Exercise can make cigarettes less tempting to smokers and may help them kick the habit, says a new study.
Research from the University of Exeter shows that exercise can decrease the power of cigarettes and smoking-related images that grab the attention of smokers.
The study involved moderately heavy smokers, who had abstained from cigarettes for 15 hours before the trial.
"We know that smoking-related images can be powerful triggers for smokers who are abstaining," said Kate Janse Van Rensburg, doctoral student at the University of Exeter, who led the study.
"While we are no longer faced with advertisements for cigarettes, smokers are still faced with seeing people smoking on television, in photographs or in person. We know that this makes it more difficult for them to quit," added Rensburg.
"During two visits to our laboratory participants began by being shown smoking-related and neutral images, and then spent either 15 minutes sitting or exercising on a stationary bike at a moderate intensity. Afterwards, they were again shown the images," she said.
While participants were shown the images, the research team used the latest technology to measure and record their precise eye movements.
They were able to show not only the length of time people looked at such images but also how quickly pictures of cigarettes could grab their attention, compared with non-smoking matched images.
The study showed an 11 per cent difference between the time the participants spent looking at the smoking-related images after exercise, compared with the after sitting.
Also, after exercise, participants took longer to look at smoking-related images. Exercise, therefore, appears to reduce the power of the smoking-related images to grab visual attention.
Numerous studies have shown that a single session of light to moderate intensity exercise, for example five-15 minutes of brisk walking, can reduce cravings and responses to smoking cues, said an Exeter release.
Показаны сообщения с ярлыком latest tobacco news. Показать все сообщения
Показаны сообщения с ярлыком latest tobacco news. Показать все сообщения
четверг, 29 октября 2009 г.
среда, 28 октября 2009 г.
Convict pleads guilty to kidnapping family
GAFFNEY -- Jerry Douglas Case, a convicted murderer who sat on death row but was paroled, pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to kidnapping five members of a North Carolina family in July.
The crime spree began near Gastonia, where some members of the family had been fishing, and ended in Gaffney.
Case, 52, admitted he carjacked the family and committed two counts each of kidnapping and kidnapping involving a child. Testimony shows Case threatened to kill a Gastonia man, his adult daughter and two grandchildren, including an infant.
Case was accused of forcing the woman to drive aimlessly through North and South Carolina for 12 hours while pointing a gun at his victims. The victims told investigators Case forced the woman to stop and buy alcohol and cigarettes for him.
The next day about 5 a.m. while stopped at the Kangaroo Express convenience store on Highway 18 near Gaffney, Case accidentally left the keys in the car.
As he walked toward the store, the family drove away and used Case's cell phone to call 911. They were met by law enforcement officers several miles away from where they left Case.
The crime spree began near Gastonia, where some members of the family had been fishing, and ended in Gaffney.
Case, 52, admitted he carjacked the family and committed two counts each of kidnapping and kidnapping involving a child. Testimony shows Case threatened to kill a Gastonia man, his adult daughter and two grandchildren, including an infant.
Case was accused of forcing the woman to drive aimlessly through North and South Carolina for 12 hours while pointing a gun at his victims. The victims told investigators Case forced the woman to stop and buy alcohol and cigarettes for him.
The next day about 5 a.m. while stopped at the Kangaroo Express convenience store on Highway 18 near Gaffney, Case accidentally left the keys in the car.
As he walked toward the store, the family drove away and used Case's cell phone to call 911. They were met by law enforcement officers several miles away from where they left Case.
пятница, 9 октября 2009 г.
Mickey Rourke on the priest who saved his life
In the Year for Priests, here's a story that reminds us the impact a priest can have on just one life:
Mickey Rourke has revealed that he was on the verge of suicide before he turned to the Catholic Church for help.
"The Wrestler" star, who battled alcohol and drug addiction for several years, claims in PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk's new book "One Can Make a Difference: How Simple Actions Can Change the World" that a priest helped save his life.
