http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/category/alcohol.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://www.chippewa.com/articles/2008/05/12/news/doc4825118aefdaf977047170.txt http://tobacco.org/news/265177.html Dennis Doughty isn't proposing to make all Chippewa Falls taverns smoke-free. But the president of the Chippewa Falls City Council is looking at setting aside up to five of the city's 30 liquor-beer licenses as non-smoking licenses. "I think it promotes business in Chippewa Falls and doesn't take away from it," Doughty said Friday. Doughty's idea will be taken up by the city's Transportation Committee at 7:30 p.m. Monday in Committee Room No. 2 of City Hall, 30 W. Central St. Chippewa Herald rod.stetzer@lee.net (ROD STETZER) Mon, 12 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/news_detail.aspx?articleid=61326 http://tobacco.org/news/265110.html A survey of wine lists at venues across the UK has shown that many are not giving customers enough choice. A poll of 500 sites by CGA, on behalf of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA), revealed that wine sales have risen 13% since the smoke ban, mainly due to 58% of hosts seeing a uplift in food sales post ban. The trade body said that operators need to capitalise on the growing popularity of the product. The survey found that 57% of sites have a wine list with 10 or less wines, with just 12% offering a choice of more than 25 wines. Morning Advertiser.co.uk UK Fri, 09 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601124&sid=aWpo.ILOIWi8&refer=home http://tobacco.org/news/264887.html People who slept less than six hours a night were more likely than well-rested people to smoke, drink heavily and avoid exercise, a U.S. government study found. About 31 percent of adults who got that little sleep smoked cigarettes, compared with 18 percent who slept seven to eight hours, according to the survey by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency couldn't tell whether the unhealthy habits caused a sleep deficit or was the result. About 50 million to 70 million people in the U.S. suffer from chronic sleep loss and sleep disorders, which studies by the CDC have associated with obesity and depression. Bloomberg News trandall6@bloomberg.net (Tom Randall) Wed, 07 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.macleans.ca/canada/opinions/article.jsp?content=20080423_6858_6858 http://tobacco.org/news/264718.html Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty revealed . . . "Science has demonstrated that these power walls are effective at enticing kids [to smoke]," he told reporters this week, "so we want to get beyond that." . . . In the name of science we are to believe that, like the sight of a lady's ankle in a previous era, the mere glimpse of a pack of cigarettes will bring on a paroxysm of uncontrollable urges. This isn't science, it's political symbolism. From a "scientific" perspective, the massive dichotomy between the retailing of cigarettes and alcohol in Ontario is a mystery. According to the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, the direct and indirect costs of tobacco and alcohol abuse are nearly identical. Smoking is responsible for very large and obvious health care costs. Drinking has a massive impact on law enforcement as well as accidental deaths, not to mention its own substantial costs to the health care system. The nationwide damage wreaked by tobacco is estimated at $17 billion. For alcohol, it's about $14.5 billion. If McGuinty really wanted to base his government's substance abuse policies on science, he would regulate the sale of booze and smokes in an equivalent fashion, befitting their equal toll on society. Macleans Magazine Canada Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/SE/20080424/NEWS/804240313 http://tobacco.org/news/264015.html But this is a legal issue, not a moral one: Who should decide whether smoking should be allowed in adults-only businesses where no one is ever victimized by being subjected to secondhand smoke involuntarily? The Shafers, on the other hand, are victims - even if they are able to sell off some Tailgators' equipment and decorations at a fraction of their original cost. So is Brenden Newland, a single mother who worked at Tailgators from its first day to the last but is now worried about the future because "I just lost my job." . . . In other words, the smoking ban is increasing the distance bar customers must drive to get home. Good plan. The Shafers don't want sympathy, nor do they expect the kind of massive government help big businesses locating downtown are getting. All they wanted was a chance - a chance they say died when the smoking ban was born. So Wednesday night the Shafers and their regulars said goodbye, doing their best to use up the inventory. Many were smoking, but there's nobody left for the smoking police to punish. The fact that some people will find smug satisfaction in that says far more about their morality than it does about the Shafers'. Fort Wayne News-Sentinel kleininger@news-sentinel.com (Kevin Leininger of The News-Sentinel) Thu, 24 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23478829-details/Drinking+and+smoking+give+you+Alzheimer%27s%2C+new+research+reveals/article.do