Purpose: Chronic low back pain (LBP) is one of the main causes of disability in the community. Although there have been studies suggesting an association between smoking and LBP, these studies were limited by the small numbers of patients, and they did not control for confounders. The objective of this study was to determine whether cigarette smoking is associated with an increased risk of chronic LBP among adults. Methods: Using Canadian Commun ... Jump to full article >>

The real test of any mayor is how well the city works. In his eight years in office, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has managed to make the unpredictable city of New York work astonishingly well. Mr. Bloomberg has been a first-rate steady hand during unsteady times. He guided the city out of the post-9/11 recession, then tucked away money during the boom years that followed. That foresight has helped New Yorkers weather one of the worst economic downtu ... Jump to full article >>

A smoking ban in Marion County could become reality on Monday. That’s when the full City-County Council votes on the plan. Meantime, the proposal got a big boost Sunday. It’s called Proposal 371 and it would make workplaces including bars, clubs and even bowling alleys off limits to smokers. “Whether you work in an office or a factory or a restaurant or a bar or a bowling alley, you should have the same law applying to you so ... Jump to full article >>

ALBANY, N.Y. — A deepening deficit has New York officials looking again at how to collect unpaid taxes on cigarettes sold by Indian tribes to non-Indians. The issue is also making unlikely allies of cigarette makers and anti-smoking interests who say taxation would limit illegal sales and keep cigarettes out of the hands of minors. A budget hearing Tuesday in Manhattan will weigh the potential revenue against concerns that any attempt to colle ... Jump to full article >>

Six years ago, when I asked an epidemiologist about a report that a smoking ban in Helena, Mont., had cut heart attacks by 40 percent within six months, he thought the idea was so ridiculous that no one would take it seriously. He was wrong. Since then, 10 other studies have attributed substantial short-term reductions in heart attacks to smoking bans, and last week an Institute of Medicine committee endorsed their findings. But a closer look at ... Jump to full article >>

A former Bucks County employee said he was fired from his job last year because he complained about a county judge smoking in his courthouse office, a federal lawsuit alleges. But the defendant in the civil suit, the county’s court administrator, said the county employee was fired for poor job performance, according to subsequent court filings. Douglas Praul, the court administrator, also denied having any knowledge of county Judge Alan Ru ... Jump to full article >>

New York is far better off for having had Michael Bloomberg as mayor and will be far better off for granting him a third term in City Hall. By every significant measure – from plummeting crime and rising school achievement to more and better parks and cleaner streets – Bloomberg has led the city decisively in the right direction over the last eight years. His ban on smoking in public places helped to lengthen the average New Yorker&# ... Jump to full article >>

Smoking bans are getting out of control, but the electronic cigarette is quickly becoming the dominant alternative to those who are suffering from them. At one point, you could justifiably expect to be restricted from smoking on public forms of transportation or in your office but nowadays bans are extending far beyond the confines of public buildings. Some North American cities even prohibit smoking in parks or on city streets. So what does ... Jump to full article >>

An open air theatre group has cancelled its shows in Tunbridge Wells after groups of drunks hurled a ‘barrage of abuse’ at the actors – saying they ‘looked gay’ in Shakespeare garb. The Pantiles Players, which were set up to provide entertainment to people during World War Two, decided to pull out of the open air gigs this week after boozers shouted and swore during the performances of Shakespeare’s Two Gentle ... Jump to full article >>

JEDDAH: New anti-smoking regulations that were approved by the Cabinet in August 2003 have not yet been implemented and there is no date fixed to do so, said Dr. Majid Al-Munif, head of the Anti-Smoking Program at the Ministry of Health. “The regulations are yet to be studied and no specified time has been fixed to implement them,” said Al-Munif. He added that specialists from the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Finance, the Mini ... Jump to full article >>