He explained: "One day I looked in the mirror and I saw myself the way others saw me. I saw the armour and I scared the f**k out of myself.
"I did see a priest for a while, a great one who stopped me from blowing my brains out. We'd go in the basement, he'd pour me a glass of wine, we'd smoke cigarettes, and then we'd pray. But I needed a shrink too, so I forced myself to go.
"I had to learn not to let people push my buttons, find out what was triggering all this rage, and stop throwing things away. I've barely missed a therapy session in over a decade, and that takes willpower."
Mickey Rourke has revealed that he was on the verge of suicide before he turned to the Catholic Church for help.
"The Wrestler" star, who battled alcohol and drug addiction for several years, claims in PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk's new book "One Can Make a Difference: How Simple Actions Can Change the World" that a priest helped save his life.
He explained: "One day I looked in the mirror and I saw myself the way others saw me. I saw the armour and I scared the f**k out of myself.
"I did see a priest for a while, a great one who stopped me from blowing my brains out. We'd go in the basement, he'd pour me a glass of wine, we'd smoke cigarettes, and then we'd pray. But I needed a shrink too, so I forced myself to go.
"I had to learn not to let people push my buttons, find out what was triggering all this rage, and stop throwing things away. I've barely missed a therapy session in over a decade, and that takes willpower."
среда, 7 октября 2009 г.
Ban still permits sale of menthol cigarettes
This ban, authorized by the new Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, is part of a national effort by the FDA to reduce smoking in America. The ban on flavored cigarettes is aimed at reducing the number of children who start smoking and become addicted to tobacco products. In fact:
In 2004, 22.8 percent of 17- year-old smokers reported using flavored cigarettes over the past month, as compared to 6.7 percent of smokers over the age of 25.
A poll conducted in March 2008 found that one in five young people between the ages of 12 and 17 had seen flavored tobacco products or ads, while only one in 10 adults reported having seen them.
According to one study of youth smokers between the ages of 13 and 18, 52 percent of smokers who had heard of flavored cigarettes reported interest in trying them, and nearly 60 percent thought that flavored cigarettes would taste better than regular cigarettes.
The statistics, along with the fact the about 90 percent of smokers begin smoking as teenagers, certainly seem to support claims that candy- and fruit-flavored cigarettes are just another attempt by the tobacco industry to recruit "replacement smokers," replacing the number of people who quit smoking or die from smoking-related diseases each year with new, young smokers.
The new ban on flavored cigarettes is certainly a step in the right direction; however, for all the good intentions of the FDA, this ban stops short of eliminating the No.1 most prevalent cigarette flavoring in use today: menthol.
Research at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School has shown that menthol cigarette smokers take in more nicotine and carbon monoxide per cigarette than regular cigarette smokers, and a recent study at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey has shown that menthol smokers find it harder to quit, despite smoking fewer cigarettes per day.
Although I fully support the ban on flavored cigarettes, it is obvious to me that the tobacco industry still has enough influence to continue selling the cigarettes that are the real money makers for them, and that probably have the most influence on our nation's teenagers, menthol.
Hopefully, the ban on menthol cigarettes will be considered in the near future.
In 2004, 22.8 percent of 17- year-old smokers reported using flavored cigarettes over the past month, as compared to 6.7 percent of smokers over the age of 25.
A poll conducted in March 2008 found that one in five young people between the ages of 12 and 17 had seen flavored tobacco products or ads, while only one in 10 adults reported having seen them.
According to one study of youth smokers between the ages of 13 and 18, 52 percent of smokers who had heard of flavored cigarettes reported interest in trying them, and nearly 60 percent thought that flavored cigarettes would taste better than regular cigarettes.
The statistics, along with the fact the about 90 percent of smokers begin smoking as teenagers, certainly seem to support claims that candy- and fruit-flavored cigarettes are just another attempt by the tobacco industry to recruit "replacement smokers," replacing the number of people who quit smoking or die from smoking-related diseases each year with new, young smokers.
