The risk of secondhand smoking is also high with 67.6 percent of the adults exposed to the risk at home and 49.0 percent at the workplace. The highest rate of secondhand smoking was found at cafes, wine and tea shops (92.6 percent), followed by restaurants (84.9 percent) and universities (54.5 percent).

The figures were released at a workshop in Hanoi on October 27 where the Ministry of Health released the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) result related to Vietnam.

Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Thi Xuyen said tobacco is the cause of 25 potentially fatal diseases. She quoted the World Health Organisation (WHO) as estimating that unless Vietnam takes prompt measures to control the trend, up to 10 percent of national deaths will be of tobacco-related diseases in 2020. Under the GATS survey conducted by WHO in 2010, in addition to male smoking, 1.4 percent of Vietnamese women smoke.

Up to 81.8 percent of smokers in Vietnam smoke daily and 26.9 percent use traditional tobacco pipes. The ages for beginners average 19.8 years for men, 23.6 for women and 19.9 in general.
Of the 9,925 respondents aged 15 years old and upwards, 29.3 percent of smokers said they had quit the habit while 67.5 percent of current smokers said they are thinking of quitting smoking one day in the future. As many as 71.3 percent of respondents indicate support for the policy on tax increases for cigarettes.

Mass media warnings on the risks caused by tobacco have caught public attention, according to 91.6 percent of respondents. Vietnam has been advised to strictly prohibit smoking in public places and increase taxes on cigarettes. Bans on relevant advertisements, trade promotions and any kinds of financial support by tobacco companies should also be tightened. The country has also been urged to intensify investment in detoxification services for smokers.

Although similar statewide measures have been adopted in Arkansas and Louisiana, Bangor is the first city to adopt such an ordinance, which goes into effect next week.

Violators of the newly approved law face a $50 fine, which applies to any motor vehicle on any public roads within the city confines.

Supporters of the newly enacted ordinance argue that children need the legislation to help protect themselves from the adverse health effects of second-hand smoke. However, opponents of the measure argue that the law detracts the police department from more important issues and is an unnecessary government intrusion into people’s lives.

The British Heart Foundation (BHF) said every extra day after quitting helped smokers reduce their risk of heart problems in the future.

It came as the charity continued its Under My Skin advertising campaign, with thousands of posters appearing on billboards around the UK to remind smokers of the damage their habit causes to their health.

BHF medical spokeswoman, Dr Charmaine Griffiths, said: “Smokers’ risk of having a heart attack plummets after quitting.

“After just two weeks, your circulation has improved and blood vessels are becoming more efficient at carrying blood and oxygen around your body.

“A healthy heart is the greatest gift you can give yourself and your loved ones.

“The lead up to Christmas is a good time to plan a quit attempt and success can be just a phone call away.”

The latest campaign, which includes TV and radio ads, features the disturbing image of a lump rippling under a smoker’s skin to symbolise the unseen damage caused by smoking.

It also carries the message that every 35 minutes a smoker dies needlessly from a heart attack when a blood clot blocks a coronary artery.

Research shows that support from the NHS Stop Smoking advisors combined with nicotine replacement therapy can increase a smoker’s likelihood of quitting by up to four times.

Dr Griffiths said: “If all smokers were to trade cigarettes for nicotine patches or chewing gum tomorrow, we would see a dramatic fall in the number of deaths from heart disease.

“On average, UK smokers who die in middle age lose 21 years of life – so being smoke-free can actually add years to your life.”

Public health minister Caroline Flint said: “We know that smoking is the biggest cause of heart disease in this country.

“One in five deaths from coronary heart disease are directly attributed to smoking and could be avoided.

“It is important that people are made aware of the damage they are doing to their bodies by continuing to smoke.

“This advert is an effective way of communicating the risks to a wide audience.

“I am confident that it will act as a motivation for people to contact the NHS Stop Smoking Services for their best chance of giving up for good.”

The BHF is urging smokers to call their helpline – 0800 169 1900 – or visit their website www.bhf.org.uk/smoking for advice on quitting.

Source: Daily Mail

Researchers found that a group of heavy smokers who cut down to as few as five cigarettes per day still inhaled many more toxic substances than long-term light smokers.

Why? Because they inhaled more often and more deeply from each cigarette in an unconscious bid to get the same amount of nicotine that their bodies are used to.

