smoking

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Vintage Stars Got Big Bucks to Smoke

Big tobacco paid a fortune for promotion in Hollywood's golden age

(Newser) - Almost all of Hollywood's big names from the '30s, '40s, and '50s were on the payroll of tobacco companies, the BBC reports. Documents released as part of anti-smoking lawsuits reveal that stars like Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, and Joan Crawford got up to $10,000 each from Lucky Strike in...

E-Cigs Not Safe: WHO
 E-Cigs Not Safe: WHO 
Sep 20, 2008 7:14 AM CDT

E-Cigs Not Safe: WHO

Devices sold as smoking treatment

(Newser) - Electronic cigarettes are untested and possibly unsafe, the WHO said today. The device—a mock cigarette that releases a fine mist of nicotine, sans fire—has been sold over the internet as a smoking cessation aid, Reuters reports. The problem is that it could release, besides nicotine, “many other...

Boston Bans Drugstore Cigarette Sales

Also outlawed at college campus convenience shops

(Newser) - Boston's health honchos have approved some of the country's toughest anti-tobacco rules by banning sales at some stores, the Boston Globe reports. The new rules forbid pharmacies and campus convenience stores from selling cigarettes. They also ban smoking on bar and restaurant patios. The city's cigar parlors, previously exempt, will...

Cancer-Stricken Swayze Busted With Butt

Actor reportedly lights up on set

(Newser) - Despite fighting pancreatic cancer, actor Patrick Swayze is still smoking, the Sun reports. The Dirty Dancing star, who turns 56 today, was spotted lighting up between scenes of his upcoming A&E crime drama The Beast, the tabloid reports. The self-described “miracle man” was reportedly given weeks to live...

Some Runners Leave a Cloud of More Than Dust

Poll finds serious athletes may still light up—on the sly

(Newser) - Though many athletes prefer to keep it hush-hush, a number of devout runners are also devout smokers. The LA Times takes a look at the unlikely phenomenon, moved to investigate by a recent Runner’s World poll which found that 2% of responders smoked without their running friends’ knowledge, while...

Smokers' Spouses Face Higher Stroke Risk

Threat further heightened for former smokers

(Newser) - Having a spouse who smokes significantly increases a nonsmoker’s risk of stroke—especially if the nonsmoker used to light up, a US study shows. The stroke risk for those whose spouse smokes but who never have themselves is raised 42%, while the risk for those who are former smokers...

Menthol Debate Splits Black Caucus
Menthol Debate Splits Black Caucus
Jul 25, 2008 2:28 AM CDT

Menthol Debate Splits Black Caucus

Tobacco row erupts over exemption from cigarette flavoring ban

(Newser) - The exemption of menthol from a bill banning flavored cigarettes is causing a rift in the Black Congressional Caucus, the New York Times reports. Some members of the caucus, which has strong financial ties to tobacco companies, argue that menthol cigarettes cause disproportionate harm to blacks and are pushing for...

Bloomberg, Gates Take On Smoking
Bloomberg, Gates Take On Smoking
Jul 23, 2008 1:20 PM CDT

Bloomberg, Gates Take On Smoking

Billionaires donate $375M to global anti-tobacco campaign

(Newser) - Microsoft founder Bill Gates and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg are pooling their piles of money and pouring $375 million into a global effort to cut smoking. The two philanthropists—who have a combined worth of more than $70 billion—say the new effort will target developing countries where tobacco...

Dutch Fight Smoking Ban With God

Smokers' Church members claim immunity from ban

(Newser) - Worshipers are flocking to the One True Universal Smokers' Church of God—whose "masses" are held in bars—since the Netherlands instituted a smoking ban July 1. Adherents claim their right to light up is protected as a religious freedom, Radio Free Netherlands reports. "I genuinely believe in...

Menthol Used to 'Hook' Young Smokers: Study

Menthol cigarettes go down easier with youngsters

(Newser) - Tobacco companies use menthol to make the taste of cigarettes more acceptable to young first-time smokers until they become addicted, a new study charges. Researchers found that 44% of child smokers used menthol cigarettes, reports Reuters. "Menthol stimulates the cooling receptors in the lungs," said an expert from...

