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.