From Join Together Online
Researchers say that young adults who smoke cigarettes casually are more likely to be binge drinkers and had higher rates of alcohol abuse than nonsmokers or daily smokers, Reuters reported Sept. 23.
Scientists at the Yale University School of Medicine analyzed a national survey that polled 5,838 Americans ages 18 to 25 and found that less-than-regular smokers were 16 times more likely than nonsmokers to be hazardous drinkers – defined as people who occasionally binge drink or generally drink more than experts recommend.
College students were more likely to be casual smokers than daily smokers, the researchers said. "Together, these results add to a growing body of research suggesting that causal smoking confers possibly significant health risks, particularly by increasing hazardous drinking," said researcher Sherry McKee and colleagues.
The research will be published in the December 2008 issue of the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
VDH Adds Smoking Status to Restaurant Health Inspection Website!
Good news! This will be a easy to access site to find smoke free restaurants in your area.
Here is the link to the website:
http://www.healthspace.ca/vdh
RICHMOND, Va. - The Virginia Department of Health is adding the smoking status of Virginia restaurants to its Website on restaurant health inspections.
The popular state Web site averages more than 90,000 visits a month. It displays health inspection information gathered from more than 60,000 unannounced restaurant inspections a year throughout Virginia.
State Health Commissioner Karen Remley says this information can help diners decide where to eat. The new information for each restaurant will now include whether smoking is permitted or banned. Smoke-free facilities are identified with a nonsmoking icon.
Here is the link to the website:
http://www.healthspace.ca/vdh
RICHMOND, Va. - The Virginia Department of Health is adding the smoking status of Virginia restaurants to its Website on restaurant health inspections.
The popular state Web site averages more than 90,000 visits a month. It displays health inspection information gathered from more than 60,000 unannounced restaurant inspections a year throughout Virginia.
State Health Commissioner Karen Remley says this information can help diners decide where to eat. The new information for each restaurant will now include whether smoking is permitted or banned. Smoke-free facilities are identified with a nonsmoking icon.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
American Lung Association Says Tobacco Industry Targets College Students
News Summary from Join Together Online
College student smoking rates are at their lowest level ever, but in a new report the American Lung Association warns that unless the tobacco industry stops targeting college students, rates could rise again, HealthDay News reported Sept. 9.
The report, which looked at published research, surveys and tobacco industry documents, found that tobacco companies are going to great lengths to market their products to college students, such as sponsoring promotions in bars and nightclubs. In 2005, the tobacco industry spent more than $1 million a day sponsoring such events.
"Colleges and universities have a responsibility to provide safe spaces in which their students can learn and live. This should include an environment free from secondhand smoke and advertising that encourages young adults to use deadly tobacco products." said Bernadette A. Toomey, president and CEO of the American Lung Association.
College students are prime targets, according to tobacco companies, because students are entering transitional stages in their lives -- a time when many develop long-term behaviors. "The industry's return on investment is staggering ... Even worse is (the tobacco industry's) continued campaign to increase these numbers," Toomey said. "Every college student in America has a target on their back as far as the tobacco industry is concerned."
College student smoking rates are at their lowest level ever, but in a new report the American Lung Association warns that unless the tobacco industry stops targeting college students, rates could rise again, HealthDay News reported Sept. 9.
The report, which looked at published research, surveys and tobacco industry documents, found that tobacco companies are going to great lengths to market their products to college students, such as sponsoring promotions in bars and nightclubs. In 2005, the tobacco industry spent more than $1 million a day sponsoring such events.
"Colleges and universities have a responsibility to provide safe spaces in which their students can learn and live. This should include an environment free from secondhand smoke and advertising that encourages young adults to use deadly tobacco products." said Bernadette A. Toomey, president and CEO of the American Lung Association.
College students are prime targets, according to tobacco companies, because students are entering transitional stages in their lives -- a time when many develop long-term behaviors. "The industry's return on investment is staggering ... Even worse is (the tobacco industry's) continued campaign to increase these numbers," Toomey said. "Every college student in America has a target on their back as far as the tobacco industry is concerned."
Thursday, September 11, 2008
YTS Results Hit the News!
