Posted on 12/25/2004 10:37:36 AM PST by SheLion
WASHINGTON, Dec. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) intends to provide new coverage allowing certain Medicare beneficiaries who smoke to receive counseling services that will help them quit the habit.
"We're building on our efforts to help America's seniors help themselves to quit smoking and live longer," Secretary Thompson said. "This new benefit, focused on treating seniors' smoking related diseases, will go a long way toward reducing their risk of dying prematurely. The combination of lives lost, unnecessarily, and the cost of treating smoking-related diseases makes our investment in smoking cessation benefits all that more important. It's never too late to benefit from quitting smoking."
An estimated 9.3 percent of those age 65 and older smoke cigarettes. About 440,000 people die annually from smoking related disease, with 300,000 of those deaths in those 65 and older.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated in 2002 that 57 percent of smokers age 65 and over reported a desire to quit. Currently, about 10 percent of elderly smokers quit each year, with 1 percent relapsing.
"The evidence available fully supports the hope that seniors at risk of the diseases caused by smoking can quit, given the right assistance," CMS Administrator Mark McClellan, M.D., Ph.D. said. "As we add the 'Welcome to Medicare' exam and other preventive benefits and drug coverage, this is another step in using the medical evidence to turn Medicare into a prevention- oriented program."
The proposal to cover smoking cessation counseling comes in response to a June 2004 request from the Partnership for Prevention (PFP). The PFP requested CMS open a national coverage decision to consider coverage of tobacco cessation counseling as detailed in the HHS Public Health Service (PHS) 2000 Clinical Practice Guideline, Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence.
The guideline has been endorsed by many health care and professional organizations. Based on the evidence reflected in the guideline, CMS proposes to extend smoking cessation coverage to beneficiaries who smoke and have been diagnosed with a smoking related disease or are taking certain drugs whose metabolism is affected by tobacco use. This announcement builds on a series of HHS initiatives designed to help Americans quit smoking, including the opening of a new national quitline (1-800-QUITNOW) and designating all HHS campuses tobacco-free.
While many may think those who quit smoking at age 65 or older fail to reap the health benefits of abstinence from tobacco, the U.S. Surgeon General has reported that the benefits of cessation do extend to quitting at older ages. Smoking cessation in older adults leads to significant risk reduction and other health benefits, even in those who have smoked for years.
The coverage decision involves Medicare beneficiaries who have an illness caused or complicated by smoking, including heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, lung disease, weak bones, blood clots, and cataracts -- the diseases that account for the bulk of Medicare spending today. It also applies to beneficiaries who take any of the many medications whose effectiveness is complicated by smoking -- including insulins and medicines for high blood pressure, seizures, blood clots and depression.
"The best way to prevent the serious health problems caused by tobacco is never to start using it. Millions of our beneficiaries have smoked for many years, and are now experiencing the heart problems, lung problems, and many other often-fatal diseases that smoking can cause. It's really hard to quit, but we are going to do everything we can to help," said Dr. McClellan. "I especially want to urge smokers on Medicare who are just starting to experience heart problems or lung problems or high blood pressure to take advantage of this new help -- and more is coming."
Medicare's upcoming prescription drug benefit will cover smoking cessation treatments that are prescribed by a physician.
CMS Chief Medical Officer Sean Tunis, M.D., said, "Federal policy has acknowledged tobacco as the number one cause of preventable death for decades now, and CMS has taken the lead in implementing coverage policy for our seniors to deal directly with this critical health problem."
In 1993, smoking cost the Medicare program about $14.2 billion, or approximately 10 percent of Medicare's total budget. On average, nonsmokers survived 1.6 - 3.9 years longer than those who have never smoked.
The proposed new coverage policy is available for review at the CMS coverage Web site (http://www.cms.hhs.gov/coverage). The posting of this proposed coverage policy marks the beginning of a 30-day public comment period. After close of the comment period, CMS will have 60 days to review the comments and issue a final policy.
Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at http://www.hhs.gov/news.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Where have I projected my past drug problems on anyone here? SHOW ME.
You can't do so because I haven't.
You still made accusations of others and have not backed them up - I suggest you do so.
I can back up everything I say on this board.
You are the one making false accusations that you can't back up.
Good night, Gabz. Happy New Year, FRiend. And stay away from that (*giggle*) herion stuff. Jorge didn't and now cigarette smokers bother the dickens out of the little feller. ;-D
Do you know me?
