smoking

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Iraqi Tempers Ablaze Over Smoking Ban

(Newser) - Smoking is rampant across the Middle East, and in Iraq nicotine fuels everything from high-level government meetings to weddings and funerals. That's why a new anti-tobacco law making its way through parliament is causing huge public outcry, reports the Washington Post. "We all have to deal with anger issues...

Gates Refuses to Ban Smoking in War Zones

Defense secretary rejects Pentagon study's recommendation

(Newser) - American troops in war zones won't have to battle the enemy while suffering nicotine withdrawal, CNN reports. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is willing to consider some of the recommendations in a Pentagon-commissioned report calling for a totally tobacco-free military, but he has no intention of ordering stressed-out troops in combat...

Health Bill Has a Big Carrot for the Healthy

Senate measure would let employers cut premiums up to 50%

(Newser) - A measure slipped into the Senate’s health care reform bill could cut workers’ insurance costs by up to half if they eat well, lose weight, and quit smoking, the Boston Globe reports. The measure may be key to encouraging Americans to stay healthy without too much government imposition, a...

Pentagon Mulls Smoking Ban for Troops

Military smoking, especially common in combat, costly for VA

(Newser) - Pentagon health experts are pushing for the military to ban tobacco, a move that would upend a traditionally smoky culture, the USA Today reports. Tobacco use is rising among troops, many of whom turn to cigarettes to relieve combat zone stress, and that winds up costing the Pentagon and Veteran's...

Aussies May Charge $20 Per Pack of Ciggies

(Newser) - Australians may be coughing up $20 for a pack of cigarettes if officials approve a new anti-smoking plan, the Age reports. The proposal, designed to cut Aussie smoking by a third, would ban all tobacco sponsorship and online sales, devote 95% of cigarette packaging to graphic health warnings, and tax...

Obama Admits He Still Sneaks Occasional Cigarette

(Newser) - He wasn't all that happy to be asked about it—again—but President Obama admitted during his news conference today that, yes, he still lights up the occasional cigarette, reports ABC News. “Have I fallen off the wagon sometimes? Yes.” Obama said he’s not a “daily...

Tobacco Bill's Winners: Philip Morris, Lawyers
Tobacco Bill's Winners: Philip Morris, Lawyers
OPINION
Jun 18, 2009 7:55 AM CDT

Tobacco Bill's Winners: Philip Morris, Lawyers

We're smoking less because it's dumb, not because of policy: Will

(Newser) - President Obama might have praised Congress' tobacco bill, but for George F. Will, the new legislation gives just two muscular groups reason to celebrate: Philip Morris and "the Democratic Party's fountain of funds, the trial bar." New restrictions on cigarette advertising will help Philip Morris vault over competitors,...

Obama Sees 'Victory' in Passage of FDA-Tobacco Bill

(Newser) - President Obama praised the passage of a bill allowing the FDA to regulate tobacco products as “a long time coming," the Hill reports. The legislation, which sailed through the House this morning, grants the agency new power to regulate tobacco ingredients and marketing. "After a decade of...

Senate Poised to Pass Tough New Tobacco Law

Bill will give FDA authority to regulate marketing, content of tobacco products

(Newser) - The Senate is expected this week to pass sweeping new legislation to regulate tobacco, reports USA Today. The bill, which may go to a vote as soon as today, gives the FDA the authority to regulate tobacco and will require larger health warnings on packets, end the use of claims...

In E-Cigs, Some See More Clouds Than Silver Lining

But little is known about their health effects

(Newser) - Thousands are lighting up high-tech cigarettes that produce no smoke—allowing users to puff wherever they are, the New York Times reports. Battery-powered e-cigarettes use cartridges that usually contain nicotine, flavoring, and a liquid that vaporizes to create the appearance of smoke. Though health implications remain largely unknown, some users...