http://tobacco.org/news/263806.html Drinking, smoking and eating junk food can all cause Alzheimer's, new research revealed today. The lifestyle links to the condition, the most common form of dementia, emerged in two studies presented to neurologists in the US. Research suggests that heavy drinkers and smokers as well as those who indulge in junk food risk succumbing to the disease eight years soon than those with healthier lifestyles. This is London Thu, 17 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/22/health/research/22agin.html http://tobacco.org/news/263800.html People who are on a path to develop Alzheimer’s disease may hasten its arrival if they drink or smoke too much, researchers say. . . . There are a number of explanations for what may be happening, said one of the researchers, Dr. Ranjan Duara of the Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, Fla. Dr. Duara said smoking on its own had two effects that could contribute to Alzheimer’s. One is its role in cardiovascular disease. The other is a link with oxidative stress, an increase in damaging free radicals in the body. New York Times Tue, 22 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/health/article3758089.ece http://tobacco.org/news/263502.html Smokers who got through at least 20 cigarettes a day developed the disease 2.3 years sooner than patients who smoked less or were non-smokers Heavy drinkers and smokers develop Alzheimer's disease up to eight years earlier than those with healthier lifestyles, research has shown. A junk food diet which causes high cholesterol levels in middle age also leads to a higher risk of the disease, say scientists. The lifestyle links to Alzheimer’s were revealed today in two separate studies presented to neurologists in the US. Times Of London Wed, 16 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-04/aaon-ase040208.php http://tobacco.org/news/263497.html Heavy drinkers and heavy smokers develop Alzheimer's disease years earlier than people with Alzheimer's who do not drink or smoke heavily, according to research that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology 60th Anniversary Annual Meeting in Chicago, April 12-19, 2008. "These results are significant because it's possible that if we can reduce or eliminate heavy smoking and drinking, we could substantially delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease for people and reduce the number of people who have Alzheimer's at any point in time," said study author Ranjan Duara, MD, of the Wien Center for Alzheimer's Disease at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, FL, and Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology. "It has been projected that a delay in the onset of the disease by five years would lead to a nearly 50-percent reduction in the total number of Alzheimer's cases," said Duara. "In this study, we found that the combination of heavy drinking and heavy smoking reduced the age of onset of Alzheimer's disease by six to seven years, making these two factors among the most important preventable risk factors for Alzheimer's disease." EurekAlert rseroka@aan.com Wed, 16 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://healthday.com/Article.asp?AID=614421 http://tobacco.org/news/263458.html WEDNESDAY, April 16 (HealthDay News) -- Heavy drinking, heavy smoking and high cholesterol levels in midlife are associated with the onset of Alzheimer's disease in later years, news research shows. The apparent link between behavior in the 40s and the development of dementia decades later come from two reports presented Wednesday at the American Academy of Neurology annual meeting, in Chicago. A study of 938 people 60 and older diagnosed with possible or probable Alzheimer's found an earlier onset for the disease for heavy drinkers (more than two drinks a day) and heavy smokers (a pack of cigarettes or more a day), said Dr. Ranjan Duara, director of the Mount Sinai Medical Center Wien Center for Alzheimer's Disease in Miami Beach, Fla. "The current thinking is that the pathology of Alzheimer's disease builds up over many years before clinical symptoms are manifest," Duara said. "People who start with a good cognitive reserve, who remain active mentally, are able to compensate for the pathology of the brain for a much longer period of time." The 20 percent of the people in the study defined as heavy smokers developed Alzheimer's 2.3 years sooner than those who were not heavy smokers. . . . Both smoking and drinking can have a direct physical effect on the brain, damaging cells and synapses, which are the connections between cells, Duara said. While any amount of smoking is bad -- increasing the risk of heart attack, stroke and other medical problems -- there is "a bit of controversy" about heavy drinking and Alzheimer's, he said, specifically, about exactly what "heavy" means. HealthDay [HealthScout] editors@healthday.com (Ed Edelson HealthDay Reporter) Wed, 16 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=560059&in_page_id=1770 http://tobacco.org/news/263455.html Drinking, smoking and eating junk food can all cause Alzheimer's, new research revealed today. The lifestyle links to the condition, the most common form of dementia, emerged in two studies presented to neurologists in the