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TUESDAY, Oct. 17 (HealthDay News) -- A new study finds that at least 1 in every 4 smokers will develop progressive and incurable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a much higher risk than previously believed. COPD is a respiratory disease that results in blocked air flow to the lungs and grows progressively worse. For this study, published online in the journal Thorax, researchers at Hvidovre Hospital analyzed data on 8,000 men and women, ages 30 to 60. All were monitored for 25 years as part of the Copenhagen City Heart Study. At the start of the study, all the participants'...

Curbing tobacco use and taking other steps to eliminate some of the most common risk factors for cancer could save millions of lives over the next few decades, health officials said Monday. Tobacco alone is predicted to kill a billion people this century, 10 times the toll it took in the 20th century, if current trends hold. "In all of world history, this is the largest train wreck not waiting to happen," said John Seffrin, chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society. Reducing tobacco use would have the single largest effect on global cancer rates, Seffrin and other health...

WASHINGTON - Separate smoking sections don't cut it: Only smoke-free buildings and public places truly protect nonsmokers from the hazards of breathing in other people's tobacco smoke, says a long-awaited surgeon general's report. Some 126 million nonsmokers are exposed to secondhand smoke, what U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona repeatedly calls "involuntary smoking" that puts people at increased risk of death from lung cancer, heart disease and other illnesses. Moreover, there is no risk-free level of exposure to someone else's drifting smoke, declares the report issued Tuesday — a conclusion sure to fuel already growing efforts at public smoking bans nationwide....

Wednesday June 14, 2006 By JULIE CARR SMYTH Associated Press Writer COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Two smokers can't bring a class action lawsuit against Philip Morris USA Inc. over the way the tobacco giant markets ``light'' cigarettes, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled Wednesday. The smokers had argued that Richmond, Va.-based Philip Morris knew cigarettes it marketed as having less tar and nicotine would be as dangerous as regular cigarettes. The tobacco giant contended that Ohio law requires a more specific warning from the state on a company's marketing practices before allowing lawsuits to apply beyond individuals to an entire class....

Down through the years, I've attempted to warn my fellow Americans about the tyrannical precedent and template for further tyranny set by anti-tobacco zealots. The point of this column is not to rekindle the smoking debate. That train has left the station. Instead, let's examine the template. In the early stages of the anti-tobacco campaign, there were calls for "reasonable" measures such as non-smoking sections on airplanes and health warnings on cigarette packs. In the 1970s, no one would have ever believed such measures would have evolved into today's level of attack on smokers, which includes confiscatory cigarette taxes and...

DENVER (AP) — A man taking a break from painting burned down his house this weekend after trying to snuff a cigarette in a bowl of paint thinner. Stevie Spencer had put the bowl on his coffee table before taking a smoke break about 10 p.m. Saturday. "I forgot paint thinner was in the bowl," Spencer said. "I thought it was water." The fire from the paint thinner ignited some papers, Spencer said. He evacuated his wife from the house, then tried to extinguish the flames with a hose. He suffered minor injuries before abandoning the house. Spencer estimated the...

Twelve Madison businesses have surrendered their city liquor licenses, the same number as last year, according to the city clerk's office. Anti-smoking advocates say this is evidence Madison's smoking ban hasn't hurt business, but the head of the Dane County Tavern League says the numbers are meaningless. "It seems pretty typical," said Maribeth Witzel-Behl, license clerk. Friday was the deadline for liquor-license holders to tell the city whether they want to renew their licenses. Nine businesses notified the city they would surrender their licenses; three more failed to respond by the deadline and have disconnected telephone numbers. Liquor-license holders have...

EVERETT, Wash.—Less than a dozen cars speckled the parking lot outside the White Elephant Bar and Grill on a recent Saturday night in this growing Seattle suburb. Inside, most booths and tables sat empty while two electronic dart boards hung unused on the side wall. A handful of customers encircled the restaurant's lone pool table, sipping beers and conversing easily at normal volume levels. Owners John and Donna Kerns leaned on the end of a deserted bar and watched helplessly as their once buzzing establishment choked to a slow death on its clean, smoke-free air. So it is for thousands...

HONOLULU -- Hawaii lawmakers have approved one of the strictest smoking bans in the country. The bill prohibits smoking in almost every public space. The governor is expected to approve the bill. She is a former smoker herself and has always been openly in favor of legislation to encourage smokers to give it up and to protect nonsmokers from secondhand smoke. The bill prohibits smoking in all public places including: bars, restaurants -- even open air restaurants -- office buildings and any place workers would be affected by smoke. "I think this is a huge step forward for public health...

