Tobacco Use Info » Health news

E-cigarettes: Threat or therapy?

admin — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 10:10:40 +0000

Then Schwaber, a 29-year-old emergency medical technician from Lexington who smoked as much as three packs a day, tried electronic cigarettes. The battery-operated vaporizers, often shaped like a cigarette, use flavored liquids to deliver a dose of nicotine with each draw. She hasn’t smoked for more than two years. Instead Schwaber puffs on “vape’’ that tastes like biscotti or peach. She no longer needs the asthma inhaler she once used regularly. She has no taste for tobacco. And she figures she has cut her daily nicotine intake to about one-fifth of what it was, with plans to wean her ... Jump to full article >>

Hospitals ban smokers but don’t enforce

admin — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 14:32:42 +0000

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – When it comes to smoking, local hospitals having been putting up signs telling everyone to light-up off the property. But are they following through? It was almost three years ago when Sisters Hospital officials announced the campus was going 100 percent smoke-free. Back in November of 2008, CEO Peter Bergmann announced, “It’s our responsibility to provide a safe and healthy environment for those who work, visit and receive care at our hospital and outpatient facilities.” But fast-forward to today, are they still standing by their mission? We want ... Jump to full article >>

Dutch health minister is quizzed about “intensive” contact with tobacco industry

admin — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 14:26:08 +0000

The Dutch health minister Edith Schippers has come under pressure from MPs, doctors, and anti-smoking groups to clarify her contacts with the tobacco industry after a critical television documentary entitled Minister of Tobacco. The documentary programme Zembla featured camera interviews with tobacco industry lobbyists and pro-smoking campaigners and quoted emails sent by Mrs Schippers. They concluded that since becoming an MP in 2003 Mrs Schippers has had “intensive” contact with the tobacco industry (www.zembla.vara.nl). Last year Mrs Schippers became minister of health and told MPs that ... Jump to full article >>

Tacoma-Pierce County health officials take hard look at electronic cigarettes

admin — Thu, 05 May 2011 16:37:43 +0000

If you fire up a battery-powered cigarette in public, are you harming yourself and others? Or are you exercising your right to use an alternative to incendiary tobacco that might help you kick a nasty and dangerous habit? Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department officials are considering a ban on electronic cigarettes in public places, and those questions are certain to be heatedly discussed in the next few weeks. Proposed regulations unveiled Wednesday would prohibit e-smoking – or “vaping,” as users call it – anywhere the use of real cigarettes and cigars already is prohibited by stat ... Jump to full article >>

Dallas Deputies Seek Funding for Tobacco Enforcement

admin — Wed, 04 May 2011 06:59:20 +0000

Dallas County sheriff’s deputies say too many stores sell tobacco to underage teenagers. Last year, 20 percent of retailers failed inspections by deputies, and 3 percent of them kept selling to minors, even after they were warned. Deputies said they hope more state funding will help keep tobacco out of the hands of minors. The department will apply for another $90,000 state grant for another year of tobacco enforcement starting in September. The grant money would cover the salary and overtime for one deputy, as well as costs of supplies and money to buy tobacco products during undercover ... Jump to full article >>

Waterpipes to smoke tobacco prevalent

admin — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 10:11:33 +0000

Teens, young adults and even pregnant women worldwide are using waterpipes to smoke tobacco at high rates, University at Buffalo researchers said. Dr. Elie Akl, an associate professor at University at Buffalo’s School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and School of Public Health and Health Professions, conducted a systematic review involving 38 studies on the prevalence of waterpipe smoking across several countries including — Britain, Australia, Estonia, Lebanon, Pakistan, Egypt, Syria, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen — age groups and gende ... Jump to full article >>

Tobacco rules apply to electronic smokes

admin — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 06:19:17 +0000

The U.S. government said on Monday it plans to regulate electronic cigarettes as tobacco products. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s announcement came after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued a decision which said that electronic cigarettes are not drugs or devices unless they are marketed for therapeutic purposes. In 2009, the FDA was given the authority to regulate tobacco products that are not drugs or devices. Electronic cigarettes, marketed under names such as NJOY, mimic the act of smoking and include nicotine, but do not emit the same type of odour or as ... Jump to full article >>

Thirdhand smoke dangerous to unborn babies lungs

admin — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 11:45:14 +0000

Prenatal exposure to toxic components of a newly recognised category of tobacco smoke-known as ‘thirdhand smoke’-can have as serious or an even more negative impact on an infants’ lung development as postnatal or childhood exposure to smoke, according to a study by researchers at the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Thirdhand smoke is the newly formed toxins from tobacco smoke that remain on furniture, in cars, on clothing and on other surfaces-long after smokers have finished their cigarettes. “Thirdhand smoke is a stealth toxin ... Jump to full article >>

Bacc-Off Launches Updated Smokeless Tobacco Cessation Program

admin — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 06:45:19 +0000

DipStop Inc., the makers of Bacc Off, the leading non-tobacco, non-nicotine alternative to smokeless tobacco, reminds readers that April is Oral Cancer Awareness month and launches latest release of smokeless tobbacco cessation program. DipStop Inc., the leading manufacturer of non-tobacco, non-nicotine alternatives to smokeless tobacco, reminds readers that April is Oral Cancer Awareness month. Smokeless tobacco is still perceived by many users to be a “safer” alternative to smoking for those addicted to nicotine. Studies have shown, however, that because of prolonged contact with toba ... Jump to full article >>

Chew on This: The Real Dangers of Smokeless Tobacco

admin — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 07:15:27 +0000

Whether tucked in a burly athlete’s cheek or daintily positioned in a gentleman’s lip, smokeless tobacco has long been a public bane. So here’s a cheer for Commissioner Bud Selig’s timely proposal to ban pro baseball players from chewing tobacco in Major League games — and, while we’re at it, let’s go ahead and see that the chaw, snuff and other smokeless tobacco products disappear from use. Though minor league parks banned the chaw back in 1993, it has taken a sudden upswing in popularity among young men, after declining in the years 2000-2003. The Ce ... Jump to full article >>