E-cigarettes' smoke screen

MOUNTING public dialogue about the safety of electronic cigarettes appropriately spurs school districts to broaden bans on tobacco products to prohibit them.

The battery-operated devices the size of pens use nicotine-soaked replaceable cartridges to simulate smoking. Nicotine is delivered into the body with water vapor rather than smoke. Young people may find this safer than regular cigarettes. But e-cigarettes contain nicotine, an addictive substance.

The product may be a gateway for teens to move onto other tobacco products including cigarettes. That's the last thing needed as the popularity of smokeless nicotine products stalls progress on reducing smoking in high school.

Smoking is a critical battleground. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that one-third of high-school smokers will die prematurely of tobacco-related disease.

The Washington State School Directors Association, which coordinates policy for public districts, revised its tobacco and nicotine substances policy last fall. The absence of tobacco in e-cigarettes put them outside the reach of current anti-tobacco bans.

Proponents laud e-cigarettes as a way to help wean smokers from tobacco cigarettes. But there is scant evidence, leading the federal Food and Drug Administration to warn manufacturers of e-cigarettes that such claims may violate federal drug laws.

Most adults favor restrictions on electronic cigarettes and more testing on their safety, a poll last year found. Bans on e-cigarette sales to minors, limiting ads and restricting indoor smoking of e-cigarettes are policy ideas sparking future efforts.

A smart beginning is a ban on e-cigarettes in public schools.

Around £10,000 worth of cigarettes stolen from Welwyn Garden City store

The raid saw “three possible offenders” break in to the Co-op on Shoplands taking a stash of fags during the early hours of this morning (Thursday).

A worker at the store said: “The alarm went off at about 1am. The burglars must have ripped open the shutter with a claw hammer or something because they’ve broken it.

“They only opened it a bit and then smashed the glass to get in and steel the cigarettes.”

He added: “We haven’t worked out exactly how many were taken yet, but it was loads and loads of cigarettes, probably around £7,000 to £10,000 worth.
“This morning the shutter wouldn’t go up, you could only get in through by crawling in. So we setup a temporary shop to serve customers instead.”

Indiana smoking ban advocates push cause at New Albany event

The event, billed as a town hall meeting, featured five panelists and moderator Karla Sneegas, executive director of the Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Agency. All were ban supporters, and the gathering was hosted at Cancer Care Center by Floyd County Tobacco Prevention and Cessation.

Panelist Lindsay Grace of the American Lung Association said Indiana is “the ashtray of the Midwest.”

“We really are becoming surrounded by smoke-free states and cities,” Grace said, including Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Minnesota and Iowa, along with Louisville and Lexington in Kentucky.

Nationally, depending on whose count you use, she said, 23 to 29 states covering 63 percent of the U.S. population have workplace smoking bans that do not allow for exceptions or designated smoking areas.

There are 12 local smoke-free areas in Indiana such as Bloomington, West Lafayette and Elkhart that cover 8.7 percent of the state’s population, Grace said. Closer to home, Jeffersonville has a public smoking ban while proposed bans have been defeated in New Albany and Clarksville.

The statewide proposal in Indiana, House Bill 1018, contains exceptions for such places as bars, casinos, private clubs and horse racing facilities. Unlike previous bans passed by the House, this one “for the first time ever” received a hearing Wednesday in the Senate Public Policy Committee, Grace said.

She said a committee vote is expected next Wednesday.

The American Lung Association and other ban advocates oppose the exceptions in the bill, Grace said, “so it is our hope that we get it cleaned up and put bars and taverns back in and tighten up some other language.”

The usual ban advocates have been joined by One Southern Indiana, the chamber of commerce for Floyd and Clark counties.

One Southern Indiana Chairman Kevin Hammersmith said the organization supports a statewide smoking ban “in recognition of the message that it sends that Indiana values the health of its citizens.”

He said the organization feels “that there’s a direct correlation between no smoking and companies that look to come to Indiana for their workers.”

Secondhand smoke raises the stakes in America's casinos

Millions of Americans visit casinos to unwind and test their luck against the hands of fate, but lurking in the shadows is a gamble few would contemplate before they stepped inside a casino's doors. The threat is not addiction. It's not the specter of losing a small fortune. The hidden danger is secondhand smoke.

According to a new study by scientists from Stanford and Tufts universities published in the journal Environmental Research, each year 50 million nonsmoking casino patrons and 400,000 nonsmoking casino workers gamble with their lives inside casinos that allow smoking. Less than 2 hours of exposure to secondhand smoke in half of the casinos surveyed is enough to impair the heart's ability to pump blood, placing susceptible casino patrons and workers at acute risk of heart disease.

Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and is a major cause of disability, costing the country an estimated $151.6 billion in 2007. Approximately 8 percent of the population 45 to 64 years of age, and 20 percent of those aged over 65, suffers from coronary heart disease. These older people are at greater risk from exposure to secondhand smoke. Compounding the concern, the two age groups have higher gambling rates than those under 45.

