Home / Media Room / News / ASH Daily News / ASH Daily News for 26 June 2009 / ASH Daily news for 02 September 2010

ASH Daily news for 02 September 2010

HEADLINES

  • Michael Douglas: Smoking and alcohol gave me cancer

    Michael Douglas has revealed that his throat cancer was caused by alcohol and cigarettes – leaving him with an 80 per cent chance of survival.

    The screen star, who has just completed his first week of chemotherapy and radiation treatment, spoke about his diagnosis publicly for the first time on US TV.

    Douglas, 65, told how it was early in the summer that he went to several doctors for what he thought was a sore throat. It was only when one took a biopsy that the tumour was found.

    And the Oscar-winning star, who is married to Welsh actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, 40, was stunned to discover that he had stage-four cancer.

    This means the cancer had already spread from where it started to another body organ.

    Speaking on The Late Show With David Letterman on Tuesday night, the star said: “I found out about three weeks ago. It’s throat [cancer]."

    “This particular type of cancer is caused by alcohol and drinking. I smoked cigarettes and drank.”

    Asked by show host Mr Letterman if that was a good diagnosis, Douglas replied: “Um, no.” He said he faces eight weeks of treatment but doesn’t expect to go under the knife.

    Audience members gasped when the actor revealed just how serious the illness is.

    He said: “[It’s] intense, and so they’ve got to go at it."

    “No, you like to be down at stage one, but it has not – the big thing you’re always worried about is it spreading, I am head and neck, nothing’s gone down, and the expectations are good. I would hate to say, but right now, it looks like it should be 80 per cent.”

    Source: The Daily Express, 02 September 2010
    Link: http://bit.ly/cqADVM

  • Man dies after cigarette accident in Staffordshire

    An 83-year-old man who suffered burns after accidentally setting fire to himself with a cigarette, has died.

    The man was smoking in his kitchen when he accidentally dropped the cigarette onto his pyjamas, which then caught alight, the fire service said.

    He had suffered about 70% burns and was taken to the University Hospital of North Staffordshire where he died on Saturday.

    Assistant Area Commander for Stoke-on-Trent, Glynn Luznyj, said: "We'd actually visited this gentleman and provided him with the necessary fire protection."

    "However, as this incident has highlighted, cigarettes can very quickly catch alight to clothing and bedding, with tragic consequences."

    Source: BBC News, 01 September 2010
    Link: http://bbc.in/aLN7N3

  • Scotland: 'Nine out of ten' back smoking law change

    Nine out of ten Scots support changing the law to make it an offence for adults to buy cigarettes for youngsters, a poll reveals.

    The survey, published by anti-smoking group ASH Scotland, also found that four out of five smokers backed such a move.

    The Scottish Parliament has already passed legislation that will enable adults to be prosecuted for buying cigarettes for children, in line with similar laws for alcohol. This will now come into force on April 1 2011.

    A total of 89% of people surveyed agreed that businesses should have to have a licence to sell tobacco, which could be removed if they were caught selling to under-age youngsters more than once.

    The research found 82% supported the law banning smoking in enclosed public places, although this fell to 57% amongst those who smoke, with 35% of smokers totally opposed to the ban.

    It also found 80% of people backed increasing access to local stop-smoking services in the NHS, with 68% of smokers in support.

    ASH Scotland chief executive Sheila Duffy said: "These results show the high support that both smokers and non-smokers in Scotland have for continuing action against the harm caused by smoking.

    "Scots are very aware of the harm caused by smoking, the deaths and illness due to smoking and the toll it takes on our society, our communities and our families.

    "Both smokers and non-smokers alike would like to see changes in Scotland. It is clear that respondents are concerned about preventing young people taking up smoking and want to see restrictions which will stop young people accessing cigarettes. For smokers, they also very much support NHS stop-smoking services, which is unsurprising when 69% of smokers would like to quit."

    Ms Duffy said the poll showed there "continues to be major support for our smoke-free public places".

    She added: "There is much we can do to reduce the 13,500 deaths caused by smoking each year, prevent young people starting and help smokers to quit. There is much public support for a range of measures to crack down on smoking and tobacco in Scotland.

