Poll shows near split on cigarette taxes

Taxation of cigarette sales on Native American reservations is an issue on which voters appear to be almost evenly split.

That may be a sign that the perennial issue simply isn't that important to them, said pollster Larry Harris, principal of Mason Dixon Polling & Research of Washington, D.C. Issues such as the state of the economy and jobs reveal greater attachment, he suggested.

Among respondents in the Voice of the Voter poll, 46 percent support the state's efforts to collect taxes on reservation sales of cigarettes to non-Native Americans, while 50 percent said they oppose it and 4 percent were undecided.

At first glance, those results suggest there's been a shift in thought. In the 2010 Voice of the Voter poll, 53 percent of voters polled supported the state's efforts, just 40 percent opposed them, and 7 percent were undecided.

But Harris said when the poll's margin for error of 4.5 percent is taken into account, the opinion shift is really minimal.

"You wouldn't say there's been a whipsaw in political opinion. It was never overwhelmingly supported nor is it now overwhelmingly opposed," Harris said. "It's not a top-of-mind issue with folks."

Indeed, among a handful of poll participants queried about the issue, several were unaware of or dismissive of details such as federal treaties with native Nations that would seem to prohibit or at least hinder the state's ability to collect taxes.

"I want to help the Indians but I also think we need their tax money," said Dolores Sibs, a retired teacher and Greece resident who described herself as "over 70."

"This is new times now and you have to go with the situations of the times," Sibs said. "There's a lot of these grandfather clauses that have to be changed."

Court stops MMDA smoking ban

A Mandaluyong City trial court has issued a writ of preliminary injunction against the Metro Manila Development Authority(MMDA)'s anti-smoking campaign in Metro Manila.

In a six-page order handed down on Tuesday, Mandaluyong Regional Trial Court(RTC) Branch 21 Judge Carlos Valenzuela enjoined MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino and those persons acting within his authority to stop from arresting persons who will be caught smoking in public places along major and secondary roads in the metropolis and places not listed in Republic Act No. 9211(Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003).

The injunctive writ stays until the court lifts it or until the pending case filed by a certain Antony Clemente and several smokers arrested by virtue of the campaign is decided.

"[P]ending the determination of whether or not the respondent MMDA has valid authority to implement RA 9211, there is an obvious and imperative need for preliminary injunction, a provisional measure to prevent or restrain in the meantime the MMDA to implement its Smoking Ban in open areas not covered by the definition of public places in RA 9211 so that its implementation may not render moot and academic the main issue in this case," the order read.

Section 5 of RA No. 9211 "absolutely" prohibits smoking in the following public places:
a. Centers of youth activity such as playschools, preparatory schools, elementary schools, high schools, colleges and universities, youth hostels, and recreational facilities for persons under eighteen (18) years old;
b. Elevator and stairwells;
c. Location in which fire hazards are present, including gas stations and storage areas for flammable liquids, gas, explosives or combustible materials;
d. Within the buildings and premises of public and private hospitals. Medical, dental, and optical clinics, health centers, nursing homes, dispensaries and laboratories;
e. Public conveyance and public facilities including airport and ship terminals and train and bus stations, restaurant and conference halls, except for separate smoking areas; and
f. Food preparation areas.

The court stated that the bond in the amount of P100,000 earlier posted by petitioners for the temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by the court in August shall suffice as the bond for the injunctive writ.

The MMDA has recorded 8,427 violators, 7,878 of whom are male, and 549, female, as of September 21. In spite of the TRO, the MMDA continued the campaign arguing that the restraining order only barred the agency from apprehending violators in places not covered by RA No. 9211.

Violators were fined P500 on first offense while those who cannot afford to pay the fine were obliged to render an eight-hour community service.

Blood test 'could measure smokers' heart risk'

A blood test could be used to measure a smoker's danger of heart disease, researchers have found.

Levels of a lung protein found in the blood of smokers could indicate their risk of dangerous plaque build-up in blood vessels, according to a study published in journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology.

Researchers were able to determine the amount of circulating pulmonary surfactant B (SP-B), a protein which is found in damaged lung cells, in the study.

It was found that smokers who had higher levels of SP-B also had more build-up of dangerous plaque in the aorta.

"We now are close to having a blood test to help measure the smoking-related effects that contribute to atherosclerotic heart disease," said Dr Anand Rohatgi, co-lead author of the study.

"Smoking is one of the biggest contributors to the development of heart disease."