Heart and Gum Disease Linked by Gene: Study

Periodontitis patients should cut out risk factors, scientists say

(Newser) - Scientists have identified a link between gum disease and heart disease, the BBC reports, finding the same genetic variation in a group of patients with heart disease and a group with severe periodontitis. “Now we know for sure that there is a strong genetic link, patients with periodontitis should...

Chinese Workers Ordered to Smoke More

(Newser) - Seeking to stem the flow of cigarettes over the border and bolster the local tobacco industry, a Chinese county has ordered local officials to puff only local cigarettes, the Times of London reports. In March, Gongan county mandated that civil servants on its payroll smoke 230,000 packs of locally...

Smokers Gasp at Highest Tax Hike Ever

They're hit twice as companies boost their profits, too

(Newser) - Smokers are feeling pinched by today's 62-cent hike in the federal cigarette tax, the biggest ever. Federal taxes now top $1 per pack, CNN reports. At the same time, manufacturers and retailers have raised prices to boost dwindling profits. "They're picking on smokers," an 83-year-old said of the...

Smarties 'Smokers' Stressing Schools

Exhaling crushed candies looks like cigarette smoking

(Newser) - Parents and school officials are sweating over a new kids’ craze: “smoking” Smarties candies, the Wall Street Journal reports. Children crush the sugary discs into a powder in their wrapper, dump the powder into their mouths, and, in a move eerily reminiscent of cigarette smokers, exhale a cloud of...

Study: Obesity as Bad as Smoking
Study: Obesity as Bad as Smoking 
Mar 18, 2009 2:09 AM CDT

Study: Obesity as Bad as Smoking

Being extremely overweight can trim a decade from lifespans

(Newser) - Obesity can take years off a life, and in some cases is as dangerous to health as smoking, reports USA Today. Researchers analyzing studies involving almost a million people found that obese adults died an average of three years earlier than people with a healthy body-mass index. Extremely obese adults—...

'Winston Man' Dies of Cancer Amidst Trial
'Winston Man' Dies of Cancer Amidst Trial
OBITUARY
Mar 3, 2009 1:55 PM CST

'Winston Man' Dies of Cancer Amidst Trial

Actor was set to testify against tobacco giant RJ Reynolds

(Newser) - Alan Landers, the one-time face of Winston cigarettes, has died at 68 of lung and throat cancer in the middle of a multi-million dollar legal action against his former employers, the Guardian reports. Landers, who was to testify next month, was among about 9,000 Florida smokers suing cigarette companies...

In Safer Cafes, Iraqis Smoke It Up Again

(Newser) - Iraqi men are hanging out in hookah cafes again, confident that government spies are no longer eavesdropping from the next sofa, the Los Angeles Times reports. Popular throughout the Mideast and hip in Western cities, shisha clubs have only recently reemerged in Iraq, thanks partly to increased security. "We...

Stroke Survivor Kim Puffs Away
 Stroke Survivor Kim Puffs Away 
Feb 26, 2009 7:33 AM CST

Stroke Survivor Kim Puffs Away

Despite strict anti-smoking laws, North Korean leader takes a drag

(Newser) - President Obama isn't the only world leader with a less-than-consistent message about smoking. Despite his reported stroke last August, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il was recently photographed puffing on a cigarette during a recent tour of a tobacco factory, reports the AP. One photo shown on North Korean state television...

Florida Jury Awards $8M to Smoker's Family

Philip Morris vows to appeal verdict

(Newser) - Philip Morris must pay $8 million to the widow and son of a 55-year-old lung cancer victim, a Florida jury says. Jurors in the closely watched case decided that the cigarette maker hid the health risks and addictive qualities of cigarettes, the Miami Herald reports. Stuart Hess smoked about two...

Addiction Led to Smoker's Death: Jury

Widow scores first blood in potentially groundbreaking trial

(Newser) - Addiction to cigarettes caused chain smoker Stuart Hess’ death from lung cancer, a Florida jury ruled yesterday, paving the way for his widow to receive damages from Phillip Morris. The case is the first of 8,000 to spin out of a landmark 1994 class-action suit. That case's $145 billion...

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