AMICOR SMOKE

Child Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke

2007-09-16T09:09:00.000-07:00

http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/short/335/7619/545
BMJ 2007;335:545 (15 September), doi:10.1136/bmj.39311.550197.AE (published 9 September 2007)
Research
Changes in child exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (CHETS) study after implementation of smoke-free legislation in Scotland: national cross sectional survey
Patricia C Akhtar, research fellow1, Dorothy B Currie, senior statistician1, Candace E Currie, director1, Sally J Haw, principal public health adviser2
1 Child and Adolescent Health Research Unit (CAHRU), University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 8AQ, 2 NHS Health Scotland, Edinburgh EH12 5EZ
Correspondence to: P C Akhtar patricia.akhtar@ed.ac.uk

Objective To detect any change in exposure to secondhand smoke among primary schoolchildren after implementation of smoke-free legislation in Scotland in March 2006.
Design Comparison of nationally representative, cross sectional, class based surveys carried out in the same schools before and after legislation.
Setting Scotland.
Participants 2559 primary schoolchildren (primary 7; mean age 11.4 years) surveyed in January 2006 (before smoke-free legislation) and 2424 in January 2007 (after legislation).
Outcome measures Salivary cotinine concentrations, reports of parental smoking, and exposure to tobacco smoke in public and private places before and after legislation.
Results The geometric mean salivary cotinine concentration in non-smoking children fell from 0.36 (95% confidence interval 0.32 to 0.40) ng/ml to 0.22 (0.19 to 0.25) ng/ml after the introduction of smoke-free legislation in Scotland—a 39% reduction. The extent of the fall in cotinine concentration varied according to the number of parent figures in the home who smoked but was statistically significant only among pupils living in households in which neither parent figure smoked (51% fall, from 0.14 (0.13 to 0.16) ng/ml to 0.07 (0.06 to 0.08) ng/ml) and among pupils living in households in which only the father figure smoked (44% fall, from 0.57 (0.47 to 0.70) ng/ml to 0.32 (0.25 to 0.42) ng/ml). Little change occurred in reported exposure to secondhand smoke in pupils' own homes or in cars, but a small decrease in exposure in other people's homes was reported. Pupils reported lower exposure in cafes and restaurants and in public transport after legislation.
Conclusions The Scottish smoke-free legislation has reduced exposure to secondhand smoke among young people in Scotland, particularly among groups with lower exposure in the home. We found no evidence of increased secondhand smoke exposure in young people associated with displacement of parental smoking into the home. The Scottish smoke-free legislation has thus had a positive short term impact on young people's health, but further efforts are needed to promote both smoke-free homes and smoking cessation.

Some Gene damage: Permanent

2007-09-03T22:20:00.000-07:00

Some gene damage from smoking is permanent: study

Aug. 30, 2007
Courtesy BioMed Central
and World Science staff

A new study may help explain why former smokers are still more prone to lung cancer than those who have never smoked. It found that smoking causes some permanent genetic damage.

Quitting still offers huge health benefits, researchers stressed, as the risk to former smokers is much lower than for current smokers.

A team led by Wan Lam and Stephen Lam from the BC Cancer Agency in Vancouver, Canada, took samples from the lungs of 24 current and former smokers, as well as from people who have never smoked.

They used the samples to create libraries using a technique called serial analysis of gene expression, which helps to identify patterns of gene activity.

Only about a fifth of the genes in a cell are switched on at any given time, but smoking leads to changes in gene activity. The researchers found that some of these changes, though not all, persisted even years after quitting smoking.

The reversible genes were particularly involved in “xenobiotic” functions—managing chemicals not produced in the body—and metabolism of genetic material and mucus secretion, scientists found. The irreversible damage was to some DNA repair genes, and to the activity of genes that help fight lung cancer development.

“Those genes and functions which do not revert to normal levels upon smoking cessation may provide insight into why former smokers still maintain a risk of developing lung cancer,” said Raj Chari, first author of the study. Tobacco smoking accounts for 85 percent of lung cancers, and former smokers account for half of those newly diagnosed with the disease.

The gene findings are published in the Aug. 29 issue of the online research journal BMC Genomics.

2007-08-06T07:25:00.000-07:00

De: procor-bounces@healthnet.org [mailto:procor-bounces@healthnet.org] Em nome de Coleman, Catherine
Enviada em: quinta-feira, 26 de julho de 2007 10:53
Para: procor@healthnet.org
Assunto: [ProCOR] NGO Report on Women and Tobacco
[The following is forwarded from Sara Sanchez Del Mazo [sara.sanchez-del-mazo@sll.se] who moderates the International Network of Women Against Tobacco listserv.
INWAT (www.inwat.org) is a global network of tobacco control specialists dedicated to achieve improved health and greater equality among women and girls in the world by eliminating tobacco use and exposure.]
-------------
Please find below the NGO Report on Women and Tobacco produced by the International Alliance of Women.
NGO REPORT on Women and Tobacco
Cook Islands, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Estonia, Guinea, Honduras, Hungary, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Singapore
Submitted by the International Alliance of Women to the 39th session of the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (23 July-10 August 2007, New York)
Tobacco poses a threat to achieving the MDGs. That was the conclusion of a WHO report, The Millennium Development Goals and Tobacco Control (WHO, Geneva, 2002). The study shows an alarming trend that links poverty with tobacco use. Poor families are more likely to have smokers than richer families. They allocate a substantial part of their total expenditures to tobacco, often exceeding what they pay for education or health care. For example, in Indonesia, low income families spend 5-15 percent of their income on tobacco.
* Tobacco is the second major cause of death in the world, killing 4.9 million persons each year. Two-thirds of the poor nations have male smoking rates higher than the 35 percent in the developed world. Male prevalence rates in Estonia (44 percent), Hungary (53 percent), Guinea (58.9 percent), Kenya (66.8 percent), Indonesia (69 percent), Republic of Korea (64.8
percent) and Jordan (48 percent) are examples (country data based on Tobacco Control Country Profile 2003, Atlanta, The American Cancer Society et al, 2003.) Death and disability due to tobacco affects women even if they are not smokers. When the male head of household no longer provides an income, women are forced to enter the labor market or manage farmland. With unequal access to credit, agricultural resources, and financial know-how, rural women suffer dire economic consequences.
* In countries where rates of tobacco use may be declining among men such as in New Zealand, Singapore, Belize, Honduras and Brazil, vigilance is needed as tobacco companies increasingly target women. Marketing tactics have been so successful that in the Cook Islands women smokers (71.1 percent) outnumber men two to one. The results of the Global Youth Tobacco Survey also indicate reasons to be alarmed as many girls in their early teens are taking up smoking. For example, in Jordan (1999), only ten percent of women smoked, but over 15 percent of girls aged 13 to 15 were smokers. These statistics may underestimate how much women really use tobacco as chewing tobacco or tobacco used with betel often go unreported.
* How does tobacco affect food security for women? The WHO reports that globally, 5.3 million hectares of arable land are currently under tobacco cultivation, land that could feed 10 to 20 million people. The economic "benefits" are precarious for women farmers in countries such as Kenya and Indonesia because land that is cleared for tobacco farming and wood-fired curing contributes to serious deforestation. The costs are social as well as economic. Women and girls who work in tobacco production and processing seldom receive a just share of the income. They may experience "green tobacco sickness" from handling tobacco leaves and suffer from respiratory, nerve, skin and kidney damage from pesticides.
* The CEDAW can be called upon to strengthen tobacco control and protect women's rights to health. Economic policies such as tax increases on all tobacco products are effective measures. They increase government revenue while discouraging tobacco use. Women appear to be particularly responsive to these economic measures. Working closely with the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the CEDAW committee and government can ensure that the MDG goals are achieved.

Prevelência de Fumantes: 19%

2007-08-05T19:56:00.000-07:00

Notícias
Fumantes são 19% no país, diz pesquisaData: 03/08/2007
Levantamento da Unifesp mostra que para 65,8% dos entrevistados o cigarro não deveria ser liberado em restaurantes.Maior prevalência de fumantes ocorre nas faixas etárias entre 35 anos e 44 anos (24,4%) e entre 45 anos e 59 anos (24,8%)
O percentual de fumantes no Brasil está em 19,3%, segundo pesquisa conduzida pela Unifesp (Universidade Federal de São Paulo) e a Santa Casa de Misericórdia do Rio de Janeiro. O estudo, de abrangência nacional, aponta que a prevalência é maior nas faixas etárias entre 35 anos e 44 anos (24,4%) e de 45 anos a 59 anos (24,8%).
Foram entrevistadas 3.007 pessoas no ano passado, por meio de sorteio. Dessas, 66% chegaram a fumar em algum momento da vida -sendo que 21,3% só experimentaram e 15,4% já não tinham o hábito de fumar quando a entrevista foi feita. Cerca de 20% fumam até hoje. Nesse universo, 80% são fumantes ativos, ou seja, consomem tabaco por pelo menos 20 dias ao mês.
Um dos recortes da pesquisa aborda os hábitos dos pais dos fumantes. Foi constatado que 27% dos brasileiros têm pelo menos um pai também fumante. A influência é maior Entre os adolescentes: 45,4% declararam ser filhos de um pai fumante. Entre os adultos, o percentual cai para 25,1%.
A escolaridade também foi analisada. A pesquisa conclui que o nível de instrução do chefe do domicílio também exerce influência no hábito de fumar. Os fumantes, cujo chefe de domicílio tem nível superior não chegam a 9,5%, enquanto aqueles que tem chefe que não completou o nível primário chega a 20,5%.
A maioria dos entrevistados são contrários ao consumo de tabaco em ambientes fechados e de convívio coletivo. Para 65,8% dos entrevistados, o cigarro não deveria ser liberado em restaurantes e cafés, por exemplo. Nos shopping, 74,3% das pessoas desaprovam o fumo. Em escolas, 92,4% dos entrevistados também acham que não se deve fumar.
A opinião se inverte no caso dos bares. Nesses locais, a tendência é haver uma permissividade maior. Somente 39,7% dos entrevistados responderam que não deveria ser permitido fumar nos bares -em nenhuma área.O levantamento será divulgado oficialmente durante o XIX Congresso da Abead (Associação Brasileira de Estudos do Álcool e Outras Drogas), que acontece em setembro no Rio de Janeiro.

Fonte: Folha SP

2007-08-02T04:00:00.000-07:00

De: Prof. Simon Chapman [mailto:chapman@globalink.org]
Enviada em: quinta-feira, 2 de agosto de 2007 07:12
Para: General Messages
Assunto: The case for plain (generic) tobacco packaging

Becky Freeman and I have produced a comprehensive review of relevant evidence about the plain or generic packaging of tobacco products. It draws from sources including internal tobacco industry documents, tobacco industry trade publications and a recent 2007 Morgan Stanley report which declared plain packaging to be one of three outstanding concerns today (along with tax and hiding retail displays).
The full report in high resolution pdf, replete with many illustrations of how packaging is being used as a key promotional vehicle, is available here:
http://tobacco.health.usyd.edu.au/site/futuretc/pdfs/generic.pdf
Feel free to download and distribute and link on your websites. If you would like to reproduce it in bulk as a lobbying tool in your nation, we would be happy to grant permission but would like to be informed.
Simon Chapman

Comprehensive smoking Bans Secondhand

2007-07-21T15:44:00.000-07:00

De: Carlos Alberto Machado [mailto:carlos.a.machado@uol.com.br]
Enviada em: sábado, 21 de julho de 2007 09:56
Assunto: Comprehensive Smoking Bans May Decrease Secondhand Smoke Exposure

www.medscape.com

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NOTE: To view the article with Web enhancements, go to:http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/560150

Comprehensive Smoking Bans May Decrease Secondhand Smoke Exposure
Laurie Barclay, MD
Medscape Medical News 2007. © 2007 Medscape
July 20, 2007 — Comprehensive smoking bans may decrease secondhand smoke exposure, according to a report in the July 20 issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Following the 2003 New York state ban on smoking in indoor workplaces and public places, reports of indoor smoking and saliva cotinine levels decreased in nonsmoking participants in the New York Adult Tobacco Survey (NYATS).
"Secondhand smoke (SHS) causes premature disease and death in nonsmokers, including heart disease and lung cancer," write U. Bauer, PhD, from the New York State Department of Health, and colleagues. "The Surgeon General has concluded that no risk-free level of SHS exposure exists; the only way to fully protect nonsmokers is to completely eliminate smoking in indoor spaces. Studies have determined that levels of airborne particulate matter in restaurants, bars, and other hospitality venues and levels of SHS exposure among nonsmoking hospitality employees decrease substantially and rapidly after implementation of laws that prohibit smoking in indoor workplaces and public places."
The New York State Department of Health analyzed data (from June 26, 2003 – June 30, 2004) on observations of indoor smoking by NYATS, as well as cotinine saliva levels in nonsmoking NYATS respondents. The study period began before and ended after implementation of the 2003 New York state ban on smoking in indoor workplaces, restaurants, bars, and other public places.
After the ban took effect, reports of indoor smoking declined significantly, from 19.8% (during June 26 – July 23, 2003) to 3.1% (during April 1 – June 30, 2004) for restaurant patrons, and from 52.4% to 13.4% for bar patrons during the same period. However, the proportion of respondents reporting exposure to SHS in workplaces did not change significantly from 13.6% before implementation of the no-smoking law.
Liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry was used to measure concentration of cotinine in saliva samples that nonsmoking NYATS participants sent in by mail. Mean salivary cotinine decreased by 47.4%, from 0.078 ng/mL during June 26 to July 23, 2003, before the smoking ban was implemented, to 0.041 ng/mL during April 1 to June 30, 2004. During the same periods, the proportion of respondents with cotinine levels below the limit of detection (LOD) of 0.05 ng/mL increased from 32.5% to 52.4%.
"These findings suggest that comprehensive smoking bans can reduce SHS exposure among nonsmokers," the authors write.
An accompanying editorial note states the study limitations of low average quarterly response rates for both NYATS (22%) and the saliva cotinine study (33%, for a cumulative rate of 7%) and an error involved in estimating cotinine values below the LOD to calculate the geometric means.
"Additional research is needed to confirm the findings of this study," the editorial concludes. "However, the results suggest that comprehensive smoke-free air laws can substantially reduce SHS exposure to nonsmokers, even in jurisdictions with a high prevalence of existing smoking restrictions. Even greater reductions in SHS exposure might be expected in jurisdictions that had fewer smoking restrictions in place before implementing a statewide smoke-free air law."
MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2007;56(28):705–708.

An unhealthy abuse of power

2007-07-16T04:59:00.000-07:00

An unhealthy abuse of power

Opinion piece in the Financial Times reveals the role of the US Surgeon-General

On the eve of confirmation hearings for a successor to the surgeon-general, Dr Richard Carmona told a congressional committee this week that Mr Bush’s people tried to “water down” a report he wrote on secondhand smoke. Words such as “gagged”, “muzzled” and “censored” were used to describe what the Bush administration did to its former surgeon-general.

The surgeon-general, who works for the Department of Health and Human Services, publicises health risks. He is often called “America’s family doctor” but the metaphor is misleading. Few family doctors infuriate half their patients, as surgeons-general have tended to do.

The same pattern is repeated again and again: a doctor of some professional distinction, vetted for pro-administration sympathies, gets confirmed and quickly becomes a political “maverick”. The problem is simple: the surgeon-general is both a political post, with a good deal of clout, and a “caring” post, which puts it above criticism. Naturally, the temptation of power without accountability arises.

A broader conception of the job is not the only thing that surgeons-general want. They want to pursue their agenda of “science” without “political interference”. Dr Koop told a reporter recently: “There should be a law that says this person would be apolitical and when he is appointed, he will not be answerable to the president for what he says about health or anything else.”

This is a misrepresentation. For it is not “science” that people obey when health policies are implemented. It is power. The science in the 1964 surgeon-general’s report linking smoking to lung cancer stopped relatively few people from smoking. Smoking rates only began to fall steeply only in the 1980s with the introduction of judicial decrees and legislation. State power enforced the surrender of a certain amount of liberty in exchange for a certain amount of cleanliness, health and longevity. Policies on sex education, abortion and cloning are similarly matters of politics, not science. The surgeon-general is not at the intellectual pinnacle of the medical profession. He is at the political pinnacle of the medical profession. None of the surgeons-general in the past generation has been among the country’s authoritative scientists. Their authority derives only from the administration they represent.
.
In a political struggle between the presidency and the surgeon-general, the presidency prevails. What was revealed in testimony last week was not the politicisation of the surgeon-general’s office but its de-politicisation. Dr Carmona’s superiors, by reasserting their control over health policy, made it more accountable. That does not mean they made it more competent. If it is competence you want, you have your vote for that.

Source: The Financial Times, 13 July 2007
Article Link: http://tinyurl.com/2gw26w

Population-based evidence of a strong decline in the prevalence of smokers

2007-07-04T11:07:00.000-07:00

"Population-based evidence of a strong decline in the prevalence of smokers in Brazil (1989–2003)
Carlos Augusto Monteiroa, Tania Maria Cavalcanteb, Erly Catarina Mouraa, Rafael Moreira Claroa, Célia Landmann SzwarcwaldcIntroduction
The adverse effects of tobacco smoking on health have been known since at least the 1950s.1,2 Even the large multinational cigarette companies, who previously denied the problem and questioned the validity of scientific studies, now explicitly admit that tobacco smoking has adverse consequences. There is scientific evidence that even nonsmokers exposed to tobacco smoke (“passive smokers”) have a greater incidence of cancer, cardiovascular disease and respiratory disease.3 As well as being a risk factor for a variety of diseases, smoking is characterized by chemical dependence, and falls into a model of chronic disease with a long-term natural history and with periods of recurrence and remission.4

The accumulation of knowledge on the risks of tobacco smoking has not been enough to reduce worldwide consumption. In fact, tobacco consumption in developing countries has been increasing at an alarming rate as a result of sophisticated global promotion strategies developed by multinational cigarette companies. Favoured by the liberalization of commerce brought about by globalization, such companies are promoting the rapid transfer of the burden of tobacco consumption from rich to poor countries.5 In 1999, smoking already accounted for four million deaths per year worldwide, and half of these occurred in developing countries. At current trends, the number of deaths attributed to smoking will double by 2020, and seven of every ten tobacco-related deaths will take place in developing countries.6

In light of the adverse effects of smoking and the evidence for increased consumption of tobacco, especially in developing countries, the World Health Assembly has approved several wide-ranging resolutions to contain the global demand for tobacco. These culminated in 1999 with the sanction of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, a set of multisectoral actions aimed at reducing the demand for, and consequent health effects of, tobacco in the world./.../

Exposure to Secondhand Smoke Among Students Aged 13-15 Years--Worldwide, 2000-2007, July 4, 2007, 298 (1): 35

2007-07-03T14:30:00.000-07:00

JAMA -- Exposure to Secondhand Smoke Among Students Aged 13-15 Years--Worldwide, 2000-2007, July 4, 2007, 298 (1): 35: "Exposure to Secondhand Smoke Among Students Aged 13-15 Years—Worldwide, 2000-2007
JAMA. 2007;298:35-36.
MMWR. 2007;56:497-500

Breathing secondhand smoke (SHS) causes heart disease and lung cancer in adults and increased risks for sudden infant death syndrome, acute respiratory infections, middle-ear disease, worsened asthma, respiratory symptoms, and slowed lung growth in children.1-3 No risk-free level of exposure to SHS exists.1 The Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS), initiated in 1999 by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Canadian Public Health Association, and CDC includes questions related to tobacco use, including exposure to SHS.4* This report examines data collected from 137 jurisdictions (i.e., countries and territories) during 2000-2007, presents estimates of exposure to SHS at home and in places other than the home among students aged 13-15 years who had never smoked, and examines the association between exposure to SHS and susceptibility to initiating smoking. GYTS data indicated that nearly half of never smokers were exposed to SHS at home (46.8%), and a similar percentage were exposed in places other than the home (47.8%). Never smokers exposed to SHS at home were 1.4-2.1 times more likely to be susceptible to initiating smoking than those not exposed. Students exposed to SHS in places other than the home were 1.3-1.8 times more likely to be susceptible to initiating smoking than those not exposed. As part of their comprehensive tobacco-control programs, countries should take measures to create smoke-free environments in all indoor public places and workplaces. "
*Additional information available at http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/global/surveys.htm.