Who exactly do you think you are to tell people you know more about my life than I do? When in fact you have NEVER met me!
How would you like it if I came on this board telling people you are a liar about things you post about your personal life. When I have never even met you?
What is wrong with you?
I make FALSE accusations?????????? what a joke.
You make a statement and are asked to back it up and you twist it around to force someone else to back it up...
Re-read our exchange:
You: 109
Me: 110
You: 114
Me: 116
I have spent my entire adult life in politics, including some years as a reporter and the rest as an advocate - I can see the dodging of a question from miles away. You're trying, but you need more practice.
You accused someone of making a specific statement and now refuse to back up your accusation.
This is TOO FUNNY!
The entire subject of the thread was a "Good Laugh" about the Benefits of Quiting smoking...by SheLion.
Now you say that unless I can prove this was SheLion's position I am therefore a liar.
You crack me up.
Not only have you lost the debate, you are desperately trying to hide the fact that you took the losing side to begin with.
Poor Gabz.
Sad Gabz.
Poor, sad Gabz.
Good night, my dear FRiend. Happy New Year to you as well.
pshaw on the heroin - it's the crack that bothers me........I saw first hand what addicts and dealers of that nasty stuff did to people and neighborhoods and kids.........why do you think I live in the middle of nowhere? I was on a first name basis with the local PD dispatcher because of the crack dealers and users. I ws verbally assaulted on a daily basis and physically assaulted more than once. In front of my own house, and occassionally in my own front yard or driveway.
In Delaware crack addicts and dealers, and heroin addicts and dealers are treated like victims and taken care of and those who complain about them are treated like second class citizens. Just like lawabiding citizens who happen to smoke tobacco.
I applaud anyone that makes the move to kick an addiction to crack or heroin - but I will not be lectured by one of them because I choose to smoke tobacco.
I told you I quit. Funny you forgot that part just so you could post insults. Incredible.
You didn't back up your claims.
People that can't back up their claims and instead change the focus of the discussion............well, just draw your own conclusion regarding the conclusions others will draw.
The most recent was guy named Gary, who was probably one of the most talented artists I ever met in my life, Herion totally destroyed him. He was 42 years old when he died.
My very best friend during my early 20's, Ed Hoey was found dead of an overdose on his living room sofa by his kids ten years ago. He was 40.
George Sutton who I got high with since a teenager died around 2 years ago..he was not only a herion addict but he contracted AIDS from dirty needles.
My friend and room-mate in Miami Beach, Alfred Randel who got busted copping crack with me and refused to go through the drug treatment program (that helped me quit) kept smoking crack and died a year later.
Gia Carangi who was the #1 super model of the late 70's who used to frequent clubs in Philly that I went to, who I never met personally but know somebody who met her in rehab was a heroin addict. She was one of the first women to die of AIDS. That was in 1986. She was absolutely beautiful and herion destroyed her life.
I could go on an on about the people I have known who are now dead from drugs.
I started doing drugs at 15 years old, was living on the streets by the time I was 16 and battled addictions nearly all my life.
Yes you DID make a false accusation.
You accused me of projecting my past drug addictions on other posters in this thread.
I never did any such thing.
LOL. You sound like a fun person.
If this is how you handle those who disagree with you on a message board I sure wouldn't want to be around you when you run out of cigarettes :)
You changed the subject again - that does not work with me.
You made an accusation.........back it up.
You're projecting your guilt on others again. You can't back up your accusations, and so attack others.
You don't like cigarette smokers, fine, I don't care - then stay out of the threads dealing with it with your fiction and we will all be happy.
Anytime somebody challenges you on ANYTHING, you accuse them of "changing the subject" because you have no answer.
You made an accusation.........back it up.
I have done so. More than once.
I bet you don't even remember what the supposed accusation IS by now. You just keep pasting the same stupid phrase in every post. It's boring.
You're projecting your guilt on others again.
Guilt over WHAT? What are you talking about?
You can't back up your accusations, and so attack others.
You mean my accusations are different from my attacks? LOL. You are too funny.
You don't like cigarette smokers, fine, I don't care - then stay out of the threads dealing with it with your fiction and we will all be happy.
Who said I didn't like cigarette smokers?
See my post 144. It lays out that which you refuse to back up with proof.
I will answer you when and if you ever decide to back up your claims.
