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Bar owner seeks to lead Delaware 

Frank Infante, who is best known for trying to snuff out parts of Delaware's indoor smoking ban, announced his plans Saturday to try to replace one of its chief backers - Gov. Ruth Ann Minner.

Infante, president of the Delaware United Smokers Association, announced his plans to challenge Minner during a combination campaign kickoff and voter registration event at his bar, Bulldozers Saloon in Smyrna.

Besides leading the fight to relax the smoking ban, Infante also successfully challenged administrative charges the bar violated the smoking law.

Infante, who is running as an independent, last week mailed his campaign organization forms to state election officials.

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N.Y. bowler's stats: 11 300s, 7 800s 

Officials think things will pick up as bowlers get settled back into their games. However, some think the upcoming smoking ban might keep the number of award scores down since many smokers might sit this season out or travel out of town where they can smoke while they bowl.

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Hong Kong to declare war on smoking 

Hong Kong is to ban smoking in all restaurants and demand stiff warnings be printed on cigarette packets in a move aimed at protecting public health, a report said.

The plans are expected to meet with fierce opposition from restaurant owners and the tobacco industry.

The government's proposals will be put before the Legislative Council at the end of this year, the Sunday Morning Post cited an official source as saying Sunday.

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Crib Sheet: What to Read at the Movies 

"The Runaway Jury," John Grisham's best seller about the "jury consultants" who help Big Tobacco win their cases — except the filmmakers substitute guns for cigarettes. (Oct. 17.) [This graph only]

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Legal and Finance: Why days of smoky jazz club could be numbered [Source: Birmingham Post; Birmingham (UK)] 

The seedy glamour of the smoke-filled jazz club could soon be a thing of the past following a recent out-of-court settlement in favour of a casino worker, it was claimed today.

The five-figure payout -estimated at more than pounds 50,000 -to an employee who claimed he developed asthma over 14 years of working in a smoky atmosphere, could trigger a series of cultural changes, as well as a flood of similar claims, according to product liability specialist Darren Smith.

'The implications for the club, pub and restaurant sector are really enormous,' said Mr Smith, an associate in the Midlands office of international law firm Reed Smith.

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• Burns: Last of the dippers 

The amber streams of tobacco and saliva that flow from his mouth and into the nearest available trash can are a source of embarrassment for Conrad Burns. . . .

Burns' colleague, Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., insists that the former high school football referee and auctioneer should hold his head high, rather than hang it in shame. . . .

Tobacco is native to the Americas and played a central role in the success of the Jamestown Colony. It was the staple crop for the colonies, and according to the Joseph Roberts book, "The Story of Tobacco in America," it was so valuable that it was used as legal tender. During the American Revolution it was used to pay interest on loans from France and purchase supplies for the soldiers, according to Roberts. . . .

Burns' accuracy puts him head and shoulders above the men who filled the Senate during the 19th century. During that time a spittoon was located next to each desk on the Senate floor, but according to many observers senators often missed the mark.

While visiting the United States during the 1840s, the famous English author Charles Dickens was disgusted in general by Americans' use of tobacco and particularly amazed at the senators' poor aim.

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Smoking ban will not cover embassies across Dublin [Source: Irish Times] 

Diplomats will still have the right to smoke in embassies across Dublin despite the Government's plan to ban smoking in the workplace.

The ban cannot be enforced in embassies which are regarded as the sovereign territory of foreign countries, a Department of Health spokesman confirmed last night.

However, Mandate, which represents many embassy workers, has called for the loophole to be closed to protect Irish workers from second-hand smoke.

There are more than 80 embassies and consulates in the Dublin area which employ hundreds of administrative workers, security staff and chauffeurs.

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People in Clinical Trials May Live Longer 

People with lung cancer who take part in clinical trials live longer than those who receive standard cancer treatment, reports new research.

The study offers the first evidence that clinical trials offer cost-effective treatment -- costing only slightly more than standard treatment -- for people with non-small lung cancer. The finding appears in the Oct. 1 issue of the journal Cancer.