Cigarette smoking strongly increases the risk of dying in middle age for both men and women, but kicking the habit, even at older ages, strongly decreases the risk of dying prematurely. These are the findings of the largest and longest study to date on smoking habits and consequences. The study is published today in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Among nearly 50,000 residents of rural Norway who were followed for 25 years, researchers found that 41 percent of men who continued to smoke heavily (at least one pack a day) died between 40 and 70 years of age compared with...

Americans smoked fewer cigarettes last year than at any time since 1951, and the nation's per capita consumption of tobacco fell to levels not seen since the early 1930s, the association of state attorneys general reported yesterday. Using data the federal government gathers when it collects taxes on cigarette sales, the group found a 4.2 percent decline in 2005 alone and an overall drop of more than 20 percent since tobacco companies reached a legal settlement with the states in 1998. -- snip -- Federal studies show that about 21.7 percent of high school students still smoke, as do 20.9...

High up on my list of annoyances are references to the United States as a democracy and the suggestion that Iraq should become a democracy. The word "democracy" appears in neither of our founding documents – the Declaration of Independence nor the U.S. Constitution. Our nation's founders had disdain for democracy and majority rule. James Madison, in Federalist Paper No. 10, said in a pure democracy, "there is nothing to check the inducement to sacrifice the weaker party or the obnoxious individual." During the 1787 Constitutional Convention, Edmund Randolph said that "in tracing these evils to their origin every man...

Imagine you own a restaurant in New Jersey. You lease your space and you pay your taxes, your cooks and your servers. The state has decided that, on April 15, you will have to ban smoking. Trampling over the rights of business owners will go down as one of the last acts of Acting Gov. Richard Codey, who signed the law banning smoking in restaurants this month. The state is doing this to save employees from the dangers of second-hand smoke. In joining other states that have made similar moves, lawmakers also relied on studies indicating that smoking bans...

An ordinance that would exempt taverns and some restaurant bars from a proposed citywide smoking prohibition will get a hearing on Monday, setting the stage for a possible showdown on the controversial smoking issue on the City Council floor two days later.

MADRID (Reuters) - Spaniards are no longer allowed to smoke as they take a Sunday stroll in the woods, under new government rules aimed at curbing the risk of fires such as a recent one in which 11 firefighters died. Lighting fires in open spaces is banned nationwide until November, by when the country's severe drought may have eased. Friday's law, which comes into force immediately, emphasizes the danger of barbecues at picnic places, thought to be the cause of the fatal blaze in Guadalajara, and prohibits farmers from burning stubble, for example. Just under 30 percent of Spaniards over...

Plaintiffs Bloomington VFW, Bloomington Legion, Bloomington Eagles, Bloomington Knights of Columbus, Lyon's Pub and Stub and Herb's today Filed a Complaint suing the City of Minneapolis, City of Bloomington, and County of Hennepin.Plaintiffs request the Hennepin County District Court issue a temporary restraining order enjoining the Defendants from enforcing their local smoking bans, which are scheduled to take effect March 31. A Judge will hear arguments regarding the temporary injunction on Friday, March 11, at noon. The Plaintiffs and their attorney will address the press this evening at the following address:Press Conference Tonight March 10, 2005 7:00 PMVFW POST #1296 311 West...

Please note that several cities and towns in Ohio are about to make a mistake and put smoking bans on their books. Could you please put together a State law now that smoking bans are not allowed?This would save a lot of wasted court money in the future.You see, smoking bans are not legal. NY and FL judges have already agreed that bans are not enforceable.  (Links at http://www.smokersclubinc.com )  This makes all smoking bans illegal unless your State or town wants to train you, supply liability insurance, sign you on as police AND make it a law that anyone they...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- One year after kicking its decades-long cigarette sponsorship habit, NASCAR apparently needs a little help staying smoke-free.  Nicorette gum became the first smoking cessation product to enter NASCAR when GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare signed a sponsorship deal Thursday with Chip Ganassi Racing.  Three of its quit-smoking products -- the gum, the NicoDerm CQ patch and Commit lozenges -- will be advertised on the rear decklid of Casey Mears' car for the entire season. Nicorette will also be the primary sponsor on the No. 41 Dodge for one race in a deal estimated to cost the company $3...