WASHINGTON, Sept. 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --
A new survey of youth tobacco use in Virginia shows that the state has made great progress in keeping kids from smoking, underscoring once again that tobacco prevention is a smart investment for Virginia's physical and financial health. The Youth Tobacco Survey found a dramatic 28.6 percent decline in high school smoking over two years - with 15.5 percent of Virginia high school students smoking in 2007, compared with 21.7 percent in 2005. By preventing kids from ever starting to smoke, Virginia can look forward to saving lives by preventing premature, smoking-caused deaths and to saving money by reducing smoking-caused health care costs, which total more than $2 billion a year in Virginia.
This is remarkable progress in a short period of time. We applaud Governor Kaine, the Legislature and the Virginia Tobacco Settlement Foundation for their commitment to reducing the devastating toll of tobacco use by investing in youth tobacco prevention efforts. Virginias challenge now is to build upon its progress by increasing funding for youth tobacco prevention while also investing in cessation programs to help adult smokers quit.
While the survey results represent remarkable progress, there is still much to be done in Virginia to reduce tobacco use - the number one preventable cause of death in the state and across the nation. Currently, Virginia spends $14.5 million a year on tobacco prevention and cessation, well short of the $103.2 million recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (the CDC updated its recommendations for state spending in 2007). Virginia receives $320 million a year in revenue from the tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes and can achieve even greater smoking reductions by spending more of its tobacco revenue on tobacco prevention and cessation programs.
In addition to continuing to increase funding for tobacco prevention and cessation programs, Virginias leaders should also raise the state cigarette tax and adopt a strong, statewide smoke-free law that applies to all workplaces and public places. States that have adopted this "trifecta" of tobacco prevention solutions have had the greatest success at reducing smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke. Currently, Virginias 30-cent cigarette tax is among the lowest in the nation, ranking 47th among the states.
Todays survey results show how much the Virginia Tobacco Settlement Foundation can achieve, but these results should not be taken for granted. Investing in tobacco prevention and cessation programs is even more important when you consider that the tobacco companies are spending record amounts to market their deadly and addictive products, often in ways that appeal to children. With the tobacco companies spending more than $438 million a year on marketing in Virginia alone, it is imperative that Virginia leaders continue to fund programs that we know work to prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit.
SOURCE Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
A new survey of youth tobacco use in Virginia shows that the state has made great progress in keeping kids from smoking, underscoring once again that tobacco prevention is a smart investment for Virginia's physical and financial health. The Youth Tobacco Survey found a dramatic 28.6 percent decline in high school smoking over two years - with 15.5 percent of Virginia high school students smoking in 2007, compared with 21.7 percent in 2005. By preventing kids from ever starting to smoke, Virginia can look forward to saving lives by preventing premature, smoking-caused deaths and to saving money by reducing smoking-caused health care costs, which total more than $2 billion a year in Virginia.
This is remarkable progress in a short period of time. We applaud Governor Kaine, the Legislature and the Virginia Tobacco Settlement Foundation for their commitment to reducing the devastating toll of tobacco use by investing in youth tobacco prevention efforts. Virginias challenge now is to build upon its progress by increasing funding for youth tobacco prevention while also investing in cessation programs to help adult smokers quit.
While the survey results represent remarkable progress, there is still much to be done in Virginia to reduce tobacco use - the number one preventable cause of death in the state and across the nation. Currently, Virginia spends $14.5 million a year on tobacco prevention and cessation, well short of the $103.2 million recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (the CDC updated its recommendations for state spending in 2007). Virginia receives $320 million a year in revenue from the tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes and can achieve even greater smoking reductions by spending more of its tobacco revenue on tobacco prevention and cessation programs.
In addition to continuing to increase funding for tobacco prevention and cessation programs, Virginias leaders should also raise the state cigarette tax and adopt a strong, statewide smoke-free law that applies to all workplaces and public places. States that have adopted this "trifecta" of tobacco prevention solutions have had the greatest success at reducing smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke. Currently, Virginias 30-cent cigarette tax is among the lowest in the nation, ranking 47th among the states.
Todays survey results show how much the Virginia Tobacco Settlement Foundation can achieve, but these results should not be taken for granted. Investing in tobacco prevention and cessation programs is even more important when you consider that the tobacco companies are spending record amounts to market their deadly and addictive products, often in ways that appeal to children. With the tobacco companies spending more than $438 million a year on marketing in Virginia alone, it is imperative that Virginia leaders continue to fund programs that we know work to prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit.
