary Hunninghake, M.D., University of Iowa professor of internal medicine and a researcher with the Iowa City Veterans Affairs Medical Center. . . .

"Werner's syndrome involves a genetic mutation that causes a deficiency in what's known as Werner's syndrome protein. The protein normally helps repair DNA damage," Nyunoya said. "Smoking does not appear to cause the same mutation, but our study showed that it does decrease Werner's syndrome protein."

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• Russian Building Fire Kills 23 Elderly Residents 

A fire swept through an apartment building for the elderly in a small village in northern Russia on Saturday evening, killing at least 23 people, a local official said.

The building in the town of Podyelsk, in the Komi region, was quickly engulfed in flames and was fully ablaze when rescuers arrived on the scene, said Konstantin Bobrov, a spokesman for the regional government.

Mr. Bobrov said that at least 26 people were inside at the time of the blaze, and that rescuers were able to save three. According to preliminary information, "careless smoking" was the likely cause of the fire, Mr. Bobrov said.

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