Researchers in the US found that exposure to tobacco in the womb and to lead during childhood was linked to a particularly high risk for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children, suggesting that while we tend to focus on treatment for ADHD, eliminating such exposures might prevent the condition in many hundreds of thousands of children. The study was the work of senior author Dr Robert Kahn, a physician and researcher at Cinci ... Jump to full article >>

The record, so far, hasn’t been very good for the tobacco companies in the so-called Engle progeny smoker suits. They’ve won, by our count, just two of the ten cases to go to trial, and the damages awards have been climbing. The first Engle progeny trial resulted in an $8 million verdict against Philip Morris in February. In August, R.J. Reynolds lost a $30 million verdict. And on Thursday, a Broward County jury ordered Philip Morris ... Jump to full article >>

Hartsville native and President of Gold Leaf Seed Co. Marion Hawkins gave the Hartsville Kiwanis a lesson in the history of the tobacco industry and his company at the group’s weekly meeting on Thursday at the Hartsville Country Club. During colonial days, Hawkins said, tobacco was one of the nation’s biggest exports. In the mid 1800s, tobacco was booming when Duke Co. in Durham began making cigarettes. Since early 1900s it’s grown in lowe ... Jump to full article >>

WAY TO GO: Jeff Hammond, Wanganui Hospital’s director of nursing, explains the nicotine replacement therapy to registered nurse Katy Mackay. Improving health systems is one thing but changing the public mindset about some health issues is another matter. And the chief executive of Wanganui’s district health board says it’s changing that mindset that will win the war over smoking addiction, diabetes and cardiovascular disease ... Jump to full article >>

Smoking bans have made the air healthier in bars and restaurants, but may have made the air just outside the establishments more hazardous, University of Georgia researchers have found. Nonsmoking diners and imbibers sitting in outdoor patios or sidewalk seating areas connected to the bars or restaurants are picking up doses of secondhand smoke, the scientists found. In fact, nonsmokers who volunteered to sit in the outdoor seating areas had lev ... Jump to full article >>

TSHESEBE: The police have said they are still on the trail of smugglers suspected to have driven trucks loaded with high quality cigarettes into Botswana from Zimbabwe. This is contrary to reports that the culprits have been arrested and slapped with a P15,000 fine. The suspects escaped after the police confronted them, abandoning the contraband. The police recovered. 133 boxes containing 66,500 cartons of Pacific cigarettes, 108 boxes with 5 ... Jump to full article >>

Public health advocates foresee a perfect storm heading to Ohio next year that could increase smoking rates, gut enforcement of the indoor smoking ban and allow Big Tobacco to lure children into using new, mint-flavored tobacco products. “We are poised to see our smoking rates rise if we don’t do something about it. It has happened in other states,” said Shelly Kiser of the American Lung Association. Ohio’s adult smoking rate has already ... Jump to full article >>

Smokers may want to think twice before lighting up in front of their dogs, particularly if the dogs belong to certain breeds that contract diseases more easily than others. Secondhand smoke can trigger a variety of diseases in dogs, with a higher likelihood in certain breedsm, according to Dr. John Reif, professor at the Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. For example, short-nosed breeds like pugs an ... Jump to full article >>

Children exposed prenatally to tobacco smoke and during childhood to lead face a particularly high risk for ADHD, according to research done at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. The study estimates that up to 35 percent of ADHD cases in children between the ages of 8 and 15 could be reduced by eliminating both of these environmental exposures. This could translate into up to 800,000 children “Tobacco and lead exposure ea ... Jump to full article >>

What many electronic cigarette users have feared from day one may be in the works Philip Morris, the biggest maker of tobacco cigarettes in the US, has been discovered to be in talks with Ruyan Group, which manufactured the original electronic cigarette several years back in 2005. A news article found on Quamnet.com states the seriousness of the matter: “Ruyan Group said that an agreement between the Company and Philip Morris International Ma ... Jump to full article >>