I will check back in the morning to see if you are as big a person as your posts supposedly claim you are.
Have a pleasant evening.
You know what...........I, as well as many smokers in Free Republic have run across people just like you many, many times.
If we get just a little testy, we have good reason. People like you just want to take away the rights of the American people who choose to use a legal commodity. And it's people just like you that are taking away the rights of the business owner forcing them to go smoke free. Forcing them to lose business and most times, close.
You are nothing but a smart arze and I'm just a little tired of dealing with your kind.
For your information, I was married for 34 years to a wonderful combat Viet Nam Vet! I lost him two years ago next month. He died from agent orange. We both smoked. And I miss him dearly.
So if you want to continue to berate me, have at it. I have been through worse then you bud.
Like I said: I would bet anything that you are under 30. Most "kids" today have been so brainwashed, it's pathetic.
Have a good life. Keep your brown shirts starched and your jack boots shined. You must wear them everyday!
Do you drink? You sound like a drunk who has nothing better to do then pick on people.
Or maybe you snort coke. You sure sound like you are on SOMEthing! heh!
Do you want your children or grandchildren to be frequent and regular users of tobacco? If you do you are wishing them to become addicts. Is that what you wish for them?
Almost every smoker would quit if he or she could.
This list is a complete joke and any doubts about SHS being harmful should be put to rest, It may look bad but there is nothing in there that you aren't exposed to in greater quantities just going about your business in your everyday life
Acetone
It may smell but not toxic. It is the active ingredient in nail polish remover. If it's so toxic than every women whoever changed nail colors would suffer serious health problems. Acetone is also used for things like bleaching Flour and used to extract spices So if we are to ban smoking in bars because of Acetone than we must ban them from making anything with flour, using any spices on their food or serving bread.
Ammonia
Again stinky but not toxic, Ammonia is used for cleaning and almost every cleaning product contains it (usually they add fragrances to hide the smell). In commercial industries such as restaurants and bars plain ole ammonia is the preferred method for cleaning floors. Ammonia is also naturally produced in our body and is sweated out. If we are to ban smoking because ETS contains Ammonia than we also must ban bars/restaurants from ever cleaning their floors and we must prohibit the room temperature from ever getting to warm so people don't sweat.
Acrolein
If we are going to ban smoking in bars because ETS contains Acrolein than we have to ban the burning of EVERYTHING!!! NO more internal combustion engines, No more fireplaces, No more Candles and NO more cooking of any food. Every organic compound in the universe that is burned releases Acrolein. And again even if you could do all your cooking "Off site" it won't matter because Acrolein gets incorporated into the food. All bars/restaurants must now only serve Raw food.
Arsenic
Arsenic is a heavy metal that is found in trace amounts in almost all water drinking or otherwise. Tobacco like all plants needs water to grow so any plant will contain trace amounts Arsenic, So if we are to ban smoking in bars/restaurants because of Arsenic than we must also ban them from serving anything with water and since all plants used water to grow all fruits and vegetables must be also banned to.
Benzene
Benzene is in gasoline and it takes 4695 cigarettes smoked just to equal 1 gallon of gas burned. So just the fact that cars spewing exhaust are pulling up to or just driving by the place guarantees benzene will be in the air. If we are going to ban smoking in bars/restaurants because ETS contains Benzene than we have to ban cars and trucks from ever getting anywhere near them.
Butadiene
A component of gasoline. Same as Benzene above.
Butane
Not toxic. A simple hydrocarbon used as a fuel it is found in Gasoline again. It Also found in natural gas so if so if we are to ban smoking in bars/restaurants because of Butane than we must ban them from frying any foods. Butane is also used as a propellant in many aerosol cans most noteably spray vegatable cooking oils like Pam and shaving creme so they must be banned to, Dam ozone layer lets go back to using CFCs.
Cadmium
Same as Arsenic above, Though this one is found in also in milk so we also must ban any and all dairy products.
Carbon Monoxide
Same as Acrolein above, Again the burn anything you get CO
Note: Since it is the law in most places that all businesses must have CO detectors you would think if SHS produced anything approaching dangerous levels of CO those alarms would be going off like crazy.
Cyanide
Same as Acrolein above. Burn anything organic you produce trace amounts of Cyanide that will be in the air and Well at least when there is Nitrogen in the atmosphere, So I guess smoking and cooking will be OK on the planet Venus.