In other news, a study published in the American Journal of Cardiology has found that increasing the levels of high-density lipoproteins (HDL) cuts the risk of heart attack and stroke.

Recurrent Depression Linked to Poor Resiliency, Smoking

A new Canadian study discovers that previous depression, daily smoking and a lack of control over life circumstances are risk factors for repeat episodes of depression.

Depression is a common disorder and can be associated with weight and dietary control, pain and inattention to other health issues. According to the authors, about 65 percent of people with depression have repeat episodes.

In the study, researchers studied 585 adults from Statistics Canada’s National Population Health Survey who had suffered depression in 2000/01.

Of the patients, 65 percent were women with an average age of 38.5 years. Interestingly, 82 percent of the depressed individuals were in the middle- to high-income bracket.

More than half the patients had one or more episodes of depression in the following six years.

The researchers found that age, sex and income were not associated with future depressive episodes but that daily smoking and difficulty mastering life circumstances were associated with long-term depression.

Mastery is the sense that people have control over their lives and their circumstances. In this study, high levels of mastery appeared to be protective against further depression.

“History of depression is a well-known clinical indicator of future depressive episodes; however, smoking and mastery are more novel prognostic factors that are not well accounted for in current clinical practice,” said lead researcher Ian Colman, Ph.D.

“Future research should evaluate the benefits of including smoking cessation and mastery in existing clinical guidelines for the treatment of depression.”

Norway anti-smoking debate puffs along

Last week’s proposal, leaked by Dagsavisen before Minister of Health and Care Services Anne-Grete Strøm-Erichsen had even so much issued a statement, called for abolishing smoking in outside serving areas, educational and medical establishments, and entrances to public buildings.
The ‘smoke-free Norway’ minister’s measures add to an already restrictive practise of a ban on indoor smoking, tightened sales controls, and other proposals to further curb young peoples’ access to tobacco products.
Tobacco giant Philip Morris is suing the Norwegian state under EEA anti-competition laws.

Anti-smoker Dagfinn Høybråten, leader of the Christian Democrats (KrF) who successfully introduced current Norwegian legislation, agrees smoking should be banned to eliminate children being at risk from passive smoking. However, he kicks the threatened anti-smoking extension for going too far.
“The Tobacco Law applies indoors and not outside. I’m sceptical to banning smoking in outdoor serving areas. There is a choice to go inside, after all,” he said.
Accusing the nanny state of going too far, Conservative (H) MP Torbjørn Røe Isaksen, a former and now occasional party smoker, declared, “it must be okay, for example, to smoke in outside serving areas and people should display common good manners, but there are limits to what can be micromanaged.”
Social Democratic Party (SV) politicians announce, this week, they will not be supporting some the government’s proposals.
“We agree to sending these to Hearing, but have made it clear to the Minister of Health and Care Services [Anne-Grete Strøm-Erichsen that we cannot condone all of these measures, amongst others, banning smoking in homes for the elderly. Vetoing smoking for elderly people makes no sense,” says Geir-Ketil Hansen.

More organisations should ban smoking on their grounds

I refer to the letters by Ms Coral Ang, "The no-smoking path" (Oct 17), and Mr Muhammad Haziq Jani, "The no-smoking path is Utopia" (Oct 18).

Like Ms Ang, I am in favour of smoking being banned completely at certain public places. Perhaps Mr Muhammad Haziq has not heard of passive smoking. Just to breath in cigarette smoke from someone puffing away in close proximity is detrimental to one's health.

While denying work permits or citizenship to smokers may sound too extreme, it may help if there are more rules as to which places are okay for smoking. For example, should smoking while walking be allowed?

As an ex-student of SIM University, I was happy to read in its newsletter that smoking has been banned entirely in its campus.

Others should follow suit and lead by example, to prevent more people from suffering unwittingly from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, as many go undiagnosed. I would therefore agree that smoking requires more regulation.

