US agency proposes 10 point plan to cut smoking

British Medical Journal ^ | 2/28/04 | Charles Marwick

[Gabz]

Sure thing, FRiend!!!!

Don't forget the Lounge is open on Friday....I won't be around tomorrow for it, my daughter is getting a reading award at school tomorrow and we will be there, but just tell the bartender that you're on my tab!!!

[Gabz]

Ingrown toenails is about one of the only medical problems that have not been linked to smoking.....but give them time, they will figure out a way to link the two and then claim ingrown toenails are "caused" by smoking.

[uvular]

And another thing-a national 'quitline' for 25m?? What the he-- is that about? Who gets the contract for that, some prison, to give the prisoners something to do?

[uvular]

My point extactly! But in the meantime, our taxes go towards paying for the medical benefits of governmental tubs like Tommy Thompson.

How many times do ya suppose chubbie congresscritters go to the dr. for bad feet, ankles, legs and backs, etc., but they do not heed the dr.'s advice to lose weight? Is anyone veiling threatingly to deny their truly self-induced illnesses-no!

[qam1]

And another thing-a national 'quitline' for 25m?? What the he-- is that about? Who gets the contract for that, some prison, to give the prisoners something to do?

$25 Million more like $14 Billion

Quote "The $2 tax is estimated to bring in $28bn, half of which would go toward funding parts of the plan."

The question should be what the ¶éLL are they going to use that $14 billion for and what about the other $14 Billion where is that going to go.

[qam1]

Ingrown toenails is about one of the only medical problems that have not been linked to smoking.....but give them time, they will figure out a way to link the two and then claim ingrown toenails are "caused" by smoking.

They are already close

The harlequin nail. A marker for smoking cessation.

Verghese A, Krish G, Howe D, Stonecipher M.

Department of Medicine, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Johnson City.

Changes in the human nail frequently serve as an indicator of local and systemic disease. Alterations in the morphology, structure and growth characteristics of the nail accompany chronic cigarette smoking; yellow pigmentation of the nail plate--referred to as the "nicotine sign"--is common. The clubbed yellow nail may indicate the presence of lung cancer. In contrast to the ominous nature of the clubbed yellow nail, we describe a sign that is more propitious: the sudden cessation of smoking due to an intercurrent disease, often a cerebrovascular accident (CVA), leads to the development of a distinct line of demarcation between the distal pigmented nail and the newly emerging proximal nonpigmented nail. We propose the term "harlequin nail" for this curious physical sign. By measurement of the distance between the proximal nail base fold and the line of demarcation, we can deduce the date smoking ceased (and, by inference, the approximate date of a CVA in a patient unable to volunteer this information). This sign also serves as a reminder that the "nicotine nail" remains discolored only because of dynamic restaining of the nail with tobacco by-products.

Publication Types: Case Reports

PMID: 2295246 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

I can already picture the day when government or insurance officials start running around demanding you take you socks off so they can check to see if you are smoking

[Gabz]

OH it's happening alright - but is still not getting the attention the anti-smoker cabal gets.

I have to laugh at them ----

I grow a great deal of my own veggies and have for a very long time, I also love to cook......but being overweight is not a problem in my house. I'm 5'10" and weigh 120.

I look at some of these screeching control freaks on the television going on and on about how bad my smoking cigarettes is for them --- and every single one of them could stand to lose about 50 pounds. Sheesh

[Beck_isright]

[unixfox]

Anytime the government says they are "Here to help" you better run like hell and hold on to your wallet !!

[Gabz]

Good grief.......

That is definitely something I hadn't seen - my initial comment was pure sarcasm.

[Chu Gary]

I stopped cold turkey in 1986, from 3 packs a day to zero and have never touched a cigarette, cigar or any other tobacco product since. There is only one effective way to stop smoking, IMHO, and that is to WANT to quit, then it's easy. Having gummint, wives, etc. nag does not and will not work worth a whit.

[microgood]

Studies have shown that increasing tax on tobacco discourages use.

Discourages use should be replaced with encourages illegal sales. The last few years I smoked I bought them all on the Indian reservation.

[Gabz]

Discourages use should be replaced with encourages illegal sales

I only partly agee with you ---- making your own has nothing to to do with illegal sales!!!!

[CSM]

"has proposed increasing the tax on a pack of cigarettes by $2 (£1; €1.60)."

What will they do if the 5M people actually quit and they lose the $10M per day that this tax will bring in? This would generate a minimume of $3.65B a year in revenues. That is what they are really interested in.

After the 5M people quit, what other behaviors will be ripe for taxation? Red meat, fast food, potato chips, soda, etc.

[CSM]

Oh my, I am flabbergasted.......

[Mears]

They want to spend all this time and effort to get five million people to quit? What about the other 45 million left smoking?

As someone who remembers the awful fear when polio was around during those long,hot summers when I was a kid,I'm offended that they would even compare the elimination of polio with the cessation of smoking.

More black market cigs coming soon,folks!!!!!!

[swarthyguy]

So, more and more, the ninnynanny American Taliban Communitarians seem to have found fertile ground inside the Republican party.

2 bucks; In Ma, that means a pack moves to 8 bucks.

[Madame Dufarge]

Referring to the need to address smoking Dr Fiore drew a parallel with the way the United States handled the polio outbreaks of the 1950s.

"Only through a significant commitment, including federal funds, were we able to eradicate polio," he said.

In the 50's, we were lined up in school and vaccinated against polio.

So, in the bright and gleaming future, the smokers will be lined up and what, forced into re-education camps, denied jobs (already happening) and services, etc., etc.? The possibilities are endless.