Dioxin
Same as Acrolein and Cyanide above. Burn anything organic you produce Dioxin. But it should be noted that according to http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3106039.stm it takes 220,000 cigarettes to equal the output of one 2 hour barbecue, So again forget cooking any food.
Formaldehyde
Most famous for it's use by embalmers to preserve dead bodies, However if we are going to ban smoking in bars because ETS contains Formaldehyde than we must also ban alcohol because when your body breaks down alcohol the main breakdown product is Formaldehyde which along with it being broken down in your liver you do expel an amount of it in your breath and sweat. You also produce formaldehyde for many other bodily functions which is also released in sweat/breath. And I really hope these non-alcoholic bars/restaurants aren't in a place that is to hot or to cold because formaldehyde is used to make insulation so that must be also banned.
Hydrazine
Most famous for being used as Rocket Fuel however it's main everyday use is it is added to boilers water to prevent corrosion So if we are to ban second hand smoke because of Hydrazine than we must ban a bar/restaurant from installing boilers (That's OK though because of Ammonia and Formaldehyde we don't want people to sweat anyhow). Also interestingly enough it has been studied as an anticancer agent.
Indole
I am utterly shocked when I see this listed on a antismoking Nazi dangerous chemical list, It shows they are just putting things in to make their list longer thus look scarier. Indole is found in cruciferous plants like tobacco. Not only is Indole not dangerous it may actually be very good for you!!! It is often sold by itself as an antioxidant, estrogen blocker and anti-cancer agent. So because SHS contains Indole it may actually be beneficial.
Isoquinoline
This is common alkaloid found in many plants that we consume. It also being studied as an anticancer reagent.
Lead
Same as Arsenic above
Nicotine
Besides Tobacco Nicotine is found in many plants of the nightshade family that we consume like Cucumbers, Eggplant, Peppers, Potatoes and Tomatoes.
Nitrogen compounds (Oxides)
Again since we live on Earth instead of Venus if you burn anything in our atmosphere you will produce Nitrogen Compounds. Often they are found in high concentrations in polluted cities.
Anti-smoking Nazis will often list the names of the different types of common Nitrogen compounds and oxides to make their list longer. (Acetonitrile, Dimethylnitrosamine, Ethylmethylnitrosamine, Isoamylamine, Nitric acid, Nitrogen oxides, Nitrous acid, Nitrosopyrrolidine ) just to make their dangerous chemical list longer.
Polonium-210
Same as Arsenic above
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PHA)
PHAs are a class of simple similar organic compounds that are again formed when anything is burned. Anti-smoking Nazis will often list the names of the different isomers just to make their dangerous chemical list longer.
On a side note is PHAs (Most notably Benzoapyrene) are often cited as the most potent cancer causing chemical in the world by the antismoking Nazis which is BS, Yes it does cause cancer when test on mice however humans have been eating cooked food for many milena now so we would have evolved (or created if you prefer) to tolerate this stuff or we would all come down with cancer before we are 5.
Propylene Glycol
The anti-smoking Nazis have got to be kidding when they cite this one. Propylene Glycol is harmless, It's used in many if not most cosmetic products, If we are going to ban smoking in bars because ETS contains Propylene Glycol than we have to ban all customers and employees who enter a bar from ever shampooing their hair. (Just go look at the ingredients on the bottle of your shampoo) Come on now, If Propylene Glycol is so harmful why are we allowed by the FDA to put this stuff on our head.
Pyridine
Pyridine is used to make many different everyday products such as medicines, vitamins, food flavorings, paints, dyes. Pyridine can also be formed from the breakdown of many natural materials in the environment. Everyone is exposed to very low levels of pyridine in air, water, and food. If we are going to ban smoking in bars because ETS contains pyridine we are also going to have to ban doctors, vitamins and food with artificial flavorings, Bars and restaurants can't paint the walls and all their curtains, napkins, table clothes must be white only. Oh and because Pyridine occurs naturally in the environment ever bar/restaurant must provide it's customers with oxygen mask.
Note: Just like with the PAHs, Anti-smoking Nazis will often list the names of different isomers of Pyridine (i.e. 3-hydroxypyridine, 3-vinylpyridine, 3-Cyanopyridine) just to make their dangerous chemical list longer.