The team of experts from Stanford and Tufts examined pollution levels in 66 smoky casinos in five states, and three casinos that are smoke-free, comparing them with the pollution levels outdoors. The study is a continuation of earlier research conducted at 36 casinos in California. An additional 30 casinos were tested in four other states.

To make their measurements, the researchers operated covertly. Two to three researchers at a time entered casinos carrying small monitoring devices tucked inside purses or jackets. Combining the Stanford/Tufts data with previously published measurements from three other states, the team developed nationwide averages and ranges for pollution levels inside casinos.

The study focused on two types of air pollutants blamed for tobacco-related cancers: fine particulate matter, which deposits deep in the lungs, and a group of chemicals called particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PPAHs, which include at least 10 different carcinogenic compounds. Results show that gamblers and casino workers in casinos that permit smoking are subject to levels of particulate air pollution 10 times higher than those who visit smoke-free casinos.

The researchers also found that ventilation and air cleaning do not control indoor smoke levels. "The only effective control for secondhand smoke was reducing the number of smokers," said Lynn Hildemann, a professor of environmental engineering and science at Stanford and the principal investigator for the study.

"The fewer smokers, the less polluted the air. If you switch to a nonsmoking casino, your exposure to harmful fine particulate matter levels indoors will be reduced by 90 percent, and your exposure to carcinogenic PPAH levels will decrease by 80 percent."

Unfortunately, smoke-free casinos are rare. In the United States, 88 percent of commercial casinos and nearly 100 percent of tribal casinos allow smoking.

Eat to stay smoke-free

If you are one of the thousands who quit smoking on Ash Wednesday you may be in need of some support at this stage.But don't give up -- it gets easier.

Is your after-dinner cigarette your favourite? A new American study has revealed that some foods, including meat, make cigarettes more satisfying.
Others, including cheese, fruit and vegetables, make cigarettes taste terrible. So swap your usual steak or burger for a veggie pizza instead.

The same study looked at drinks. Fizzy drinks, alcohol, cola, tea and coffee all make cigarettes taste better.
So when you're out, drink more water and juice. Some people find that simply changing their drink (for example, switching from wine to a vodka and tomato juice), affects their need to reach for a cigarette.

Identify your problem times.A craving can last five minutes. Before you give up, make a list of five-minute strategies. For example, you could leave the party for a minute, dance or go to the bar. And think about this: the combination of smoking and drinking heavily raises your risk of mouth cancer by 38 times.
If friends or family members have given up too, lean on each other for support.
A review of scientific studies has proven that exercise (even a five-minute walk or stretch) cuts cravings and may help your brain to produce anti-craving chemicals.
Make non-smoking friends.When at work or out socialising stick with the non-smokers. When you look at the smokers, don't envy them.Think of what they're doing as a bit strange -- standing outside in the cold with passers by staring at them while puffing a small white tube and breathing in smoke.
Keep your hands and mouth busy. Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) can make you twice as likely to succeed. As well as patches, there are tiny tablets, lozenges, gum and a nasal spray. If you like holding a cigarette, use an inhalator. Try putting your drink in the hand that usually holds a cigarette, or drink from a straw to keep your mouth busy.
Keep reminding yourself why you gave up. Make a list of the reasons and read it when you need support.
Remember, 20 minutes after quitting your blood pressure and pulse return to normal.

After 24 hours your lungs start to clear. After two days your body is nicotine-free and your sense of taste and smell improve. After three days you can breathe more easily, and your energy increases.

After two to 12 weeks, your circulation improves.

After three to nine months coughs, wheezing and breathing improve.

After one year your heart attack risk is half that of a smoker and after 10 years your lung cancer risk is half that of a smoker.

Smoking laws to be decided next month

By-laws which could regulate the sale of cigarettes in shops near schools, ban smoking in some indoor areas and decide which shisha cafes are licensed, are to be voted on by the Health Council early next month.

The laws, which should have come into effect by the end of last year, will clarify the enforcement of federal anti-tobacco law No 15, issued in early 2009 by Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, President of the UAE.

Dr Wedad al Maidoor, the head of the National Tobacco Control Committee, said the by-laws were pending official approval because further steps had to be taken before smoking bans take effect in coming months.

Smoke If Ya Got Em: 60 More Marijuana Dispensaries To Close

Everything is going to pot. An additional 60 medical marijuana dispensaries have been ordered to shut down immediately as Los Angeles city officials expand their campaign against dispensaries that did not register in the Top 100 lottery to determine which establishments can keep operating, reports LA Now.

The new letters went out earlier this week about two weeks after the city attorney's office notified the operators and landlords of another 141 pot shops that they must close. The letters warn that the city could sue violators, seek financial penalties and “padlock the property.”

The assistant city attorney overseeing enforcement efforts said it's unclear if all the business are selling marijuana and that city employees are checking on the operational status of each of the additional businesses.
The letter asks for a return response and so far the city attorney has received intel on nearly 25 locations. 11 claim to have closed the dispensary portion of their business, six are reportedly taking steps to close and one denies it's green reputation.