Tobacco Articles: category ets

Smoke Gets In Your Imac: Smoking Near Apple Computers Creates Biohazard, Voids Warranty

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Did you know, that smoking isn't good for your computer, either? It's true, at least according to Apple. Two readers in different parts of the country claim that their Applecare warranties were voided due to secondhand smoke. Both readers appealed their cases up to the office of God Steve Jobs himself. Both lost. . . . Dena [from Jobs' office] did advise me that nicotine is on OSHA's list of hazardous substances and Apple would not require an employee to repair anything deemed hazardous to their health. However, OSHA also lists calcium carbonate (found in calcium tablets), isopropyl alcohol (used to clean wounds), chlorine (used in swimming pools), hydrogen peroxide (also used to clean wounds), sucrose (a sugar), talc (as in powder), etc... as hazardous substances. ... Dena set up an appointment at the same Apple store. They told me that they would take pictures of the computer - both inside and out before determining whether to proceed and that if the only problem was the optical drive, they'd probably just replace it. Dena called me earlier this week to deliver the "bad news." She said that the computer is beyond economical repair due to tar from cigarette smoke! She said the hard drive is about to fail, the optical drive has failed and it isn't feasible to repair the computer under the warranty. This computer is less than 2 years old! Only one person in my household smokes - one 21 year old college student. She said that I can get it repaired elsewhere at my expense. I asked why my warranty didn't cover the repair and was told it's an OSHA violation.

How smoking can ruin your Mac: | Technically Incorrect - CNET News

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

However, I am embalmed in a curious sympathy after reading a report from The Consumerist concerning two Mac users whose AppleCare warranties appear to have been voided due to the presence of cigarette smoke in their homes. One, named Derek, recounts the tale of his overheating black MacBook. He took it into the Apple store in Jordan Creek, West Des Moines. He told The Consumerist: "Today, April, 28, 2008, the Apple store called and informed me that due to the computer having been used in a house where there was smoking, that has voided the warranty and they refuse to work on the machine, due to 'health risks of secondhand smoke.'" He continued: "Nowhere in your AppleCare terms of service can I find anything mentioning being used in a smoking environment as voiding the warranty." . . . Then along came Ruth, who took her son's iMac to an authorized repair center. After five days, they apparently told her they couldn't work on it because it was contaminated with cigarette smoke and was therefore a bio-hazard. When Ruth appealed to Jobs' office, she said she was told by someone named Dena that nicotine was on OSHA's list of hazardous substances. . . . What is the science of all this? And what might be the appropriate commercial response? Should Apple place a clear disclaimer referring to secondhand smoke in the AppleCare terms? Or should Microsoft make a new Laptop Hunter ad in which a very attractive, happy person says, "I'm not cool enough and I smoke, so I would never be able to get a Mac fixed"?

Soon, no smoking in public housing?

mark.young@nptelegraph.com (Mark Young The North Platte Telegraph) — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Property owners can be subject to legal action from tenants who are not being protected from secondhand smoke, according to a local group. The Lincoln County Tobacco Free Coalition has announced its focus on the issue at McKinley Education Center on Thursday. For many years, tobacco-free organizations worked hard in Nebraska. That hard work eventually culminated in the passage of the Nebraska Clean Indoor Air Act, which took effect in June. Tobacco Free Lincoln County Coordinator Bonnie Thompson said there is a big difference between the Clean Indoor Air campaign and their new focus on smoking in public housing. "Our focus is not political and we are not seeking legislative action," said Thompson. "This is simply an educational process for property owners to let them know that they have a legal right to enact no-smoking policies within their housing complexes."

Toddlers, Obese Kids Suffer Most From Smoke: Secondhand exposure damages cardiovascular systems of children, study finds

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Secondhand smoke harms the cardiovascular health of children, especially toddlers and obese youngsters, U.S. researchers say. Their study of 52 toddlers (aged 2 to 5) and 107 adolescents (aged 9 to 18) found an association between the amount of secondhand smoke exposure and a marker of vascular injury in toddlers. This link was two times greater in obese toddlers, the study authors noted. Toddlers exposed to secondhand smoke showed a 30 percent reduction in circulating vascular endothelial progenitor cells, which are cells that are involved in the repair and maintenance of blood vessels. The researchers also found that obese adolescents exposed to secondhand smoke had twice the evidence of vascular injury compared to normal-weight adolescents. Despite having similar reported home settings, toddlers were four times more likely than adolescents to be exposed to secondhand smoke, the study authors added.

The role of secondhand smoking on the prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus in elderly men and women living in Mediterranean islands: the MEDIS study

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Assessment of Exposure to Secondhand Smoke at Outdoor Bars and Family Restaurants in Athens, Georgia, Using Salivary Cotinine : - Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Nonsmokers outside restaurants and bars in Athens, Georgia, have significantly elevated salivary cotinine levels indicative of secondhand smoke exposure.

Secondhand smoke exposure worse for toddlers, obese children

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Toddlers and obese children suffer more than other youth when exposed to secondhand smoke, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2009. "Secondhand smoke in children is not just bad for respiratory issues, as has been previously described by other researchers," said John Anthony Bauer, Ph.D., the study's senior co-author and principal investigator at Nationwide Children's Hospital & Research Institute at Ohio State University in Columbus. "Our data support the view that cardiovascular effects of secondhand smoke in children are important, particularly for the very young and those who are obese. We had not investigated the impact of obesity in previous studies." Bauer and colleagues recruited American boys and girls, including 52 toddlers (ages 2 to 5 years) and 107 adolescents (ages 9 to 18 years). The study included black, white and Hispanic children, including obese toddlers and adolescents.

Exposure to secondhand smoke increases risk for Type 2 diabetes

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Chronic secondhand smoke exposure significantly increases the risk for Type 2 diabetes, show results from a study of Greek and Cypriot elderly men and women. “While active smoking is strongly related to the development of diabetes mellitus, the role of exposure to secondhand smoke in the development of diabetes mellitus is unclear,” write Demosthenes Panagiotakos (Harokopio University, Athens, Greece) and colleagues in the journal Diabetic Medicine. The researchers recruited 1190 elderly men and women aged 65 years or above from several Greek and Cypriot islands in the Mediterranean during 2005–2007.

Cigarettes harbor many pathogenic bacteria

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Cigarettes are "widely contaminated" with bacteria, including some known to cause disease in people, concludes a new international study conducted by a University of Maryland environmental health researcher and microbial ecologists at the Ecole Centrale de Lyon in France. The research team describes the study as the first to show that "cigarettes themselves could be the direct source of exposure to a wide array of potentially pathogenic microbes among smokers and other people exposed to secondhand smoke." Still, the researchers caution that the public health implications are unclear and urge further research. "We were quite surprised to identify such a wide variety of human bacterial pathogens in these products," says lead researcher Amy R. Sapkota, an assistant professor in the University of Maryland's School of Public Health. "The commercially-available cigarettes that we tested were chock full of bacteria, as we had hypothesized, but we didn't think we'd find so many that are infectious in humans," explains Sapkota, who holds a joint appointment with the University's Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health and the department of epidemiology and biostatistics. "If these organisms can survive the smoking process -- and we believe they can -- then they could possibly go on to contribute to both infectious and chronic illnesses in both smokers and individuals who are exposed to environmental tobacco smoke," . . . The study will appear in an upcoming edition of the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. . . . Sapkota's team took a more holistic approach using DNA microarray analysis to estimate the so-called bacterial metagenome, the totality of bacterial genetic material present in the tested cigarettes.

The science behind moving smoking bans outside : - Wellness -

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Reflecting on the existing scientific research on second hand smoke exposure outdoors, William Saletan of Slate.com sifts through the most relevant points from two major studies on the subject (the 2006 California Air Resources Board study, and a 2007 study from Stanford). Among the findings: outdoors, second hand smoke levels vary widely and quickly, depend on the individual's distance from a smoker (farther than 6.5 feet or 2 meters, generally reduces exposure to "background" levels), are influenced by how confined the outdoor space is (if there are walls or fences), and the concentration of smokers in a given area. The data, Saletan concludes, point to the need for a measured approach for crafting policy to reduce second hand smoke exposure outdoors. He writes: "If you want to argue for parkwide smoking bans based on asthma or on an analogy to noise pollution, go ahead and make that case. But let's not cloud that debate by invoking the general harm of secondhand smoke. Studies of secondhand smoke have indeed moved outdoors. Their findings support restrictions on lighting up within a few feet of other people. But they don't warrant more than that." A new study published in the November issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene may contribute to the debate. Researchers from the University of Georgia measured second hand smoke exposure among people sitting in the outdoor areas of bars and restaurants where indoor smoking was banned in the city of Athens, Georgia. . . . generally speaking, hanging out in an outdoor smoking area exposes you to less second hand smoke than being in an indoor, confined space with smokers, and the more space you have between yourself and smokers, the lower levels of exposure you will have. So, this particular study doesn't ring the death knell for outdoor smoking. But, the researchers point out, wielding the official trump card of the public health argument: Although the increment in cotinine concentrations and, thus, the [second hand smoke] exposure levels were relatively low at the sites of interest, the current view is that there is no level of personal exposure to [second hand smoke] that can be regarded as safe. This study demonstrates the ongoing exposure of nonsmokers to [second hand smoke] outside restaurants and bars, and the limitations of indoor smoking bans alone in protecting the public from exposure to [second hand smoke] outside these establishments. In other words, the movement to ban smoking in outdoor spaces is here to stay.

