Call for outright smoking ban in UK (p 1865)December 03, 2003Embargoed 0001 h (London time) 5 December 2003. This week's Lancet editorial comments on the current debate about smoking in public places, and goes further by calling for a total UK ban on cigarettes in order to tackle the impacts of tobacco-related illness and mortality. The editorial comments: 'Most people-smokers and non-smokers-support restrictions on smoking in workplaces, and half even support restrictions in bars. 80% of people in the UK are non-smokers, and have the right to freedom from exposure to proven carcinogens. Employers who allow smoking in their workplaces are exposing their employees to a proven health hazard. And since restaurants, bars, and clubs are workplaces too, their owners have a duty to protect their workforces. It has been estimated that 1000 people a year in the UK alone die from second-hand tobacco smoke.' 'Second-hand smoke not only kills but also makes it more difficult for smokers to give up. Most smokers want to quit, but failure to provide smokefree working and social environments makes their goal more difficult to reach. In a report by the Royal College of Physicians, it is estimated that if all workplaces in the UK became smokefree, 300 000 would quit, saving 150 000 lives. Tobacco kills 4"˘2 million annually worldwide, and is estimated to kill over 10 million a year by the late 2020s. Nicotine is a highly addictive drug, and cigarettes are the most toxic and carcinogenic means of delivering nicotine. Calling for a ban on smoking in public places is a start, but it is missing the point. Tim Lord, the Chief Executive of the Tobacco Manufacturers' Association, believes that price is the main determinant of how many smokers there are. We disagree. Availability and acceptability are more important. If tobacco were an illegal substance, possession of cigarettes would become a crime, and the number of smokers would drastically fall. Cigarette smoking is a dangerous addiction. We should be doing a great deal more to prevent this disease and to help its victims. We call on Tony Blair's government to ban tobacco'. Lancet |
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| Related Smoking Current Events and Smoking News Articles Women Can Quit Smoking and Control Weight Gain Many women don't quit smoking because they are afraid of gaining weight. That's because nicotine suppresses the appetite and boosts a smoker's metabolism. Cigarettes Harbor Many Bacteria Harmful to Human Health Cigarettes are "widely contaminated" with bacteria, including some known to cause disease in people, concludes a new international study conducted by a University of Maryland environmental health researcher and microbial ecologists at the Ecole Centrale de Lyon in France. Study raises concerns about outdoor second-hand smoke Indoor smoking bans have forced smokers at bars and restaurants onto outdoor patios, but a new University of Georgia study in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that these outdoor smoking areas might be creating a new health hazard. Early end to key study on benefits of niacin, a B vitamin, in keeping arteries open was premature Heart experts at Johns Hopkins are calling premature the early halt of a study by researchers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Washington Hospital Center on the benefits of combining extended-release niacin, a B vitamin, with cholesterol-lowering statin medications to prevent blood vessel narrowing. Athletes on performance enhancers more likely to abuse alcohol, other drugs College athletes who use performance-enhancing substances may be at heightened risk of misusing alcohol and using recreational drugs as well, according to new research in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. 90 percent of Africans are not protected by smoke-free laws As African nations are poised to undergo the highest increase in the rate of tobacco use among developing countries, nearly 90 percent of people on the continent remain without meaningful protection from secondhand smoke, according to a new report released at a regional cancer conference today. Workplace BPA exposure increases risk of male sexual dysfunction High levels of workplace exposure to Bisphenol-A may increase the risk of reduced sexual function in men, according to a Kaiser Permanente study appearing in the journal Human Reproduction, published by Oxford Journals. Exposure to several common infections over time may be associated with risk of stroke Cumulative exposure to five common infection-causing pathogens may be associated with an increased risk of stroke, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the January 2010 print issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Carnegie Mellon researchers link health-care debate to risk of dying in US and Europe The current health care debate in the United States is complicated. Trade-offs between heath care expenditures, lifestyle choices and life expectancy have been suggested but seldom clearly demonstrated. Developmental delay could stem from nicotinic receptor deletion The loss of a gene through deletion of genetic material on chromosome 15 is associated with significant abnormalities in learning and behavior, said a consortium of researchers led by Baylor College of Medicine (www.bcm.edu) in a report that appears online today in the journal Nature Genetics. More Smoking Current Events and Smoking News Articles |
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