US. Research suggests that heavy drinkers and smokers as well as those who indulge in junk food risk succumbing to the disease eight years soon than those with healthier lifestyles. It also suggested people who enjoy more than two drinks a day develop Alzheimer's disease almost five years earlier than others. One team looked at 938 people aged 60 and older who were diagnosed with possible or probable Alzheimer's disease. . . . Men and women who got through at least 20 cigarettes a day developed the disease almost two and a half years sooner than patients who smoked less or were non-smokers. Smoking and drinking hastened the onset of the disease even further, the American Academy of Neurology's annual conference heard today. The Mail Wed, 16 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSCOL16267520080411?sp=true http://tobacco.org/news/263263.html Smoking and moderate-to-high alcohol consumption negatively affect the survival of people with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, dubbed NHL, a European study shows. "Tobacco and alcohol habits are risk factors for a wide range of diseases," Dr. Renato Talamini said in an interview with Reuters Health. "NHL patients who smoked tobacco and/or drank alcoholic beverages could be more vulnerable to the complications and side effects of cancer treatments," he noted. . . . Talamini, at the National Cancer Institute in Aviano, Italy, and colleagues evaluated the survival rates of 268 NHL patients seen there over a 20 year period and who were followed for an average of 5 years. During follow-up, 158 patients died, the team reports in the International Journal of Cancer. "Moreover," continued Talamini, who led the study, "concomitant diseases due to tobacco and alcohol consumption may increase the probability of treatment toxicity, and thus, may represent an obstacle to adequate chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy." Reuters Italy Fri, 11 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://reason.com/blog/show/125864.html http://tobacco.org/news/262896.html A new study reported in the Journal of Public Economics finds that smoking bans are associated with increases in alcohol-related traffic deaths. . . . A Wisconsin anti-smoking activist quoted by Madison's Capital Times seems irritated by the study and reacts skeptically. But the results need not be seen as an argument against smoking bans (the interpretation I'd favor). They could be seen as an argument for stricter bans that forbid smoking even outdoors and for wider bans that do not allow escape to more tolerant jurisdictions. Adams tells the Times "a well-enforced national smoking ban would get rid of the drunken driving increases related to smoke bans." Reason Magazine mike.alissi@reason.com (Jacob Sullum) Mon, 07 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/drugs-cost-nation-an-arm-and-leg-56bn-a-year/2008/04/08/1207420390697.html http://tobacco.org/news/262795.html SOCIAL and health problems caused by tobacco, alcohol and illicit drugs cost Australia more than $56 billion dollars a year, according to a report to be released today. The alarming new figures come as leading health experts call for radical reform, and a massive boost in funding, in the fight against smoking, alcohol abuse and obesity. The real costs of drugs include ill health, premature death, reduced productivity, crime and accidents, say report authors Professor David Collins of Macquarie University and Professor Helen Lapsley of the University of New South Wales. Tobacco was by far the most painful to the country's hip pocket -- a $31.5-billion bill. In one year (2004-05), there was $9.2 billion lost in workplace productivity due to tobacco or alcohol The Age Australia Wed, 09 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/04/03/news/californian/temecula/fcd021cc1e2096278825741f0008c9cc.txt http://tobacco.org/news/262591.html They already had the cigars, but Wednesday, the members of Zarka Cigar Lounge had further reason to celebrate as the club's request to sell beer and wine on the premises gained the Planning Commission's approval. The commission voted 4-1 to approve the application from the private club at 28120 Jefferson Ave. For more than a year, the owner has worked to attain the license to serve beer and wine inside the lounge, where members pay up to $600 per year to have a place in which to puff on fine stogies. The indoor smoking hasn't been an issue at the club, which has been operating since May with a "retail tobacco shop exemption" from indoor smoking restrictions under the California Labor Code. . . . Abou said he has about 100 yearly members and an additional 20 monthly members who relax in the mahogany lined lounge on leather couches while watching one of the eight flat screen televisions. Members must be 21 years or older. Nearly 70 of those members packed into City Hall on Wednesday to show their support for the beer and wine sales. . . . "Over the years, smokers have seen a lot of our privileges taken away in the state of California," he said at the meeting. "There are not a lot of places left where we can have a cigar and have a drink." North County Times nsack@californian.com (NICOLE SACK - Staff Writer) Thu, 03 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT