http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/category/rail.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1044371/Two-men-arrested-female-commuter-pushed-rail-track-smoking-row.html http://tobacco.org/news/270030.html Two men have been arrested in connection with an incident in which a woman was pushed onto train tracks after telling two commuters to stop smoking. A 30-year-old and an 18-year-old man were arrested by British Transport Police following the altercation at Farningham train station, near Dartford, in Kent. The shocking assault happened after mother-of-three Linda Buchanan asked two men to stop flouting the smoking ban at the station. The Mail UK Wed, 13 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://uk.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUKLD22940120080813 http://tobacco.org/news/270001.html Two men have been arrested after a woman was pushed onto the tracks at a railway station in a row over smoking, British Transport Police said on Wednesday. Linda Buchanan, 58, could have been electrocuted . . . Police said they had spent many days trawling through CCTV images from stations between Farningham Road and London Victoria and had taken a number of statements from witnesses. Officers arrested a 30 year-old man in Dartford, Kent, on Monday, later releasing him on police bail. An 18-year-old man, also from Dartford, was arrested on Tuesday and remains in custody. Reuters UK Wed, 13 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/aug/13/ukcrime.transport http://tobacco.org/news/270000.html British transport police said that a 30-year-old man was arrested at an address in Dartford on Monday night. He was interviewed by police yesterday and has been bailed until September 10. An 18-year-old man from Dartford was arrested late last night and is still being interviewed by police. The Guardian userhelp@guardian.co.uk UK Wed, 13 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article4522278.ece http://tobacco.org/news/269996.html A 30 year-old man was arrested in Dartford on Monday night before being questioned and then released on bail yesterday. Last night a second man, 18, was also arrested in Dartford. He was in police custody being interviewed today. . . . "Officers in this case have spent many days trawling through CCTV from stations between Farningham Rd and Victoria and have taken numerous witness statements from members of the public. "I'd like to take this opportunity to thank those members of the public who came forward and provided us with invaluable information to assist us in this investigation." Times Of London UK Wed, 13 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/aug/10/smoking?gusrc=rss&feed=uknews http://tobacco.org/news/269884.html Mrs Buchanan, who was helped off the track with a hurt wrist, has been hailed as a hero in the press. Shouting at the smokers, she did 'what any good citizen might do'. She is 'a woman unafraid to intervene when something is wrong'. She 'highlights what ordinary people risk by confronting thugs'. Bollocks. This woman is not a Ben Kinsella (stabbed to death trying to break up a street brawl) or a Philip Lawrence (killed trying to protect the children at St George's school, where he was headmaster, from a gang of bullies), although one newspaper had the tasteless nerve to compare her to both. Mrs Buchanan wasn't being a hero, she was being a busybody. . . . Philip Lawrence and Ben Kinsella, and all men who put themselves at risk to protect others, are heroes. Not so a commuter who bustles up to unleash the sharp end of her tongue on a guy having a quiet cigarette while he waits for a train. He's not the bully; she is. Non-smokers have won, do you understand? We, the weak and addicted, with our revolting habit, who will waste money and lose lovers and die young in our stupid helpless pursuit of small nicotine comforts, have lost the war. The Guardian reader@observer.co.uk (Victoria Coren /Comment is free) UK Sun, 10 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/localheadlines/display.var.2419823.0.hunt_for_smokers_who_pushed_commuter.php http://tobacco.org/news/269692.html OFFICERS investigating an incident where a commuter was pushed on to train tracks appealed for witnesses at the scene this morning (August 7). They also checked trains to try and find the men who pushed Linda Buchanan on to the tracks at Farningham Road station yesterday. The 58-year-old, from Horton Kirby, suffered a fractured wrist and bruising to her legs when she landed. . . . * Do you know Ms Buchanan or did you see the incident? Call the newsroom on 01689 885717. News Shopper newsroom@london.newsquest.co.uk (Crime Reporter) UK Thu, 07 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23527879-details/Thugs+throw+woman+commuter+on+train+line+after+she+told+them+to+stop+smoking/article.do http://tobacco.org/news/269646.html A woman commuter was thrown onto train tracks today after she challenged two youths for smoking. Linda Buchanan, who was travelling to London in the morning rush hour, was heckled and shoved off the platform by one of the men after telling them to 'grow up'. The 58-year-old landed beside a 750-volt live rail that would have killed her if she had touched it. This is London UK Wed, 06 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2511681/Woman-pushed-onto-rail-track-after-challenging-smokers.html http://tobacco.org/news/269645.html Linda Buchanan, 58, landed beside a 750-volt live rail which would have killed her if she had touched it but escaped with burns for which she was treated in hospital. "I just feel I'm lucky to be alive," she said. "It could have been a lot worse than it is and I'm shocked by the whole experience." She had asked the pair to stop smoking twice already this week when they began to verbally abuse her. She told them to "grow up". One of the men then pushed her, causing her to topple backwards and fall onto the track. Electronic Telegraph UK Wed, 06 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article4469907.ece http://tobacco.org/news/269641.html A female commuter was thrown on to railway tracks this morning after telling two young men to stop smoking on a station platform. Linda Buchanan, 58, who suffered bruising and a fractured wrist, was taken to hospital after the incident, which happened at Farningham Road station in Kent during this morning's rush hour. Police said she had been lucky to escape without fatal injuries as she fell close to a live rail. Times Of London UK Wed, 06 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://uk.