This habit is known as ‘compensatory’ smoking, and it may reduce any health benefits of cutting down on cigarettes, according to a study in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

‘The best way to reduce risk for disease is to quit smoking altogether,’ said lead author Dr Dorothy Hatsukami, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Minnesota.

Dr Hatsukami said her findings are consistent with what has been seen in studies of smokers’ disease rates. That research suggests that people who cut their smoking by half lower their risk of lung cancer by no more than a quarter – and their odds of other smoking-related ailments, like heart disease and serious lung conditions like emphysema, by only a few per cent.

‘It’s a good explanatory factor for why you don’t see a reduction in cardiovascular and pulmonary disease,’ she said.

That doesn’t mean there is no reason for cutting back on cigarettes. Smokers who can’t quit cold turkey can still trim down their number of daily cigarettes as a first step, Dr Hatsukami said.

But that should be only the first step in the process of quitting entirely, she said. – Reuters.

About 19 percent of U.S. women smoke compared to 23 percent of men.

But women who choose to smoke must also face the health risks. Many smoking women have died and, unfortunately, many will continue to do so.

Since 1950, lung cancer death rates in U.S. women have increased 600 percent. And as of 1987, lung cancer has become the leading cause of cancer deaths in U.S. women.

The cancer now kills more than 72,000 women annually – more than the combined deaths from the two next-most-common cancer killers, tumors of the breast and colon.

Occasionally, nonsmoking women die from lung cancer. Such was the case of the recently deceased celebrity Dana Reeve, widow of actor Christopher Reeve. Factors that may contribute to cancer in these situations include family history, secondhand smoke exposure, environmental toxins and air pollution. But nearly nine out of 10 times, lung cancer occurs because at some point a woman smoked.

Currently, we’re at a crossroads. In terms of tobacco use and effects, women have nearly achieved gender equality with men. And at this juncture, I think it’s essential for all women to take a hard look at the costs.

Many health hazards

Besides lung cancer, a multitude of health problems threaten women who smoke. Research shows that females are more susceptible than males to a number of smoking-related illnesses.

Cancer: Women smokers have an increased risk of developing cancer of the cervix. Scientists have linked smoking to cancers of the mouth, throat, voice box, breast, pancreas, stomach, esophagus, bladder and kidney.

At any given age and smoking amount, women have a higher risk for lung cancer than men, according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. This might result from gender differences in hormones and metabolism, the researchers say.

Cardiovascular disease: Smoking is linked to a higher risk for coronary heart disease, heart attacks, strokes and hardening of the arteries.

Chronic lung disease: Death rates from chronic bronchitis and emphysema have increased among women in the past 30 years. More than 90 percent of these deaths are attributable to smoking.

Pregnancy effects: Smoking reduces fertility and the chances of conception. Stillbirths, newborn deaths, and sudden infant death syndrome occur more often in the children of mothers who smoke. Infants of smokers more often are born small for age, weighing less, and having poorer lung function.

Bone density: Smoking women usually have a lower bone density than nonsmokers. This places the smokers at higher risk for osteoporosis and hip fractures, especially after menopause.

Digestive tract: Smokers have an increased risk of peptic ulcers and Crohn’s disease.

Eye disease: Smoking is associated with a greater risk for cataracts.

Depression: Smokers are significantly more likely to become depressed than nonsmokers.

Since women are more vulnerable to some of smoking’s adverse effects, they’ve got more to gain from quitting. Ask your doctor about the many options available today to help you to stop smoking. After all, it’s your life. It’s your choice.

Source: Heraldnet

Dr Laurence Gruer, who is director of public health for NHS Scotland, has proposed the move along with other medical practitioners.

Health minister Andy Kerr described the plan as “an important step forward” in preventing youngsters from lighting up.

Qualified backing has been given from smokers’ lobby group Forest which says smoking “is for adults”.

Changes to the legal smoking age will appear in the Smoking Prevention Group’s final report, which is expected to be sent to Mr Kerr very soon.

Smoking in public places was banned in Scotland in March this year.

Mr Kerr said on Sunday: “I believe, like the smoking ban, raising the age of purchase would be an important step forward, and I’d be very surprised if the group does not recommend raising the age requirement to 18.

“Let’s be clear – we must get a strong message across to young Scots about the dangers of smoking.

“We want to deter people who’re just entering adulthood from taking up a habit which causes huge health problems and leads to thousands of deaths each year.

