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ASH Daily News for 06 November 2007

China: Studies show smoking harms women more than men

A new study suggests that smoking is more harmful for women compared to men. This is especially so in regards to the risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), an umbrella term of a range of lung disorders, some of which are irreversible.

A study in Respirology published by Wiley-Blackwell surveyed almost 30,000 respondents to examine the association between COPD and the number of cigarettes smoked.

Results from the published study show a direct correlation between the amount of cigarettes smoked and the risk of developing COPD. The study also revealed that female smokers run a significantly higher risk of developing COPD, as compared to their male counterparts who smoked the same amount.

Dr. Fei Xu, lead author of the paper "Better Understanding the Influence of Cigarette Smoking and Indoor Air Pollution on Chronic Pulmonary Disease: A Case-Control Study in Mainland China" says, "It is not only the behaviour of smoking but also the number of cigarettes smoked that can significantly increase the risk of developing COPD, particularly if you are a woman."

COPD is most often associated with tobacco smoking and is one of the most common global public health problems. It is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide and currently the second most common cause of death in mainland China where the study was held.

Dr Xu adds. "This research facilitates policy makers in formulating policies combat smoking in the general population, hence reducing the burden of COPD on the public health system. The findings also serve as a warning for smokers, especially women, to give up smoking."

Source: MediLexicon, 05 November 2007
Link: http://tinyurl.com/32bp3t

Smoking ban rebel guilty

Hamish Howitt, the smoking ban rebel, has become the first licensee to be convicted of flouting the smoking ban.

Howitt, owner of Delboy’s Sports Bar which incorporates the Happy Scot karaoke bar in Blackpool, pleaded guilty to 12 offences of allowing smoking.

He was fined £500 and ordered to pay £2,000 costs. There was a £15 surcharge to help victims of crime and he is also facing a premises licence review, which was delayed a month, to allow health and safety improvements to be made.

Howitt said,  "This doesn't change anything. My favourite films when I was a kid were the Carry On films starring Barbara Windsor and Syd James. Well, as far as I am concerned my customers can carry on smoking."

Howitt said he had refused in court to sign an undertaking to take down political pro-smoking banners at his pub.

"I am proud of what I am doing. There is so much apathy in our world because people don't believe they can change the system.

"My political and social conscience will not allow me to change. As long as I have the pub, smoking will continue."

District Judge Peter Ward told Howitt: "I suggest your campaign has been silly, pointless and misguided. It has achieved nothing, all it seems to have done is cause a great deal of problems for yourself. I do not intend to make a martyr of you by imposing swingeing penalties."

Source: The Morning Advertiser, 05 November 2007
Link: http://tinyurl.com/39rw8q

Medication plus counselling may help teens kick the smoking habit

According to a new report, the medication bupropion with counselling appears to help adolescents quit cigarette smoking in the short term.

Many teen smokers want to give up, but studies estimate that only about 4 percent of those who try are successful each year. The antidepressant bupropion has been shown to help adults quit smoking.

Myra L. Muramoto and Scott J. Leischow at the University of Arizona, Tucson, conducted a clinical trial of 312 adolescents aged 14 to 17 who smoked six or more cigarettes per day and had tried to quit at least twice before. They were randomly assigned to receive 150 milligrams or 300 milligrams of bupropion per day, or a placebo. Participants visited the clinic weekly for seven weeks, six weeks of treatment plus one week post-treatment and received 10 to 20 minute individual cessation counselling sessions. They were interviewed by phone after 12 weeks and in person after 26 weeks.

During the treatment, quit rates were higher for the 300-milligram group than for placebo.  After six weeks, 5.6 percent of those in the placebo group, 10.7 percent of those in the 150-milligram bupropion group and 14.5 percent of those in the 300-milligram group had quit smoking. At the 26-week follow-up, 10.3 percent of those who took placebo, 3.1 percent of those who took 150 milligrams of bupropion and 13.9 percent of those who took 300 milligrams were still abstaining from cigarettes. The teens' reported quit rates were verified by checking the level of cotinine, a byproduct of nicotine processing, in the urine.

Though the results suggest that 300 milligrams of bupropion plus brief counseling sessions may help teens quit smoking over the short term, abstinence rates at the end of the treatment period were lower than those seen in adults taking the same medication. In addition, the high rate of relapse after stopping medication suggests that a longer treatment period, such as the 12 weeks recommended for adult smokers may be needed.

"Nonetheless, this study provides hope for helping a generation of smokers quit before they become adults. These results are critically important because few effective treatment options are available for adolescent smokers who want to quit," the authors conclude.

Source: Science Daily, 06 November 2007
Link: http://tinyurl.com/35gc32

Italian court upholds smoking award

Italy's highest court has upheld a 290,000 (US dollars) damage award against a large tobacco company, following the 1991 lung cancer death of a smoker, lawyers for the family announced.

The ruling, which was made public on Monday, upheld a 2005 decision by a Rome appeals court that awarded the damages to Mario Stalteri's widow and son. Stalteri died of lung cancer in 1991 after having smoked a pack of cigarettes a day since 1950.

Lawyers for the family said in a statement that the ruling was the first from a European high court upholding a smoking related damage award.

``The sentence constitutes an important warning to producers of noxious substances,'' said lawyers Giulio Ponzanelli and Vincenzo Zeno-Zencovich.

British American Tobacco in Italy said that the high court didn't pronounce itself on the tobacco producer's responsibility in the death of Stalteri and said it is likely that the ruling would not serve as a precedent for other cases.

The high court said an appeals court should decide whether other damages are warranted.

British American Tobacco's lawyer, Roberto Poli, said that other Italian courts had recently rejected damage awards for relatives of smokers and had refused to lay responsibility on the tobacco producer.

Source: The Guardian, 06 November 2007  
Link: http://tinyurl.com/2jnatm