    "We need these issues taken seriously by our policy makers. For those measures that are being introduced, we need them fully enforced and supported, and others should be considered as part of a new national tobacco control strategy."

    A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: "Giving up smoking is the biggest single thing that anyone can do to improve their health and we welcome this public support for anti-smoking measures.

    "We are working hard to build on the success of the ban on smoking in public places, including the introduction of ban on proxy purchase of cigarettes and a ban on both cigarette displays and sales from vending machines.

    "In addition, our measures protect responsible retailers through the introduction next year of a registration scheme. This means that - for the first time - anyone found selling tobacco illegally can be fined up to £20,000 and face six months in prison."

    She added: "We're also investing heavily in stop smoking services - more than £40m over the current spending period - to enable NHS Boards to provide appropriate, accessible services to help people who want to stop."

    Source: STV, 02 September 2010
    Link: http://bit.ly/9v9T25

  • Canada: Vancouver bans smoking at beaches and parks

    All parks and beaches in the city of Vancouver will be smokefree.

    The Vancouver Parks Board passed a new bylaw that will prohibit smoking year-round at all city parks, beaches, golf courses, sports fields, playgrounds, trails and other public park space.

    "Vancouver is well-known as a healthy, clean and green city," said Vancouver Park Board Chair Aaron Jasper. "Smokefree parks is a natural extension of that reputation."

    A press release says the smoking ban was approved by the park board in April, citing ‘established medical evidence about the significant health dangers of smoking, the environmental and aesthetic impacts of cigarette litter, the risk of fire in our urban forests, results of public consultation and the successful experience of other jurisdictions." The City of Vancouver health by-law was also amended on June.10 to adhere to the new regulation.

    Fines for first time offenders start at $250 and can go as high as $2000 for each offence. That fine can double to $500 if you are caught smoking in either a building, customer service area or a vehicle for hire such as a taxi or tour bus that is on park grounds.

    Source: CTV British Columbia, 01 September 2010
    Link: http://bit.ly/dmW2zq

  • Spain: Doctors call for tighter tobacco sales restrictions

    Doctors in Spain have called for tobacco sales to be banned in machines in bars and from kiosks, and they want the police to be given the power to fine those who break the law.

    The National Committee for the Prevention of Tobacco Addiction also want smoking to be banned in childrens’ parks and on pavements close to colleges and hospital across the country.

    The doctors consider that the numerous points of sale increases the accessibility of tobacco to youngsters, and want to see the number of hotel rooms made available for smokers in the forthcoming new legislation to be reduced from 30% to 15%. They are concerned too about smoking on terraces in cases where there are obstacles which stop the free circulation of the air.

    Tobacco is considered to kill some 50,000 people in Spain each year, with 1,000 of the victims workers in the hostelry sector.

    The modifications to the 2005 tobacco law is now at the amendment state in parliament and the Government has the objective of it coming into effect on January 1.
    Source: Typically Spanish, 01 September 2010
    Link: http://bit.ly/bvcX6V

  • Indonesia: Infamous infant kicks two-pack-a-day smoking habit

    Indonesia's internationally infamous infant, Ardi Rizal, has reportedly kicked his addiction to smoking.

    Seto Mulyadi, advisory chairman of the National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas Anak), said the two-year-old had fully recovered from his addiction after a month-long rehabilitation program, involving both the commission, pyschologists and doctors.

    Ardi, who shocked the world when a video of him smoking a cigarette appeared on the Internet, had been handed over to authorities to authorities in his home province of South Sumatra.

    Komnas Anak secretary general Samsul Ridwan was quoted by Kompas.com as saying the government must take responsible measures and protect children from the dangers of smoking, saying the emergence of child smokers in Indonesia was an "undeniable phenomenon.”

    He said protection from smoking should be given the same urgency as other threats, including child abuse, exploitation and human trafficking.

    Four-year-old Adi (previously known as Sandi), a former foul-mouthed, smoking toddler from East Java made infamous by another YouTube video, has also been recently rehabilitated.

    Antitobacco advocates are have been critical of Indonesia's vast tobacco industry, claiming cigarette advertisements target children.

    Source: Jakarta Globe, 02 September 2010
    Link: http://bit.ly/dheLHe