Should the Health Community Promote Smokeless Tobacco (Snus) as a Harm Reduction Measure?

2007-07-03T12:37:00.000-07:00

Should the Health Community Promote Smokeless Tobacco (Snus) as a Harm Reduction Measure?
Coral E. Gartner, Wayne D. Hall, Simon Chapman, Becky Freeman

Background to the debate: The tobacco control community is divided on whether or not to inform the public that using oral, smokeless tobacco (Swedish snus) is less hazardous to health than smoking tobacco. Proponents of “harm reduction” point to the Swedish experience. Snus seems to be widely used as an alternative to cigarettes in Sweden, say these proponents, contributing to the low overall prevalence of smoking and smoking-related disease. Harm reduction proponents thus argue that the health community should actively inform inveterate cigarette smokers of the benefits of switching to snus. However, critics of harm reduction say that snus has its own risks, that no form of tobacco should ever be promoted, and that Sweden's experience is likely to be specific to that culture and not transferable to other settings. Critics also remain deeply suspicious that the tobacco industry will use snus marketing as a “gateway” to promote cigarettes. In the interests of promoting debate, the authors (who are collaborators on a research project on the future of tobacco control) have agreed to outline the strongest arguments for and against promoting Swedish snus as a form of harm reduction./.../

[2359 - AMICOR10 - 30/06/2007]

2007-06-30T19:09:00.000-07:00

[2359 - AMICOR10 - 30/06/2007]

This week Highlights/Realces desta semanaAmong several references sellected since the last massege the following must be highlighted
Entre as várias referencias selecionadas desde a última mensagem as seguintes merecem ser salientadas:
Public policy & the challenge of chronic noncommunicable diseases in
http://amicor.blogspot.com ,
and
State of world population 2007 - Unleashing the Potential of Urban Growth in
http://amicor_preserve.blogspot.com

É possível assinar gratuitamente para receber informação automática dos Blogs AMICOR ou de outros através de programas como Bloglines ou FeedBlitz, basta acessar o endereço e fazer sua inscrição dando os endereços desejados;
http://www.bloglines.com/public/achutti

http://www.feedblitz.com

Stop smoking start living

2007-06-30T18:07:00.000-07:00

Stop smoking start living - Home: "There's Never Been More Ways to Get Rid Of Cigarettes
The NHS offers free group and one-to-one support sessions. Combined with nicotine gum or patches, you're up to 4 times more likely to quit this way than going cold turkey."

Smoke-free Restaurants and Bars and Hotels

2007-06-18T20:26:00.000-07:00

Smoke-free Restaurants and Bars
http://www.smoke-freehotels.com/
Sadly, smokers and tobacco companies continue to encourage the myth that secondhand smoke is not harmful. When I was a child in the '50s smoking was considered safe enough, and secondhand smoke was not even a consideration. As an adult I began to hear that secondhand smoke was bad and could make one sick, but the laws did not protect me in the workplace, nor was the education strong enough to convince me to stop smokers from smoking around me.

In 1995, I developed a severe reaction to second-hand smoke causing me to cough and choke, limiting my air intake, sometimes for hours, depending on how much smoke I inhale. Many nights I have been up coughing and choking until the early morning hours. It's both painful and scary. I eventually discovered this was an asthmatic reaction.

I believe this reaction is due to years of exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke as a result of my unsuspecting parents smoking in our home and car when I was a child, having lived for six years with my first husband, a chain smoker who died of cancer in 1980, and having worked closely with smokers over the years in restaurants, hotels, apartment management, retail stores, and most recently in a small office with a chain smoker from 1989 to 1991.

In 2000 my new husband and I sold our single family home to purchase a condo in Canyon Country, CA. Unaware that tobacco smoke travels through buildings from one unit to the others, we purchased our condo based on the fact that there was no smoke apparent at the time of purchase. Shortly after renovating and moving in, smoke began to enter our home.

As there is currently no law to protect non-smokers from this situation, our Homeowners' Association refused to ask our neighbors to stop smoking, my City Council chose only to set my request for help aside for future reference, and my legislators said they are sorry about my problem, but will do nothing to change the laws, therefore protecting the smoker's "right" to pollute my home against my will.

I hope you are working to change the laws in your community. With over 400,000 smoker, and over 50,000 non-smoker deaths each year, we must let our government officials know that this atrocity must stop.

The Conference Blog: Bangkok

2007-06-14T19:06:00.000-07:00

The Conference Blog: "June 13, 2007
Welcome to the Conference Blog
While you are attending the conference or even while you prepare your trip you may want to share your thoughts about tobacco control issues as they relate to this international meeting, report what is discussed or not, how this delegation behaves, this story you heard from a friend, how you feel about the process, etc.
This blog is just an email away: contact me to become a 'co-author' and I'll send you the information you need to register so you can start posting.
Give it a try. Share with us your experience of this conference.
Thank you in advance for your input.
Philippe
Posted by Philippe Boucher | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) "

http://www.tobaccosurvivorsunited.org/

2007-06-11T05:46:00.000-07:00

Who Are We?

Tobacco Survivors United or TSU is a network of survivors, families, and friends of men and women who have overcome the ravages of tobacco products.
TSU:
- Helps you put a stop to the tobacco industry's lies
- Identifies the power of the tobacco industry over
our elected officials
- Assists your recognition of deceitful marketing
tactics the industry uses to influence our children

Philip Morris USA - Marlboro Snus - New Product Fact Sheet

2007-06-09T07:20:00.000-07:00

Philip Morris USA - Marlboro Snus - New Product Fact Sheet: "

MARLBORO SNUS
New Product Fact Sheet
Philip Morris USA is introducing into test market Marlboro Snus, a tobacco product that is neither cigarettes nor spit tobacco like dip or chew. Unlike traditional spit tobacco, Marlboro Snus pouches were designed especially for adult smokers who are interested in smokeless tobacco alternatives to cigarettes."/.../

Chronic Nicotine Augments Responses to Mild Acute Stress

2007-06-07T07:46:00.000-07:00

http://www.nature.com/npp/journal/vaop/ncurrent/abs/1301466a.html;jsessionid=01E4F9D742D9FB03EA2E191CBFC91B05
Neuropsychopharmacology advance online publication 6 June 2007; doi: 10.1038/sj.npp.1301466
Chronic Nicotine Self-Administration Augments Hypothalamic–Pituitary–Adrenal Responses to Mild Acute Stress
Hao Chen1, Yitong Fu1 and Burt M Sharp1
1Department of Pharmacology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, USA
Correspondence: Dr BM Sharp, Department of Pharmacology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, 874 Union Avenue, Memphis, TN 38163, USA. Tel: +1 901 448 6000; Fax: +1 901 448 7206; E-mail: bsharp@utmem.edu
Received 16 February 2007; Revised 5 April 2007; Accepted 30 April 2007; Published online 6 June 2007.

Abstract
We investigated the effect of chronic nicotine self-administration (SA) on hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) hormonal responses to acute stressors. Adult male Sprague–Dawley rats were given access to nicotine (0.03 mg/kg) for 23 h per day for 20 days. On day 1 of acquisition of nicotine SA, plasma levels of both adrenocorticotropin and corticosterone were significantly increased 15–30 min after the first dose of nicotine. These hormonal changes were no longer significant on day 3, when adrenocorticotropin levels were <60 pg/ml and corticosterone levels were <110 ng/ml during the hour after the first dose of nicotine. Chronic nicotine SA (20 days) significantly augmented (2–3-fold) both hormonal responses to mild foot shock stress (0.6 mA, 0.5 s per shock, 5 shocks per 5 min), but did not affect hormonal responses to moderate shock (1.2 mA, 0.5 s per shock, 5 shocks per 5 min), lipopolysaccharide or immobilization. Similar data were obtained in Lewis rats. These results provide further support for the concept that chronic nicotine SA is a stressor. In alignment with the effects of other stressors, nicotine activated the HPA axis on the first day of SA, but desensitization occurred with repeated exposure. Furthermore, chronic nicotine SA selectively cross-sensitized the HPA response to a novel stressor. These observations suggest that nicotine may selectively increase the HPA response to stressors in human smokers.
Keywords:
nicotine self-administration, stress, ACTH, corticosterone, psychological stress, physical stress

Smokefree.net:

2007-06-02T05:06:00.000-07:00

Smokefree.net: Home: Overview: "The goals of SMOKEFREE.net, the SMOKEFREE Network, are:
To win the right to breathe smokefree air.
To facilitate communication among smokefree advocates.
To facilitate communication between smokefree advocates and key decision makers (KDMs).
To share information about the tobacco cartel.
To provide an integrated login for all websites in the SMOKEFREE.net family.
If you need help at any time, send an email to help@smokefree.net"

Tobacco Timeline:

2007-06-02T04:47:00.000-07:00

Tobacco Timeline: The Sixteenth Century--Sailors Spread the Seeds: "TOBACCO TIMELINE
Copyright 1993-2003 Gene Borio "
Começa do século XVI e vem até hoje
This document's URL is: http://www.tobacco.org/resources/history/Tobacco_History18.html

Fumo é relacionado a câncer de cólon

2007-05-27T07:38:00.000-07:00

Fumo é relacionado a câncer de cólon

Uma pesquisa da American Cancer Society com 781.351 homens e mulheres norte-americanos ao longo de 14 anos descobriu que as mortes por câncer de cólon estão ligadas à quantidade de cigarros fumados e ao tempo de existência do vício. Segundo a pesquisa, pessoas que fumam cigarros por 20 anos ou mais têm uma probabilidade 40% maior de morrer de câncer de cólon do que os não-fumantes. O estudo, publicado no Journal of the National Cancer Institute, culpa o tabaco por 12% das mortes decorrentes dessa doença nos Estados Unidos. O câncer de cólon é diagnosticado em mais de 780 mil pessoas no mundo anualmente, segundo a Organização Mundial da Saúde. Desses casos, 129.400 concentram-se nos EUA, frisa a American Cancer Society. Os autores do novo estudo sugerem que a doença seja classificada agora como câncer relacionado ao fumo.

Resources for Tobacco Prevention and Control

2007-05-26T06:08:00.000-07:00

http://www.worldlungfoundation.org/links.html#tobacco
Resources for Tobacco Prevention and Control
Why tobacco is a public health problem: World Health Organization
Framework Convention on Tobacco Control
Tobacco Information and Prevention Resource: US Centers for Disease Control
Economics of Tobacco: World Bank
Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids
Tobacco Prevention Division: International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung DiseaseDownloadable technical materials, including for tobacco prevention in low-income countries; factsheets and other educational materials.
International Union Against Cancer
Lung Cancer OnlineInformation and services for lung cancer patients, their friends, families and advocates; as well as for lung cancer survivors. Services for those residing in the United States.
American Lung Association
Global LinkTobacco control organization with a global focus. News, resources, network information, factsheets and calendars posted.
International Non Governmental Coalition Against Tobacco (INGCAT)
Tobacco control presentationsHosted on the site of the British Medical Journal. Free access to presentations from leaders in tobacco control research that cover many tobacco control issues. Users are welcome to view and use the presentations for teaching and educational purposes, with proper credit given.
Tobacco Free Kids International Resource CenterAn online resource center with the latest research in tobacco control, information about key tobacco control interventions, and relevant news.
Anti-tobacco Image and Media Resources
Globalink video blogA blog that looks at anti-smoking video and media campaigns.
Globalink world tobacco control image database
Tobacco Control SupersiteLinks to important Australian and international tobacco control resources, including anti-smoking posters and commercials.
Trinkets and TrashArtifacts of the tobacco epidemic. An online surveillance system and archive of tobacco products and tobacco industry marketing materials.
Video VaultOnline depository and history of old television cigarette advertisements.
New York State Smokers Quitline SiteAnti-tobacco television, radio, and print advertisements developed by the state of New York.

Prevention: sencond hand smoking

2007-05-19T07:27:00.000-07:00

Draft guidelines will be considered for adoption by the governing body at its next meeting in July 2007 in Bangkok, Thailand. The guidelines already have been approved by representatives of a diverse group of countries involved in drafting and reviewing the guidelines, including: Djibouti, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Hungary, Jamaica, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Palau, Panama, Peru, Sweden, United Kingdom, Uruguay, and Vanuatu. The European Community also contributed to the draft. For more information on the guidelines, visit http://www.who.int/gb/fctc/PDF/cop2/FCTC_COP2_7-en.pdf

The Cigarette Century

2007-05-11T13:41:00.000-07:00

The Lancet: "The Harvard historian of medicine Allan Brandt begins his book with a bit of childhood nostalgia about his first trip to New York City, in 1961, and his fascination with Douglas Leigh's spectacular Camel billboard that blew smoke rings in Times Square. Everyone of a certain generation who arrived at this Centre of the World, stood in awe at the perfect smoke rings emanating from the smiling figure overhead. The 7-year-old Brandt stood, stared, and was, as all of us were, impressed. It was the perfect moment: the drama of the Great White Way, the erotic figures on the stage and on the billboard enjoying their Camels, the small boy overwhelmed by the very notion of becoming a grown-up by smoking a cigarette. As Brandt shows us this was a moment that was the culmination of the American century of the cigarette. Thereafter the glamour began to become dissipated; the erotic aspect gave way to greater and greater claims about the dangers of smoking."
In many ways the cigarette is the perfect model for understanding the 20th century. It was the product of industrialisation. James Bonsack's cigarette-rolling machines made it possible to mass produce something that had been, up to the late 19th century, the product of hand workers. The cigarette was also one of the first mass-produced products to be the subject of modern advertising, psychological testing, and marketing. The approach, advocated by American Tobacco's George Washington Hill, formulated by the advertising genius Albert Lasker, and made acceptable by Sigmund Freud's nephew, Edward Bernays, the first modern “counsel on public relations”, sold the cigarette as the symbol of the modern age. It was the pioneer in the creation of brand loyalty, with smokers purchasing status and image even more than the actual object. The Coca-Cola-isation of the marketplace was simultaneously its Camel-isation. This is also the moment of globalisation: the working relationship between American and British tobacco companies set a model for today's economy without borders.
The dangers of cigarettes were, however, also recognised early on: they were banned from sale in the state of Washington in 1893. Indeed, state condemnation of smoking had been a theme of government from the 17th century, but “luxury” taxes and state tobacco monopolies placed tobacco, and especially cigarettes, in the privileged position of being one of the most lucrative income sources for those very governments. Yet in many ways the public debates about cigarettes has had a legacy much greater than the “problem” of smoking itself. For as Brandt's extraordinary history of smoking illustrates, its primary legacy is to be found in the mantra of advertising guru John W Hill: if you don't like the science (that explains the dangers and horrors of smoking or anything else) then create the science that you need.
Brandt shows how as long as you can claim something is “unproven” you can postpone any action. It was cigarette manufacturers who pioneered the very notion of “junk science”, that is, the science that you don't like. The long, and often comic, account of the tobacco companies' struggle against the evidence of the pernicious health effects of smoking has parallels most recently in the doubters' view of phenomena as diverse as global warming and the fossil record. The argument rarely stated that there were no health risks, but rather that the health risks were “unproven” and more research (some of it good, some of it bad), paid for by special interests, was necessary. It was research done for tobacco interests that identified the carcinogens in cigarette smoke: it, of course, went unpublished and was only “discovered” (an amusing legal fiction) when the companies' records were opened during law suits against tobacco interests.
The parallel rates of increase in cigarette sales and lung cancer during the 20th century did not seem to be a compelling enough argument against the charge that the danger was “unproven”. More science was always needed; statistical proof was not “real” proof. There was a gold standard set by the bench scientists, who did the “real” science that had to be answered before “proof” was present. Brandt subtly shows how all of these claims were constructed by the tobacco industry itself. The claims for what was, and was not, “real” science in the age of statistical reasoning and bacteriology was an artifact of tobacco's interest in making every possible argument seem “unproven” and, therefore, impossible to take seriously before more work was undertaken. As Brandt notes, it was as if one should have asked John Snow to leave the handle on the Broad Street pump in 1854 until we really knew what caused the cholera, since one could not rely on mere statistics. Luckily, Snow simply took the handle with him and it was only in 1883 that the agent that caused cholera was identified and even longer before the biochemical processes of infection were adequately described.
By the mid-20th century the “little cigar” became the symbol of everything good, erotic, attractive. Nothing was left to chance in the expansion of the market to include, first women, and then, minorities. And as the market expanded the number of cases of lung cancer and various forms of lung disease expanded exponentially. But, the argument went, could there have not been another cause: more cars on the road, longer lifespan, genetic predisposition, chance. More research was always necessary.
Many serious researchers in the first half of the 20th century saw the correlation clearly. Alton Ochsner, a great American diagnostician, campaigned against smoking because there could be no other explanation for the rise in deaths from lung cancer among his patients. And the tobacco companies, as Brandt documents, fought back by arguing—well, we still need more research. By the end of the 20th century, the battle was lost: what had been erotic became disfiguring, what had been attractive had become dangerous. The western smoker had been transformed from the idealised modern citizen to the addicted, social outcast. Well, at least in general: youth rates of smoking, after decades of reduction, have started to slowly spiral upwards in the USA, perhaps because the dangers of smoking now make it even more attractive to those looking at risk as a means of confronting societal norms. Look at the newest films made in Hollywood (and indeed Bollywood): who smokes there now? The “bad” boys and girls, not the love interests—as John Milton found out Satan is always the most interesting character in the book.
Brandt ends The Cigarette Century at another point in his life. His book was a long time in its making. It was clear that a professor at Harvard University would be a great, or a devastating, witness in the many trials in the 1990s pinpointing the tobacco companies' culpability. He was approached repeatedly, but agreed to testify only when it was clear that other historians of medicine had signed on to the bandwagon. Brandt's account of his conversion from observer to activist in the light of the perversion of the “science” of history is an education in itself. For it was not only the scientists who were corrupted by their own ideological stance, or tobacco money, or the illusion of a perfect science, but this spread to those who were to somewhat objectively document these confrontations. Brandt's account reflects back on his own book and the process by which his solidly documented account evolved. The Cigarette Century is a model for the writing of engaged history: should others follow it, it would not be the worst thing for medical history.

smoking: U-tube

2007-05-09T03:16:00.000-07:00

De: Marcelo Gustavo Colominas [mailto:mgcolominas@hotmail.com]
Enviada em: quarta-feira, 9 de maio de 2007 01:01
Assunto: Fumando espero...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdfP3hDBLq0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-vawAM2rys&mode=related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlnWCEANi8k&mode=related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Im7JmffqU6I&mode=related&search=

Miren estos videos, tranquilos, sin dramatismo. DESPUÉS PIENSEN UN POCO. POR ÚLTIMO DIFUNDANLÓS TODO LO QUE PUEDAN.

