HEADLINES

• Smoking during breast feeding can damage baby's health
• Fire alert over discarded cigarettes
• Smoking Linked to Aggressive Colon Polyps: Study
• Record numbers quit smoking
• Mideast aims to break old habit with new anti-smoking laws

• Smoking during breast feeding can damage baby's health

  Mothers who smoke not only damage their children during pregnancy but can also negatively affect their development in the breast-feeding phase.
  
  Nicotine and other dangerous substances contained in tobacco enter breast milk and then the child's system, according to a new report from the German Cancer Research Centre.
  
  The report says that the babies of mothers who smoke absorb about seven micrograms of nicotine per kilogram of body weight a day. That is the equivalent absorption rate of an adult who smokes one cigarette a day with a nicotine content level of 0.7 milligrams.
  
  Nicotine can also get into the breast milk of non-smoking mothers if they live with a smoker.
  
  It has been observed that if a mother smokes heavily during breast-feeding, her baby may appear restless, may vomit, can suffer from colic and weigh too little, according to the report.
  
  It may also affect the child's sleep pattern.
  
  Smoking can also negatively affect the level of breast milk produced by the mother and lead to poor breast-feeding habits.

  Source: Irish Sun, 14 June 2010
  Link: http://bit.ly/bHEFRC

• Fire alert over discarded cigarettes

  Firefighters in South Yorkshire have issued a warning about safely disposing of cigarette ends after a freak accident nearly caused a major fire in Barnsley.
   

  Fire crews from Tankersley and Stocksbridge stations were called to Spring Row in Thurgoland just after midnight on Wednesday, after neighbours spotted smoke rising from the roof of a house currently undergoing building work.
  
  A spokesman for South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue said: "The fire was caused after a neighbour accidentally flicked a discarded cigarette butt through an open skylight, which then landed on the roof of the property.
  
  "The fire itself was very small, with the cigarette igniting some plastic sheeting used to cover the open roof during the building work.
  
  "But firefighters say on another day the incident could have been far more serious."
  Source: Yorkshire Post, 11 June 2010
  Link: http://bit.ly/bYfeqL

• Smoking Linked to Aggressive Colon Polyps: Study

  A new study has uncovered a strong link between smoking and the development of precancerous polyps called flat adenomas in the large intestine, a finding that researchers say may explain the earlier onset of colorectal cancer among smokers.

  Flat adenomas are more aggressive and harder to spot than the raised polyps that are typically detectable during standard colorectal screenings, the authors noted. This fact, coupled with their association with smoking, could also explain why colorectal cancer is usually caught at a more advanced stage and at a younger age among smokers than nonsmokers.

  "Little is known regarding the risk factors for these flat lesions, which may account for over one-half of all adenomas detected with a high-definition colonoscope," study author Dr. Joseph C. Anderson, of the Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Connecticut Health Center, said in a news release from the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.

  But, "smoking has been shown to be an important risk factor for colorectal neoplasia [tumor formation] in several screening studies," he said.

  Anderson and his team report their findings in the June issue of GIE: Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.

  Most colorectal cancers are thought to begin as a small colorectal polyp, the researchers noted. Therefore, polyp removal is believed to be critical to prevent disease.

  To explore the potential for a connection between smoking and the risk for developing the flat polyps, the research team tracked 600 patients -- average age 56 -- who underwent a colonoscopy screening at Stony Brook University Medical Center in New York without previously displaying any symptoms for colorectal cancer.

  Patients were asked to provide a wide range of demographic information, including smoking history. A little more than half were deemed nonsmokers, while 115 were considered heavy smokers and 172 were considered light smokers.

  In addition to being older and male, being a heavy smoker was linked to having flat adenomas of any size, the researchers found. Heavy smoking was also found to be linked to having advanced-stage flat polyps.

  The authors concluded that smoking is a strong risk factor for developing flat colorectal adenomas in general, and for having particularly large adenomas.

  An accompanying editorial suggests the data be used by doctors to counsel patients about the risks of smoking and the need for colorectal cancer screening among smokers.

  Source: Business Week, 11 June 2010
  Link: http://bit.ly/93iCD1

• Record numbers quit smoking

  A record number of people in Norfolk have given up smoking - leading to a reduction in heart disease, strokes and other life-threatening diseases.
  
