smoking

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Chicago Fines Aim to Kick Smokers' Butts From Beach

City buried in millions of tons of litter

(Newser) - Chicago will fine smokers who toss cigarette butts on the beach—or within 15 feet of one— up to $500. The new law is aimed at cutting the cost of cleaning up after smokers, who have been forced outside by smoking bans, reports the Chicago Tribune. Millions of tons of...

To Court Blue-Collar Vote, Light Up
To Court Blue-Collar
Vote, Light Up
OPINION
Jun 17, 2008 10:00 AM CDT

To Court Blue-Collar Vote, Light Up

Fellow Nicorette user urges Obama to take up smoking again

(Newser) - Everyone has ideas about how Barack Obama can attract the working-class white voters that eluded him in the primaries. Author Tony Horwitz goes for the throat: Start smoking again. West Virginia and Kentucky, where Hillary Clinton clobbered Obama, lead the nation in cigarette consumption among whites, and lighting up could...

Weed Potency Hits 30-Year High
 Weed Potency Hits 30-Year High 
Jun 12, 2008 8:11 AM CDT

Weed Potency Hits 30-Year High

Study finds THC levels have doubled since 1983, raising mental health worries

(Newser) - Today's marijuana is the strongest crop since the heyday of Cheech and Chong, a new study finds. University researchers who analyzed seized samples dating back to the '70s found the level of active ingredient THC hit an average of 9.6% last year, up almost 1% from the year before...

Bourbon a Day Keeps the Arthritis Away

Regular drinkers are half as likely to develop joint disease

(Newser) - Swedish scientists have found another perk for regular drinkers, the BBC reports, with imbibers up to 50% less likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis. In two studies involving several thousand participants, those who downed 5 glasses of wine a week saw their risk cut in half. The study reiterated that smoking...

Dude! Harsh! Weed Shrinks Your Brain

Long-term smokers show abnormalities, damage to emotions

(Newser) - Heavy marijuana use over a number of years can cause significant brain abnormalities, damage memory and emotional processing, and even shrink parts of the brain, the Age reports. All cannabis smokers—not just high-risk groups such as the young and those susceptible to mental illness—can experience effects equivalent to...

Obama's Health 'Excellent': Docs

Dem still at risk despite quitting smoking in '07; family history of cancer also an issue

(Newser) - Barack Obama is in “excellent health,” his doctor of two decades wrote today, declaring the Democratic frontrunner “in overall good physical and mental health needed to maintain the resiliency required in the office of president.” Obama, 46, still faces risk factors from smoking, which he quit...

Bad Habits: It's Who You Know
 Bad Habits: It's Who You Know 
May 26, 2008 4:48 PM CDT

Bad Habits: It's Who You Know

Study says social networks strongly influence behavior

(Newser) - If your friends all jumped off a bridge, you'd probably listen to your mom and not follow them, but how about if they started exercising? New research into social networks—in 3D, not on MySpace or Facebook—shows people are more likely to quit smoking or lose weight if someone...

Peer Pressure Helps Snuff Habit

Researchers see group ripple effect for people trying to stop smoking

(Newser) - New research shows people quit smoking not as individuals but in complex social clusters, each strongly influencing the others. Friends, spouses, relatives, and other social contacts all exercise an overwhelming sway over individual decisions to quit. The study covered 58,000 people from 1971 to 2003, the New York Times ...

Watchdogs Say Hollywood Going to Pot

Anti-drug advocates fret over 420-friendly new releases

(Newser) - Production of cannabis-centric films is hitting a high, reports the Christian Science Monitor. Once pigeonholed with Cheech and Chong and low-budget cult films such as The Big Lebowski, movies that feature pot-smoking characters now tend toward mainstream frat-house humor. This summer alone will see four marijuana-tinged releases, including the Judd...

Erratic Sleepers Have More Health Problems: Study

Short, long hours of shuteye increase odds of smoking, obesity

(Newser) - Irregular sleep habits increase the likelihood of obesity and smoking, the AP reports. The CDC surveyed 87,000 Americans over 2 years and found that individuals who sleep fewer than 6 hours a night or more than 9 were 5% to 10% more likely to smoke and 4% to 11%...