Saludos cordiales.-
Colo

Dr. Judith Mackay has been selected along for TIME 100 most influential people

2007-05-07T06:30:00.000-07:00

Link para este artigo do Time está no blog http://amicor_preserve.blogspot.com

Dear Colleagues, I am delighted to share the following great news with all GLOBALinkers. Dr. Judith Mackay has been selected along with Queen Elizabeth II, Hillary Clinton, Hu Jintao, Pope Benedict XVI, Michael Bloomberg, Angela Merkel, the two young founders of YouTube, George Clooney, Roger Federer and others as one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People, “whose power, talent or moral examples are transforming the world”. I believe all devoted tobacco control colleagues in some respect share this great honor with Judith. I have deep admiration for the vision Judith has provided, the leadership she has shown and the effort she has devoted to tobacco control. As the introduction in Time Magazine notes, " Mackay, 63, a British-born doctor who has lived in Hong Kong for the past 40 years for the past 40 years, began to arm others, particularly those in Asia, where smoking rates are still high, with information about the health risks of tobacco use”. I count myself among many others in Asia who have been armed and inspired by Judith in the battle again tobacco use on the continent. This honor not only appropriately reflects the personal contribution Judith has made but also leaves no doubt that global tobacco control has finally come to be seen as a mainstream campaign against a notorious business, and that tobacco use is a major public health threat facing humanity. Please join me in congratulating Dr. Mackay on this outstanding achievement and for her inspiration to the entire tobacco control community. Wayne HeadUICC GLOBALink Related articles about Dr. Judith Mackay’s Time 100 honourThe TIME 100, Judith Mackay by Jeffrey Wigand http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/time100/article/0,28804,1595326_1615754_1615884,00.htmlAnti-smoking activist MacKay - Brunei Timeshttp://www.bruneitimes.com.bn/details.php?shape_ID=29109

GLOBAL TOBACCO CONTROL TREATY WILL FUEL SURGE IN STRONG SMOKEFREE AIR POLICIES

2007-04-26T15:35:00.000-07:00

GLOBAL TOBACCO CONTROL TREATY WILL FUEL SURGE IN STRONG SMOKEFREE AIR POLICIES
GENEVA – 26 April 2007 – Draft guidelines for implementing a key provision of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (FCTC) global tobacco control treaty were released today and call for the 146 countries that have ratified the treaty to pass strong laws prohibiting smoking in virtually all workplaces and public places. The FCTC Article 8 guidelines, which are due to be adopted by the treaty’s governing body at its next meeting this July, will accelerate the global trend toward protecting workers and the public from the dangers of secondhand smoke.The Global Smokefree Partnership (GSP), a new multipartner initiative formed to promote effective smoke-free air policies worldwide, strongly supports the draft guidelines. “This document provides countries with authoritative, practical and proven guidance for implementing smoke-free laws that will meet their obligations under the treaty,” said Deborah Arnott, co-chair of GSP and director of Action on Smoking and Health, London. “We know from experience, and from the evidence, that strong smoke-free laws will save lives and are popular. They are also much easier to implement than the half-way measures proposed by the tobacco industry.”Shoba John, co-chair of GSP and programme director of HealthBridge India, also praised the guidelines. “The GSP already has launched a campaign called ‘Global Voices for a Smokefree World’ to educate and challenge governments to endorse these guidelines, to promote their adoption by the FCTC’s governing body and to implement them as soon as possible,” she said. “We know the tobacco industry and its friends will try to weaken the guidelines, and we want our voices to be heard.”The Global Voices campaign is based on eight principles embraced by the FCTC’s smoke-free air provisions and by the draft implementation guidelines:1. Secondhand smoke is a significant health hazard.2. There is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke.3. There is no safe alternative to 100 percent smoke-free public places and workplaces.4. Ventilation, air filtration systems and designated smoking areas or rooms do not protect people from secondhand smoke.5. All people should be protected from secondhand smoke.6. All workers have the right to work in smoke-free workplaces.7. Legislation without exemptions is needed to protect people from the dangers of secondhand smoke.8. Effective enforcement, implementation and monitoring provisions are necessary components of effective legislation.A number of countries already have passed successful laws that provide smoke-free workplaces, including all restaurants, bars and pubs. These countries include Ireland, Uruguay, New Zealand, Scotland, Wales and Bermuda. Many countries are in the process of implementing similar laws. Other countries, such as Canada, Australia and the United States, have passed strong smoke-free laws in scores of provinces, states and cities.If adopted, the guidelines will be considered authoritative, but, unlike the treaty itself, they will not be legally binding. Countries that fail to implement the guidelines will be under significant pressure to do so, and could be asked by the treaty’s governing body to explain their lack of progress. The draft guidelines will be considered for adoption by the governing body at its next meeting in July 2007 in Bangkok, Thailand. The guidelines already have been approved by representatives of a diverse group of countries involved in drafting and reviewing the guidelines, including: Djibouti, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Hungary, Jamaica, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Palau, Panama, Peru, Sweden, United Kingdom, Uruguay, and Vanuatu. The European Community also contributed to the draft. For more information on the guidelines, visit http://www.who.int/gb/fctc/PDF/cop2/FCTC_COP2_7-en.pdf.The Global Smokefree Partnership is a new multipartner initiative formed to promote effective smoke-free air policies worldwide. Partners include Action for the Promotion of Smoke-free Environments (APALTA), Action on Smoking and Health London, American for Nonsmokers Rights, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Cancer Research UK, Coalition for Tobacco Control Pakistan, European Respiratory Society, FCTC Alliance Philippines (FCAP), French National Cancer Institute (INCa), Global Tobacco Research Network, HealthBridge India, HERO-Uganda, International Nongovernmental Coalition Against Tobacco, International Union Against Cancer, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health Institute for Global Tobacco Control, Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance, Pfizer, the World Heart Federation and Action on Smoking and Health. The Partnership is coordinated by the American Cancer Society and the Framework Convention Alliance. For more information on the Global Smokefree Partnership and its Global Voices campaign, visit: www.globalsmokefreepartnership.org.For more information on the FCTC, see the Website of the Framework Convention Alliance at www.fctc.org.

Tobacco Industry

2007-03-26T06:23:00.000-07:00

De: Dr. Marty Otanez [mailto:otanez@globalink.org] Enviada em: segunda-feira, 26 de março de 2007 02:21Para: GLOBALink International AffairsAssunto: Videos and Etymology of the word "tobacco industry"

Hi:Do any members or friends of GLOBALink have copies of the videotapes below that I could obtain for a research project on tobacco industry videos and tobacco economics? I am a postdoctoral fellow working with Professor Stanton Glantz at the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California, San Francisco.Also, I am creating an etymology/history of the word “tobacco industry” for a different research project on global tobacco control policymaking. Please send me the definition of the word “tobacco industry” that you or your organization subscribes to. Definitions in English and any other language would be helpful.Thanks in advance for your time and efforts.Marty Otanezmartin.otanez@ucsf.eduwww.tobaccoworkers.comblog: www.sidewalkradio.net1. Tobacco in Developing Countries (Philip Morris, 1981)2. Tobacco-nomics (Philip Morris, 1981) 3. Vom Gold das Wachst [Gold that Grows](Verband der Cigarettenindustrie [trade organization for the tobacco industry in Germany], 1979)4. Gringo Amigo (Verband der Cigarettenindustrie [trade organization for the tobacco industry in Germany], 1979)5. Progress Not Promises (Philip Morris International, 1981 [est.])

Global Smoke Free Partnership :: pledge

2007-03-26T06:07:00.000-07:00

Global Smoke Free Partnership :: pledge
100 day countdown for smokefree: Take 5 minutes to have your voice heard
From: Ms. Sandra Tavares moreira [tavaresmoreira@globalink.org]
Today Friday, March 23, 2007 marks the 100 day countdown to the second Conference of the Parties (CoP-2) of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) which will meet in Bangkok, Thailand from 29th June until July 6th, 2007. At CoP-2, parties to the treaty will consider and possibly adopt guidelines on the implementation of Article 8 to provide protection against secondhand smoke. These guidelines should serve as best practices for countries in the implementation of their smokefree air laws.
In the lead up to the Conference of the Parties, the Global Smokefree Partnership is launching a Global Voices Campaign to gain and secure support from countries for strong and effective Article 8 Guidelines.
Please join the Global Voices Campaign by adding your Voice and supporting the Campaigns’ Principles (pls. see below). The Global Voices Campaign Principles will be presented to delegates at the COP-2 meeting in Bangkok, Thailand.
You can sign on as an individual, or on behalf of your organisation. Here is the link for signing on to the campaign online:http://www.globalsmokefreepartnership.org/globalvoices/. If you want to become more involved in the campaign, there is an option on the website to let us know. Please also tell your friends and colleagues about the campaign (link available).
If you have questions or comments, please mail us at info@globalsmokefreepartnership.org
Looking forward to hearing your voice!

Systematic Review: Smoking Cessation

2007-03-25T05:18:00.000-07:00

De: Marcelo Gustavo Colominas [mailto:mgcolominas@hotmail.com]
Enviada em: sábado, 24 de março de 2007 22:03
Para: epi-pcvc@fac.org.ar
Assunto: Revisión sistemática de las estrategias para dejar de fumar en adultos y en poblaciones especiales de adultos
http://www.annals.org/cgi/reprint/145/11/845.pdf
Marcelo G. Colominas
SCChaco

Where the tobacco money went

2007-03-19T05:35:00.000-07:00

http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2007/03/26/hlca0326.htm
Money from a major tobacco settlement went to a lot more than just tobacco programs.
In 1998, 46 state attorneys general and four of the nation's largest tobacco companies reached what became known as a Master Settlement Agreement to dispense with lawsuits from those states seeking to recoup the health care costs of treating smoking-related illness. The deal involved an estimated $200 billion in payments over the first 25 years of the agreement, with payments to continue in perpetuity.
A recent study by the Government Accountability Office concluded that the states received $52.6 billion in payments from the MSA from fiscal 2000 to 2005. States spent the money in the following ways:This information and the accompanying full-text visual aids were drawn from the following source:"Tobacco Settlement: States' Allocation of Payments from Tobacco Companies for Fiscal Years 2000 through 2005," Government Accountability Office, Feb. 27.

cigarettespedia

2007-03-07T06:29:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the web site CigarettesPedia.com
CigarettesPedia.com is a project that set the goal of creating a full encyclopedia of cigarettes.
On CigarettesPedia.com everyone can look for any information free of charge (within the scope of what it already contains). You haven't found what you are searching for? Don't be disappointed. Check again on CigarettesPedia.com later on. It is very likely that the information you are interested in has already been posted. And you may write an article or two or make some changes in the existing ones just not to get bored while waiting!
However, before you start editing, you should get acquainted with some rules:
Don't place any texts or images protected by the author's rights (copyright).
CigarettesPedia.com is an encyclopedia and it should comprise neutral articles as far as possible.
If you write an article regarding a vexed question, try to be objective and present different points of view.
If you haven't found answers to your questions in the help� Compartment or you've got any suggestions concerning the cooperation with our project, feel free to contact us by e-mail.

Dom Ivo Lorscheiter: Cultura alternativa ao tabaco

2007-03-06T16:19:00.000-08:00

Condolências e de Homenagem a Dom Ivo Lorscheiter

Através deste comunicado manifestamos nossas condolências pelo falecimento do Bispo Emérito da Diocese de Santa Maria do Sul/Rio Grande do Sul, Dom Ivo Lorscheiter, falecido aos 79 anos, após dedicação de 41 anos como bispo, totalizando 55 anos de atividades eclesiásticas (para conhecer a bibliografia de Dom Ivo acesse www.diocesesantamaria.org.br).

Reconhecido nacionalmente e internacionalmente pelos seus princípios morais e éticos norteados sempre para dignificar a vida humana, tinha uma trajetória de luta incansável pela justiça social através da universalidade da igreja, da política, do social e da economia, como pontos fundamentais para elevar a melhoria de vida dos excluídos do sistema sócio-econômico. Defensor da Cáritas Brasileira, fundou o Banco da Esperança há 30 anos e o Projeto Esperança e Cooesperança há 20 anos.

Prestamos também nossas homenagens pela sua posição firme e empreendedora com a qual se destacou como pioneiro no Rio Grande do Sul a modificar os paradigmas da cultura do tabaco, disseminando a todos os trabalhadores rurais e seus familiares os efeitos nocivos advindos da fumicultura e sobre a importância de estabelecer culturas alternativas a este plantio. Idealizador dos Seminários de Culturas a Alternativas a Cultura do Tabaco, há 17 anos, conseguiu estabelecer o conceito de economia solidária e a comercialização direta.

Dom Ivo foi o precursor de todo Projeto Esperança-Cooesperança voltado para as alternativas de cultura do tabaco, quando ainda não existia a Convenção-Quadro para o Controle do Tabaco. Hoje o Brasil tem um acordo de defesa e proteção aos fumicultores e um Programa Nacional de Alternativas a Cultura do Tabaco muito espelhado na visão profética e mística de um homem que lutou ate o final pelo bem de toda uma sociedade.

Equipe da Aliança Por um Mundo sem Tabaco

Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada

2007-03-06T03:50:00.000-08:00

http://www.smoke-free.ca/warnings/

Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada (PSC) is a national health organization, founded in 1985 as a registered charity. We are a unique organization of Canadian physicians who share one goal: the reduction of tobacco-caused illness through reduced smoking and exposure to second-hand smoke.

PSC provides leadership for the medical profession on tobacco issues. With almost 1,500 members and representation in each region and province of Canada, we are a national voice on tobacco and health.

PSC is funded primarily by grants and contributions, by membership fees and occasionally through donations from corporations.

We work in collaboration with governments, with the Canadian Medical Association and other non-governmental health agencies. PSC is a member of the Canadian Council on Smoking and Health, of the Steering Committee of Health Canada's National Strategy to Reduce Tobacco Use and an active player in the National Campaign for Action on Tobacco.

In 1994 PSC was awarded the Canadian Cardiovascular Society's Dr. Harold N. Segall Award of Merit for our contribution to the prevention of cardiovascular disease in Canada.

Fumo Zero na Convenção Quadro

2007-02-25T15:33:00.000-08:00

De: Luiz Carlos Corrêa da Silva [mailto:lccsilva@yahoo.com.br]
Enviada em: domingo, 25 de fevereiro de 2007 20:18
Para: Aloysio Achutti
Assunto: Re: Projeto Fumo Zero na Convenção Quadro

Achutti:

Entra na página abaixo, onde está o texto que o PFZ enviou para a OMS. Infelizmente, não poderei estar presente na reunião do dia 26/02, em Brasília, mas o mesmo será lido pelo Dr. Celso Silva, em nome da AMRIGS.
(interessa o setor "Medical Association of Rio Grande do Sul"

http://www.who.int/tobacco/framework/cop/events/public_hearings_brazil_submissions/en/index.html

Saudações,

Luiz Carlos

OMS discute no Brasil alternativas para o plantio do tabaco

2007-02-24T07:34:00.000-08:00

OMS discute no Brasil alternativas para o plantio do tabaco
Com o objetivo de discutir alternativas agrícolas para o plantio do tabaco, representantes de países produtores de fumo, especialistas nacionais e internacionais se reúnem na sede da Organização Pan-Americana da Saúde em Brasília, nos dias 27 e 28 de fevereiro. As propostas apresentadas serão levadas para a Segunda Sessão da Conferência das Partes da Convenção-Quadro para o Controle do Tabaco e poderão ser adotadas como recomendações aos países produtores.

Organizada pelos ministérios da Saúde, Agricultura, Relações Exteriores e Desenvolvimento Agrário, em parceria com a Organização Pan-Americana da Saúde e Organização Mundial da Saúde, a reunião será precedida por uma audiência pública internacional, em 26 de fevereiro. Neste dia, representantes de instituições e organizações públicas e privadas, organizações não governamentais, associações de produtores e trabalhadores do setor fumageiro, assim como a indústria do tabaco, de qualquer parte do mundo, poderão apresentar seus pontos de vista sobre o assunto.

BBC NEWS | Health | Smoking alters brain 'like drugs'

2007-02-24T04:43:00.000-08:00

BBC NEWS | Health | Smoking alters brain 'like drugs': "Smoking alters brain 'like drugs'
Smoking cigarettes causes the same changes to the brain as using illicit drugs like cocaine, a study suggests.

US researchers compared post-mortem brain tissue samples from smokers, former smokers and non-smokers.

Their findings, published in Journal of Neuroscience, suggested smoking causes changes to the brain which are evident years after someone has quit.

A UK expert said the changes might explain why smokers found it hard to stop - and why they then relapsed.

The researchers from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (Nida) looked at samples of human brain tissue from the nucleus accumbens and the ventral midbrain - brain regions that play a part in controlling addictive behaviours.

