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Lungs from pack-a-day smokers safe for transplant, study finds JoNel Aleccia, Staff Writer, NBC News Jan. 29, 2013 at 4:35 AM ET About 13 percent of double-lung transplants in the U.S. came from donors who were heavy smokers, a new study finds. Using lung transplants from heavy smokers may sound like a cruel joke, but a new study finds that organs taken from people who puffed a pack a day for more than 20 years are likely safe. What’s more, the analysis of lung transplant data from the U.S. between 2005 and 2011 confirms what transplant experts say they already...

The House of Representatives votes 298-to-112 to approve sweeping legislation to bring tobacco under control of the Food and Drug Administration for the first time. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/04/02/house-approves-plan-fda-regulatory-power-tobacco/

The Advertising Standards Authority is to ask for proof to substantiate claims made by the Department of Health about the dangers of passive smoking. The watchdog will act after receiving 26 complaints about the 'Invisible Killer’ TV ads which featured cigarette smoke blowing around a wedding party and into the mouths and noses of non-smokers. The complainants said the ad was scaremongering, would cause undue fear to non-smokers and challenged whether there is a proven link between second-hand smoke and a raised risk of contracting specific diseases. Donna Mitchell from the ASA told morningadvertiser.co.uk: ”We will be investigating and publishing...

Smoking cigarettes is a clear health risk, as most everyone knows. But lately, people have begun to worry about the health risks of secondhand smoke. Some policymakers and activists are even claiming that the government should crack down on secondhand smoke exposure, given what "the science" indicates about such exposure. Last July, introducing his office's latest report on secondhand smoke, then-U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona asserted that "there is no risk-free level of secondhand smoke exposure," that "breathing secondhand smoke for even a short time can damage cells and set the cancer process in motion," and that... --snip-- In addition,...

Michael Siegel, a tobacco control activist who supports government-imposed smoking bans, slams the Office of the Surgeon General for falsely claiming or implying that brief, transient exposure to secondhand smoke raises the risk of lung cancer, cardiovascular disease, and heart attack. The inaccurate or misleading statements appear not in the surgeon general's report on secondhand smoke but in the press release, fact sheet, and remarks by Surgeon General Richard Carmona that accompanied the report's publication. The press release, for example, claims that "even brief exposure to secondhand smoke has immediate adverse effects on the cardiovascular system and increases risk for...

“Secondhand smoke debate ‘over.” That’s the message from the Surgeon General’s office, delivered by a sycophantic media. The claim is that the science has now overwhelmingly proved that smoke from others’ cigarettes can kill you. Actually, “debate over” simply means: “If you have your doubts, shut up!” But you definitely should have doubts over the new Surgeon General’s report, a massive 727-page door stop. Like many massive reports on controversial issues, it’s probably designed that way so nobody (especially reporters on deadline) will want to or have time to read beyond the executive summary. That includes me; if I had...

Cigarette smoking would be banned at city beaches and parks under a measure tentatively approved Monday by the city council. Sponsors said the measure will reduce litter and allow beachgoers to avoid secondhand smoke. "To me, this is a quality-of-life issue for San Diego," said Councilman Jim Madaffer, a co-sponsor. "This is an issue that is about public health and safety." The council unanimously approved the ban. A second vote is required before the measure becomes law. San Diego, whose miles of beaches are a major tourist draw, joins a handful of other California cities that have similar bans, including...

SAN FRANCISCO -- A new Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center study shows that exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, even at extremely low levels, is associated with behavior problems in children and pre-teens. While the study examined 5 to 11 year olds with asthma, the findings most likely could be extrapolated to include children without asthma who "act out" or experience depression and anxiety, according to Kimberly Yolton, Ph.D., a researcher at the Children's Environmental Health Center at Cincinnati Children's and the study's main author The study will be presented at 8:30 a.m. Pacific time Sunday, April 30, at the annual...

Michigan Firm Won't Allow Smoking, Even On Employee's Own Time LANSING, Mich. -- A Michigan health care company has fired four of its employees for refusing to take a test to determine whether they smoke cigarettes. The company enacted a new policy this month, allowing workers to be fired if they smoke, even if the smoking takes place after-hours, or at home. The founder of Weyco Inc. said the company doesn't want to pay the higher health care costs associated with smoking. An official of the company -- which administers health benefits -- estimated that 18 to 20 of its...

Vatican City, Vatican City, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- An article in a leading Roman Catholic journal signals that the Vatican may join the public health establishment's crusade against cigarette smoking. The latest edition of the scholarly publication Civilta Cattolica, published by the Jesuits and approved by a top aide to Pope John Paul II, says smokers cannot damage their own health and that of others "without moral responsibility." The article by Giuseppe de Rosa stops short of calling smoking a sin, but says lighting up is "not neutral either in social or indeed moral terms." De Rosa's views, and presumably...

Uncle Sam versus the Marlboro Man The government funds heavy-handed tactics to convince people to stop smoking. Shown here, a bald-headed ad targeted at young people suggests smoking is a "smelly, puking habit." by Jonathan Trager LP News Staff Writer Grady Carter, a 68-year-old Floridian, got rich using a rather unconventional method: Smoking cigarettes. After more than 40 years of daily puffing, Carter was diagnosed with lung cancer. In 1995, he filed a lawsuit against Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation -- the manufacturer of Lucky Strike cigarettes -- demanding that the company compensate him for his illness. A five-year legal...