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ASH Daily News for 11 December 2006

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ASH Daily News
 
11 December 2006
 
HEADLINES
 
Government pulls polonium-210 advert
 
Scottish politicians threatened over smoking ban
 
Eminent scientists defend Sir Richard Doll: letter to the Editor
 
Early stage coronary disease can be averted if smokers quit
 
FULL TEXT
 
Government pulls polonium-210 advert
 
A TV advert revealing that cigarettes contain deadly polonium-210 has been pulled by the Government to spare the feelings of murdered Alexander Litvinenko’s family.
 
The Department of Health last night said the decision was made due to “sensitivities”.
And that the campaign had only been postponed.
 
A Department of Health spokeswoman said “This does not change the importance or influence of the campaign,” she said. “There are a number of poisonous chemicals in cigarette smoke and we have an excellent history of tackling smoking.”
 
But a Cancer Research UK source said: “It’s a complete cop out. The whole idea was to stop people smoking and dying of cancer. What better way than telling them this highly poisonous radioactive substance is in fags? People have the right to know.”
 
The investigative-style commercial, commissioned before Litvinenko died, was one of several filmed for charity Cancer Research UK’s new “Smoke Is Poison” campaign.
 
It shows TV sleuth Donal Macintyre in a hospital X-ray room, asking a radiographer how he protects himself from radioactivity.
 
He says: “Did you know inhaling cigarette smoke could expose you to particles of radioactive polonium?” The medic replies: “No, I didn’t.”
 
Deborah Arnott, Director of ASH, backed the Government’s decision, saying they “didn’t want to panic” smokers as there are only small traces of the poison in cigarettes.
 
Source: The Sun 11 December 2006 & The Guardian 11 Dec. 06
Link to article: http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2006570279,00.html & http://www.guardian.co.uk/uklatest/story/0,,-6272644,00.html
 
 
Scottish politicians threatened over smoking ban
 
Police are investigating threats that have been made against the Scottish politicians who paved the way for Scotland's smoking ban.
 
Scottish National Party MSP Stewart Maxwell has claimed that over the past couple of months he had received dozens of threatening letters he believes from anonymous pro-smokers warning that he will be attacked in Edinburgh. Police believe the letter have been sent from the same person.
 
According to Mr Maxwell, whose Member’s Bill four years ago led to the smoking ban, the letters claim that he will be “closely monitored” when travelling to Holyrood and that he will have his kneecaps broken by someone living in Edinburgh.
 
He said: “We've had several letters from the same source and all have been very specific about my movements.  We have to take it seriously. I am not so concerned for myself as I am for my staff, as they are always more exposed than MSPs are.”
 
Source: The Scotsman 11 December 2006
Link to article: http://news.scotsman.com/edinburgh.cfm?id=1830792006  
 
 
Eminent scientists defend Sir Richard Doll: letter to the Editor
 
“Sir, Richard Doll was one of the world's greatest cancer researchers. To this day and in the years to come, many tens of millions of people, in the developing as well as the developed world, will owe their lives and health to his studies. Sir Richard died last year at the age of 92. It is with dismay that we now hear allegations against him that he cannot rebut for himself.
 
We feel it is our duty to defend Sir Richard's reputation and to recognise his extraordinary contribution to global health, which began in 1950 with his first paper demonstrating a link between smoking and lung cancer. He played a key role in the development of randomised controlled clinical trials - now the standard method by which new treatments are evaluated. He also helped identify several occupational hazards most notably asbestos and assess reliably the dangers of radiation.
 
Sir Richard willingly made his expert advice available to industry and to government. The personal papers that he generously donated to the Wellcome Library included correspondence with commercial and other organisations. On the basis of those papers, it has recently been suggested that Sir Richard's advice to industry somehow compromised his own publications. We know of no evidence to support this allegation. Sir Richard was open about these consultancies and felt it appropriate that companies should seek expert advice on the safety of their products.
 
Sir Richard changed the way scientists think about the causes of disease and the methods they use to investigate these. He identified some of the major threats to human health and, in doing so, saved countless lives. He should be remembered with fondness, respect and gratitude.
 
Professor Colin Blakemore,Chief Executive, Medical Research Council
Dr Mark Walport, Director, Wellcome Trust
Lord Martin Rees, President, Royal Society
Professor John Bell, President, Academy of Medical Science  
Professor Alex Markham, Chief Executive, Cancer Research UK”
 
Source: Times 9 December 2006
Link to article: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2494165,00.html
 
 
Early stage coronary disease can be averted if smokers quit
 
The early stages of coronary artery disease in young smokers can be reversed if they quit for good. Scientists have used positron emission tomography (PET) imaging to show the improvements in lung function.
 
“I believe this is the first PET study that shows abnormal coronary function is reversible after only one month of smoking cessation,” said Nagara Tamaki, a professor and chair of the nuclear medicine department at Hokkaido University in Sapporo, Japan.
 
“Smoking cessation normalized abnormal coronary artery function, thus supporting its value in preventing heart disease in young adults,” he explained. “In addition, this is an important report with PET imaging that shows abnormal coronary artery function can be measured by coronary blood flow and response to cold stimulation in young smokers who are otherwise healthy,” noted the researchers.
 
“This study provided a noninvasive look at the early stages of coronary artery disease in smokers and the recovery time of coronary endothelial dysfunction after quitting smoking,” indicated Tamaki. It was also noted that the improvement was “preserved” six months after the study's subjects stopped smoking, “supporting the value of smoking cessation for prevention of coronary artery disease particularly in the young,” said Tamaki.
 
Coronary endothelial dysfunction occurs when the heart's blood vessels aren't flexible enough to expand in response to increased blood flow. Smoking can damage the endothelium - the innermost layer of the artery - and over time, plaques can narrow coronary arteries, allowing less blood to flow to the heart muscle. Rupture of these plaques may result in a stroke, heart attack and death.
 
It's generally known that the risk of death from coronary artery disease is up to six times higher in smokers than in nonsmokers. Since coronary endothelial dysfunction is both “a significant predictor of cardiovascular events” - and reversible - its early detection is important, said Tamaki.
 
Source: Medical News Today 9 December 2006
Link to article: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=58278&nfid=mnf
 
 



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