Eight samples were taken from people who had smoked until their deaths, eight from people who had smoked for up to 25 years before their death and eight non-smokers.

All died of causes unrelated to smoking."

Global Warming = Myth?!

2007-02-14T05:55:00.000-08:00

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President of Czech Republic Calls Man-Made Global Warming a 'Myth' - Questions Gore's Sanity...
Drudgereport ^ | 2/12/07 | drudge

Posted on 02/12/2007 6:09:00 AM PST by pissant
Edited on 02/12/2007 1:34:05 PM PST by Admin Moderator. [history]

President of Czech Republic Calls Man-Made Global Warming a 'Myth' - Questions Gore's Sanity
Mon Feb 12 2007 09:10:09 ET

Czech president Vaclav Klaus has criticized the UN panel on global warming, claiming that it was a political authority without any scientific basis.

In an interview with "Hospodárské noviny", a Czech economics daily, Klaus answered a few questions:

Q: IPCC has released its report and you say that the global warming is a false myth. How did you get this idea, Mr President?•

A: It's not my idea. Global warming is a false myth and every serious person and scientist says so. It is not fair to refer to the U.N. panel. IPCC is not a scientific institution: it's a political body, a sort of non-government organization of green flavor. It's neither a forum of neutral scientists nor a balanced group of scientists. These people are politicized scientists who arrive there with a one-sided opinion and a one-sided assignment. Also, it's an undignified slapstick that people don't wait for the full report in May 2007 but instead respond, in such a serious way, to the summary for policymakers where all the "but's" are scratched, removed, and replaced by oversimplified theses.• This is clearly such an incredible failure of so many people, from journalists to politicians. If the European Commission is instantly going to buy such a trick, we have another very good reason to think that the countries themselves, not the Commission, should be deciding about similar ! issues.•

Q: How do you explain that there is no other comparably senior statesman in Europe who would advocate this viewpoint? No one else has such strong opinions...•

A: My opinions about this issue simply are strong. Other top-level politicians do not express their global warming doubts because a whip of political correctness strangles their voice.

• Q: But you're not a climate scientist. Do you have a sufficient knowledge and enough information?•

A: Environmentalism as a metaphysical ideology and as a worldview has absolutely nothing to do with natural sciences or with the climate. Sadly, it has nothing to do with social sciences either. Still, it is becoming fashionable and this fact scares me. The second part of the sentence should be: we also have lots of reports, studies, and books of climatologists whose conclusions are diametrally opposite.• Indeed, I never measure the thickness of ice in Antarctica. I really don't know how to do it and don't plan to learn it. However, as a scientifically oriented person, I know how to read science reports about these questions, for example about ice in Antarctica. I don't have to be a climate scientist myself to read them. And inside the papers I have read, the conclusions we may see in the media simply don't appear. But let me promise you something: this topic troubles me which is why I started to write an article about it last Christmas. The article expanded and became a boo! k. In a couple of months, it will be published. One chapter out of seven will organize my opinions about the climate change.• Environmentalism and green ideology is something very different from climate science. Various findings and screams of scientists are abused by this ideology.•

Q: How do you explain that conservative media are skeptical while the left-wing media view the global warming as a done deal?•

A: It is not quite exactly divided to the left-wingers and right-wingers. Nevertheless it's obvious that environmentalism is a new incarnation of modern leftism.•

Q: If you look at all these things, even if you were right ...•

A: ...I am right...•

Q: Isn't there enough empirical evidence and facts we can see with our eyes that imply that Man is demolishing the planet and himself?•

A: It's such a nonsense that I have probably not heard a bigger nonsense yet.•

Q: Don't you believe that we're ruining our planet?•

A: I will pretend that I haven't heard you. Perhaps only Mr Al Gore may be saying something along these lines: a sane person can't. I don't see any ruining of the planet, I have never seen it, and I don't think that a reasonable and serious person could say such a thing. Look: you represent the economic media so I expect a certain economical erudition from you. My book will answer these questions. For example, we know that there exists a huge correlation between the care we give to the environment on one side and the wealth and technological prowess on the other side. It's clear that the poorer the society is, the more brutally it behaves with respect to Nature, and vice versa.• It's also true that there exist social systems that are damaging Nature - by eliminating private ownership and similar things - much more than the freer societies. These tendencies become important in the long run. They unambiguously imply that today, on February 8th, 2007, Nature is protected uncomp! arably more than on February 8th ten years ago or fifty years ago or one hundred years ago.• That's why I ask: how can you pronounce the sentence you said? Perhaps if you're unconscious? Or did you mean it as a provocation only? And maybe I am just too naive and I allowed you to provoke me to give you all these answers, am I not? It is more likely that you actually believe what you say.

[English translation from Harvard Professor Lubos Motl]

Heart Disease Deaths Drop When Smoking Cessation Gets Serious - CME Teaching Brief® - MedPage Today

2007-02-14T02:41:00.000-08:00

Heart Disease Deaths Drop When Smoking Cessation Gets Serious - CME Teaching Brief® - MedPage Today: "OMAHA, Neb., Feb. 13 -- A get-tough program with hospitalized cardiac disease patients who smoke has proved to be a life-saver here, cutting mortality by 77% over two years compared with standard smoking cessation programs."

EU-wide public smoking ban urged

2007-01-30T13:21:00.000-08:00

BBC NEWS | Europe | EU-wide public smoking ban urged: "he European Union's 27 member states are being urged to do more to turn Europe into a smoke-free zone.

Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou raised the prospect of EU-wide legislation to achieve this goal, as he launched a public debate in Brussels.

Officials say passive smoking kills 79,000 Europeans per year - about one in nine of all tobacco-related deaths.

Ireland was the first EU country to ban smoking in all indoor public spaces and the UK will follow suit this year.

Some other EU countries have introduced partial bans, which allow smoking rooms in bars and restaurants.

See EU support for smoking bans

A poll published last year suggested that smoking bans were popular in countries where they had been introduced."

Os caminhos gradativos da diversificação

2007-01-26T02:30:00.002-08:00

Os caminhos gradativos da diversificação

Embora a atividade continue imperando nas regiões produtoras de fumo do sul do Brasil, a fisionomia das terras cultivadas com tabaco começa a se modificar. Desde a assinatura da Convenção-Quadro para o Controle do Tabaco, os incentivos à diversificação dessas áreas se intensificaram - e os resultados já podem ser vistos na prática.

Não se trata, porém, de uma substituição massiva dos pés de fumo por árvores frutíferas, hortaliças ou girassóis. O que se vê no campo é uma busca por formas alternativas de complementação de renda.

- É muito importante que os colonos ampliem suas possibilidades de ganho e não fiquem dependentes exclusivamente do fumo - afirma o presidente da Associação dos Fumicultores do Brasil (Afubra), Marcilio Laurindo Drescher.

Entre o empresariado, a opinião não é diferente. Para o presidente do Sindicato da Indústria do Fumo (Sindifumo), Iro Schünke, o processo de diversificação é positivo. O que se teme é a possibilidade de extinção das lavouras de tabaco. A ameaça veio à tona principalmente quando o governo assinou a Convenção-Quadro, mas hoje parece distante da realidade para os representantes do setor.

- Não acreditamos no fim do fumo. Enquanto houver demanda, vai haver plantio - diz Schünke.

clicRBS
Veja mais fotos da colheita do fumo no Estado

Saiba mais

A força econômica do tabaco

O número 1 nas exportações

A opção pela avicultura

A opção pelo biodiesel

Preparativos para Expoagro Afubra

Histórias ligadas ao cultivo

Os caminhos gradativos da diversificação

2007-01-26T02:30:00.001-08:00

A Força Econômica do Tabaco - ZH

2007-01-26T02:26:00.000-08:00

JULIANA BUBLITZ

Dissipadas as nuvens escuras que pairavam sobre a fumicultura nos últimos dois anos, 2007 começa com melhores resultados e previsões positivas, tanto para as empresas quanto para os agricultores do setor.

Basta percorrer a zona rural do Vale do Rio Pardo, onde a produção do tabaco continua sendo o motor da economia regional, para perceber que a paisagem agrícola pouco mudou. As folhas verdes e largas de milhares de pés de fumo permanecem impressas na fisionomia das propriedades.

De sol a sol, os agricultores repetem o ritual centenário da colheita, secagem e preparação dos fardos. Nas estradas, dezenas de caminhões seguem rumo às indústrias fumageiras, que recebem a matéria-prima do cigarro às toneladas, diariamente.

Nem a Convenção-Quadro para o Controle do Tabaco, ratificada pelo Brasil no final de 2005 e que prevê a gradativa erradicação do produto no mercado mundial, parece surtir efeitos imediatos sobre o setor - exceto pelos incentivos à diversificação, que vêm se ampliando. Além disso, 2007 chegou com boas-novas, a começar pela qualidade da safra. Embora ainda não tenha chegado ao fim, a colheita mostra-se superior em relação à última temporada, quando o tempo acabou comprometendo os resultados finais.

Folhas vistosas e aromáticas significam boas vendas para o produtor rural e, conseqüentemente, promessa de grandes negócios para as empresas.

- Em função da melhor qualidade do fumo e da boa produtividade deste ano, toda a cadeia vai se beneficiar. A perspectiva, nesse sentido, é muito positiva - afirma o presidente do Sindicato da Indústria do Fumo (Sindifumo), Iro Schünke.

Até março, 184 mil famílias dos três Estados do sul do Brasil deverão colher cerca de 715 mil toneladas do produto, numa área plantada de 354 mil hectares. Os números, apesar de altos, apresentam um pequeno declínio em relação à safra passada. No entanto, para o presidente da Associação dos Fumicultores do Brasil (Afubra), Marcilio Laurindo Drescher, o resultado se deve a uma readequação de mercado.

- Tudo indica que o fumo tem longa vida no Brasil, desde que continue apresentando esses resultados - aposta Drescher.

( juliana.bublitz@zerohora.com.br )

Smokers & surgery

2007-01-06T03:44:00.000-08:00

Head to head: Should smokers be refused surgery?
Matthew J Peters
BMJ 2007;334:20, doi:10.1136/bmj.39059.503495.68 [Full text] [PDF] [Request Permissions]
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/reprint/334/7583/20

Should smokers be refused surgery?
Leonard Glantz
BMJ 2007;334:21, doi:10.1136/bmj.39059.532095.68 [Full text] [Request Permissions]

Stopping the Surgeon General (RJR, '82)

2006-12-29T03:38:00.000-08:00

Stopping the Surgeon General (RJR, '82): "

Surgeon General's Report.

Company/Source Collection: R.J. Reynolds

Document Date: 26 Feb 1982
Length: 1 page
Bates No. 506062870

URL of this Posting (w/ images): http://tobaccodocuments.org/...
Document Images: http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/...

In this memo, R.J. Reynolds' Vice President of Government Relations, Gene Ainsworth, describes how the company could deal with the damage being done to the cigarette industry by the annual U.S. Surgeon General's reports on the health consequences of smoking: eliminate the reports entirely by sneaking an amendment to do just that into an omnibus legislative bill.

An undated memo written by Horace Kornegay of the Tobacco Institute (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/...) shows that the industry thought it was a valuable idea. Kornegay wrote up the rationale for eliminating the requirement that the U.S. Surgeon General issue annual reports on the health consequences of smoking:

"There are no public benefits from annual reports that essentially duplicate previous reports. To the contrary, repetitive statements based on previously reported information tend to mislead the public about the state of knowledge concerning smoking and health issues... Antismoking advocates have come increasingly in recent years to seize on the annual report of the Surgeon General for propaganda purposes, which obscures the purpose of the reports --which is to provide in a scientifically accurate and dispassionate manner information with regard to smoking and health. As a result, public confidence in the reliability of government health information programs has been undermined, the Office of the Surgeon General has been diverted from its mission of health promotion and disease prevention, and tax revenues have been wasted."

Tobacco industry attacks on the Office of the Surgeon General continued in later years. A 2-page report describes a 1997 legislative attempt by industry political ally Rep. Henry Bonilla (R-TX, defeated in the Nov. 7, 2006 election) to de-fund the Surgeon General's Office completely : (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/...) A transcript from a February 11, 1997 meeting of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Congressional Subcommittee on Appropriations shows Rep. Bonilla pressing for the complete termination of the Office of the Surgeon General. Bonilla told the head of DHHS that "The Office of the Surgeon General is unnecessary. Moneys used to fund it could otherwise be used for CDC health treatment efforts...Why not eliminate it, like the private sector would?" (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/...)

Quotes

In your February 23 memorandum to Ed Horrigan on the 1982 Surgeon General's Report you listed two possible actions the industry might wish to pursue. I would like to add a third item to this list for your consideration:

-- Amend the relevant provision of the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act to eliminate the annual reporting obligation of the Secretary of HHS with respect to "the health consequences of smoking." This is certainly not a new item for consideration -- it was contained in the May 1, 1981 TI submission to the Presidential Task Force on Regulatory Relief -- however the problems created by annual Surgeon General's Reports are so serious, in my opinion, as to warrant an immediate and thorough review of possible actions to eliminate this reporting requirement. I hold no naive thoughts that such action could be successful standing alone as an independent legislative proposal. However, if it were to be woven into an omnibus regulatory and legislative relief proposal by the Administration it might have a chance of passage. Without change in the annual reporting requirement we can, unfortunately, expect future reports by Dr. Koop to be increasingly damaging to the industry.

-------------------------

Company: R.J. Reynolds
Author: Ainsworth, W. Eugene (RJR VP, Government Relations)
W. Eugene "Gene" Ainsworth Jr. served as the Vice President of Government Relations for R. J. Reynolds Tobacco USA in 1984 and 1987 and as Senior Vice President of Government Relations for RJR Tobacco USA in 1988 & 1989. (Source: R. J. Reynolds Summary - RJR Liability Notebook).
Recipient: Tucker, Charles A. (Director, RJR Tobacco Co. 1983)
Also on TI Communications Committee, 1983

8º Congreso Virtual de Psiquiatría

2006-12-28T01:08:00.000-08:00

8º Congreso Virtual de Psiquiatría: "Hasta el día 30 de enero de 2007 se encuentra abierta la inscripción en forma gratuita para participar del 8º Congreso Virtual de Psiquiatría, en el cual podrán tener acceso entre otros a los trabajos correspondientes a la mesa de discusión “Mujer y tabaco en Iberomérica: desafíos en el nuevo milenio” y a su foro de discusión.

Si desea realizar la inscripción: http://www.psiquiatria.com/...

Atte.

Gabriela Regueira
Secretaria
Red Internacional de Mujeres Contra el Tabaco – INWAT
www.inwat.org"

GLOBALink - The International Tobacco Control Community

2006-12-02T15:28:00.000-08:00

GLOBALink - The International Tobacco Control Community
Public resources

Chantix

2006-11-30T02:58:00.000-08:00

The new stop-smoking aid, varenicline, is due to be launched in the UK on 5 December. It will be sold under the brand name Champix.

ASH has produced guidance for health professionals on this new drug and this is now available on the ASH website at:
www.ash.org.uk/html/cessation/ASHVareniclineguidance.pdf

The ASH guidance has been produced by Dr Ann McNeill and Dr Martin Raw, the authors of the original ‘Thorax’ smoking cessation guidelines. It has the backing of the Department of Health and should be viewed as interim advice until NICE issues its own guidance next Spring.

I trust you will find the guidance self-explanatory but please do get in touch if you have any specific queries that are not covered in the document.

Please note that we will be press releasing the guidance to the media on 5th December to coincide with the launch of Champix. In the meantime, we would be happy for you to circulate this guidance among smoking cessation colleagues – in fact we would like you to do so – but please do not send to the media before 5th December.
Regards
Amanda SandfordResearch ManagerASH102 Clifton StreetLONDONEC2A 4HWt 020 7739 5902f 020 7613 0531

Smoking and human papillomavirus

2006-11-20T05:48:00.000-08:00

Teaching Brief® - MedPage Today: "Review
STOCKHOLM, Nov. 17 -- Smoking and human papillomavirus (HPV) may work together to increase the risk of cervical cancer in situ, according to researchers here.
In a case-control study, smokers infected with HPV-16, the most prevalent of the oncogenic types, had 14 times the risk of progressing to cancer than did smokers who weren't carrying the virus, found Anthony Gunnell, a doctoral candidate at the Karolinska Institute here.
These HPV-16-positive smokers also had more than double the risk of non-smokers with an HPV-16 infection, Gunning and colleagues reported in the November issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. "

Smokeless Tobacco Quitting Tips

2006-11-20T05:28:00.000-08:00

Smokeless Tobacco Quitting Tips: "Today oral tobacco lesions (leukoplakia) are being detected in about 1.5% of students, projected at 300,000 nationally, with substantially greater incidence among snuff than chewing tobacco users. But in only 26 per 100,000 cases each year do the white spots actually develop into oral cancer. That means that among the 5 million U.S. smokeless tobacco users, at most there are 1,300 oral cancer nightmares each year, nightmares which kill about half within five years.
Looking at such statistics, the rationalizing snuff or chewing tobacco user probably won't put death from oral cancer at the top of their list of concerns. Likewise, a 2.23 greater risk of sudden heart attack (four times greater for chewers who also smoke) may not be sufficient to motivate quitting without first experiencing stabbing type chest pains. Even then, getting serious about quitting often requires a doctor's 'quit or drop-dead' ultimatum. But what oral nicotine users would be wise to note are growing concerns that long-term nicotine use may actually be eating away and destroying their brain.
An increasing number of experiments show that long-term nicotine use reduces the number of brain neurons, increases the signs of cell death in brain tissue and impairs working memory. A September 2006 study used MRIs to examine the brains of smokers. It found significantly less brain grey matter volume and density, with loss of grey matter proportional to the number of years smoked."

Lançamento de livros

2006-11-18T05:40:00.000-08:00

É com enorme satisfação que convidamos a todos para o coquetel de lançamento dos livros

"Atualização no Tratamento do Tabagismo",
organizado por Analice Gigliotti e Sabrina Presman

&

"Dependência, Compulsão e Impulsividade "
organizado por Analice Gigliotti e Angela Guimaraes

Dia: 24 de novembro de 2006
Hora: 19:30 hs
Local: Colégio Brasileiro de Cirurgiões
(Rua Visconde SIlva, 52 - Rio de Janeiro)

Esperamos você lá!