Study raises concerns about outdoor second-hand smoke

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Indoor smoking bans have forced smokers at bars and restaurants onto outdoor patios, but a new University of Georgia study in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that these outdoor smoking areas might be creating a new health hazard. The study, thought to be the first to assess levels of a nicotine byproduct known as cotinine in nonsmokers exposed to second-hand smoke outdoors, found levels up to 162 percent greater than in the control group. The results appear in the November issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene. "Indoor smoking bans have helped to create more of these outdoor environments where people are exposed to secondhand smoke," said study co-author Luke Naeher, associate professor in the UGA College of Public Health. "We know from our previous study that there are measurable airborne levels of secondhand smoke in these environments, and we know from this study that we can measure internal exposure. "Secondhand smoke contains several known carcinogens and the current thinking is that there is no safe level of exposure," he added. "So the levels that we are seeing are a potential public health issue." Athens-Clarke County, Ga., enacted an indoor smoking ban in 2005, providing Naeher and his colleagues and ideal environment for their study.

Study raises concerns about outdoor second-hand smoke

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Search of: "secondhand smoke" | Open Studies : - List Results -

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

1 Recruiting NICU Asthma Education and Secondhand Smoke Reduction Study

2 Recruiting Secondhand Smoke Exposure Reduction Among Young Children in China

3 Recruiting Dose-dependent Effects of Second-hand Smoke on Vascular Function

4 Not yet recruiting Reduction of Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) Exposure at Home: the BIBE Study

5 Recruiting Clinical Effort Against Secondhand Smoke (CEASE) Program or Standard Care in Helping Parents Stop Smoking

6 Not yet recruiting Prevent Exposure to Tobacco Smoke at Home [Gesunde Atemluft zu Hause]

7 Recruiting PRIDE: Preventing Respiratory Illnesses During Childhood Study

8 Recruiting Cotinine Metabolism in Infants and Children

9 Not yet recruiting NNAL Clearance in Hair and Urine

10 Recruiting Cigarette Smoke and Susceptibility to Influenza Infection

11 Recruiting Health Effects of PAH & ETS in Minority Women and Newborns

12 Recruiting Tailored Videos to Reduce Tobacco Smoke Exposure Among Pregnant Women and Newborns

13 Recruiting HIV Infection and Tobacco Use Among Injection Drug Users in Baltimore, Maryland: A Pilot Study of Biomarkers

Secondhand Smoke

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Also called: Environmental tobacco smoke, Passive smoking, Tobacco smoke pollution You don't have to be a smoker for smoking to harm you. You can also have health problems from breathing in other people's smoke. Secondhand smoke is the combination of smoke that comes from the burning end of a cigarette, cigar or pipe and the smoke exhaled by the smoker. Secondhand smoke contains more than 50 substances that can cause cancer. Health effects of exposure to secondhand smoke include lung cancer, nasal sinus cancer, respiratory tract infections and heart disease. There is no safe amount of secondhand smoke. Children, pregnant women, older people and people with heart or breathing problems should be especially careful. National Cancer Institute Start Here * I Mind Very Much If You Smoke(National Cancer Institute) * Secondhand Smoke: Questions and Answers(National Cancer Institute) * Secondhand Smoke: What It Means to You(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dept. of Health and Human Services) - PDF

Mumbai's women face secondhand smoke risks: Smokefree Mumbai

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Not unlike their contemporaries in other Asian cities, woman in metroes of India, including those in Mumbai run a significant risk of developing peripheral arterial disease (PAD) from secondhand smoke (SHS), an NGO Smokefree Mumbai has said in its report. Presenting the report on Chinese women and SHS, published in the American Heart Association's Circulation (AHAC), today Smokefree Mumbai said the report found that SHS had a significant, negative impact on the health of Chinese women, who had never smoked, the risk which would, without doubt, equate to Indian women too. The first of its kind report by the AHAC had revealed a link between exposure to SHS and an increased chance of suffering from coronary heart disease, stroke, and peripheral arterial disease (PAD). . . . ''While 97 per cent Mumbaites have voted in favour of smoke-free environment, the ramification of the ban on smoking in public on the women population, largely non-smokers, may be found as reason for contemplation,'' observed the report.