  More than 6,400 people quit the killer habit between April 2009 and March 2010 with help from NHS Norfolk and NHS Great Yarmouth and Waveney.
  
  Smokers giving up will see short and long term benefits to their health, including less chance of developing illness, disability or death caused by cancer, heart or lung disease; reduction in the risk of gangrene or amputation caused by circulatory problems; improved fertility levels and chances of a healthy pregnancy and improved breathing and general fitness.
  
  Under NHS Norfolk during 2010/2011, 4,436 people gave up smoking and the primary care trust is aiming to help 7114 people to stop in 2010/2011.
  
  Jennie Pusey, commissioning manager of Stop Smoking Services at NHS Norfolk said: “The health benefits to giving up smoking are enormous.
  
  “Smoking is the single largest preventable cause of cancer and over one in four of all cancers are attributable to tobacco use, and 90% of lung cancer is directly attributable to smoking. The three most common causes of death from smoking are lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and cardiovascular disease (heart and circulatory disease).
  
  “Over a period of time, an ex-smoker's risk of suffering from heart disease can fall to the level of someone who has never smoked. By stopping smoking, people can avoid smoking-related disease and live longer - by up to 10 years more.”
  
  In the NHS Great Yarmouth and Waveney area more than 2,000 smokers quit in the same period with the support of its Stop Smoking Service.
  
  Vicki Snelgrove, tobacco control commissioning advisor for NHS Great Yarmouth and Waveney, said: “We know stopping smoking improves the health of people who suffer conditions such as coronary heart disease.
  
  “Our figures show that while NHS Great Yarmouth and Waveney continues to have a lower rate of emergency admissions for heart attacks compared to the East of England and England there has been no significant change since the smoking ban.”
  
  New research released this week showed the number of heart attack hospital admissions have fallen since the smoking ban by about 2.5pc.
  
  The national smoking ban was introduced in July 2007. The campaign 'Right Tools for the Job', highlights how it is much easier for people to quit with the right “tools” .

  Source: EDP24, 11 June 2010
  Link: http://bit.ly/dxFP9f

• Mideast aims to break old habit with new anti-smoking laws

  The Middle East, long associated with the ubiquitous waterpipe, is intensifying an anti-smoking drive as several Arab countries ban the practice in public places, even if success looks difficult. From Beirut to Cairo, cigarettes are smoked everywhere, not just in cafes and restaurants, but in banks, ministries and even hospitals.
  
  Egypt, the most populous nation in the Arab world and the heaviest smoker, announced its intention to make the Mediterranean city of Alexandria the country's "first smokefree city."
  
  But the health ministry did not say how it planned to achieve this goal.
  
  An existing law that prohibits smoking in public places is frequently flouted -- notably by civil servants and police.
  
  Nearly 40 percent of Egyptian men smoke, the vast majority of them throughout the day, according to a report published by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in January.
  
  On top of this, at least 70 percent of those questioned for the survey said they were subjected to passive smoking at home or in the workplace.
  
  Jordan, Syria and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are also looking to kick the habit, having all passed anti-smoking legislation in recent months.
  
  In January, the Emirati president, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan, ordered a ban "on smoking in public transport and closed public places."
  
  Within the UAE, Dubai took the lead, introducing smoking restrictions as far back as 2007.
  
  The official WAM news agency has admitted the new law is not being implemented everywhere, but insisted that "state-owned buildings such as schools, universities, hospitals, theatres and gyms will have to conform to the total smoking ban in the very near future."
  
  In Syria, where nearly 60 percent of men and 23 percent of women smoke, a ban on smoking in public places came into force in April, with fines of between 45 and 870 dollars (37-720 euros) and potentially up to two years in prison.
  
  Apart from its toll on the nation's health, the Syrian authorities have good reason to reduce smoking, with the average smoker spending eight percent of his annual salary on tobacco, according to the state-owned tobacco entity.
  
  In Egypt, home of the shisha, or waterpipe, the WHO survey found that smokers spend around six percent of their income on tobacco.
  
  Jordan joined the campaign last month, announcing a smoking ban on May 25 which the health ministry says will be strictly applied -- with inspectors carrying out surprise visits on ministries and public places.
  
   

  Source: Yahoo News, 14 June 2010
  Link: http://yhoo.it/aCBRSW