Analice Gigliotti, Angela Guimarães e Sabrina Presman

* Caso você não possa comparecer e deseje adquirir o livro por favor mande um e-mail para clif@email.iis.com.br

classic industry denial clip

2006-11-09T02:27:00.000-08:00

De: Prof. Simon Chapman [mailto:chapman@globalink.org] Enviada em: quinta-feira, 9 de novembro de 2006 04:54Para: General MessagesAssunto: classic industry denial clip

I have posted a classic industry health damage denial film clip at http://tobacco.health.usyd.edu.au/...It may be useful to many of you to download & use to succinctly illustrate to audiences the sort of risk awareness diet fed by the industry to the community for decades. This one is from Australia in 1984, meaning that a 20 year old smoker who saw it then, believed it (that was the communicative intent)and took comfort & reassurance would be only 44 today. Don't let anyone dismiss this period of wholesale deceit as being irrelevant today.Simon Chapman

Bladder cancer early smoking link

2006-11-09T02:12:00.000-08:00

BBC NEWS Health Bladder cancer early smoking link: "Researchers funded by Cancer Research UK looked at data on almost 430,000 people across Europe.
They found people who smoked before the age of 15 were three times more likely to get bladder cancer later in life.
Those exposed to second-hand smoke in childhood were almost 40% more likely to develop bladder cancer.
The disease is the fourth most common cancer among men and kills more than 4,800 people in the UK each year.
The research was published in the International Journal of Cancer. /.../"

The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

2006-10-19T20:26:00.000-07:00

The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: "
Press Release [En Español]
Remarks by Admiral John Agwunobi, HHS Assistant Secretary for Health, at the Launch of the Report
Remarks by the Surgeon General at the Launch of the Report - Vice Admiral Richard H. Carmona, M.D., M.P.H., FACS
Press Conference Webcast (Windows Media Player) (Real Player)
Executive Summary (PDF) – The executive summary version of the report is a technical publication that includes excerpts from the complete report. [434KB]
Full Report – The complete text of the report in sections. [PDFs]
Download the Report (PDF) as a single file [24.5 MB]
Secondhand Smoke: What It Means To You (PDF) - This booklet explains the report and how individuals can take action to improve their health. [11.6 MB] (En Espanol) [PDF 1.1 MB]
Fact Sheets:
What Is Secondhand Smoke?
6 Major Conclusions of the Surgeon General Report
Secondhand Smoke Is Toxic and Poisonous
There is No Risk-Free Level of Exposure
Children are Hurt by Secondhand Smoke
How to Protect Yourself and Your Loved Ones from Secondhand Smoke
Secondhand Smoke Exposure in the Home
Secondhand Smoke Exposure in the Workplace
29 Surgeon General's Reports on Smoking and Health, 1964-2006
Secondhand Smoke Posters
Involuntary Smoking Database - The database enables users to explore the data and studies supporting the conclusions in the report.Osteoporosis in the Family Video Link — (streaming video format) Video News Release and Transcript [HTML]
You will need Real Player ® to view this video.
-->
Order a Printed Copy
To order single copies of this document: Call toll free 1-800-CDC-INFO (1-800-232-4636). Information is available in English and Spanish, 24 hours/day, 7 days/week. For text telephone for hearing impaired, dial 1-888-232-6348.
To purchase multiple copies of the full report (stock no. 017-024-01685-3), contact:
Superintendent of Documents
U.S. Government Printing Office
P.O.Box 371954
Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954
Toll-free: 1-866-512-1800
http://bookstore.gpo.gov

-->
Additional Resources
smokefree.gov (Health and Human Services)Smokefree.gov provides accurate, up-to-date information and professional assistance to help support the immediate and long-term needs of people trying to quit smoking.
Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality)This U.S. Public Health Service clinical practice guideline issued in June 2000 contains evidence-based information on first-line pharmacologic therapies and counseling that help patients quit using tobacco.
Tobacco Information and Prevention Source (TIPS) (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)Publications, data and statistics, educational materials, public health information campaigns, and more from the Office on Smoking and Health.
Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act (U.S. Code)The law that governs the manufacture, labeling, advertising, and other aspects of cigarettes.
Last Revised: June 27, 2006"

| '25% of smokers' get lung disease

2006-10-17T05:02:00.000-07:00

BBC NEWS Health '25% of smokers' get lung disease: "'25% of smokers' get lung disease
At least a quarter of long-term smokers will develop the incurable lung condition chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a study suggests.
COPD describes a range of conditions, including bronchitis and emphysema, which make it difficult to breathe.
Over 8,000 people aged 30 to 60 were studied by UK and Danish researchers for 25 years in the Thorax study.
A spokesman for the British Lung Foundation said the study should act as a 'wake-up call' to UK smokers. "

Tobacco Control Factsheets - Home

2006-10-15T12:04:00.000-07:00

Tobacco Control Factsheets - Home:
"Tobacco advertising
Economics of tobacco
The Nurses' role
Second-hand smoke
Prevalence surveys
Product regulation
Tobacco smuggling
Youth and cigarette
>> Factsheets from Tobacco-Free Kids
>> Factsheets from the World Bank
>> 20 older UICC factsheets"

YouTube - Commitment Device

2006-10-14T15:58:00.000-07:00

YouTube - Commitment Device

I just posted this message on the general list but i think I should also share it with the cessation list :)I thought this was an interesting use of YouTube: this 21 years old video blogger has decided "Either I quit Smoking or I quit video blogging." He has shared this decision via a short videohttp://www.youtube.com/...(or search "commitment device" on YouTube).Interestingly he got quite a few comments and supports (including videos) from the YouTube community.Yesterday he has posted No Smoking Day 1 and we'll see if he succeeds :)PhPS: in reference to John Polito offering a dvd i would suggest posting short videos of advice on how to quit on YouTube. Free with a huge potential audience :)PPS: By the way, Globalink is trying to collect and share as many "anti-smoking" videos as possible via the "multi! media center" where you can upload videos. So if you want to share such videos, thank you in advance.I have also started a blog where I'll try to present (in a blog format) the videos that grab my attention:http://www.glkvideo.org/...

This message was sent using GLOBALink Email Platform

Secondhand Smoke Fact Sheet - American Lung Association site

2006-10-14T15:22:00.000-07:00

Secondhand Smoke Fact Sheet - American Lung Association site: "Secondhand smoke, also know as environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), is a mixture of the smoke given off by the burning end of a cigarette, pipe or cigar and the smoke exhaled from the lungs of smokers. It is involuntarily inhaled by nonsmokers, lingers in the air hours after cigarettes have been extinguished and can cause or exacerbate a wide range of adverse health effects, including cancer, respiratory infections, and asthma.1"

Opiate Blocker Helps Women Stop Smoking

2006-10-10T06:06:00.000-07:00

Opiate Blocker Helps Women Stop Smoking - CME Teaching Brief® - MedPage Today: "CHICAGO, Oct. 9 -- The opiate blocker Depade (naltrexone), when added to behavioral therapy and nicotine patches, can help women quit smoking, researchers here found. But men gained no benefit. Action Points

Explain to interested patients that Depade (naltrexone) is a non-narcotic drug that blocks the effects of opiates on reward centers in the brain. It has been used successfully to treat drug and alcohol addiction, and in this study helped women quit smoking in equal numbers to men, with little associated weight gain.
In an ongoing clinical trial, Depade plus other smoking-cessation tools increased the quit rate among women by nearly 50%, and reduced the typical weight gain during the first month after quitting, reported Andrea King, Ph.D., of the University of Chicago, and colleagues, in the October issue of Nicotine & Tobacco Research"

Motivational interviewing for smoking cessation

2006-10-09T10:21:00.000-07:00

A randomised controlled trial of motivational interviewing for smoking cessationBr J Gen Pract. 2006 Oct;56(531):768-74Soria R, Legido A, Escolano C, Lopez Yeste A, Montoya J.Albacete, Zone I Health Centre, Spain.Background: Motivational interviewing is a technique used to promote change in addictive behaviour, initially used to treat alcoholism. Despite this, its effectiveness has not been sufficiently demonstrated for giving up smoking.Aim: The aim of the study was to establish whether motivational interviewing, compared with anti-smoking advice, is more effective for giving up the habit.Design of study:Randomised controlled trial.Setting: Primary care in Albecete, Spain.Method: Random experimental study of 200 smokers assigned to two types of interventions: anti-smoking advice (n = 86) and motivational interviewing (n = 114). Subjects in both groups were offered bupropion when nicotine dependency was high (Fagerstrom score >7). The success rate was evaluated by intention to treat; point prevalence abstinence was measured 6 and 12 months post intervention by personal testimony, confirmed by means of CO-oximetry (value < interval =" 1.63" id="readmore" )

Obesity and Smoking: A Mortal Duo -

2006-10-04T05:45:00.000-07:00

Obesity and Smoking: A Mortal Duo - CME Teaching Brief® - MedPage Today: "Compared with normal weight, never-smokers, obese smokers, both men and women, face an estimated six- to 11-fold increase in risk of death from heart disease before age 65, reported epidemiologist D. Michael Freedman, Ph.D., of the National Cancer Institute, and colleagues, in the November issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
For women, the increased risk was more dramatic than for men, Obese women smokers younger than 65 were 10.64 times more likely to die of circulatory disease than same-age, normal weight women who never smoked. But when obese women stopped smoking the relative risk dropped to 3.81.
For obese men younger than 65 the relative risk was 6.01 compared with age-matched normal weight non-smoking men. As with women, the risk declined for obese men who stopped smoking but the decline was not as precipitous, with a relative risk declining from a sixfold increase to a fourfold rise.
Dr. Freedman and colleagues assessed mortality risk in 64,120 women and 18,760 men who participated in the U.S. Radiologic Technologies Study, an ongoing collaboration of the National Cancer Institute, the University of Minnesota, and the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists. "/.../

Half-a-million downloads of free quit smoking book

2006-10-03T04:54:00.000-07:00

Half-a-million downloads of free quit smoking book: "You won’t find “Never Take Another Puff” in any book store but it’s flying off Internet cyber shelves. Available at WhyQuit.com, 503,678 copies have been downloaded since August 2005.
Authored by Joel Spitzer of Chicago, Never Take Another Puff is a 149 page PDF collection of 95 short quitting lessons on almost every cessation topic imaginable. Spitzer presented his first two-week quit smoking clinic in 1976, starts his next at the Evanston Civic Center Tuesday night, and presented 325 clinics in-between.
His free book stands conventional quitting wisdom on its head. Spitzer does not tell quitters that they need to make major lifestyle changes, give up coffee or spend money on any product, pill or procedure.
Instead, he shares lessons that are unlike any smokers have previously heard. After providing a do-able 'One Day at a Time' cessation philosophy, readers learn the importance of stable blood sugar, how stress impacts nicotine reserves, the five phases of emotional loss, how to minimize weight gain, and deal with alcohol use during recovery. "

Reduction in the Incidence of Acute Myocardial Infarction Associated With a Citywide Smoking Ordinance -- Bartecchi et al.

2006-10-02T17:34:00.000-07:00

Reduction in the Incidence of Acute Myocardial Infarction Associated With a Citywide Smoking Ordinance -- Bartecchi et al. 114 (14): 1490 -- Circulation: "Background— Secondhand smoke exposure increases the risk of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). One study (Helena, Mont) examined the issue and found a decrease in AMI associated with a smoke-free ordinance. We sought to determine the impact of a smoke-free ordinance on AMI admission rates in another geographically isolated community (Pueblo, Colo).
Methods and Results— We assessed AMI hospitalizations in Pueblo during a 3-year period, 1.5 years before and 1.5 years after implementation of a smoke-free ordinance. We compared the AMI hospitalization rates among individuals residing within city limits, the area where the ordinance applied, versus those outside city limits. We also compared AMI rates during this time period with another geographically isolated but proximal community, El Paso County, Colo, that did not have an ordinance. A total of 855 patients were hospitalized with a diagnosis of primary AMI in Pueblo between January 1, 2002, and December 31, 2004. A reduction in AMI hospitalizations was observed in the period after the ordinance among Pueblo city limit residents (relative risk [RR]=0.73, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.63 to 0.85). No significant changes in AMI rates were observed among residents outside city limits (RR=0.85, 95% CI 0.63 to 1.16) or in El Paso County during the same period (RR=0.97, 95% CI 0.89 to 1.06). The reduction in AMI rate within Pueblo differed significantly from changes in the external control group (El Paso County) even after adjustment for seasonal trends (P<0.001).
Conclusions— A public ordinance reducing exposure to secondhand smoke was associated with a decrease"

Smoking Ban - Time line from Google

2006-09-07T16:49:00.000-07:00

De: Mr. Gene Borio [mailto:borio@globalink.org]
Enviada em: quinta-feira, 7 de setembro de 2006 17:43
Para: General Messages
Assunto: [GLOBALink] Google Archives: a Boon for Researchers
Google is archiving 200 years of back news. Check out this listing for "smoking ban" news in the 80s:
http://news.google.com/archivesearch?q=%22smoking+ban%22&scoring=t&sa=N&sugg=d&as_hdate=1988&lnav=dt
As you can see, even the search result excerpts can be informative without spending $$ on the whole article.
History is astoundingly illumined with even earlier stories, like the complete smoking ban in DC schools in 1959, or the smoking ban in Murac, France, that dates from 1824(!)
http://news.google.com/archivesearch?q=%22smoking+ban%22&scoring=t&sa=N&sugg=d&as_hdate=1969&lnav=dt
Researchers, pounce!
Best,
Gene
Gene Borio
Tobacco BBS
PO Box 359
Village Station, NY 10014-0359

World's first smoking ban

2006-09-07T05:37:00.000-07:00

De: Mr. Kawaldip Sehmi [mailto:sehmi@globalink.org] Enviada em: quinta-feira, 7 de setembro de 2006 08:34Para: GLK CessationAssunto: [GLOBALink] World's first call on Smoiking Ban not 1987 BUT in 1968- by QUITUK!

Like the "World" Series in Baseball and Basketball is not truly World, I just wanted to correct the posting that the World's first smoking ban was called in 1987 and in the US.In 1968 QUIT UKs founders, who went under the name of National Society of Non-Smokers, called for a ban on smoking in public places. The offical papers that came out under the Freedom of Information Act show that this went down like a lead balloon. We were called militant fanatics!SEE REPORT BELOWSource: Financial Times (uk), 2005-01-04Author: David Turner and Bob Sherwood :"Thirty-six years ago a society that called for a ban on smoking in public places was branded "militant, even fanatical" by a senior civil servant working in a Labour administration. The government files were made public under the new Freedom of Information Act, which came into force on January 1."

Environmental tobacco smoke and mortality in Chinese women who have never smoked: prospective cohort study

2006-08-19T19:54:00.000-07:00

Environmental tobacco smoke and mortality in Chinese women who have never smoked: prospective cohort study -- Wen et al. 333 (7564): 376 -- BMJ: "Objective To evaluate the association of environmental exposure to tobacco smoke from husbands and from work, as well as from family members in early life, with all cause mortality and mortality due to cancer or cardiovascular disease in Chinese women.
Design Ongoing prospective cohort study in Shanghai, China.
Participants Of 72 829 women who had never smoked, 65 180 women provided information on smoking by their husbands, and 66 520 women provided information on exposure to tobacco smoke at work and in early life from family members.
Main outcome measures All cause mortality and cause specific mortality with the main focus on cancer and cardiovascular disease. Cumulative mortality according to exposure status, and hazard ratios.
Results Exposure to tobacco smoke from husbands (mainly current exposure) was significantly associated with increased all cause mortality (hazard ratio 1.15, 95% confidence interval 1.01 to 1.31) and with increased mortality due to cardiovascular disease (1.37, 1.06 to 1.78). Exposure to tobacco smoke at work was associated with increased mortality due to cancer (1.19, 0.94 to 1.50), especially lung cancer (1.79, 1.09 to 2.93). Exposure in early life was associated with increased mortality due to cardiovascular disease (1.26, 0.94 to 1.69).
Conclusions In Chinese women, exposure to environmental tobacco smoke is related to moderately increased risk of all cause mortality and mortality due to lung cancer and cardiovascular disease. "

Some Smoking control sites referred by Google

2006-08-19T06:27:00.000-07:00

Health Effects of Smoking Among Young PeopleThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) presents the Tobacco Information and Prevention Source (TIPS). This Web site is maintained by the CDC's ...http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/research_data/youth/stspta5.htm
Health Effects of Cigarette Smoking Fact sheet TIPSThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) presents the Tobacco Information and Prevention Source (TIPS). This Web site is maintained by the CDC's ...http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/factsheets/HealthEffectsofCigaretteSmoking_Factsheet.htm
Surgeon General's 2004 Report: The Health Consequences of Smoking ...National Center For Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Tobacco Information and Prevention Source (TIPS) ...http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/sgr/sgr_2004/sgranimation/flash/
How to QuitIt outlines the effects of smoking on the different organs of the human body and tips to stop smoking along with information on the health benefits of ...http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/how2quit.htm
Harmful Effects Of Smoking CigarettesThe harmful effects of smoking cigarettes and tobacco are staggering. Do you really know what chemicals you are smoking and the effect it is having on you?http://www.quit-smoking-stop.com/harmful-smoking-effects.html
ACSH > Publications >Pamphlet available to download, from American Council on Science and Health. Quitting greatly reduces risks, but some effects of smoking are permanent.http://www.acsh.org/publications/pubID.377/pub_detail.asp
Health Effects of SmokingThe effects of smoking on exercise performance. Sports Med. 1996;22:355-9. ... Effects of smoking and smoking cessation. Am Rev Respir Dis. 1987;135:794-9. ...http://www.umdnj.edu/rspthweb/bibs/smoking.htm

Tobacco in whatever form harms the heart

2006-08-19T06:17:00.000-07:00

Tobacco in whatever form harms the heart: "18 Aug, (foodconsumer.org) - Tobacco usage in whatever form is harmful to the heart and significantly increases the risk of heart attack, according to a large international study. The finding held true regardless of whether tobacco was smoked or chewed either firsthand or secondhand, the Canadian researchers confirmed.

Researchers at McMaster University in Ontario found that any form of tobacco increased the risk of heart attack. For example in heavy smokers the risk of heart attack tripled as compared to non-smokers. In light smokers, who smoked 8-10 cigarettes a day, the risk of heart attack doubled.

The study published in the Aug. 19 issue of The Lancet, involved data from more than 27,000 people in 52 countries. The researchers took into consideration lifestyle factors like diet and age. Not surprisingly the researchers found that the risk of heart attack decreased with time after a person stopped smoking.

In light smokers the risk of heart attack dropped to normal levels in 3 to 5 years after they quit smoking, but in moderate to heavy smokers, there was a 22 percent risk of heart attack even two decades after they quit the habit.