The new ban on flavored cigarettes is certainly a step in the right direction; however, for all the good intentions of the FDA, this ban stops short of eliminating the No.1 most prevalent cigarette flavoring in use today: menthol.
Research at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School has shown that menthol cigarette smokers take in more nicotine and carbon monoxide per cigarette than regular cigarette smokers, and a recent study at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey has shown that menthol smokers find it harder to quit, despite smoking fewer cigarettes per day.
Although I fully support the ban on flavored cigarettes, it is obvious to me that the tobacco industry still has enough influence to continue selling the cigarettes that are the real money makers for them, and that probably have the most influence on our nation's teenagers, menthol.
Hopefully, the ban on menthol cigarettes will be considered in the near future.
вторник, 29 сентября 2009 г.
Love is all you need
ARARAT - Ararat Retirement Village resident Ivan Reid notched up a significant milestone last week, celebrating his 96th birthday with family and friends.
The quick-witted nonagenarian puts his longevity down to a healthy lifestyle, which includes avoiding the temptations of alcohol and cigarettes.
''I made a pact with God when I was 12 to avoid all intoxicating drinks and to try to convince others around me to do the same,'' Ivan said.
His one foray into smoking saw Ivan roll some lucerne, used by his mother to feed her chickens, in brown paper before proceeding to smoke it.
''I ended up burning my tongue and I've never smoked since,'' he said.
Enjoying the birthday cake alongside Ivan was the love of his life, wife Madge, 93.
The couple will celebrate 70 years of marriage on February 24 next year.
Ivan and Madge met at the Church of Christ in Geelong, where they courted for a number of years before marrying in 1940.
The couple moved to Ararat in 1954, buying a small business on the corner of George Road and Barkly Street that served as a tuck shop to the nearby high school.
Upon selling the shop, Madge moved to a Barkly Street florist while her husband worked at Cunningham and Murphy for a number of years before relocating to the Stawell Brick Company.
The Reids enjoy spending time with their close-knit family, which includes ten grandchildren and a number of great grandchildren.
The couple's three sons, Ken, Don and Trevor, all live nearby.
When asked the secret to a long and happy marriage, Ivan listed communication as an important factor.
''You've got to be honest with one another for a start,'' he said.
In a day and age where people often get married too quickly and divorced even quicker, Ivan and Madge's lifetime commitment to each other seems even more special.
''It's not hard to stay married - we love each other,'' Ivan said.
Remembering back to when they first met, Ivan added, 'plus, she was a smart looking chick, I can tell you'.
The quick-witted nonagenarian puts his longevity down to a healthy lifestyle, which includes avoiding the temptations of alcohol and cigarettes.
''I made a pact with God when I was 12 to avoid all intoxicating drinks and to try to convince others around me to do the same,'' Ivan said.
His one foray into smoking saw Ivan roll some lucerne, used by his mother to feed her chickens, in brown paper before proceeding to smoke it.
''I ended up burning my tongue and I've never smoked since,'' he said.
Enjoying the birthday cake alongside Ivan was the love of his life, wife Madge, 93.
The couple will celebrate 70 years of marriage on February 24 next year.
Ivan and Madge met at the Church of Christ in Geelong, where they courted for a number of years before marrying in 1940.
The couple moved to Ararat in 1954, buying a small business on the corner of George Road and Barkly Street that served as a tuck shop to the nearby high school.
Upon selling the shop, Madge moved to a Barkly Street florist while her husband worked at Cunningham and Murphy for a number of years before relocating to the Stawell Brick Company.
The Reids enjoy spending time with their close-knit family, which includes ten grandchildren and a number of great grandchildren.
The couple's three sons, Ken, Don and Trevor, all live nearby.
When asked the secret to a long and happy marriage, Ivan listed communication as an important factor.
''You've got to be honest with one another for a start,'' he said.