SOURCE Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Smoking riskier to women's hearts than men's
From Associated Press
By MARIA CHENG, AP Medical Writer
MUNICH, Germany - Women typically get heart disease much later than men, but not if they smoke, researchers said Tuesday.
In fact, women who smoke have heart attacks nearly 14 years earlier than women who don't smoke, Norwegian doctors reported in a study presented to the European Society of Cardiology. For men, the gap is not so dramatic; male smokers have heart attacks about six years earlier than men who don't smoke.
"This is not a minor difference," said Dr. Silvia Priori, a cardiologist at the Scientific Institute in Pavia, Italy. "Women need to realize they are losing much more than men when they smoke," she said. Priori was not connected to the research.
Dr. Morten Grundtvig and colleagues from the Innlandet Hospital Trust in Lillehammer, Norway, based their study on data from 1,784 patients admitted for a first heart attack at a hospital in Lillehammer.
Their study found that the men on average had their first heart attack at age 72 if they didn't smoke, and at 64 if they did.
Women in the study had their first heart attack at age 81 if they didn't smoke, and at age 66 if they did.
After adjusting for other heart risk factors like blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes, researchers found that the difference for women was about 14 years and for men, about six years.
Previous studies looking at a possible gender difference have been inconclusive.
Doctors have long suspected that female hormones protect women against heart disease. Estrogen is thought to raise the levels of good cholesterol as well as enabling blood vessel walls to relax more easily, thus lowering the chances of a blockage.
Grundtvig said that smoking might make women go through menopause earlier, leaving them less protected against a heart attack. With rising rates of smoking in women — compared with falling rates in men — Grundtvig said that doctors expect to see increased heart disease in women.
"Smoking might erase the natural advantage that women have," said Dr. Robert Harrington, a professor of medicine at Duke University and spokesman for the American College of Cardiology.
Doctors aren't yet sure if other cardiac risk factors like cholesterol and obesity also affect women differently.
"The difference in how smoking affects women and men is profound," Harrington said. "Unless women don't smoke or quit, they risk ending up with the same terrible diseases as men, only at a much earlier age."
By MARIA CHENG, AP Medical Writer
MUNICH, Germany - Women typically get heart disease much later than men, but not if they smoke, researchers said Tuesday.
In fact, women who smoke have heart attacks nearly 14 years earlier than women who don't smoke, Norwegian doctors reported in a study presented to the European Society of Cardiology. For men, the gap is not so dramatic; male smokers have heart attacks about six years earlier than men who don't smoke.
"This is not a minor difference," said Dr. Silvia Priori, a cardiologist at the Scientific Institute in Pavia, Italy. "Women need to realize they are losing much more than men when they smoke," she said. Priori was not connected to the research.
Dr. Morten Grundtvig and colleagues from the Innlandet Hospital Trust in Lillehammer, Norway, based their study on data from 1,784 patients admitted for a first heart attack at a hospital in Lillehammer.
Their study found that the men on average had their first heart attack at age 72 if they didn't smoke, and at 64 if they did.
Women in the study had their first heart attack at age 81 if they didn't smoke, and at age 66 if they did.
After adjusting for other heart risk factors like blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes, researchers found that the difference for women was about 14 years and for men, about six years.
Previous studies looking at a possible gender difference have been inconclusive.
Doctors have long suspected that female hormones protect women against heart disease. Estrogen is thought to raise the levels of good cholesterol as well as enabling blood vessel walls to relax more easily, thus lowering the chances of a blockage.
Grundtvig said that smoking might make women go through menopause earlier, leaving them less protected against a heart attack. With rising rates of smoking in women — compared with falling rates in men — Grundtvig said that doctors expect to see increased heart disease in women.
"Smoking might erase the natural advantage that women have," said Dr. Robert Harrington, a professor of medicine at Duke University and spokesman for the American College of Cardiology.
Doctors aren't yet sure if other cardiac risk factors like cholesterol and obesity also affect women differently.
"The difference in how smoking affects women and men is profound," Harrington said. "Unless women don't smoke or quit, they risk ending up with the same terrible diseases as men, only at a much earlier age."
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