Smoking Linked to Earlier Menopause

Women who smoke may hit menopause about a year earlier than those who don't light up, according to a study that also notes an earlier menopause may influence the risk of getting bone and heart diseases.
The study, which was carried in the journal Menopause, pooled data from several previous studies that included about 6,000 women in the United States, Poland, Turkey and Iran.
Non-smokers hit menopause between age 46 and 51, on average. But in all but two of the studies, smokers were younger when they hit menopause, between 43 and 50 overall.
During menopause, a woman's ovaries stop producing eggs and she can no longer get pregnant.
"Our results give further evidence that smoking is significantly associated with earlier (age at menopause) and provide yet another justification for women to avoid this habit," wrote study author Volodymyr Dvornyk, from the University of Hong Kong.
Dvornyk and his colleagues also analysed five other studies that used a cut-off age of 50 or 51 to group women into "early" and "late" menopause. Out of more than 43,000 women in that analysis, women who smoked were 43 percent more likely than nonsmokers to have early menopause.
Both early and late menopause have been linked to health risks. Women who hit menopause late, for instance, are thought to be at higher risk of breast cancer because one risk factor for the disease is more time exposed to estrogen.
"General consensus is that earlier menopause is likely to be associated with the larger number and higher risk of postmenopausal health problems, such as osteoporosis, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus, obesity, Alzheimer's disease, and others," Dvornyk told Reuters Health in an email.
Overall, he added, early menopause is also thought to slightly raise a woman's risk of death in the years following.
There are two theories for why smoking might mean earlier menopause, said Jennie Kline, an epidemiologist from Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health in New York.
Smoking make have an effect on how women's bodies make, or get rid of, estrogen.
lternatively, some researchers believe certain components of cigarette smoke might kill eggs, added Kline, who was not involved in the study.
Dvornyk's team did not have information on how long women had been smoking or how many cigarettes they smoked each day, so his team could not determine how either of those factors may have affected age at menopause.
For that reason, and a lack of data on other health and lifestyle factors linked to menopause, the analysis may not be enough to resolve lingering questions on the link between smoking and menopause, they said.
Alcohol, weight and whether or not women have given birth may each also play a role in when they hit menopause, but the evidence for everything other than smoking has been mixed, Kline said.
It is also possible that the same factors that influence age at menopause may determine whether women have trouble with infertility or not, or how late they can get pregnant.
Still, Kline said, "There are way better reasons to stop smoking than worrying about menopause."

City official looking into smoking ban signs

Signs may soon be in place warning residents of a smoking ban at City of Bartlesville park facilities, according to interim Parks and Recreation Director Lisa Beeman.

An administrative policy to ban smoking within 50 feet of various city park facilities was approved by the Bartlesville Park Board in May.

Beeman said she has checked into getting signs and is going to be looking at the Parks and Recreation Department budget before ordering the signs.

"It's like 600, 700 dollars to get the signs done," Beeman said Monday. "But yes, there will be signs up and hopefully very soon."

The policy prohibits smoking within 50 feet around city-owned playgrounds, play courts, play fields and all bleachers and stands used by spectators at public events and within the fenced confines of a recreation facility or Doenges Memorial Park Stadium.

At the time of the policy's approval, smoking was already not permitted within the city's pool facilities or at the stadium.

Kids of smoking moms more likely to need mental health treatment

Need yet another reason to quit smoking? If you are pregnant, or thinking about getting pregnant, you know that cigarettes are incredibly harmful to your health and the health of your growing baby. Prenatal smoking has been linked to a host of physical ailments for babies such as delayed fetal growth, respiratory dysfunction and behavioral problems. But did you also know that smoking while pregnant can harm your child's mental health?

According to a new study, children born to mothers who smoked during pregnancy were more likely than those born to nonsmoking moms to take medications for mental disorders. The study, published in the Journal of Epidemiology, compared the mental health diagnoses of 187,000 children born between 1987 and 1989 in Finland and considered their mothers' smoking habits during pregnancy.

Not only did the researchers find a connection between prenatal smoking and the child's mental health treatment, but they also found that the more a mother smoked, the more her children used medications. Kids who were exposed to more than 10 cigarettes per day in the womb required longer continuous use of medications to treat mental disorders. Higher cigarette exposure was also linked to an increased use of multiple drugs by the same individual.

The most common prescriptions were for antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs.

School district to vote on banning smoking on all school properties

It might soon be easier for people to pack heat at the Palm Beach County School District's headquarters than it will be to break open a pack of Parliament Light 100s.

The Palm Beach County School Board will vote on two proposed policy updates at Wednesday's school board meeting governing where firearms will be allowed on school district property and where people can smoke.

The new tobacco policy, which would take effect Jan. 1, would ban all smoking or use of other tobacco products by anyone, including parents and employees, anywhere on any district-owned property or school-sanctioned event. Currently district policy allows adults to smoke outdoors at school campuses and other district properties if they are at least 50 feet away from a building exit, said Dianne Howard, district director of risk and benefit management.