In a day and age where people often get married too quickly and divorced even quicker, Ivan and Madge's lifetime commitment to each other seems even more special.
''It's not hard to stay married - we love each other,'' Ivan said.
Remembering back to when they first met, Ivan added, 'plus, she was a smart looking chick, I can tell you'.
вторник, 14 июля 2009 г.
How To Smoke On The Road: Finding A Smoker-Friendly Airport
In the past fifteen years, the premium-cigar industry found itself in rebound. After decades of competition from cigarettes, the aging of its customer base, and overall consumer trends indicating a decline in smoking in general (we'll return to this in a moment), many observers figured cigars were done for. Then came 1992. The fourth quarter of that year showed some of the first industry growth in years, and this trend metastasized in coming years. By 1996, the industry was seeing 36 percent first-quarter growth.
But cigars returned at an ironic time. High-profile class-action suits, controversy over Joe Camel, and decreasing general consumer interest in smoking, among other things, led to an increase in smoking bans in public buildings, offices, and, eventually, whole cities. Airports helped lead the trend; among the major travel hubs where you're no longer welcome to light up are Los Angeles' LAX and Dallas-Fort Worth.
All of which raises a question - if you're a smoker going on vacation, what are your options?
Thankfully, the web site SmokingSection has, aggregating information sent in by smoking readers, listed and ranked over fifty major airports by their friendliness to smokers. Their rankings, like those of your high-school English teacher, run from A to E: A for airports where you can smoke by the waiting gate; E for airports where you not only can't smoke indoors, but the nearest smoker-friendly outside areas require a small trip in themselves (and may be unacceptably far from takeoff gates).
So where should you travel if you want to smoke, not only when you reach your destination but on the way there? Well, the answer seems to be: Texas. The Lone Star State offers the only A-ranked airport out of the dozens surveyed. That's Dallas Love Field, a smallish airport that receives only flights from major area transport provider Southwest Airlines. Frequently-flying cigar smokers who live in that wildcatter's capital should feel lucky.
Texas offers us a B airport as well - these are the places where you can't smoke near the gates, but that do offer smoker-friendly bars, restaurants, and/or lounges nearby. That would be at Lubbock - the same city from which Buddy Holly hailed. (But don't take that as a bad omen.) Other southern and southwestern states are well-represented among the B airports, which makes sense, given the close links between many of these states and the history of the tobacco industry. Restaurants at New Mexico's Albuquerque Airport, as well as at airports in Charlotte, North Carolina; Charleston, West Virginia; Phoenix, Arizona; Tucson, Arizona; Norfolk, Virginia; and - appropriately enough - Richmond, Virginia, that famous tobacco town. (Where would American smoking be without Virginia?)
Orange County, California, offers an airport named for John Wayne, and appropriately the tobacco-loving Duke's namesake airport also offers B-class accommodations. So do the major regional airports in Tampa, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Detroit, Boston, and New York City (both JFK and LaGuardia), in several large cities in Ohio (Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus and Dayton), in Fairbanks, Alaska; Moline, Illinois; and Ontario, Canada. Visitors to our nation's capitol can also light up at a few of Washington, DC's airport bars, though these are apparently hard to find.
It's a good thing that the weather in Texas and California is generally fairly clement, because some major airports in both of these states ban all indoor smoking - but outdoor smoking areas are available at a conveniently close distance. The aforementioned Dallas-Fort Worth and LAX both disallow indoor smoking, which accounts for their C rating, but they do invite smoking customers to step outside. The Worcester, Massachusetts airport has a similar arrangement. (Enjoy that brisk Massachusetts air.) These are the C-class airports.
After that it gets dicier. Quite a few major American airports seem to fall into the D or E classes, with smoking accommodations within the airport that require a bit of a hike, or (in the case of the E-class airports) nothing at all but outside areas located far from gates. Many D airports offer those ubiquitous glass lounges where smokers are invited to light up and take a load off; these include Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Las Vegas (McCarran), and Atlanta (Hartfield). Happy hunting!