About 6% of 13-year-olds and 19% of 15-year-olds smoke regularly. More teenage girls than boys take up the habit – 24% compared with 14%.

Forest, which vigorously opposed the ban on lighting up in public places, does not object to the legal age for smoking being changed.

Spokesman Neil Rafferty said: “We’ve no problem with raising the age, it makes sense, as we believe smoking is absolutely for adults.

Source: BBC News

Eighty-six per cent of fathers who smoke continue to do so at home even when their child has been in hospital, a study has found.

Just over half smoked in front of their child, the University of Hong Kong research discovered.

Most women knew their husband’s habits should alter, but family tensions stopped them pressing for change, the Journal of Advanced Nursing reported.

Forest, the smokers’ rights group, said bans would increase smoking at home.

Many of the mothers found it difficult to persuade their husbands to quit smoking
Dr Sophia Chan, University of Hong Kong.

Researchers surveyed the mothers of 1,483 children, with an average age of five, admitted to four major hospitals in Hong Kong.

None of the mothers, who were mainly housewives, smoked, but all of the children’s fathers, who worked in factories, crafts, services and shops, did.

Half of the children suffered from respiratory problems – putting them at high-risk from passive smoking – and 60% of the children had been admitted to hospital more than once.

The researchers offered half of the mothers health advice, booklets and no-smoking stickers and weekly telephone reminders.

The other mothers received no advice or reminders.

Source: BBC

He said that 30% of those above the age of 30 suffer from up to 40 kinds of illnesses which include heart problems and 57 types of cancer.

“Statistics show that every day about 50 teenagers below the age of 18 start smoking and most of them become hardcore smokers,” said Chua in a speech read by Kuala Dipang state assemblyman Dr Chong Fah during the anti-smoking run here Sunday.

He said that according to a recent World Health Organisation report, more than 100,000 youths started smoking daily.

“In 1998, the Government introduced therapy for smokers in four major hospitals in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Ipoh and Seremban.

“Today, 44 hospitals and 111 health centres provide this treatment,” he said.

Chua said that in 1999, about 1,000 smokers were able to kick the habit.

He added that the ministry had compounded 11,211 people for smoking in public places that year.

Of the number, 1,366 were youths.

Chua said the ministry was taking various steps to reduce the use of cigarette advertisements by sports and cultural organisations.

He said another measure taken was to direct manufacturers to reduce cigarettes’ tar content from 20mg to 15mg and nicotine from 1.5mg to 1.3mg.

About 1,000 adults and schoolchildren participated in the 4km run which was organised by the Malaysian Anti-Smoking Organisation.

Carr, who gave up smoking in 1983 and began helping others do the same, was diagnosed with the disease last week, the Mail said on Sunday.

A best-selling author of numerous “how to” books, Carr has influenced millions to forgo their addictions and has built a series of clinics around the world aimed at helping people quit smoking.

He currently controls 70 clinics in 30 countries around the world which in the last year alone helped 45,000 deal with their addictions, .

A spokesman for Carr said: “It is not possible to tell if Allen’s cancer is linked to his previous 100 cigarette a day addiction.”

“He is certain that had he not quit, he would have been dead 20 years ago,” said the spokesman.

Carr said since he stopped smoking more than 23 years ago he has been the happiest man in the world and he still feels the same way.

Source: Xinhua

Researchers in the US state of Texas blood-tested rats after feeding them varying doses of nicotine and alcohol.

They believe lower alcohol levels found in “smoking” rats are explained by how alcohol is absorbed into the blood.

But if the same is true in humans, they warn it means smokers are likely to drink more and suffer related problems.

Writing in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, the scientists explained their theory on why the level of alcohol in the rats’ bloodstream fell as their nicotine level increased.

They believe the effect may be occurring because nicotine somehow delays the movement of alcohol into the intestines – a major site for the absorption of alcohol into the bloodstream.

While being held in the stomach, the alcohol molecules are metabolised, leaving less alcohol to pass from the stomach to the intestines and into the blood.

Susan Maier, health administrator at the US-based National Institutes of Health, said the breakdown of the alcohol could lead to increased levels of toxic alcohol by-products in the body.

She said: “This would be particularly harmful for adolescents and young adult drinkers, since these populations are amenable to this type of drinking pattern, and may develop chronic alcohol-related diseases earlier in life because of it.”

Dr David Ball, a senior lecturer at the Institute of Psychiatry in London, said: “This is a really interesting study. I’m surprised nobody has done it before.

“Obviously, this is a rat study rather than a human study. The most important thing would be to see if this holds true in humans, then we need to see what the implications are.”

The findings appear in the second issue for July 2006 of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, published by the American Thoracic Society.

Neil C. Thomson, M.D., of the Departments of Respiratory Medicine and Immunology at the University of Glasgow, and seven associates studied 11 asthmatics who continued to smoke and 10 who quit for six weeks. After only one week of no cigarettes, the researchers said that the lung function test results of the non-smoking patients had improved to a “considerable degree.”

“The improvement in lung function seen after smoking cessation was clinically significant,” said Dr. Thomson. “It demonstrates that there is a reversible component to the harmful effects of smoking on the airways in asthma.”

“The degree of improvement noted for smoking cessation far exceeds that of high-dose anti-inflammatory treatment, such as oral prednisolone, 40 mg daily for 2 weeks, which had no effect on lung function in smokers in our current study and in our previous work,” he continued. “The improvement could be due to the removal of the acute bronchoconstrictor effects of cigarette smoke or a reduction in the proinflammatory effects of cigarette smoke on the airways.”

In addition to the improved lung function test scores, the “quit” group also showed a reduction in sputum neutrophil counts when compared to those of smokers. Neutrophils are white blood cells (phagocytes) that engulf bacterial and fungal infections, along with ingesting foreign debris.

“Sputum neutrophil counts are reported to be increased in heavy smokers with asthma compared with nonsmokers with asthma,” said Dr. Thomson.

The authors noted that in many developed countries, more than 20 percent of adults with asthma are active smokers, with particularly high rates of acute asthmatics visiting hospital emergency rooms.

The smokers with asthma recruited for this study were aged 18 to 60 and had lung function score results of less than 85 percent of their predicted level. They all had a cigarette history of over 10-pack-years and smoked more than 10 cigarettes a day. The investigators saw no differences in the baseline physiological characteristics between the smoking group and those who quit.

Of the 10 subjects who successfully stopped smoking and completed the six-week study, five used nicotine patches, one employed acupuncture and four quit without any aid. The researchers believe that their findings highlight the importance of smoking cessation for adults with asthma.

Source: The Hindu

The survey reported that in 2005, 12 per cent of current smokers age 15 years and older reported smoking in bed in the past week (about 580,000 people). Among current smokers who said they had smoked in bed in the past year, 18 per cent reported doing so every day, and another 20 per cent said it was at least a weekly habit, but not a daily one.

Twenty-four per cent of current smokers admitted to falling asleep while smoking in the previous year while in bed, on a sofa or in a chair. Ten per cent said it’s happened at least once.

The numbers are disheartening but not surprising to Canada Safety Council president Emile Therien.
“No, they’re not surprising at all. If you look at where your fire problems are, it is careless smoking in bed,” he said. Fires kill about 400 Canadians a year, according to Therien, and in his opinion too many of them are due to careless smoking.

“They’re very indifferent to a lot of fire-safety messages,” he said of the people who smoke in bed. He also noted that when people fall asleep with a lit cigarette, alcohol or other drugs may have been a factor, making the combined behaviour very dangerous.

One of the Canada Safety Council’s priorities for the summer is fire safety, and Therien wants smokers to remember the possible consequences of smoking in bed and that such behaviour is putting other people at risk.

“For the people who live in and around these people, they should take note of the fact that these people are careless smokers and they are smoking in bed,” he said. “You have all the factors there for a fire fatality or more, because if the house sets on fire the other residents are in there.”

The Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey determined other habits of the approximately five million Canadians who smoke. It also asked where people picked up their smokes, and found the most common place for purchase for 59 per cent of smokers was a small grocery or corner store, followed by a gas station and then a supermarket.

Current smokers were also asked if they had made any attempt to buy cigarettes at a discount in the previous six months. Thirty-six per cent had bought a discount brand, 17 per cent bought from a First Nation’s reserve, 11 per cent went outside the province to get a deal and three per cent identified that they purchased cigarettes that may have been smuggled.

The survey also wanted to know where underage smokers were getting cigarettes, since the legal age to buy them is 19. More than half — 52 per cent — said they obtained tobacco through a friend or relative by taking, buying or being given cigarettes.

The remaining 48 per cent of smokers under age 19 said they were able to buy cigarettes on their own from some kind of retail outlet. A third bought them from a corner store.

Slightly less than half of those respondents said a store had refused to sell them cigarettes at least once in the previous year, and 59 per cent said they had been asked for identification.

Other smoking statistics:

• Nineteen per cent of Canadians, or about five million, were smokers in 2005.

• The number of teens age 15 to 19 who smoke remained unchanged from 2004 at 18 per cent.

• Daily smokers reported smoking an average of 15.7 cigarettes a day.

• More than half of all current smokers (58 per cent) reported using “light” or “mild” cigarettes.

• Ontario reported the highest percentage of people who had never smoked (59 per cent) and Quebec had the lowest (44 per cent).

• Fifteen per cent of Canadian households reported at least one person who smoked inside the home every day or almost every day.

Source: Canada.com

The smoking ban at eating places had come into effect at the stroke of midnight. Still, many had cigarettes hanging from their lips as their eyes stayed rivetted on TV screens where Germany and Argentina were jostling for a place in the World Cup semi-finals.

Smoking is now banned at all non-airconditioned food outlets and hawker centres, except at designated smoking corners. The ban aims to minimise non-smokers’ exposure to second-hand cigarette smoke, said the National Environment Agency (NEA) in a press statement on Thursday.

The New Paper on Sunday visited several food centres early yesterday morning. Even before midnight, ‘No Smoking’ signs and signs indicating the designated smoking areas – comprising as few as two tables at some places – were already up.

But they were mostly ignored.

At S-11 at Ang Mo Kio Ave 10, smokers were littered among non-smokers, indifferent to the large ‘No Smoking’ sign which stood in one corner. Over at Lau Pa Sat, smokers gathered under a small sign on the ceiling indicating the smoking area.

But, as the night wore on, more smokers showed up, dragging tables and chairs with them. They extended the smoking area until it was quite unclear where it ended or began. One man was seen dragging a chair to the crowded smoking area and placing his feet inside the area boundary.

He then happily lit up.

With the World Cup season in full swing, the smoking ban appears ill-timed to some. Said one middle-aged smoker, who wanted to be known only as Mr Chen: ‘It’s unfair for smokers to be allocated so little space.’ He added that he understood that the ban was for the good of non-smokers, but felt that it was at the expense of the smoking community. ‘No one thinks about how smokers will feel,’ he said.

And many, who find solace in a cigarette during the tense moments of a World Cup match, are feeling increasingly frustrated. The displeasure was evident last night. When The New Paper on Sunday team took pictures at S-11 in Ang Mo Kio, some smokers got so upset a fight nearly broke out.

Our photographer was chased off the premises. Others, like Mr Chen, thought our photographer was from the NEA, carrying out a bust. Anyone caught smoking in a non-designated smoking area will be fined $200, said an NEA spokesman. Even a win on a World Cup bet may not be able to take away the sting of being caught.

Source: New Paper

A report prepared for the Australian Council of Smoking and Health shows that people who drink and smoke are up to five times more likely to develop head and neck cancers than those who only drink or only smoke.

The research also shows passive smoking while drinking can lead to an increased risk of cancers of the mouth and respiratory tract.

Author David Preen says the report also finds most cancer deaths caused by alcohol could be avoided if the person did not smoke.

“So I guess the take home message from the review that we performed was that considering that many people are going to continue to drink obviously, those that choose to do so, one thing they can potentially do to decrease risk of developing head and neck cancer is to make sure they don’t smoke,” he said.

Source: ABC Australia

Surgeon General Richard Carmona said yesterday that there’s evidence that second-hand smoke is more dangerous than previously thought, especially to children. “Second-hand smoke is not a mere annoyance. It is a serious health hazard that can lead to disease and premature death in children and nonsmoking adults,” Carmona said. That gave momentum to the local anti-smoking effort; Mayor Bill White asked City Councilwoman Carol Alvarado to lead the push for a total ban in the city, and Alvarado said she hopes to make a proposal early this fall.

Houston’s current smoking ordinance allows smoking in resaurant bar areas, outdoor dining areas and freestanding bars, but the new government report shows it might not work so well: Using ventilation systems to remove smoke from a shared smoking/non-smoking space isn’t effective, findings show.

“This is a big step for Houston and the surgeon general’s report should help endorse our push for a complete ban,” Alvarado told the Chronicle. “Houston’s been dragging in that regard. We need to act more than incrementally.”

Source: Houstonist