The study by professors Salim Yusuf and Koon Teo of the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences in Hamilton calculated the risk of heart attack for various forms of tobacco use among the global population."

Any Tobacco Use Raises Heart Attack Risk - Forbes.com

2006-08-18T04:09:00.000-07:00

Any Tobacco Use Raises Heart Attack Risk - Forbes.com: "Any Tobacco Use Raises Heart Attack Risk
08.17.06, 12:00 AM ET
THURSDAY, Aug. 17 (HealthDay News) -- All types of tobacco use or exposure -- smoking, chewing, or secondhand smoke -- boost a person's risk for heart attack, Canadian researchers say.
Researchers at McMaster University in Ontario analyzed data from more than 27,000 people in 52 countries and factored in other lifestyle traits -- such as diet and age -- that could affect heart attack risk. They found that any form of tobacco use or exposure was harmful.
Publishing in the Aug. 19 issue of The Lancet, they found that moderate and heavy smokers had a three-fold increased risk of a heart attack and light smokers (8-10 cigarettes a day) had a two-fold risk.
The risk decreased with time after a person stopped smoking, the study said. Among light smokers, there was no excess risk 3 to 5 years after they quit smoking. Moderate and heavy smokers still had an excess risk of about 22 percent even 20 years after they kicked the habit.
The researchers also concluded that exposure to secondhand smoke increased the risk of heart attack in both former smokers and nonsmokers. People with the highest levels of secondhand smoke exposure (22 hours or more per week) have about a 45 percent increased risk of heart attack, the study said.
Chewing tobacco doubled the risk of heart attack, the researchers found.
More information
The U.S. National Library of Medicine has more about smoking and smokeless tobacco."

Varenicline, an {alpha}4beta2 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Partial Agonist, vs Sustained-Release Bupropion and Placebo for Smoking Cessation

2006-08-07T15:20:00.000-07:00

JAMA -- Abstract: Varenicline, an {alpha}4beta2 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Partial Agonist, vs Sustained-Release Bupropion and Placebo for Smoking Cessation: A Randomized Controlled Trial, July 5, 2006, Gonzales et al. 296 (1): "JAMA -- Abstract: Varenicline, an {alpha}4beta2 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Partial Agonist, vs Sustained-Release Bupropion and Placebo for Smoking Cessation: A Randomized Controlled Trial, July 5, 2006, Gonzales et al. 296 (1): "Context The 42 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are linked to the reinforcing effects of nicotine and maintaining smoking behavior. Varenicline, a novel 42 nAChR partial agonist, may be beneficial for smoking cessation. Objective To assess efficacy and safety of varenicline for smoking cessation compared with sustained-release bupropion (bupropion SR) and placebo. Design, Setting, and Participants Randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, placebo- and active-treatment–controlled, phase 3 clinical trial conducted at 19 US centers from June 19, 2003, to April 22, 2005. Participants were 1025 generally healthy smokers (10 cigarettes/d) with fewer than 3 months of smoking abstinence in the past year, 18 to 75 years old, recruited via advertising. Intervention Participants were randomly assigned in a 1:1:1 ratio to receive brief counseling and varenicline titrated to 1 mg twice per day (n = 352), bupropion SR titrated to 150 mg twice per day (n = 329), or placebo (n = 344) orally for 12 weeks, with 40 weeks of nondrug follow-up. Main Outcome Measures Primary outcome was the exhaled carbon monoxide–confirmed 4-week rate of continuous abstinence from smoking for weeks 9 through 12. A secondary outcome was the continuous abstinence rate for weeks 9 through 24 and weeks 9 through 52. Results For weeks 9 through 12, the 4-week continuous abstinence rates were 44.0% for varenicline vs 17.7% for placebo (odds ratio [OR], 3.85; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.70-5.50; P<.001) and vs 29.5% for bupropion SR (OR, 1.93; 95% CI, 1.40-2.68; P<.001). Bupropion SR was also significantly more efficacious than placebo (OR, 2.00; 95% CI, 1.38-2.89; P<.001). For weeks 9 through 52, the continuous abstinence rates were 21.9% for varenicline vs 8.4% for placebo (OR, 3.09; 95% CI, 1.95-4.91; P<.001) and vs 16.1% for bupropion SR (OR, 1.46; 95% CI, 0.99-2.17; P = .057). Varenicline reduced craving and withdrawal and, for those who smoked while receiving study drug, smoking satisfaction. No sex differences in efficacy for varenicline were observed. Varenicline was safe and generally well tolerated, with study drug discontinuation rates similar to those for placebo. The most common adverse events for participants receiving active-drug treatment were nausea (98 participants receiving varenicline [28.1%]) and insomnia (72 receiving bupropion SR [21.9%]). Conclusion Varenicline was significantly more efficacious than placebo for smoking cessation at all time points and significantly more efficacious than bupropion SR at the end of 12 weeks of drug treatment and at 24 weeks. "

Social inequalities in male mortality, and in male mortality from smoking:

2006-07-28T05:47:00.000-07:00

The Lancet: "In each country, there was about a two-fold difference between the highest and the lowest social strata in overall risks of dying among men aged 35�69 years (England and Wales 21% vs 43%, USA 20% vs 37%, Canada 21% vs 34%, Poland 26% vs 50%: four-country mean 22% vs 41%, four-country mean absolute difference 19%). More than half of this difference in mortality between the top and bottom social strata involved differences in risks of being killed at age 35�69 years by smoking (England and Wales 4% vs 19%, USA 4% vs 15%, Canada 6% vs 13%, Poland 5% vs 22%: four-country mean 5% vs 17%, four-country mean absolute difference 12%). Smoking-attributed mortality accounted for nearly half of total male mortality in the lowest social stratum of each country.
Conclusion
In these populations, most, but not all, of the substantial social inequalities in adult male mortality during the 1990s were due to the effects of smoking. Widespread cessation of smoking could eventually halve the absolute differences between these social strata in the risk of premature death."

Tobacco could kill 1 billion this century if current trends hold - Jul 10, 2006

2006-07-12T05:27:00.000-07:00

CNN - Tobacco could kill 1 billion this century if current trends hold - Jul 10, 2006
WASHINGTON (AP) -- If current trends hold, tobacco will kill a billion people this century, 10 times the toll it took in the 20th century, public health officials said Monday.
Tobacco accounts for one in five cancer deaths, or 1.4 million deaths worldwide each year, according to two new reference guides that chart global tobacco use and cancer. Lung cancer remains the major cancer among the 10.9 million new cases of cancer diagnosed each year, according to the Cancer Atlas.

Smokin Cessation

2006-07-05T04:14:00.000-07:00

Taylor & Francis Group - Article: "This is a personal retrospective in which I describe my career as a smoking cessation researcher and place cessation into an overall perspective of tobacco reduction. I spent approximately the first 15 years focusing primarily upon small group approaches to cessation emphasising relatively intensive behavioural interventions. It became apparent, however, that these types of approaches in isolation, even if broadly disseminated, would have relatively minimal impact on overall tobacco use. In part because I became discouraged with the potential of group programmes to reduce overall smoking prevalence, I began to focus more on population-based studies, especially in the context of ‘teachable moments’ including pregnancy, hospitalisation, forced abstinence in the military and existing smoking-related disease. I became concerned especially with the fact that there has been relatively little work with hard-core medically compromised smokers. It also became apparent that promoting cessation would be most likely to be effective with a comprehensive evidence-based tobacco reduction strategy including school and community-based prevention programmes, enforcement of ordinances restricting minors' access to tobacco, restrictions on tobacco advertising and promotion, counter advertising and strong smoke-free policies. In recent years I have become very concerned about the overall global tobacco epidemic and the projections of dramatically increasing tobacco morbidity and mortality in developing countries. I am now devoting my primary career emphasis to global tobacco reduction initiatives, including cessation research in India and Indonesia, cessation as part of broader tobacco reduction strategies and networking to increase resources and emphasis devoted to global tobacco reduction. [Lando HA. Reflections on 30+ years of smoking cessation research: from the individual to the world. Drug Alcohol Rev 2006;25:5–14]"

Tobacco & Hungary

2006-07-05T04:07:00.000-07:00

Health 21 Hungarian Foundation: "Similarly, Hungary fell to transnational tobacco companies when these headed east in 1991-1992. During the past 15 years five multinational tobacco companies (British American Tobacco, Philip Morris, RJ Reynolds, Reemtsma and Imperial Tobacco) entered the Hungarian market and bought production facilities in the country. In spite of substantial tax concessions they were given by the Hungarian state four have already sold their interests (Philip Morris, RJ Reynolds, Reemtsma and Imperial Tobacco). In the years they spent in Hungary they paid less taxes than they could have been and withdrew an important share of their profits from the country. They left behind a social burden which amounts three to four times more than the state incomes from the entire tobacco sector.
Why should a country be partner in making wealthy tobacco companies wealthier against its own interests? This is a case study of a country which did not resist the pseudo-shining of tobacco investments and experienced the “living together” with the world’s richest tobacco transnationals."

The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

2006-06-29T11:15:00.000-07:00

The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: "The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General
June 27, 2006
Documents in PDF format require the Adobe Acrobat Reader®. If you experience problems with PDF documents, please download the latest version of the Reader®. Video requires Windows Media Player or Real Player.
Press Release [En Español]
Remarks by Admiral John Agwunobi, HHS Assistant Secretary for Health, at the Launch of the Report
Remarks by the Surgeon General at the Launch of the Report - Vice Admiral Richard H. Carmona, M.D., M.P.H., FACS
Press Conference Webcast (Windows Media Player) (Real Player)
Executive Summary (PDF) – The executive summary version of the report is a technical publication that includes excerpts from the complete report. [434KB]
Full Report – The complete text of the report in sections. [PDFs]
Download the Report (PDF) as a single file [24.5 MB]
Secondhand Smoke: What It Means To You (PDF) - This booklet explains the report and how individuals can take action to improve their health. [11.6 MB] (En Espanol) [PDF 1.1 MB]
Fact Sheets:
What Is Secondhand Smoke?
6 Major Conclusions of the Surgeon General Report
Secondhand Smoke Is Toxic and Poisonous
There is No Risk-Free Level of Exposure
Children are Hurt by Secondhand Smoke
How to Protect Yourself and Your Loved Ones from Secondhand Smoke
Secondhand Smoke Exposure in the Home
Secondhand Smoke Exposure in the Workplace
29 Surgeon General's Reports on Smoking and Health, 1964-2006
Secondhand Smoke Posters
Involuntary Smoking Database - The database enables users to explore the data and studies supporting the conclusions in the report.Osteoporosis in the Family Video Link — (streaming video format) Video News Release and Transcript [HTML]
You will need Real Player ® to view this video.
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To order single copies of this document: Call toll free 1-800-CDC-INFO (1-800-232-4636). Information is available in English and Spanish, 24 hours/day, 7 days/week. For text telephone for hearing impaired, dial 1-888-232-6348.
To purchase multiple copies of the full report (stock no. 017-024-01685-3), contact:
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Additional Resources
smokefree.gov (Health and Human Services)Smokefree.gov provides accurate, up-to-date information and professional assistance to help support the immediate and long-term needs of people trying to quit smoking.
Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality)This U.S. Public Health Service clinical practice guideline issued in June 2000 contains evidence-based information on first-line pharmacologic therapies and counseling that help patients quit using tobacco.
Tobacco Information and Prevention Source (TIPS) (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)Publications, data and statistics, educational materials, public health information campaigns, and more from the Office on Smoking and Health.
Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act (U.S. Code)The law that governs the manufacture, labeling, advertising, and other aspects of cigarettes."

BioMed Central | Full text | Relation between awareness of circulatory disorders and smoking in a general population health examination

2006-06-27T07:34:00.000-07:00

BioMed Central Full text Relation between awareness of circulatory disorders and smoking in a general population health examination: "Background
Little is known about proportions of smokers who maintain smoking after they are aware of a circulatory disorder. The goal was to analyze the extent to which the number of circulatory disorders may be related to being a current smoker.
Methods
Cross-sectional survey study with a probability sample of residents in Germany investigated in health examination centers. Questionnaire data of 3,778 ever smoking participants aged 18 � 79 were used, questions included whether the respondent had ever had hypertension, myocardial infarction, other coronary artery disease, heart failure, stroke, other cerebrovascular disease, peripheral vascular disease, and venous thrombosis. Logistic regression was calculated for circulatory disorders and their number with current smoking as the dependent variable, and odds ratios (OR) are presented adjusted for physician contact, inpatient treatment, smoking cessation counseling, heavy smoking, exercise, overweight and obesity, school education, sex and age.
Results
Among ever smokers who had 1 circulatory disorder, 52.1 % were current smokers and among those who reported that they had 3 or more circulatory disorders 28.0 % were current smokers at the time of the interview. The adjusted odds of being a current smoker were lower for individuals who had ever smoked in life and had 2 or more central circulatory disorders, such as myocardial infarction, heart failure or stroke, than for ever smokers without central circulatory disorder (2 or more disorders: adjusted OR 0.6, 95 % confidence interval, CI, 0.4 to 0.8).
Conclusion
Among those with central circulatory disorders, there is a substantial portion of individuals who smoke despite their "

Une découverte française ouvre une nouvelle voie thérapeutique à l'addiction au tabac.

2006-06-18T07:38:00.000-07:00

Une découverte française ouvre une nouvelle voie thérapeutique à l'addiction au tabac.

PAGE RÉALISÉE PAR MARTINE BETTI-CUSSO ET PHILIPPE DOUCET 17 juin 2006, (Rubrique Figaro Magazine)

Des chercheurs français viennent de bouleverser l'approche des mécanismes d'addiction, ouvrant la voie à de nouvelles thérapies à la dépendance aux produits psychoactifs, et en particulier au tabac. Comparable à celle d'une drogue, la dépendance à la cigarette semblait avoir pour seule responsable la nicotine.

Les travaux menés par le neurobiologiste Jean-Pol Tassin, directeur de recherche à l'Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (Inserm) dans le cadre du Collège de France, montrent aujourd'hui que les choses sont un peu plus complexes.

Constatant que les fumeurs présentaient une baisse significative de leur taux de monoaminoxydase (mao), le chercheur et son équipe ont mis en évidence que l'addiction au tabac se fondait sur la perturbation de trois neurotransmetteurs (ou neuromodulateurs) : la noradrénaline, la dopamine et la sérotonine, réagissant surtout à un inhibiteur de la monoaminoxydase (i-mao) contenu dans la cigarette et entrant ensuite en synergie avec la nicotine.

Ce n'est pas tout. Jean-Pol Tassin a mis en lumière que ce déséquilibre induisait un processus de dérégulation de cellules nerveuses gérant ces neurotransmetteurs. Et, plus précisément, un découplage entre l'action de cellules traitant des informations produites par notre métabolisme et d'autres cellules gérant des informations déclenchées par une cause extérieure pouvant avoir pour origine la prise d'un psychoactif. «On peut supposer que pour ne plus avoir envie de fumer, il faudrait retablir le couplage entre ces deux types de cellules dans l'état où il se trouvait avant sa dissociation», explique Jean-Pol Tassin. Pas si simple : «La résistance au découplage varie énormément selon les individus, précise-t-il. Ce qui explique que certaines personnes peuvent vite retrouver leur "équilibre cellulaire" après l'arrêt du tabac (ou de tout autre produit addictif), et n'auront plus envie de fumer, alors qu'un paquet de cigarettes se trouve peut-être encore dans leur poche. Tandis que d'autres mettront des mois, voire des années, avant de le recouvrer.»

Cette petite révolution n'en est qu'à ses débuts. Elle devrait se poursuivre avec la mise au point de remèdes facilitant ce retour à l'équilibre de notre travail cellulaire perturbé par le tabac, mais également par d'autres substances, dont l'alcool. «Nous y travaillons», confirme Jean-Pol Tassin.

If It's Good for Philip Morris, Can It Also Be Good for Public Health?

2006-06-18T06:51:00.000-07:00

If It's Good for Philip Morris, Can It Also Be Good for Public Health?

By JOE NOCERA (NY Times. referred by Maria Inês Reinert Azambuja)

"We don't make widgets," Steve Parrish likes to say, and that acknowledgment strikes me as a good place to start this story. Parrish, whose title is senior vice president for corporate affairs, is a highly paid executive at Altria Group, a New York-based holding company that is the 10th-most-profitable corporation in America. If the name of the company doesn't strike you as terribly familiar, that's because a few years ago the company changed its name. It used to be called Philip Morris, a name that still attaches to two of its holdings, Philip Morris USA and Philip Morris International. (Altria also owns Kraft Foods.) So, yes, let's stipulate right up front: Steve Parrish represents the country's leading tobacco company, whose best-known brand, Marlboro, is so dominant it accounts for 4 out of every 10 cigarettes smoked in the United States. Last year, Philip Morris USA alone made $4.6 billion in profits. What was it that Warren Buffett once said? "You make a product for a penny, you sell it for a dollar and you sell it to addicts." They most certainly don't make widgets./.../

Facial Wrinkling in Smokers Underlines Increased COPD Risk

2006-06-15T10:05:00.000-07:00

Facial Wrinkling in Smokers Underlines Increased COPD Risk - CME Teaching Brief - MedPage Today: "DEVON, England, June 14 — Middle-age smokers with heavily wrinkled faces are five times likelier to develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) than smooth-faced smokers, according to researchers here.

It is well known that smoking ages the skin and that most cases of COPD are caused by smoking. But not all smokers develop the airway disease, said Bipen Patel, M.D., of the Royal Devon & Exeter NHS Foundation Trust here, and colleagues, in a report published online by Thorax."

Será Possível (Fumo Zero) ?

2006-06-09T21:19:00.000-07:00

Sim, é possível!
Fumo Zero: parece uma idéia delirante, mas é possível sim!
Assim como levou tempo para incorporar em nossa cultura a introdução de fumaça pelas vias aéreas - queimando individualmente produtos tóxicos junto à boca - é compreensível que a sua restauração leve algum tempo e seja trabalhosa./.../

FDA Approves Smoking-Cessation Drug - CME Teaching Brief - MedPage Today

2006-05-12T19:30:00.000-07:00

FDA Approves Smoking-Cessation Drug - CME Teaching Brief - MedPage Today: "ROCKVILLE, Md., May 11 � The FDA today approved the smoking-cessation drug Chantix (varenicline tartrate), which targets nicotine receptors in the brain.
The approval followed a priority review that the FDA said was necessary because of the drug's 'significant potential benefit to public health.'
The drug, which was developed by Pfizer, effectively occupies nicotine receptors in the brain and produces effects similar to nicotine, while blocking nicotine itself from the receptors. This one-two approach is designed to prevent withdrawal symptoms while it blocking the nicotine high from cigarettes for smokers who relapse. "

Active and passive smoking and development of glucose intolerance among young adults in a prospective cohort: CARDIA study -- Houston et al. 332 (7549

2006-05-06T11:41:00.000-07:00

Active and passive smoking and development of glucose intolerance among young adults in a prospective cohort: CARDIA study -- Houston et al. 332 (7549): 1064 -- BMJ: "Participants Black and white men and women aged 18-30 years with no glucose intolerance at baseline, including 1386 current smokers, 621 previous smokers, 1452 never smokers with reported exposure to secondhand smoke (validated by serum cotinine concentrations 1-15 ng/ml), and 1113 never smokers with no exposure to secondhand smoke.

Main outcome measure Time to development of glucose intolerance (glucose ≥ 100 mg/dl or taking antidiabetic drugs) during 15 years of follow-up.

Results Median age at baseline was 25, 55% of participants were women, and 50% were African-American. During follow-up, 16.7% of participants developed glucose intolerance. A graded association existed between smoking exposure and the development of glucose intolerance. The 15 year incidence of glucose intolerance was highest among smokers (21.8%), followed by never smokers with passive smoke exposure (17.2%), and then previous smokers (14.4%); it was lowest for never smokers with no passive smoke exposure (11.5%). Current smokers (hazard ratio 1.65, 95% confidence interval 1.27 to 2.13) and never smokers with passive smoke exposure (1.35, 1.06 to 1.71) remained at higher risk than never smokers without passive smoke exposure after adjustment for multiple b"

Patterns of global tobacco use in young people and implications for future chronic disease burden in adults

2006-04-14T08:08:00.000-07:00

The Lancet:
CW Warren a , NR Jones a, MP Eriksen b and S Asma a, for the Global Tobacco Surveillance System (GTSS) collaborative group
"Summary
Background
Tobacco use is a leading preventable risk factor for many chronic disorders, which are expected to account for an increasing share of the global disease burden. As part of the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS), we aimed to assess the effect of tobacco use by young people on global mortality. Methods
GYTS is a school-based survey of students aged 13–15 years. The survey was undertaken at 395 sites in 131 countries and the Gaza Strip and West Bank. We questioned students about current tobacco use, susceptibility to smoking among non-smokers, and exposure to secondhand smoke at home and in public places.
Findings
The difference in current cigarette smoking between boys and girls is narrower than expected in many regions of the world. Use of tobacco products other than cigarettes by students is as high as cigarette smoking in many regions. Almost one in five never-smokers reported they were susceptible to smoking in the next year. Student exposure to secondhand smoke was high both at home (more than four in ten) and in public places (more than five in ten). Never-smokers were significantly less likely than current smokers to be exposed to secondhand smoke at home (prevalence 39·1% [95% CI 36·6–41·6] vs 72·8% [64·0–81·6]) and in public places (49·5% [46·7–52·3] vs 81·2% [74·2–88·2]).
Interpretation
Our findings are troubling for the future of chronic disease and tobacco-related mortality. Reduction of tobacco consumption will require a redoubling of efforts to prevent initiation and promote cessation among the large proportion of young people who currently use tobacco. High exposure to secondhand smoke suggests a need for countries to pass strong and effective smoke-free policies./.../"

Chromosome 17 Identified as Site for Drug Dependence Genes - CME Teaching Brief - MedPage Today

2006-04-13T04:20:00.000-07:00

Chromosome 17 Identified as Site for Drug Dependence Genes - CME Teaching Brief - MedPage Today: "NEW HAVEN, Conn., April 12 - Researchers are one step closer to finding genes involved in drug addiction, including dependence on opioid drugs such as heroin, morphine, and OxyContin (oxycodone).
Two clusters of such genes appear to be hiding out on chromosome 17, according to a genetic linkage study conducted by Joel Gelernter, M.D., of Yale, and colleagues, published in the May issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics. "

"Anti-Tobacco Industry Plan" (PM, 1996 est.)

2006-04-10T04:54:00.000-07:00

"Anti-Tobacco Industry Plan" (PM, 1996 est.):Anti-Tobacco Industry Plan
Document Date: 1996 (est.)Length: 15 pagesBates No.: 2063393705/3719
URL of this Posting: http://tobaccodocuments.org/...Document images: http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/...

This Philip Morris (PM) presentation describes a comprehensive, long term plan by PM to divide the ranks of tobacco control groups and weaken their efforts to reduce tobacco use. Public health authorities, groups and individuals who work to reduce smoking are known collectively inside PM as the "anti-tobacco industry," (ATI, or "antis" for short). PM regarded them as competitors seeking to take away market share. PM's "Anti-Tobacco Industry Plan" was devised by Joshua ("Josh") Slavitt, Director of Policy and Programs at PM Management Corporation. Slavitt was considered PM's internal expert on "the antis" and their strategies.
Part of PM's plan was to cause dissent among to tobacco control groups by "enhancing internal conflicts" among them. To carry out this strategy, PM sought what it considered "moderate" anti-tobacco groups, and worked to enter into relationships with them and get them to work with the company in some cooperative capacity. Another strategy was to "limit or redirect" public health funding away from tobacco control programs PM didn't like, and direct it to programs PM approved of (that didn't harm cigarette sales or the image of smoking) like "youth education, preventing youth access, etc." PM also worked to stimulate financial investigations of public health groups to weaken them and "challenge their so-called 'white hat' image with elected officials and the media."
PM estimated that it would cost $500,000 to carry out the program for the first year.
This document discloses that PM actively engaged in a comprehensive, long-term effort to undermine tobacco control programs, sought to increase in-fighting among tobacco control groups by allying with selected groups, and worked politically to divert funding dedicated from effective tobacco control programs to causes that the company considered benign to their long term interests.
Quotes:
Anti-Tobacco Industry Plan
We have spent considerable time discussing the importance of developing a response to the anti's. We like to call them the Anti-Tobacco Industry because they have the economic and political resources to deserve to be called an industry.
• Today, I'd like to present you with a plan that will coordinate company and external resources to diminish the effectiveness of the Anti-Tobacco Industry.
• Our plan also seeks to moderate the ATI's impact on the policy process so that we can reestablish our credibility through the initiatives that we are developing.
• After we have implemented these initiatives we must continue to keep pressure on the ATI so that we can restore and maintain balance in the political process and with the media.
• Just as importantly, we need a plan with obtainable goals and performance measurements that can be tracked over time.
Strategies
There are four strategies to our plan. We want to:
1) Limit public funding sources available to the ATI --ultimately make the ATI more accountable for both the private and public sources of revenue that its members receive.
2) Weaken the ATI's credibility by challenging their so-called "white hat" image with elected officials and the media.
3) Put the ATI on the defensive to enhance internal conflicts and cause divisions among its leadership regarding strategies and tactics --this is a natural outgrowth of our first and second strategies.
4) Conduct a comprehensive competitive intelligence effort on the ATI to better understand its strategies and long-term goals --just as we would address any other business adversary.
Let me discuss our fourth strategy first.
Strategy 1: Intensify Research
-Competitive intelligence is the bedrock of any successful business effort. We must view our effort to respond to the ATI the same way. We want to:
1) Identify and learn about the makeup of the ATI's leaders and organizations.
2) Identify emerging trends, issues and strategies.
3) Analyze their potential vulnerabilities and ours as a result of their activities.
-Information we gather will be warehoused in a database which we call Common Ground.
-Competitive intelligence on the ATI is integral to our plan because it enables us to prioritize our near-term and longer-term strategies.
-Competitive intelligence also gives us the opportunity to develop proactive and offensive responses to the ATI --this is critical to our ability to put them on the defensive as we restore balance in the debate over our issues.
[From Page --3710]:
Strategy 2: Limit Funding
Our second strategy focuses on limiting funding available to the ATI. We want to identify opportunities to:
1) Limit or redirect federal and state funding. However,to do this,we also need to first decide what types of anti-tobacco programs are acceptable to us, e.g. youth education, public advertising campaigns, preventing youth access, etc.
2) In order to accomplish this effort, we will have to highlight waste and abuses in publicly funded programs. Our primary focus will be on legislators, but we'll also have to generate media stories in order to reinforce this message.
3) We already know that the ATI receives a minimum of $600 million a year from public and private sources. This is hardly small change at a time when a number of social activists are competing for a shrinking pool of public funding.
The ATI has reached the level of funding where they should be considered fair game by other social activists--if these other activists knew just how much the ATI was receiving. Naturally,we want to make this information available. However, we also want to identify the right groups to provide this information.
[From Page --3716]:
Strategy 4: Divide Ranks
Our Fourth Strategy focuses on efforts to cause dissention within the ATI.
1) As the tobacco company that is seeking "reasonable solutions to complex problems" we want to reach out to members of the ATI where we can potentially establish Common Ground--such as on the issue of preventing youth access to tobacco products.
Strategy 4 Process Measurements:
For 1997,we will:
1) Complete the process of comparing the company's positions with anti-tobacco control advocates.
2) We also want to see a measurable increase in the number of legislators at the federal, state and local levels who publicly endorse AAA and our Federal Initiative.
3) When we've made measurable advances on these two steps, we will then reach out to groups and individuals where Common Ground is possible. Combined with our advances on our second and third strategies, we have an opportunity to increase pressure on the ATI, which can be used to cause additional divisions within the ATI.
--We expect, that as their funding is squeezed and investigations are launched on potential violations of state and local lobbying laws, some ATI advocates may think pragmatically about accepting our offer to work together to address the youth issue as well as other issues where we can arrive at a consensus.
This effort will cause further dissention between those anti groups that seek prohibition at any cost and those who are truly concerned about achieving reasonable solutions...
2) We also want to enhance internal conflicts that already exist within the ATI --and possibly encourage some new ones.

Active and passive smoking and development of glucose intolerance among young adults in a prospective cohort: CARDIA study -- Houston et al., 10.1136/

2006-04-08T06:24:00.000-07:00

Active and passive smoking and development of glucose intolerance among young adults in a prospective cohort: CARDIA study -- Houston et al., 10.1136/bmj.38779.584028.55 -- BMJ: "Results Median age at baseline was 25, 55% of participants were women, and 50% were African-American. During follow-up, 16.7% of participants developed glucose intolerance. A graded association existed between smoking exposure and the development of glucose intolerance. The 15 year incidence of glucose intolerance was highest among smokers (21.8%), followed by never smokers with passive smoke exposure (17.2%), and then previous smokers (14.4%); it was lowest for never smokers with no passive smoke exposure (11.5%). Current smokers (hazard ratio 1.65, 95% confidence interval 1.27 to 2.13) and never smokers with passive smoke exposure (1.35, 1.06 to 1.71) remained at higher risk than never smokers without passive smoke exposure after adjustment for multiple baseline sociodemographic, biological, and behavioural factors, but risk in previous smokers was similar to that in never smokers without passive smoke exposure."

CALL FOR PROPOSALS: Research Competition to Support and Inform Ratification, Implementation and/or Enforcement of the Framework Convention on Tobacco

2006-03-31T11:31:00.000-08:00

CALL FOR PROPOSALS: Research Competition to Support and Inform Ratification, Implementation and/or Enforcement of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control: "CALL FOR PROPOSALS: Research Competition to Support and Inform Ratification, Implementation and/or Enforcement of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC)

CALL FOR PROPOSALS

RITC is pleased to announce a Call for Proposals for the third round of this small grants research competition. The competition is a joint initiative of RITC/IDRC, the Canadian Tobacco Control Research Initiative (CTCRI), the American Cancer Society and Cancer Research UK. We invite interested researchers to consult the documents appearing at the bottom of this page in English, French or Spanish.

DEADLINE FOR RECEIPT OF APPLICATIONS: MAY 12, 2006"

Globalink

2006-03-29T04:34:00.000-08:00

Globalink
Subscriptions
Tem sido tão completa a cobertura de assuntos sobre tabagismo na Internet que eu tenho deixado de repassá-los aos amigos, sugerindo que se inscrevam, p. exemplo, nesta lista GLOBALINK. Estarão melhor servidos.
Because the INTERNET smoking coverage has been so complete, I suggest to my friends to visit and to sign a list laike GLOBALINK. You will be completely update.

Nicotine - encyclopedia article about Nicotine.

2006-03-10T06:32:00.000-08:00

Nicotine - encyclopedia article about Nicotine.:

Embajador de Chile, Juan Martabit, poreside sesiones de CMCT

2006-02-06T16:20:00.000-08:00

: "La Conferencia de las Partes (CP), está llevando a cabo su primera reunión en Ginebra, Suiza, los días 6-17 de febrero de 2006. En esta reunión participan aquellos países que han accesado, ratificado o adoptado el CMCT. Más de 100 países eligieron al Embajador de Chile ante la ONU en Ginebra, Juan Martabit, para presidir sus sesiones de trabajo. A lo largo de la conferencia se definirán aspectos de suma importancia que marcarán el destino del CMCT, tales como el financiamiento para las actividades incluidas en el CMCT, el secretariado del CMCT, requerimientos y sistemas de reporte y, posiblemente, protocolos del tratado.
Más Información sobre la CP
Comunicado de Prensa de la CP
Aumentan en todo el mundo las actividades contra el tabaco: más de 100 países aprovechan el impulso del convenio mundial de control del tabaco (CMCT). Los países reunidos en Ginebra, equivalentes al 74% de la población mundial, planificarán la aplicación efectiva del tratado de control del tabaco.
Ginebra, 6 de febrero de 2006- Se están adoptando en todo el mundo medidas eficaces para que disminuya el consumo de tabaco, por ejemplo, mediante el reforzamiento de la legislación, el uso de etiquetas de advertencia y la prohibición de la publicidad. Esos cambios positivos refuerzan el compromiso adquirido por los más de 110 países que se reúnen esta semana para acordar los pormenores de la aplicación del Convenio Marco de la Organización Mundial de la Salud para el Control del Tabaco (CMCT).
Muchos de esos países, que participan en la primera Conferencia de las Partes, en Ginebra, ya han aplicado algunas de las medidas previstas en el tratado. España, Irlanda y Noruega, por ejemplo, han prohibido recientemente fumar en lugares públicos cerrados. La India ha aplicado amplias prohibi/.../"

Jeitinho Lucrativo

2006-01-06T15:38:00.000-08:00

Enviado por: Sabrina Presman [replytosender@globalink.org]
Artigo - Jornal O Globo 12 dezembro 2005 - Jeitinho lucrativo
SÉRGIO DE PAULA RAMOS
Uma série de medidas implementadas por lideranças médicas fizeram com que em 30 anos tenhamos conseguido reduzir o tabagismo de adultos, no Brasil, a quase metade. De fato, de um patamar de 48% de dependência nos anos 70 hoje encontramos cerca de 25% de brasileiros dependentes de tabaco. Entre as medidas bem-sucedidas destacam-se a proibição de fumar em vários ambientes públicos, a proibição da propaganda e o desenvolvimento de novos tratamentos para se parar de fumar. Relevante também foi o fato de termos conseguido melhorar a percepção pública dos problemas decorrentes da doença do tabagismo a ponto de que fumar, visto como charmoso nos anos 60/70, hoje é percebido como coisa de gente brega.
Pelo conjunto das medidas - e seus resultados - o Brasil ganhou respeito internacional e uma posição exemplar, inclusive para alguns países europeus.
Pois bem. A Organização Mundial de Saúde, prosseguindo a luta pela melhoria dos padrões sanitários da população mundial, propôs um acordo internacional que, entre outras coisas, compromete os países signatários a desenvolver uma política de favorecimento da substituição das lavouras de fumo, o que objetiva diminuir a oferta de tabaco. O prazo para a assinatura do acordo venceu dia 28 de outubro e, pelo que se lê hoje nos jornais, o Brasil optou por uma adesão com o famoso jeitinho brasileiro. Assina, mas se compromete tanto a financiar os fumicultores que queiram substituir suas lavouras de fumo, quanto -- pasmem - os que não o desejarem. Ou seja, as lavouras de fumo, fontes de enormes lucros para as multinacionais e vultosos prejuízos para os governos e a saúde da população, poderão continuar a ser financiadas pelo governo. Dizendo melhor, pelo seu dinheiro e pelo meu. Autores dessa pérola: políticos brasileiros. O governo federal por um lado e o Congresso por outro. Este, também pelo que leio, liderado pelo senador gaúcho Sérgio Zambiasi, que foi sensível aos pedidos de 200 e-mails recebidos (ZH, 28/10, pg. 28). Os 12,5 milhões de brasileiros que nos próximos 10 anos sofrerão variados agravos de saúde por fumarem, aparentemente, não enviaram e-mails para nosso senador, que no passado se notabilizou por seu apego às causas populares. Agora, parece movido por interesses coincidentes com os das multinacionais do tabaco. Uma pena, senhores políticos brasileiros. Perderam mais uma chance de limpar a barra de vocês e, não o fazendo, nos prejudicarão a todos. Uma pena. No entanto, talvez não seja necessário vocês se envergonharem muito. Afinal, os que vivem em Porto Alegre viram um médico de renome aceitar prestigiar a abertura da nova fábrica da Souza Cruz por esta ter-lhe dado verba para a edificação de uma sala de espetáculos. Talvez verba inferior do que seus executivos gastam anualmente com cafezinho. Aliás, o governador do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul também lá esteve.
Uma pena. SÉRGIO DE PAULA RAMOS é presidente da Associação Brasileira de Estudos do Álcool e Outras Drogas (ABEAD).
Fonte - Jornal O Globo - 12 de Dezembro de 2005

PNUD Brasil

2006-01-04T07:18:00.000-08:00

PNUD Brasil: "Fumo d� lugar a org�nicos e turismo em SC
Produtores de Santa Rosa de Lima, vencedores do Pr�mio ODM Brasil, elevam renda ao investir em comida sem agrot�xico e hospedagem

Leia tamb�m

Pr�mio ODM destaca 27 pr�ticas nacionais

ALAN INFANTE
da PrimaPagina
A substituição da produção de fumo pela de alimentos orgânicos em Santa Rosa de Lima, no sudeste de Santa Catarina, desencadeou uma onda de negócios que elevou os lucros provenientes do campo e gerou uma nova fonte de renda no setor turístico da região. A radical mudança de cultura é de um produto prejudicial à saúde para outro livre de agrotóxicos é, seguida da exploração do agroturismo, teve reflexo positivo nas condições de vida: a economia local cresceu e se diversificou, os rendimentos aumentaram, o êxodo diminuiu e a proteção ao meio ambiente melhorou.
O processo teve início em 1998, quando as famílias de agricultores de Santa Rosa de Lima e arredores foram estimuladas por um grande supermercadista de Florianóolis a cultivar alimentos orgâicos. Com a garantia de que teriam comprador para a produção, eles abandonaram as plantações de fumo e passaram a produzir frutas, verduras e legumes sem agrotóxicos. Até mesmo produtos processados, como cenouras, beterraba e pepino em conserva, molho de tomate, geléias de frutas e açucar mascavo, não recebiam qualquer aditivo inorgânico, como conservantes artificiais.
�Os consumidores queriam saber qual a procedência desses alimentos orgânicos, como eles eram cultivados, mas se viessem para cá não tinham onde se hospedar. Foi então que a Agreco [Associação dos Agricultores Ecológicos das Encostas da Serra Geral] começou a reunir os agriculto"

Reposição de Nicotina??!!

