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Extended smoking ban opposed by Spanish catering industry 

The Spanish catering industry recently voiced its opposition to a government plan to extend smoking ban to bars and enclosed public spaces.

The new ban would bring the country in line with other European countries like Ireland, France, Italy and Britain.

However, the catering industry is worried about the economic consequences of such a ban for a sector already suffering from the current financial turmoil.

"It will ruin the catering industry. We are not in favor of tobacco, but we are against big economic losses," Jose Maria Rubio, president of the Federacion Espanola de Hosteleria (FEHR), said.

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WHO: Tobacco a global pediatric concern  

Every day an estimated 82,000-99,000 young people start smoking, many under age 10, World Health Organization officials say.

The Bulletin of the World Health Organization says tobacco is marketed to children and the tobacco industry recognizes that new smokers must be recruited to replace those who quit or die of tobacco-related diseases.

"The dangers of tobacco consumption and second-hand smoke have been widely recognized, children are also harmed in less apparent ways; through hunger and malnutrition when scarce resources are diverted to tobacco purchases rather than food, exploitation of children as workers in tobacco farming and by death and injury resulting from fires caused by cigarettes," the report said.

"Almost half of the children who had never smoked were exposed to second-hand smoke both at home and outside the home."

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Electronic Cigarette And Babies 

A baby's health is considered to be one of the important parental responsibilities as always supreme. But this safeguard on their health is always frequently threatened by parents who smoke the usual cigarettes.

The usual cigarettes are well known to have within them tobacco and tar which are a threat to a baby's health making it at great risk of getting fatal chest problems amongst other diseases. On the other hand, the emitted smoke, its odor is plainly offensive to the child and may be the main reason why it cries as often as it drives you nuts. Moreover their always is in this cigarettes a residue of a foul acrid smell that irritates the baby's senses and eyes.

Whereas, traditional cigarettes posses cancer causing agents namely; carcinogens, there as appeared a new sensation in the nature of electronic cigarettes. This may give sufficient answers to how a smoker may safely smoke a cigarette in front of his or her baby.

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Study: Secondhand Smoke Disrupts Asthmatic Kids' Sleep 

Children with asthma may have a harder time getting a good night's sleep if they live with a smoker.

Researchers found that of more than 200 6- to 12-year-olds with asthma, those exposed to secondhand smoke tended to have poorer sleep at night and more drowsiness during the day.

While the reasons for the connection are uncertain, the researchers say it's likely that asthmatic children exposed to tobacco smoke have more nighttime breathing problems, which in turn disrupts their sleep.

The link between secondhand smoke and sleep problems was still apparent when the researchers accounted for the severity of the children's asthma overall -- suggesting that exposure to smoking, itself, was affecting the children's quality of sleep.

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• Smoke, sleep problems linked 

More secondhand smoke exposure means less sleep for children with asthma, according to new research from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

Sleep problems ranged from difficulty falling asleep, sleep-disordered breathing, nightmares, sleepwalking and increased daytime sleepiness, researchers led by environmental health expert Kimberly Yolton found.

The study, which appears in today's online edition of "Pediatrics," is the latest in a series of studies Yolton has conducted looking at the effects of secondhand smoke on children.

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VIDEO: Smoking China  

BROWNS SUMMIT, N.C. - Despite laws banning smoking in many public places in North Carolina, tobacco remains a huge industry here. It's still the state's cash crop, only this time, the cash isn't the American dollar.

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Results of SurveyUSA News Poll #16199 

Asked of 500 Adults Margin of Sampling Error for this question = ± 4.4%

The tax on cigarettes in Kansas is currently 79 cents per pack. Do you think the tax should be increased to $1.34 per pack? Or left at 79 cents?

56% Increased To $1.34 42% Left At 79 Cents 2% Not Sure

Asked of 500 Adults Margin of Sampling Error for this question = ± 4.3%

Should smoking be allowed or banned in public places in Kansas?

33% Allowed 65% Banned 2% Not Sure

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65% In Kansas: Ban Smoking In The State 

65% of adults from the state of Kansas think smoking should be banned in public places in the state, according to this latest SurveyUSA poll conducted for KWCH-TV in Wichita. 33% think smoking should be allowed.

What should happen to the tax on cigarettes? 56% think the tax should be increased to $1.34 per pack 42% think it should be left at 79 cents per pack.

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LETTER: Walker: A double standard on smoking 

So the new law that banned smoking in restaurants and bars is going to help me to be able to kick the habit.

Now if we could only convince more convenient stores to do the same and stop smoking in their establishment.

It's like this one convenient store that I know of that is about five miles down U.S. 64 past Wal-Mart and close to Denton's Chapel Church.

I think he has a double standard on smoking because he thinks that it is alright for him and his employees to smoke cigarettes in the store while the customers and their children visit his establishment but it is not alright for the customers to be smoking while his child is at his store.

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Smoking baby picture investigated in Essex 

A photograph of a baby with a cigarette in its mouth posted on social networking site Facebook has been investigated by Essex police.

The picture, of a baby boy with an unlit cigarette in its mouth was reported to authorities on Saturday.

A police spokesman said officers traced the child's home to Westcliff, near Southend but found "no immediate concerns".

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Norway Excludes 17 Tobacco Companies From Oil Fund (Update3) 

Norway excluded 17 tobacco companies, including British American Tobacco Plc and Philip Morris International Inc., from its sovereign wealth fund based on ethical guidelines.

Altria Group Inc., Japan Tobacco Inc., Reynolds American Inc., Swedish Match AB and Imperial Tobacco Group Plc, were also excluded and the shares have been sold, the Finance Ministry said today. The 2.6 trillion-krone ($456 billion) fund bases its investment on ethical rules encompassing human rights, weapons manufacturing and the environment. The tobacco exclusion was proposed in April as part of an overhaul of the guidelines.

“It’s timely to exclude tobacco,” Finance Minister Sigbjoern Johnsen said in a statement. “It’s important that the ethical guidelines reflect at all times what can be considered to be commonly held values of the owners of the fund.” . . .

Cultivation of tobacco takes place mainly in the U.S., India, Brazil and China as well as in several African countries, the council said. The “extent of health hazardous child labor in tobacco cultivation in some countries can be large.” The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation also doesn’t invest in tobacco companies because they engage in “egregious” activities.

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RESEARCH ALERT-UPDATE 1-Credit Suisse cuts US tobacco sector 

Credit Suisse downgraded the U.S. tobacco sector to "market weight" from "overweight" citing concerns about a more promotional environment and the impact of federal regulation on Newport menthol cigarette maker Lorillard Inc's (LO.N) valuation.

The brokerage, which also cut Lorillard shares to "neutral," said the uncertainty about the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulation this year reduces the ability of U.S. tobacco companies to improve valuations relative to the market.

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Meridian council to vote on smoking band 

Nearly five years after a former mayor vetoed Meridian's last no-smoking ordinance, the City Council is ready to try again.

The proposal on today's agenda is by Councilman Bobby Smith, who proposed the ordinance that passed in 2005 by a 3-2 vote, but was vetoed by Mayor John Robert Smith.

With a new mayor in office and Bobby Smith back on the council, he's ready to try again.

He said Meridian was the first city in Mississippi to pass a smoking ordinance, "but when we got it passed the mayor refused. Now we're the last of the big cities to do it."

He says he and the city attorney based the proposal on Jackson's ordinance.

It would prohibit smoking in all enclosed public places except stand-alone bars.

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Current Smoking Can Worsen Lung Cancer 

The team at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine conducted tests on mice with early lung cancer lesions and found that those repeatedly exposed to tobacco smoke developed larger tumors -- and developed tumors more quickly -- than those that weren't exposed to tobacco smoke. Lung tissue inflammation was the major contributing factor.

The findings, published Jan. 19 in the journal Cancer Cell, offer definitive proof that lung inflammation caused by chronic exposure to tobacco smoke promotes lung cancer growth, the researchers said.

In addition, the study results establish new lung cancer models, provide new information about the development and growth of lung cancer, and suggest that anti-inflammatory drugs may prevent or slow lung cancer progression.

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• Tobacco smoke causes lung inflammation, promotes lung cancer growth 

Repeated exposure to tobacco smoke makes lung cancer much worse, and one reason is that it steps up inflammation in the lung. Scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have found that mice with early lung cancer lesions that were repeatedly exposed to tobacco smoke developed larger tumors - and developed tumors more quickly - than unexposed animals. The key contributing factor was lung tissue inflammation.

The results of their study, to be published January 19 in the journal Cancer Cell, provide definitive evidence for the role of lung inflammation brought on by chronic exposure to tobacco smoke in promoting lung cancer growth. The findings also establish new lung cancer models, provide insights into both the development and growth of lung cancer, and suggest the possibility of using anti-inflammatory agents to prevent or slow lung cancer progression, said Michael Karin, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Pharmacology and Pathology at the UC San Diego School of Medicine, who led the work.

"We've shown for the first time that tobacco smoke is a tumor promoter - not only a tumor initiator - and that it works through inflammation

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