Forget the idea that smoking a cigarette from time to time is ok. Even occasional smokers are putting themselves at risk, particularly of cardiovascular problems.
Smoking can in fact very rapidly affect the physiology of the artery walls and contribute to the early onset of atherosclerosis, leading to the formation of atheromatous plaques and the risk of myocardial infarction.
An American study published in the French journal Tabac Actualités has recently shown this. Two groups were formed and studied, each consisting of 6 men and 3 women, aged between 20 and 26, and all in good health. The first comprised nine members who had never smoked and acted as a control group. The second group of 9 were all occasional smokers, ie they had been smoking less than one packet of cigarettes per week for at least a year.
The researchers found that the arteries of those who smoked showed signs of obstruction, and this was after smoking only two cigarettes per day. These results suggest that the atherosclerotic process is encouraged by even episodic intoxication, explains Dr Claire Vesin of the AHT cardiovascular prevention and therapy unit of the l’Hôtel Dieu de Paris hospital. Even one or two cigarettes consumed in particular circumstances, at a party for example, can have a real impact on health. And we need to get this new message out there!
понедельник, 29 июня 2009 г.
четверг, 25 июня 2009 г.
Big Tobacco's Dollars Douse Push for Fire-Safe Cigarettes
Many people know that http://www.cigarettespub.net/marlboro/gold is considered the nation's leading preventable cause of death. But it is less widely known that cigarettes also are the leading cause of fatal fires, responsible for about a quarter of all U.S. fire deaths. Often, the 1,000 victims each year are not just smokers who drifted off to sleep, but children and other innocent bystanders.Yet many scientists and fire officials say these deaths could often be avoided because small design changes in cigarettes would make them less prone to start fires.
And indeed, during the last quarter-century, many bills have been introduced in state legislatures and Congress to require cigarettes to meet a fire-resistance standard.
But tobacco companies, claiming fire-safe cigarettes would not be commercially feasible, have repeatedly overpowered or outflanked such efforts. And the way they have done it, secret documents and interviews show, is a textbook example of a powerful industry using its wealth and ingenuity to stave off regulation.
They have done it through a sophisticated, two-pronged strategy that has included bankrolling in-house scientists and outside consultants to debunk the technical feasibility of safer cigarettes.
At the same time, they have attracted the strangest of bedfellows by doling out millions of dollars worth of grants, contracts and services to cement an ingenious alliance with fire-safety organizations. In the process they have won the favor, and in some cases the silence, of credible groups whose whole purpose is saving lives.
And they have shifted the fire-resistance burden to manufacturers of everything from mattresses and furniture to pajamas.
"Their answer [is] to fire-proof the world against our torches," said Rep. John Joseph Moakley (D-Mass.), who began pushing fire-safe-cigarette legislation in 1979 after a family of seven perished in a cigarette-caused fire in his district.
But some fire groups, grateful for tobacco's financial support, appear to have accepted the industry's argument that fire-safe cigarettes remain a pipe dream.
"I can't overemphasize the good that this money has done," said Fred Allinson, president of the National Volunteer Fire Council, which has received heavy support not only from cigarette manufacturers but from smokeless tobacco giant United States Tobacco.
Firms Deny Any Cynical Motives
And indeed, during the last quarter-century, many bills have been introduced in state legislatures and Congress to require cigarettes to meet a fire-resistance standard.
But tobacco companies, claiming fire-safe cigarettes would not be commercially feasible, have repeatedly overpowered or outflanked such efforts. And the way they have done it, secret documents and interviews show, is a textbook example of a powerful industry using its wealth and ingenuity to stave off regulation.
They have done it through a sophisticated, two-pronged strategy that has included bankrolling in-house scientists and outside consultants to debunk the technical feasibility of safer cigarettes.
At the same time, they have attracted the strangest of bedfellows by doling out millions of dollars worth of grants, contracts and services to cement an ingenious alliance with fire-safety organizations. In the process they have won the favor, and in some cases the silence, of credible groups whose whole purpose is saving lives.
And they have shifted the fire-resistance burden to manufacturers of everything from mattresses and furniture to pajamas.
"Their answer [is] to fire-proof the world against our torches," said Rep. John Joseph Moakley (D-Mass.), who began pushing fire-safe-cigarette legislation in 1979 after a family of seven perished in a cigarette-caused fire in his district.
But some fire groups, grateful for tobacco's financial support, appear to have accepted the industry's argument that fire-safe cigarettes remain a pipe dream.
"I can't overemphasize the good that this money has done," said Fred Allinson, president of the National Volunteer Fire Council, which has received heavy support not only from cigarette manufacturers but from smokeless tobacco giant United States Tobacco.
Firms Deny Any Cynical Motives
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