Legislators earlier this year amended a state law to allow a complete ban of smoking anywhere on school district property. At least one major public school district, Orange County Public Schools, has already enforced the new ban.

"We're hoping some employees will find it more difficult to smoke and really buckle down on quitting," Howard said.

Earlier this year, the district created a tobacco surcharge for employees charging them an extra $50 per month for health insurance if they did not sign an affidavit swearing they did not use tobacco. Howard said 1,500 employees either said they did smoke or never returned any affidavit and were thus considered tobacco users and charged the extra $50.

Howard said banning smoking anywhere on campus also sets a good example for students if they don't see adults smoking at school.

Tony Hernandez, executive director of the Classroom Teachers Association union that represents roughly 12,000 teachers in the district, said he had not received any complaints from employees about the proposed smoking ban. With smoking being banned at restaurants, parks and many public places, Hernandez said he is not surprised to see the district banning it on school property.

"That's the way things are headed," he said.

Audrey Silk, of the New York City-based Citizens Lobbying Against Smoker Harassment smoking rights group, said banning smoking even outdoors on college campus has started to become more common . She called the move part of an ongoing effort by anti-smoking groups to try to slowly try to outlaw smoking e.

"They've been working on this, and I give them credit for it, for over 30 years," Silk said. "This is the point in their incrementalism that they are up to. They've reached the outdoors now."

The firearms update, which would take effect immediately, simply makes the district's weapons policy match a new state law that took effect Oct. 1. That law says local governments cannot make laws on where firearms can be carried that are more restrictive than state laws.

Current district policy prohibits possessing firearms or having them in a car on any school district property. State law specifically allows banning guns on school buses, at any "schools" defined as elementary, middle, high schools or career centers and bans guns at school board meetings.

Weapons will still be banned from those areas under the new district policy, said Elizabeth McBride, the school district's senior counsel.

But McBride said that under state law, certain facilities such as the Fulton-Holland Education Services Center on Forest Hill Boulevard, where district administrative offices are housed, are not considered "schools" and the district does not have the right to ban firearms there - except for during school board meetings.

The City of West Palm Beach went through a similar debate recently when Mayor Jeri Muoio received criticism from gun rights activists after she tried to ban firearms from city hall. Muoio eventually changed her ruling and allowed people to carry firearms in city hall.

Smoking similar to cystic fibrosis: Research

Smoking cigarettes is a lot like having cystic fibrosis when it comes to how it affects your lungs.

Cystic fibrosis is a life-threatening disease caused by the improper movement of salt and water in the cells lining the lungs. It causes a thick mucus to form in the lungs, where bacteria gets trapped. Those bacteria are able to thrive in the mucus, sometimes causing fatal infections.

That's also what happens to your lungs when you smoke cigarettes, according to new research from the Cystic Fibrosis/Pulmonary Research and Treatment Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The researchers tested cigarette smoke on human subjects and lab-grown cells in an attempt to find out how smoke affects a protein called CFTR, which helps keep the lungs hydrated. They found lungs exposed to cigarette smoke experience a 60% decrease in the essential protein.

They also exposed human lung cells to either cigarette smoke or clean air. The smokers' lungs showed significantly lower liquid levels than those exposed to air.

"We hope this study will highlight the importance of airway hydration in terms of lung health and that it will help provide a road map for the development of novel therapies for the treatment of smoking-related lung disease," said researcher Robert Tarran.

"But the bottom line remains: The most effective treatment for smoker's cough, or worse, is to quit smoking, now," noted Dr. Gerald Weissmann, editor-in-chief of The FASEB Journal, where the study appeared.

Numerical error downs Anti-Smoking Act

A numerical error in the text of the Tobacco Products Control Act of 2010 has effectively terminated the Ministry of Health and Social Services’ short term plans to implement strict anti-smoking legislation to protect society against the health hazards associated with smoking in public. Informanté has it on good authority that Section 2 of the Act makes provision for the appointment of “twelve” members of a Tobacco Products Control Committee, but Section 3 (1) of the Act states the total members to be “thirteen”.
The Chief of Health Programs in the Ministry of Health and Social Services, Brendon Maloboka, confirmed last week Friday that the Ministry will now rectify this oversight by means of an amendment to the Tobacco Products Control Act, but when this legal process will be completed remains unknown. Maloboka is also on record that the regulations to determine the practical and administrative application of the Act are also not yet finalised.
“I can’t tell. There are still many things. We are waiting for the regulations and related amendments,” Maloboka reacted when he was contacted by Informanté. When asked to be more specific with regard to amendments, Maloboka explained that the term “twelve” needs to be replaced by the term “thirteen” where references to the number of members of the Tobacco Products Control Committee appear. This was the only specific example he mentioned.
“We are busy through the legal department of the Ministry of Health and Social Services to draw up an amendment Act. Once completed it will be reviewed by the Ministry of Justice,” Maloboka explained. Only then can the Amendment Act be tabled in the National Assembly by Health Minister Richard Kamwi.

HPD identifies car in cigarette burglaries

The Hartselle Police Department has identified the owner of a Chevrolet Lumina that has been linked to three burglaries of Murphy USA gas station at Walmart this year.
Surveillance video from the gas station showed two unknown suspects driving a Chevrolet Lumina during three of the burglaries.

Police believe this vehicle is owned by Tanika Masha Banks, 31, from the Birmingham area. Banks is the registered owner of a blue 1997 Chevrolet Lumina bearing Alabama tag 1B37T41.

The Murphy USA gas station on U.S. 31 has been burglarized four times since December 2010. In all four incidents, the suspects stole large quantities of cigarettes from the business. The total loss for the business in is excess of $15,000.

Similar incidents have occurred at the Murphy USA in Arab. Cullman Police believes the same suspects may be responsible for a burglary of a tobacco store in its city.

Cigarette vending machines banned in England

The sale of tobacco from vending machines has been banned in England, with anyone caught selling cigarettes in machines facing a fine of £2,500.

The Department of Health said the ban had been introduced to prevent under-age sales to children and to support adults who were trying to quit.

The rest of the UK is expected to implement a similar ban next year.

Some pub landlords say it is a further threat to a livelihood that has already been damaged by the smoking ban.

But Cancer Research and the British Heart Foundation have welcomed the move.

According to the Department of Health, nearly all adult smokers started smoking before they turned 18.

'Unsupervised'
Of the children who regularly smoke, 11% buy their cigarettes from vending machines.

It is also estimated that 35 million cigarettes are sold illegally through vending machines to children every year.

Under the new rules, pub landlords will still be able to sell cigarettes from behind the bar but they must ensure all tobacco advertising on vending machines is removed. Any person found guilty of displaying cigarette adverts on a vending machine could face imprisonment for up to six months, a fine of £5,000, or both.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said smoking was "one of the biggest and most stubborn challenges in public health", with more than eight million people in England still smoking, causing more than 80,000 deaths each year.

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When [smokers have] got to stand in the street and they can't even buy their cigarettes in the pub, then where is it left? There's no point in them going to a pub. ”

Bill Sharp
Pub landlord
He said: "Cigarette vending machines are often unsupervised, making it easy for children to purchase cigarettes from them.

"The ban on cigarette sales from vending machines will protect children by making cigarettes less accessible to them - we want to do everything we can to encourage young people not to start smoking in the first place."

Jo Butcher, the National Children's Bureau's programme director of health and wellbeing, welcomed the ban and said a person's lifetime smoking or non-smoking behaviour was "heavily influenced" by decisions in their adolescence.

"Children and young people tell us that external influences make it even more difficult for them to choose healthier lifestyles.

"It's essential that we create environments that improve health and tobacco legislation is an important part of public health protection and promotion," she said.

Protection
Charities have also welcomed the ban.

Betty McBride, director of policy and communications at the British Heart Foundation, said thousands of children at risk of this "deadly addiction" regularly got tobacco from vending machines, "which conveniently don't ask them to prove their age".

"These children are often blissfully unaware of the damage smoking does to their health and, by the time they realise, they're hooked.

"Scrapping these machines cuts off an easy source of tobacco for existing young smokers and makes it harder for a new generation to start.

"We're encouraging landlords to remove machines completely now so they - and any left-over branding - don't act as dusty old adverts for tobacco," she said.

Eileen Streets, director of tobacco control at the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, said she hoped the ban would play a "significant part in stopping many children becoming the next generation of lung cancer victims".

Other measures
Jean King, of Cancer Research UK, added: "Tobacco kills half of all long-term users and is responsible for one in four cancer deaths.

"Cancer Research UK is determined to protect children from tobacco marketing and through our Out of Sight Out of Mind campaign we are continuing to work for legislation to introduce plain packaging for cigarettes."

But the British Beer and Pub Association described the ban as "an unnecessary measure".