Dutch Smoking Ban Leaves Pot Users in a Fog

Cannabis in coffee houses is fine, but take that butt outside

(Newser) - Effective tomorrow, the Netherlands bans smoking tobacco in public places, and the new law means big changes for Amsterdam's famously relaxed coffeehouses, reports USA Today. Because the law doesn't cover cannabis or hashish, users can continue to smoke them inside. But those who prefer their pot mixed with tobacco, as...

Winehouse Leaves Hospital... Smoking

Dad fears emphysema-stricken singer will be 'dead in three months'

(Newser) - Amy Winehouse was released from the hospital today, but her emphysema scare doesn’t seem to have left much of an impression on the singer. As she emerged from the facility, Winehouse was seen lighting a cigarette, the Daily Mail reports. Though Winehouse has only early-stage lung disease, odds are...

Amy Winehouse Struck with Emphysema
Amy Winehouse Struck with Emphysema
Jun 22, 2008 11:23 AM CDT

Amy Winehouse Struck with Emphysema

Frail singer vows to enter rehab to battle fatal disease

(Newser) - Amy Winehouse has emphysema and may soon be crippled if she keeps smoking crack, her father told the Sunday Mirror yesterday. Winehouse, 24, was diagnosed with the fatal disease after fainting in her London home this week. A terrified Winehouse, who faces the prospect of a permanent oxygen mask, has...

Want to Skirt Smoking Laws in Germany? Join the Club

Bars go exclusive to avoid ban

(Newser) - Smoking in a bar is verboten in much of Germany, so many watering holes have decided they’re not “bars” anymore—they’re private clubs where members are free to light up. The dodge appalls anti-smoking groups, but one club owner says cigarettes are essential to his business. “...

Chicago Fines Aim to Kick Smokers' Butts From Beach

City buried in millions of tons of litter

(Newser) - Chicago will fine smokers who toss cigarette butts on the beach—or within 15 feet of one— up to $500. The new law is aimed at cutting the cost of cleaning up after smokers, who have been forced outside by smoking bans, reports the Chicago Tribune. Millions of tons of...

To Court Blue-Collar Vote, Light Up
To Court Blue-Collar
Vote, Light Up
OPINION
Jun 17, 2008 10:00 AM CDT

To Court Blue-Collar Vote, Light Up

Fellow Nicorette user urges Obama to take up smoking again

(Newser) - Everyone has ideas about how Barack Obama can attract the working-class white voters that eluded him in the primaries. Author Tony Horwitz goes for the throat: Start smoking again. West Virginia and Kentucky, where Hillary Clinton clobbered Obama, lead the nation in cigarette consumption among whites, and lighting up could...

Weed Potency Hits 30-Year High
 Weed Potency Hits 30-Year High 
Jun 12, 2008 8:11 AM CDT

Weed Potency Hits 30-Year High

Study finds THC levels have doubled since 1983, raising mental health worries

(Newser) - Today's marijuana is the strongest crop since the heyday of Cheech and Chong, a new study finds. University researchers who analyzed seized samples dating back to the '70s found the level of active ingredient THC hit an average of 9.6% last year, up almost 1% from the year before...

Bourbon a Day Keeps the Arthritis Away

Regular drinkers are half as likely to develop joint disease

(Newser) - Swedish scientists have found another perk for regular drinkers, the BBC reports, with imbibers up to 50% less likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis. In two studies involving several thousand participants, those who downed 5 glasses of wine a week saw their risk cut in half. The study reiterated that smoking...

Dude! Harsh! Weed Shrinks Your Brain

Long-term smokers show abnormalities, damage to emotions

(Newser) - Heavy marijuana use over a number of years can cause significant brain abnormalities, damage memory and emotional processing, and even shrink parts of the brain, the Age reports. All cannabis smokers—not just high-risk groups such as the young and those susceptible to mental illness—can experience effects equivalent to...

Obama's Health 'Excellent': Docs

Dem still at risk despite quitting smoking in '07; family history of cancer also an issue

(Newser) - Barack Obama is in “excellent health,” his doctor of two decades wrote today, declaring the Democratic frontrunner “in overall good physical and mental health needed to maintain the resiliency required in the office of president.” Obama, 46, still faces risk factors from smoking, which he quit...

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