Turpentine
Turpentine is commonly used as a paint thinner. If we are going to ban smoking in bars because ETS contains turpentine than of course we must ban all bars/restaurants from using or staining wood because it also releases turpentine and of course any pine trees (Remember Ronald Reagan talking about tree causing pollution - Well this was what he was talking about) that are anywhere near a bars/restaurant must come down.
Urethane (Ethyl Carbamate)
Bad news, If we ban SHS in a bar because of Urethane than we also must ban the bar from serving Alcohol because urethane is found in drinks made by the fermentation process which of course pretty much means all Alcoholic Berverges
So, what do we have left? - There are no humans on earth because we all died of dehydration because we couldn't drink the water.
Chemicals? Yes.
We live in an intensely chemical-phobic society, one where food labels and menus brag of being "all-natural" and "purely organic." Poultry sections offer fryers from "happy, free range chickens." "Chemical-free" cuisine is in.
So it may come as a shock to you that even an all-natu- ral holiday feast (and every other meal you consume throughout the year) comes replete with chemicals, including toxins (poisons) and carcinogens (cancer-causing chemicals) - most of which average consumers would reject simply on the grounds that they can't pronounce the names.
Assume you start with an appetizer, then move on to a medley of crispy, natural vegetables, and proceed to a traditional stuffed bird with all the trimmings, washing it down with libations of the season, and topping it all off with some homemade pastries.
You will thus have consumed holiday helpings of various "carcinogens" (defined here as a substance that at high dose causes cancer in laboratory animals), including:
* hydrazines (mushroom soup);
* aniline, caffeic acid, benzaldehyde, hydrogen peroxide, quercetin glycosides and psoralens (your fresh vegetable salad),
* heterocyclic amines, acrylamide, benzo(a)pyrene, ethyl carbamate, dihydrazines, d-limonene, safrole and quercetin glycosides (roast turkey with stuffing);
* benzene and heterocyclic amines (prime rib of beef with parsley sauce);
* furfural, ethyl alcohol, allyl isothiocyanate (broccoli, potatoes, sweet potatoes);
* coumarin, methyl eugenol, acetaldehyde, estragole and safrole (apple and pumpkin pies);
* ethyl alcohol with ethyl carbamate (red and white wines).
Then sit back and relax with some benzofuran, caffeic acid, catechol, l,2,5,6,-dibenz(a)anthra- cene with 4-methylcatechol (coffee).
And those, all produced courtesy of Mother Nature, are only the carcinogens you just scarfed down. Your l00-percent natural holiday meal is also replete with toxins - popularly known as "poisons." These include the solanine, arsenic and chaconine in potatoes; the hydrogen cyanide in lima beans and the hallucinogenic compound myristicin found in nutmeg, black pepper and carrots.
Now here is the good news: these foods are safe.
Four observations are relevant here:
* When it comes to toxins, only the dose makes the poison. Some chemicals, regardless of whether they are natural or synthetic, are potentially hazardous at high doses but are perfectly safe when consumed at low doses like the trace amounts found in our foods.
* While you probably associate the word "carcinogen" with nasty-sounding synthetic chemicals like PCBs and dioxin, the reality is that the more we test naturally occurring chemicals, the more we find that they, too, cause cancer in lab animals.
* The increasing body of evidence documenting the carcinogenicity (in the lab) of common substances found in nature highlights the contradiction we Americans have created up to now in our regulatory approach to carcinogens: trying to purge our nation of synthetic carcinogens, while turning a blind eye to the omnipresence of natural "carcinogens."
* While animal testing is an essential part of biomedical research, so is commonsense. A rodent is not a little man. There is no scientific foundation to the assumption that if high-dose exposure to a chemical causes cancer in a rat or mouse, then a trace level of it must pose a human cancer risk.
If we took a precautionary approach with all chemicals and assumed that a rodent carcinogen might pose a human cancer risk ("so let's ban it just in case"), we'd have very little left to eat. (A radical solution to our nation's obesity problem!)
The reality is that these trace levels of natural or synthetic chemicals in food or the environment pose no known human health hazard at all - let alone a risk of cancer.
So the next time you hear a self-appointed "consumer advocate" fret about the man-made "carcinogen du jour" and demand the government step in and "protect" us - remember, you just ingested a meal full of natural carcinogens without a care in the world and with no risk to your health.
Pass the methyl eugenol! Bon Appetit!
Elizabeth M. Whelan is president of the American Council on Science and Health
Full Story:
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.