Quit Sooner, Live Longer
Quit Sooner, Live Longer
May 7, 2008 2:59 PM CDT

Quit Sooner, Live Longer

Newly minted nonsmokers see benefits almost immediately

(Newser) - Smokers who kick the habit see their risk of dying drop drastically after 5 years, and their risk level nears that of nonsmokers within 20 years, new research finds. In a study that followed 100,000 women over 3 decades, researchers recorded a 13% drop in death from all causes...

Bans Keep Teens From Lighting Up

Restaurant prohibitions seen to influence how youngsters see smoking: study

(Newser) - Restaurant smoking bans are effective at discouraging teen smoking, the AP reports. Studying Massachusetts because of its patchwork of local smoking restrictions, researchers found that teens living in places with strict bans were 40% less likely to become smokers. Local laws didn’t change how many experimented with cigarettes, but...

Closet Smokers Might Get Canned
Closet Smokers Might Get Canned
Apr 23, 2008 4:42 PM CDT

Closet Smokers Might Get Canned

Factory workers who lied on insurance forms may lose jobs

(Newser) - A group of factory workers who lied about their smoking habits could be fired. The Whirlpool company charges lower premiums for health insurance to nonsmoking workers—and relies on the honor code when employees sign up. Now 39 workers at an Indiana factory have been suspended and face losing their...

Life Grows Shorter for America's Poor

Smoking, obesity blamed for spread of 'death gap'

(Newser) - Life is getting shorter for many of America's poorest people, USA Today reports. Life expectancy has risen in most of the nation since 1960 but in some areas—including the Deep South and Appalachia—life expectancy has dropped significantly, according to a study published in The Public Library of Science....

In Video, Teens Force Toddler to Smoke Pot

Two Ohioans charged after camcorder ends up in a pawnshop

(Newser) - Two Ohio teens have been arrested after police acquired a video in which they forced a toddler to smoke pot, NBC reports. The video, in which the smoking babysitters pass the pipe to the 18-month-old, was recovered after it was left inside a camcorder sold to a pawnshop. The teens...

Predicting Cancer Is All in Your Head

Test on smokers' mouths shows link to disease in lungs

(Newser) - A simple test on cells from the mouth could help doctors predict which smokers will develop lung cancer, Reuters reports. In a test group, 95% of subjects with the genetic damage associated with cancer in their lungs had the same damage in their mouths.

New York City Woman Sued for Smoking—at Home

Neighbors allege health risk from smoke that seeped into hallway

(Newser) - Forget bans in bars and restaurants—Galila Huff’s neighbors want to stop her from smoking in her own apartment. The New York restaurateur smokes up to two packs a day, and lawyers who live 50 feet down the hall say the smoke seeps into their 10x100-foot common hallway. They...

Genetics May Play Role in Smokers' Cancer Risk

Those who inherit variation from both parents are at greater danger

(Newser) - Three new studies have found a genetic variation that may increase smokers' chances of getting lung cancer. A smoker who inherits the variations from both parents has a 70% to 80% greater risk of developing the cancer. The findings could shed light on why some  smokers get cancer and some...

Upbeat Cancer Research Funded by Big Tobacco

Cigarette bucks paid for controversial lung cancer study

(Newser) - Tobacco money paid for research that said CT scans could prevent 80% of lung cancer deaths, the New York Times reports. The news has shocked cancer researchers, who are generally loathe to have anything to do with cigarette companies. “If you’re using blood money, you need to tell...

Smoking May Be Harmful to Your Wii

Nintendo cleans lenses damaged by cigarettes

(Newser) - Here's another reason to stop smoking: It damages your Wii. Some cigarette-wielding users in Japan last month noticed that the much anticipated "Super Smash Brothers Brawl" wasn't working properly, prompting Nintendo to provide free shipping and cleanup of tar-covered disc readers, the Boston Herald reports. Nintendo says the issue...

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