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUKL639030520080806 http://tobacco.org/news/269640.html LONDON (Reuters) - Police said a woman was lucky to escape with her life after being pushed onto train tracks following a row with two men about smoking. The 58-year-old woman was walking along the London-bound platform at Farningham Road train station in Kent at about 7 a.m. when she became embroiled in an argument with the men, said to be in their early to mid 20s. "It would appear the woman had spoken to the men about smoking earlier this week," said Detective Inspector Bob Richardson of British Transport Police. "This morning when she was at the station, she was walking past the same men when one of them pushed her and she fell onto the track." Reuters UK Wed, 06 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/G/GERMANY_SUBWAY_ATTACK?SITE=WSAW&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT http://tobacco.org/news/268450.html MUNICH, Germany (AP) -- Two men were convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to prison Tuesday for a brutal attack on a German retiree that sparked a political furor over crime committed by young immigrants. Munich state court sentenced Turkish-born Serkan Aksu, 21, to 12 years in prison. It gave Greek-born 18-year-old Spyridon Loukas an 8 1/2-year sentence - imposed under juvenile law because he was 17 at the time of the December attack. Surveillance cameras in a Munich subway station captured footage of the pair beating and kicking the 76-year-old retired teacher after he asked them to respect a ban on smoking. AP Germany Tue, 08 Jul 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/local/hsinchu/2008/06/30/163249/Taiwan's-most.htm http://tobacco.org/news/268067.html Hsinchu Railway Station in northern Taiwan, an elegant baroque building listed as a provincial level historic site, has been selected as the most popular smoke-free railway station in Taiwan, according to a poll released yesterday. At an award presentation ceremony, Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) Director-General Frank Fan said that with a view to increasing the public's appreciation for the architectural beauty of various train stations and demonstrating the state-run company's resolve to protect passengers' health, it conducted the poll with the Bureau of Health Promotion. The China Post Taiwan Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.thedaily.com.au/news/2008/jun/30/aap-transit-officers-assaulted-by-trio/ http://tobacco.org/news/267855.html Three men have been arrested following an incident in which two transit officers were assaulted after asking a man to put out a cigarette at a Brisbane train station. The officers were on duty at the Indooroopilly railway station on Sunday when a 33-year-old woman and two men, aged 41 and 61, entered the station about 5pm (AEST), police said. The three were causing a disturbance, and one of the men was smoking in a non-smoking zone, police said. Sunshine Coast Daily news@thedaily.com.au Australia Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/22/business/22drug.html?_r=1&ref=business&oref=slogin http://tobacco.org/news/265685.html The Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday it would no longer permit pilots or air traffic controllers to use the smoking cessation drug Chantix, citing potential side effects that could pose a threat to the safe operation of aircraft. The Food and Drug Administration issued a public health advisory in February, saying that some Chantix users had developed a variety of serious psychiatric symptoms, and that some had committed suicide. An F.A.A. spokeswoman, Laura Brown, said the agency had approved the use of Chantix for airline pilots and flight controllers last year, but was notifying 150 pilots and 30 air traffic controllers known to be using it that the drug was no longer acceptable and should be discontinued. New York Times Thu, 22 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-smokedrug22-2008may22,0,4195648.story http://tobacco.org/news/265676.html The Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday banned pilots and air traffic controllers from using a popular anti-smoking drug after a study found that it had apparently contributed to auto accidents and other problems that posed risks to both users and others. The drug, marketed as Chantix, has been hailed as an innovative treatment to help smokers quit. But a study by a medical safety group -- also issued Wednesday -- linked it to a variety of unusual and serious side effects, including seizures and loss of consciousness, and prompted the FAA to act, agency spokesman Les Dorr said. The aviation agency had approved the drug last summer, before federal safety regulators began investigating reports of serious psychiatric problems, including suicidal behavior, sharp shifts in mood and vivid nighttime episodes some patients call "Chantix dreams." A new warning came from a report by the Institute for Safe Medication Practices, based on an analysis of "adverse events" reported to the Food and Drug Administration. "We have immediate safety concerns about the use of [Chantix] among persons operating aircraft, trains, buses and other vehicles, or in other settings where a lapse in alertness or motor control could lead to massive, serious injury," the study said. Los Angeles Times Thu, 22 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT