Children who begin smoking do not recognize that being irritable is an early sign of addiction, University of Massachusetts researchers said. “Previous studies have already shown that there is a strong correlation between symptoms of nicotine dependence and nicotine addiction,” Dr. Chyke Doubeni said in a statement. “This study shows that adolescents who start smoking, don’t appear to recognize the early signs of dependence.” Doubeni said other signs of early dependence on nicotine include a desire to smoke or craving for a cigarette. The study is based on data fr ... Jump to full article >>

Just sniffing that first hot cup of coffee in the morning may help ease some stresses you might be feeling, a South Korean trial indicates. When rats inhaled the aroma of roasted coffee beans, a number of genes were activated, including some that produce proteins with healthful antioxidant activity, the researchers reported. “The meaning of it is not totally clear yet,” said Dr. Peter R. Martin, director of the Institute of Coffee Studies at Vanderbilt University. “What it does show is that coffee smells do change the brain to some degree, and it behooves us to understand why that is ha ... Jump to full article >>

It’s after midnight inside a Dearborn café as Abu Tarek takes a puff off his hookah and exhales, curls of fruit-scented smoke wafting into the air. “This is our culture,” Tarek, 54, of Dearborn said. He elaborated on a recent night inside the newly opened Prestige Café & Grill: “We have to do this. If we drink coffee, we have to smoke it. If we eat, we have to smoke it. If we relax, we have to smoke it.” But that Arab tradition, in about 120 cafés across metro Detroit, could end now that Michigan’s smoking ban has taken effect. The law bans establishm ... Jump to full article >>

Kansas officials are launching a new website to help with the implementation of a new statewide smoking ban. Lt. Gov. Troy Findley and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment will announce the new site today. The ban was signed in March by Gov. Mark Parkinson and takes effect July 1. It prohibits smoking in most enclosed public places, businesses, taxis, limousines, restaurants, bars and within 10 feet from entrances and air intakes at such facilities. Members of the Tobacco Free Kansas Coalition will attend the news conference with Findley and Rod Bremby, the secretary of health and e ... Jump to full article >>

Just what the Detroit Tigers need. A manager even more annoyed. Tigers manager Jim Leyland is dealing with a new Michigan law that bans smoking in most public places that went into effect Saturday, May 1. A constant smoker, Leyland is no longer allowed to light up anywhere in the stadium, except Camacho Cigar Bar inside the stadium’s Tiger Club. But … “It’s hard to go down there in the sixth inning,” Leyland cracked to The Grand Rapids Press. But what’s even more surprising about the attention Leyland is receiving because of the new law is that it’s just him we’re asking ab ... Jump to full article >>

Law enforcement officials say sites linked to the Comedy Central show ‘South Park’ have received extra protection. Los Angeles-area law enforcement officials said Monday that after the attempted bombing in New York’s Times Square, police had stepped up patrols around entertainment studios. Police across Southern California say they are prepared to handle an attack. But they stressed the importance of alert residents in the security equation: It was a New York street vendor who noticed the SUV emitting smoke Saturday and reported it to authorities. “New York is another w ... Jump to full article >>

Regardless of the fact that adverts of cigarettes were banned many years ago, tobacco giants still fork billions of dollars on marketing their newest tobacco creations. According to Marry Smith communications manager for ClearWay Minnesota charity, tobacco industry spends $200 million each year to promote tobacco products across the state. The companies still apply traditional promotional tools, like distributing discount coupons and sending gifts to loyal smokers. Nevertheless, Smith said that some tobacconists apply completely new ways to raise public awareness about their new products, some ... Jump to full article >>

Being a front runner in the global fight against tobacco use, Australia has introduced a landmark measure to prohibit brand logo and product info on cigarette packs by 2010, a law that would eliminate flagship logos such Marlboro chevron and Pall Mall emblem from the shelves. According to the measure, the tobacco companies would be banned from placing any brand labels, colors or text on the packs of their products. Instead, the packs would only contain uniform black-and-white letters, and the most part of each pack will be occupied by graphic health warnings. But tobacco industry is preparing ... Jump to full article >>

President Barack Obama vowed to track down the perpetrators as security forces began scrutinizing evidence from a Nissan Pathfinder SUV abandoned in the theatre district with a large, spluttering homemade bomb inside. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said that the initial suspects in the minds of many were not to blame. “There is no evidence that this is tied in with Al-Qaeda or any other big terrorist organisation,” Mr Bloomberg said. Earlier, city police chief Raymond Kelly dismissed a claim of responsibility made over the internet by the Pakistani group Tehreek-e-Taliban. “I’ ... Jump to full article >>

Scientists are just beginning to understand the effect lifestyle choices and other environmental factors have on altering gene behavior, a rapidly emerging field called epigenetics. Your life story depends upon a combination of the DNA you’re stuck with plus your environment, including all the little choices and events that happen over that lifetime. But in recent years, researchers have discovered that, while DNA lays out the options, many of those life experiences — the foods you eat, the stresses you endure, the toxins you’re exposed to — physically affect the DNA and tell i ... Jump to full article >>

Imagine Fernando Torres looking on in bewilderment as his own supporters celebrate defeat. Imagine the Spaniard standing by as the fans wallow in failure because it denies their rivals a moment of success. Those misplaced loyalties could make a proud competitor like Torres think about his career. The realisation that the business of winning trophies was to be had elsewhere might even make him quit. But you don’t have to imagine it. This is not fiction, or some speculative fantasy of how things might play out on Sunday if Liverpool surrender against Chelsea. It’s actually one of the ... Jump to full article >>