A spokesman said the machines were there for the convenience of adult customers, and that the association did not believe they played a role in childhood smoking.

Although cigarettes can be sold by bar staff, the spokesman said many pubs would not opt to introduce that, as it raised issues about having a "high-value" item behind the bar and interfered with serving drinks.

One London pub landlord, Bill Sharp, said the ban was another "nail in the coffin" of his livelihood.

"I can understand them removing it from public places because that's a view, a health issue, call it what you will.

"But when [smokers have] got to stand in the street and they can't even buy their cigarettes in the pub, then where is it left? There's no point in them going to a pub. They going remove real ale from pubs next?"

Other measures to protect young people from the dangers of smoking are also on the way.

In April 2012, large retailers in England and Scotland will have to get rid of all tobacco displays. Small shops will be expected to comply from April 2015.

Wales and Northern Ireland plan to implement similar regulations.

The government is also due to begin a public consultation before the end of the year on whether to introduce plain packaging for cigarettes in order to lessen their marketing appeal to young people, help make health warnings more effective and help reduce the number of smokers.

Chinese resist campaign to stub out cigarettes at weddings

HEALTH EXPERTS and tobacco control officers in China have started pushing the notion of tobacco-free weddings as part of the country’s anti-smoking drive, but are struggling to convince people not to light up at wedding parties.

About 300 million adults in China smoke and 540 million people of all ages are affected by second-hand smoke, according to industry estimates quoted by the Xinhua news agency.

More than half of Chinese men smoke (including almost half of all male doctors) and 2.4 per cent of women, although that figure is rising.

The smoking ban introduced by the health ministry in March has been fairly successful.

It is remarkable to notice how China has been transformed almost overnight from a place clouded in cigarette smoke into a relatively smoke-free environment.

However, as smoking is so much a part of the cultural norm, it is proving difficult to get people not to light up at weddings.

At a typical wedding, each place setting is completed with a packet of cigarettes alongside a bottle of baijiu (white spirit).

The bride moves through the tables, lighting up the cigarettes of male guests and pouring a shot of baijiu.

“Prohibiting smoking in wedding receptions is an effective way of raising public awareness,” Lu Yajuan, the head of the tobacco control project for Shanghai’s disease control and prevention centre, told Xinhua.

Mr Lu said the centre started to recruit volunteer couples-to-be early this year to hold tobacco-free weddings, but just a few of the 200 couples it reached promised to hold non-smoking ceremonies.

“So there remains a lot to do to make tobacco-free weddings a popular practice in our country.”

A big problem is that while young couples were aware of the dangers of smoking and backed anti-smoking rules, their parents were less enthusiastic, and few couples wanted to have tobacco-free weddings as they were worried about losing face or alienating their parents.

In just two cases were receptions held without cigarettes: one in Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang province, where the couple donated the 2,800 yuan (€330) saved to a charity for children, and the other in Zhaoyuan in Shandong province.

Suspect wanted for stealing cigarettes

Chesapeake police are asking for the public's assistance in locating a suspect wanted for stealing from convenience stores.

Police said on September 11, a suspect entered a convenience store located in the 3900 block of Portsmouth Boulevard and removed several cartons of cigarettes from the counter without paying for them.

On September 14, police said a similar incident occurred at another convenience store located in the 2900 block of Yadkin Road.

In both incidents, the suspect was seen leaving in a white 4-door Hyundai.

HPV More Dangerous Than Cigarettes in Throat Cancer

HPV, the same virus known to cause cervical cancer in women, may be more harmful in the development of throat cancer than cigarettes. According to a study published yesterday in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, researchers found a sharp increase in HPV related throat tumors over the last 20 years (1984-2004). Researchers examined 271 tissue samples from throat tumors that were collected over 20 years and discovered that 16 percent of older tissues samples tested positive for HPV, while 72 percent of recent samples were HPV positive.

How Does HPV Cause Throat Cancer? Why the Increase?

HPV is spread through sexual, skin-to-skin contact. Contrary to popular belief, no intercourse in necessary for the virus to be transmitted. Researchers believe the increase of HPV-postive throat cancers is related to oral sex, a sexual practice that has increased over the past two decades. The number of people infected with HPV has likely risen, as well. The change in sexual behavior combined with the increasing number of HPV infected people is why we are seeing this increase.

Research focusing on HPV related throat cancer is not a new concept, but these findings, showing such a drastic increase are paramount. In light of the the new findings, HPV surpasses tobacco as the primary cause for throat cancer.