2005-12-30T12:33:00.000-08:00

From:John R. Polito
1325 Pherigo Street
Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464 USA
(843) 849-9721 john@whyquit.com

Generally accepted? How can we close our eyes to the growing survey evidence-base in which NRT has never once shown any advantage at 6 months or beyond? How can we continue to deny our own empirical evidence-base and totally ignore such important considerations as the fact that we're seeing almost all second-time gum and second-time patch quitters fail?

Science based? How many more years will we keep our heads in the sand following Mooney's 2004 "Blind Spot" revelation that NRT studies were not blind as claimed? Why wouldn't there be a robust discussion of these issues here at GlobaLink? It's almost as if folks are afraid of offending the pharmaceutical industry or that their job somehow depends on never questioning the evidence base.

How can we ignore Table 6 of Ferguson's 1 yr NHS UK study where he reports that those quitting without pharmacology generated a 25.5% one year rate, while NRT users had only a 15.2% rate, and those using both NRT and bupropion had a 7.4% rate? How can we not care that English cessation programs predating NRT had one year rates closer to the 25.5% figure than 15.2%, with many higher?

True or False: Almost all long-term successful UK quitters are today quitting cold turkey? If true then why ignore their victories and why no sharing their dependency recovert insights?

True or False: Unlike abrupt nicotine cessation, quitting rates for repeat NRT users dramatically decline? If true, and with over half of all current smokers having already tried and failed while attempting an NRT quit, why are we not warning them?

Maybe UK ASH hasn't been as influential in pushing NRT as it has appears from across the ocean, and from prior discussions here at GlobaLink. But if truly concerned about the "science-base" then why no harm reduction study on an isolated population, after having established firm baselines for all possible categories of nicotine delivery? Is it not still "theory" that it will generate more good than harm? Again, I can't help but believe that the nicotine addiction industry is laughing its butt off, all the way to the bank.

John
--------------------
Source: http://member.globalink.org/77601
--------------------
John R. Polito
1325 Pherigo Street
Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464 USA
(843) 849-9721 john@whyquit.com

experimental smoking cessation drug

2005-12-23T02:27:00.000-08:00

experimental smoking cessation drug
Reuters.co.in: "NEW YORK (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc. said on Wednesday that U.S. regulators have granted a priority review to its experimental smoking cessation drug.
Under a priority review, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will make its decision whether to approve the drug within six months, rather than the usual 10- to 12-month review period.
The world's largest drugmaker said it plans to market the drug, varenicline tartrate, under the brand name Champix if it is approved.
The FDA assigns priority review status to medicines that may provide a significant therapeutic advance over existing therapies.
According to data from a late-stage clinical trials released last month, varenicline was more effective than GlaxoSmithKline Plc's Zyban at helping smokers to quit.
In the 12-week studies, 44 percent of smokers who used varenicline were able to quit the habit compared with 30 percent among those using Zyban, also known by the chemical name bupropion.
However, the sustained ability to kick the habit was far less pronounced between the two drugs once smokers had stopped taking the medication.
'If current smoking patterns continue, the annual number of people dying of smoking-related diseases globally will double from five to 10 million deaths by 2020,' said Pfizer Chief Executive Hank McKinnell in a statement.
Pfizer shares were up 24 cents, or 1 percent, to $24.24 on the New York Stock Exchange."
posted by Aloyzio Achutti at 2:26 AM 0 comments

centros de referência para controle e pesquisa do tabaco

2005-12-22T06:20:00.000-08:00

Brasil sediará centro de referência no controle sanitário do tabaco
Fonte: Gazeta Digital
Data: 22/12/2005

O Brasil será sede de um dos cinco centros de referência para controle e pesquisa dos produtos derivados do tabaco, que estão sendo implementados pela Organização Mundial de Saúde (OMS) em todo o mundo.

A escolha foi impulsionada pela parceria entre a Anvisa e o Instituto Nacional do Câncer (Inca), e tornará o país referência para toda a América do Sul e Caribe. Os danos causados pelo tabaco acarretam problemas sanitários graves, que sobrecarregam mundialmente os sistemas de saúde. Para reverter esse quadro, a OMS está criando a Rede Mundial de Laboratórios de Tabaco (TobLabNet), composta por cinco centros de referência, que propiciará a realização de análises e a mensuração dos conteúdos e substâncias existentes em diferentes amostras de tabaco.

A iniciativa atende às recomendações da Convenção-Quadro, ratificada em 27/10, e fortalecerá o controle sanitário do produto. No Brasil, o laboratório será construído no Rio de Janeiro, próximo à Gerência de Produtos Derivados de Tabaco da Anvisa, já em 2006. A Agência firmou um Termo Contratual com a Fundação Bio-Rio/UFRJ, que cederá o terreno. Será elaborado, pela diretoria da Anvisa, um Projeto Conceitual e Básico que definirá as características e a infra-estrutura necessárias à implantação da iniciativa. O modelo de gestão a ser implementado será discutido com as instituições parceiras, como o Inca, o Instituto de Química da UFRJ, a Organização Pan-Americana de Saúde (Opas) e a própria OMS.

Autor: Patricia Neves
Maria Paz Corvalan

Philip Morris obtém na Justiça reversão de sentença para pagar US$ 10,1 bi

2005-12-20T12:58:00.000-08:00

Fonte: Folha online
Data: 15/12/05

Philip Morris obtém na Justiça reversão de sentença para pagar US$ 10,1 bi
VINICIUS ALBUQUERQUE
da Folha Online

A fabricante norte-americana de cigarros Philip Morris conseguiu na Suprema Corte do Estado de Illinois (centro-norte dos EUA) a reversão da sentença que a condenava ao pagamento de US$ 10,1 bilhões por propaganda enganosa de seus cigarros tipo "light".

A corte determinou que a empresa não enganou os consumidores e enviou o caso de volta à corte do condado de Madison com ordem de arquivá-lo. A acusação contra a Philip Morris era de que a empresa levava os consumidores a pensar que os cigarros tipo "light" representariam um risco menor à saúde que os cigarros comuns.

O juiz do condado de Madison, Nicholas Byron, havia decidido que a Philip Morris levou os consumidores a acreditar que estavam comprando um cigarro menos nocivo à saúde. Em março de 2003 ele determinou que a empresa pagasse US$ 10,1 bilhões --sendo US$ 5 bilhões em compensação de danos, US$ 3 bilhões em reparações e US$ 2,1 bilhões em juros.

O processo recebeu o nome de "caso Price" por ter sido movido por Sharon Price, que entrou na Justiça devido à denominação "light" em cigarros da empresa. O processo ganho status de ação de classe em favor do mais de um milhão de fumantes e ex-fumantes das marcas "Marlboro Lights" e "Cambridge Lights".

A corte decidiu que a FTC (a comissão federal de comércio norte-americana) deu permissão às fabricantes de cigarros para caracterizar seus produtos como "light" e como "baixo teor de alcatrão", de modo que a Philip Morris não teria, assim, enganado os consumidores sobre os impactos dos cigarros rotulados deste modo sobre a saúde.

A empresa alega que o processo não deveria ter sido declarado uma ação de classe devido às muitas diferenças individuais entre os fumantes e que os litigantes não conseguiram mostrar na corte que acreditavam que receberiam menos alcatrão e nicotina com os cigarros "light".

Os litigantes não acusam a empresa pelos danos à sua saúde, mas de saber, quando introduziu no mercado cigarros "light" em 1971, que o produto não era mais saudável que os normais e de ter ocultado tal informação e o fato de que os cigarros "light" contêm uma forma ainda mais tóxica de alcatrão.

A decisão da Suprema Corte estadual veio no momento em que os gastos com disputas judiciais da empresa está em declínio. Os custos com defesa judicial caiu para US$ 268 milhões em 2004, abaixo dos US$ 358 milhões gastos em 2002.

O caminho fica mais livre para os planos da Altria de vender sua divisão de alimentos, a Kraft Foods, da qual possui 87%. A Altria foi formada em 2002, com a junção da Kraft e da Philip Morris. Restam agora apenas duas ações judiciais para que a Altria possa se desfazer da Kraft.

nova vacina de nicotina

2005-12-05T16:10:00.000-08:00

www.costarica.news.com.br: "Pesquisa com uma nova vacina de nicotina mostrou que o produto é seguro e bem tolerado e que, quanto mais alta a dose, maior o índice de abstinência.

- Estamos muito felizes por verificar que a vacina tem de fato um impacto significativo no hábito de fumar - disse a médica Dorothy K. Hatsukami, do Centro de Pesquisa do Uso do Tabaco, em Mineapolis. - A descoberta do aumento de abstinência conforme a dose do produto foi surpreendente - acrescentou.

O próximo passo, segundo a pesquisadora, será realizar estudos para identificar a dose ideal e estabelecer um padrão de administração da vacina. Dorothy Hatsukami explicou que a vacina poderá ser útil para ajudar fumantes que desejam abandonar o vício, embora parar de fumar demande também mudanças de comportamento."/.../

Vigescola - Vigilância de tabagismo em escolares - INCA

2005-12-02T02:37:00.000-08:00

Vigescola - Vigilância de tabagismo em escolares - INCA
Várias doenças e mortes prematuras em todo o mundo estão associadas ao tabagismo. Com o avanço da ciência, o comportamento de fumar, antes visto como estilo de vida, é atualmente reconhecido como uma doença que expõe as pessoas a inúmeras substâncias tóxicas. O tabagismo representa hoje o maior fator de risco independente para doenças crônicas e seu controle exige um eficiente e sistemático mecanismo de vigilância para monitorar as tendências de consumo de tabaco.
O Inquérito de Tabagismo em Escolares (VIGESCOLA) que é parte do Sistema de Vigilância de Tabagismo em Escolares foi desenvolvido inicialmente pelo Centro de Controle de Doenças (CDC) do governo dos Estados Unidos e, hoje se tornou um sistema de vigilância mundial promovido pela
Organização Mundial de Saúde (OMS) e, na América Latina, pela Organização Pan-americana de Saúde – OPAS. O principal objetivo do VIGESCOLA é monitorar, através de inquéritos repetidos, a magnitude, desse problema de saúde pública, no grupo alvo: estudantes de 13 a 15 anos. Estudos têm mostrado que é na adolescência que se encontra o grupo de maior risco para o início do uso do tabaco. Portanto é, nos anos de transição, entre o ensino médio e superior, que mais usuários do tabaco iniciam, desenvolvem e estabilizam seu comportamento de fumar. Um dos objetivos do VIGESCOLA é a obtenção periódica de dados de prevalência de uso do tabaco em escolares através de inquéritos repetidos de tabagismo em escolas de capitais brasileiras. Os resultados apresentados, a seguir, dizem respeito a 12 capitais: Aracaju, Boa Vista, Campo Grande, Curitiba, Fortaleza, Goiânia, João Pessoa, Palmas, Natal, Porto Alegre, São Luis e Vitória. Incluem dados de prevalência do uso de cigarros e outros produtos do tabaco, assim como informações sobre cinco dimensões do tabagismo: acesso/disponibilidade e preço, exposição ao tabagismo ambiental, cessação, mídia e propaganda e currículo escolar. Estas informações contribuem com o Programa Nacional de Controle do Tabagismo e outros Fatores de Risco de Câncer nas escolas – Programa Saber Saúde, da Coordenação de Prevenção e Vigilância do Instituto Nacional de Câncer.

2005-11-29T15:36:00.000-08:00

Vacina contra tabagismo
Vacina anti-tabaco vai estar disponível em 2010
Enviado por: Maria Paz Corvalan Editora de Globalink Noticias & Información

23 de novembro de 2005 (Bibliomed). Uma vacina anti-tabaco está sendo pesquisada na Suíça. Pesquisadores estudando a vacina CYTOO2-NicQb, que vem sendo desenvolvida pela empresa Cytos Biotechnology AG, divulgaram que os resultados de seu primeiro estudo a longo prazo indicam que dois de cada cinco pacientes deixaram de fumar por um ano após receberem a vacina.

A vacina CYT002-NicQb é a "primeira de sua classe” em desenvolvimento para o tratamento do hábito do uso da nicotina. A vacinação com CYT002-NicQb já foi demonstrada como sendo capaz de induzir anticorpos nicotina-específicos, que se ligam à nicotina no sangue. Como o complexo de nicotina ligado ao anticorpo é muito grande para atravessar a barreira hemato-encefálica (entre o sangue e o cérebro), a captação da nicotina no cérebro, e a excitação subseqüente de neurônios responsivos à nicotina ficam significativamente reduzidos, ou até mesmo impedidos.

No estudo clínico realizado que envolveu 341 adultos tabagistas, tanto do sexo masculino como do feminino, a ação anti-tabaco ocorreu em voluntários que desenvolveram um alto nível de anticorpos, desencadeados pela vacina.
Os testes envolveram a aplicação de 5 injeções da vacina ou de um placebo a intervalos mensais. Os pacientes de ambos os grupos foram submetidos a aconselhamento terapêutico.

Os melhores resultados, obtidos entre as pessoas com alto desenvolvimento de anticorpos, atingiram a 42% de abandono do cigarro. A vacina poderia estar disponível para uso comercial até o ano de 2010. Para ler o comunicado completo acerca dos resultados do estudo clínico, visite o endereço http://www.pharmalive.com/News/download.cfm?articleid=292213&attachmentid=41765.

Copyright © 2005 Bibliomed, Inc.

Maria Paz Corvalan
Editora de Globalink Noticias & Información

Faleceu José Rosemberg Died

2005-11-25T13:01:00.000-08:00

José Rosemberg faleceu dia 24 aos 96 anos.
A memória dele está cheia de simpatia e
de entusiasmo em proteger as pessoas dos
riscos do tabagismo.
Duas referências juntei a seguir: uma delas uma entrevista contando sobre as atividades de controle do tabagismo e a outra sobre o envelhecimento em atividade, exemplos que nos deixou de modo muito evidente.
Lembrei-me também de uma história que nos contou há muitos anos sobre seu tempo de jovem estudante no Rio de Janeiro. Fazia serviços no Teatro Nacional para ganhar algum dinheiro. Numa ocasião, tendo faltado um dos figurantes, ele o substituiu de última hora, fardado de soldado Romano na apresentação de uma ópera. Era um papel secundário, mas deve tê-lo desempenhado com muito garbo...
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“Há dez anos, praticamente ninguém falava dos perigos do tabaco no Brasil.”
José Rosemberg comenta o atraso com que o Brasil entrou na luta contra o tabagismo. Com 30 milhões de fumantes, o país é pobre em estatísticas aprofundadas sobre o problema. A maioria dos estudos é feita com pequenos grupos. As pesquisas de Rosemberg estão entre as que trazem os dados mais alarmantes. Ele constata o aumento de doenças respiratórias, deformidades congênitas e alterações grosseiras no DNA em crianças cujos pais fumam. Pasmem: uma criança de apenas 10 dias já pode apresentar resíduos de nicotina na urina./.../
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Divagações sobre a velhice
José Rosemberg
RESUMO: José Rosemberg, aos 91 anos, faz parte de um minúsculo contingente que vem crescendo e conseguindo permanecer de forma ativa na sociedade. Neste artigo ele faz algumas reflexões a respeito de sua vida, sempre dedicada ao ensino e à pesquisa na área biomédica, com incursões em outros ramos da atividade intelectual. Em uma delas, ele descobre que, com exceções, as marcantes criações que constituem legados e patrimônios da cultura e da história nos variados campos da atividade humana, são obras de um punhado de dotados entrados em anos de sua existência. Isto é, o ápice de suas criações foi atingido a partir dos 50 anos de idade e em número significativo entre os 70 e 90 anos.
Palavras-chave: vida; maturidade; criações
ABSTRACT: José Rosemberg, aged 91, is part of a miniscule contingent that has grown and has managed to remain active in society. In this article, he reflects on his life, which has always been dedicated to research and teaching in the biomedical area, with incursions into other branches of intellectual activity. In one of them, he discovers that, with some exceptions, the remarkable creations that constitute the legacy and heritage of culture and history in the many fields of human existence are the works of a few gifted people who have already begun their aging process. That is, the climax of their creation was reached after they were 50 years old, and a significant number was between 70 and 90 years old.
Key-words: life; maturity; creations.

Sheba doctor slams failure to bar tobacco advertising

2005-11-22T13:33:00.000-08:00

Jerusalem Post | Breaking News from Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World: "Sheba doctor slams failure to bar tobacco advertising

Judy Siegel-Itzkovich, THE JERUSALEM POST Nov. 21, 2005

Prof. Ben-Ami Sela, a senior pathologist at Sheba Medical Center and Tel Aviv University's Sackler Medical School, has denounced politicians for their failure last week to support a private member's bill for barring tobacco advertising in the print media and on the Internet.
Sela, who also serves as an adviser on lung cancer to the Israel Cancer Association, said Sunday that he was unaccustomed to speaking out in public about such issues after writing hundreds of scientific articles for medical and science journals over many years. But Sela, head of Sheba's pathological chemistry institute, said he could not remain silent about the Knesset plenum's vote last Wednesday.
'I do not feel comfortable writing these words. I am not a journalist, and articles on what's going on in the Knesset are my my regular fare,' said Sela in a statement to the press. 'But daily I see victims of smoking in my hospital, and the way against this plague has not been assisted by such public representatives.'
The vote in the preliminary reading on the bill, presented by Meretz MK Haim Oron and Shas MK and former health minister Nissim Dahan, was 26 for, 29 against and two abstentions. Ehud Olmert, Haim Ramon and Ephraim Sneh (a physician by profession) three former health ministers voted against the bill, while Health Minister Dan Naveh walked out and did not vote, saying he was 'in favor' of the legislation but could not vote for it because it was opposed by the Ministerial Committee on Legislation.
The Health Ministry itself has not initiated a government-sponsored"