Researchers at the Center for Cancer Economics, Technology Assessment, Innovation and Development in Detroit compared the outcomes for people with non-small cell lung cancer taking part in clinical trials with the outcomes of those receiving standard therapy. They also evaluated the cost-effectiveness of each treatment. . . .

SOURCE: John Wiley & Sons Inc., news release, Aug. 25, 2003

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FF chairman of health board disagrees with smoking ban [Source: Irish Times] 

The Fianna Fil chairman of the Western Health Board and the nurses' representative on the board have spoken out publicly against the controversial proposed smoking ban.

A third health board member has said he feels "sorry for publicans" who would be expected to implement the ban.

The board chairman, Cllr Val Hanley, a former mayor of Galway and a publican, said at a health board meeting that he had met the Minister for Health, Mr Martin, and proposed having no smoking at the bar counter or a no-smoking section in pubs. . . .

Nurse Johanna Downes, of St Pius's Ward in University College Hospital, Galway, said she too was against the proposed national smoking ban.

"I don't agree with a total ban on smoking. Cigarettes are not a banned substance and people going to bars are adults, or at least they should be.

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EDITORIAL: Lititz's bold step on teen smoking [Source: Intelligencer Journal] 

The Lititz ban will not stop all teens there from smoking, of course. But it will act as a deterrent, making it a bit more difficult for teens to light up. And the law will keep teen puffers off town streets, where they serve as an unwitting example that smoking is "OK" or "cool."

Other Lancaster County communities would do well to consider Lititz's action. If it discourages even a handful of teens from taking up or continuing this terrible addiction, the better off they -- and we -- will be.

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Women ahead in over-45 smoking figures [Source: Irish Times] 

More women than men over the age of 45 are smoking, according to a report by the Office of Tobacco Control, which shows that older women, in particular, find it harder to quit than men.

The study shows that women are more likely to try to give up smoking but are less successful than men.

The report, Irish Women and Tobacco, shows females start smoking at a later age than males but keep on smoking later.

Dr Harry Comber, director of the National Cancer Registry, said the findings "suggest strongly that women need intensive, organised and prolonged support if they are to quit smoking and that the nature of this support may be different from that needed by men".

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LETTER: Spoiling smokers [Source: New Straits Times] 

With the amendment, smokers now have the right to sue. But what about the rights of the long-suffering passive smokers? Walk into any pub or restaurant and non-smokers have to breathe secondary smoke exhaled by these smokers.

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EDITORIAL: The Last Gasp For Tobacco Farmers [Source: Virginian - Pilot] 

With one hand the U.S. government favors tobacco growers with price guarantees. With the other, it extracts billions from cigarette companies for the expense of treating smoking-related illnesses. The hypocrisy may be coming to an end, thanks to a push from the unlikeliest of sources: Southern senators whose states have a monopoly on tobacco. . . .

The simplest fix is to end the program and leave the quota- holders empty-handed. But that would turn a recession into a depression for many rural communities in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and Georgia. The $13 billion is not as much as some in the Tobacco Belt want. But it's probably the best deal they can get.

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Editorial 09/07: Ending tobacco supports 

IT'S AN imperfect idea, but there is reason to concur in a proposal that would end federal support of tobacco farming with an industry-financed buyout, and at the same time authorize the Food and Drug Administration to regulate the industry. . . .

In the end, it seems likely that the proposal will become law. That would be one more sign that tobacco consumption is gradually shrinking its way toward negligibility - a goal devoutly to be sought.

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A case-control study on cigarette, alcohol, and coffee consumption preceding Parkinson's disease [Source: Neuroepidemiology] 

Conclusions: Consistent with previous studies, our results suggest an inverse association between coffee drinking, alcohol consumption and PD. The multiple inverse association observed may indicate a complex interaction between genetic and environmental factors. . . .

Discussion

Our study showed an inverse association between cigarette smoking, alcohol drinking, coffee consumption and PD. The inverse association between coffee consumption and PD reached the highest statistical significance.

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