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ASH Daily news for 10 June 2010

HEADLINES

  • Gender differences in susceptibility to smoking-related lung damage

    Women may be more susceptible than men to smoking-related lung damage, results from a US study suggest.

    Writing in the journal Thorax, Dawn DeMeo (Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts) and team explain: “Several studies have indicated an increased female susceptibility to smoking-related decline in lung function, whereas other studies have suggested an opposite gender effect.

    “Whether or not there exists a differential susceptibility by gender remains controversial, and little is known about the mechanisms and implications of a possible gender difference in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).”

    To investigate further, the team studied data on 954 patients with COPD, of whom 38.9% were women. The team also studied two subgroups consisting of 316 individuals aged less than 60 years (early-onset group) and 241 with less than 20 pack-years of smoking (low exposure group).

    Analysis of the total study group revealed no significant gender differences with respect to lung function and COPD severity. However, women were, on average, younger and smoked less than men.

    In the subgroup analysis, however, the researchers found that in the low exposure group, women had poorer mean lung function than men, at an FEV1 of 48.7% versus 55.8% of the predicted value.

    Women in the low exposure group also had more severe COPD, with 41.7% having GOLD (Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease) stage 3 and 4 disease compared with 31.1% of men in this group.

    After accounting for pack-years, a history of asthma, and educational level, the researchers found that women had a 5.7% lower predicted FEV1 compared with men in the low exposure group, with a similar trend in the early-onset group.

    However, the researchers note that number of pack-years was not significantly associated with FEV1 in women with COPD.

    DeMeo and team conclude: “We found that female gender was associated with lung function reduction in subgroups of subjects with COPD with early onset of disease or low smoking exposure.

    “Our findings may suggest a gender difference in susceptibility to the lung-damaging effects of cigarette smoking.”

    However, they add that the findings are not conclusive and “should be interpreted with caution.”

    Source: MedWire News, 10 June 2010
    Link: http://bit.ly/cWpJhb

  • Respiratory symptoms fall significantly after smoking cessation

    Most smokers report a significant reduction in respiratory symptoms after quitting the habit, results of an internet-based survey show.

    “Smoking cessation is the most effective way to prevent COPD and to alter its progression, at any stage of the disease,” explains Jean-Francoise Etter from the University of Geneva in Switzerland.

    However, he adds: “Some recent reports suggest that, unexpectedly, some respiratory symptoms may increase transiently after smoking cessation, but there is a dearth of short-term data to test this hypothesis.”

    Etter therefore studied data from an internet survey of 15,916 smokers on a smoking cessation website in 2003–2009, and from a follow-up survey of 1831 of these smokers conducted 30 days after first survey. In total, 252 initial smokers reported quitting the habit at follow-up.

    Analysis revealed that among participants who quit smoking, the proportion of those who reported that they often coughed without a cold decreased from 51.6% at baseline to 15.5% at follow-up, and those who reported that they expectorated when coughing in the morning fell from 47.6% to 19.4%.

    Furthermore, the proportion of quitters who reported that they were out of breath after climbing stairs or a quick walk decreased from 75.0% to 48.4%, and the proportion of those who reported that they wheezed fell from 33.7% to 10.3%.

    There was no significant change in reported respiratory symptoms in participants who did not quit smoking between the two surveys.

    Etter concludes in the European Respiratory Journal: “Respiratory symptoms improved substantially and rapidly after smoking cessation.”

    He suggests: “This information can be used to motivate smokers to quit.”

    Source: MedWire News, 10 June 2010
    Link: http://bit.ly/cWpJhb

  • Cigarettes scam involved millions

    Two men from Fylde masterminded a massive international smuggling operation involving millions of cigarettes, a court heard.

    Preston Crown Court was told how 35-year-old Danish Amin and Darren Cooper, 43, were the ringleaders in a massive operation to bring illegal tobacco products into the UK without paying duty.

    Amin's girlfriend Michelle Whittaker, is standing trial accused of conspiracy to evade tax duty.

    The 30-year-old is alleged to have acted as Amin's secretary and booked and paid for flights for her boyfriend and his co-conspirators to fly from airports across the UK to Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

    From there, the gang made their way over the German border to Emmerich and the factory where they packed up millions of dodgy cigarettes into plastic wheelie bins to be smuggled into the UK, the court was told.

    Mark Monaghan, prosecuting, said: "She was the secretary and the prosecution say Danish Amin and Darren Cooper couldn't have organised or run it without her."

    The jury heard how a man in Greece organised the cigarettes for the gang who then transported them to Emmerich. Members of the gang there loaded the cargo into bins in a container.

    But German colleagues had set up hidden cameras so Lancashire Police could watch a live internet feed in the UK of what was going on at the factory.

    Dutch police tapped the gang's phones and informed British officers when the next shipment would take place. When the container was delivered to a warehouse in Manchester, undercover police and customs officers watched as Amin and Cooper went to check on their cargo.

    Mr Monaghan added: "We aren't talking about 200 cigarettes being sneaked through the airport, we're talking about literally millions of cigarettes being smuggled into the country in an ordinary lorry."

    The defence claim Ms Whittaker acted without knowing her boyfriend was involved in any criminal actions and believed he was in the plant machinery business.

    Police believe the gang organised at least two and possibly three loads into Britain between June 2008 and April 2009 and avoided duty of £323,102 in the load recovered.

    Amin, Cooper of Inner Promenade, Fairhaven, and six other people have previously admitted conspiracy and money laundering charges.

    Source: Blackpool Gazette, 09 June 2010
    Link: http://bit.ly/cWpJhb

  • Ireland: 500,000 cigarettes seized at airport

    Officers from Revenue’s Customs Service have seized over 500,000 cigarettes during a targeted operation at Dublin airport since the weekend.

    The investigation, codenamed Operation Scuab, targeted gangs from Lithuania.

    On one flight on Saturday night customs officers searched a large number of passengers and found 20 of them carrying 120,000 cigarettes combined. There were a number of smaller seizures in recent days.

    Source: Irish Times, 10 June 2010
    Link: http://bit.ly/cWpJhb

  • Egypt introduces Alexandria smoking ban

    Egypt, the biggest Arab consumer of cigarettes, is beginning an attempt to ban smoking in public places.

    Alexandria is to be Egypt's first no smoking city, beginning with a ban on lighting up in government buildings.

    Egyptians smoke some 19 billion cigarettes each year, prompting concerns for public health.

    And Egypt is a nation of smokers with traditional shisha water pipes found in many coffee shops, and persuading Egyptians to quit will be a challenge.

    It is common to find people smoking cigarettes on the train, in the office or in hospitals.

    Now in Alexandria that is set to change. The local authorities first plan to enforce an existing law - one that is usually flouted - prohibiting smoking in government buildings.

    They say that within two years, the ban will be extended to include cafes.

    Dr Hassan Salam from the University of Alexandria is heading the research.

    "Smoking in Egypt is very common, unfortunately. Out of every 10 men, four smoke and more and more women are smoking now.

    "The statistics show that Egyptians smoke about 19 billion cigarettes a year. It's a big public health problem."

    Bans on smoking in public places have now been successfully introduced around the world. But officials admit it will be a particular challenge to force Egyptians to quit.

    They hope new restrictions will at least make them cut back - and that Alexandria can set an example for the rest of the country.

    Source: BBC News, 10 June 2010
    Link: http://bit.ly/cWpJhb