But cigars returned at an ironic time. High-profile class-action suits, controversy over Joe Camel, and decreasing general consumer interest in smoking, among other things, led to an increase in smoking bans in public buildings, offices, and, eventually, whole cities. Airports helped lead the trend; among the major travel hubs where you're no longer welcome to light up are Los Angeles' LAX and Dallas-Fort Worth.
All of which raises a question - if you're a smoker going on vacation, what are your options?
Thankfully, the web site SmokingSection has, aggregating information sent in by smoking readers, listed and ranked over fifty major airports by their friendliness to smokers. Their rankings, like those of your high-school English teacher, run from A to E: A for airports where you can smoke by the waiting gate; E for airports where you not only can't smoke indoors, but the nearest smoker-friendly outside areas require a small trip in themselves (and may be unacceptably far from takeoff gates).
So where should you travel if you want to smoke, not only when you reach your destination but on the way there? Well, the answer seems to be: Texas. The Lone Star State offers the only A-ranked airport out of the dozens surveyed. That's Dallas Love Field, a smallish airport that receives only flights from major area transport provider Southwest Airlines. Frequently-flying cigar smokers who live in that wildcatter's capital should feel lucky.
Texas offers us a B airport as well - these are the places where you can't smoke near the gates, but that do offer smoker-friendly bars, restaurants, and/or lounges nearby. That would be at Lubbock - the same city from which Buddy Holly hailed. (But don't take that as a bad omen.) Other southern and southwestern states are well-represented among the B airports, which makes sense, given the close links between many of these states and the history of the tobacco industry. Restaurants at New Mexico's Albuquerque Airport, as well as at airports in Charlotte, North Carolina; Charleston, West Virginia; Phoenix, Arizona; Tucson, Arizona; Norfolk, Virginia; and - appropriately enough - Richmond, Virginia, that famous tobacco town. (Where would American smoking be without Virginia?)
Orange County, California, offers an airport named for John Wayne, and appropriately the tobacco-loving Duke's namesake airport also offers B-class accommodations. So do the major regional airports in Tampa, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Detroit, Boston, and New York City (both JFK and LaGuardia), in several large cities in Ohio (Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus and Dayton), in Fairbanks, Alaska; Moline, Illinois; and Ontario, Canada. Visitors to our nation's capitol can also light up at a few of Washington, DC's airport bars, though these are apparently hard to find.
It's a good thing that the weather in Texas and California is generally fairly clement, because some major airports in both of these states ban all indoor smoking - but outdoor smoking areas are available at a conveniently close distance. The aforementioned Dallas-Fort Worth and LAX both disallow indoor smoking, which accounts for their C rating, but they do invite smoking customers to step outside. The Worcester, Massachusetts airport has a similar arrangement. (Enjoy that brisk Massachusetts air.) These are the C-class airports.
After that it gets dicier. Quite a few major American airports seem to fall into the D or E classes, with smoking accommodations within the airport that require a bit of a hike, or (in the case of the E-class airports) nothing at all but outside areas located far from gates. Many D airports offer those ubiquitous glass lounges where smokers are invited to light up and take a load off; these include Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Las Vegas (McCarran), and Atlanta (Hartfield). Happy hunting!
понедельник, 13 июля 2009 г.
Has The Price Of Cigarettes Made You Want To Quit
With the economy the way it is now days, there are a many people that wish they would have given up smoking once and for all a long time ago. Now that the price of a pack of cigarettes is reaching nearly five dollars a pack and even more in many places, it is a good time to seriously start thinking about giving them up. No matter what age you are, unless you are just plain wealthy, a heavy smoker these days can cost as much as 20 % of a pay check of average working men and women in the United States who make minimum wage or a little more.
Going back just only a few years ago, cigarette prices were around two dollars a pack, but with the new taxes being applied, they are now doubled in price. If you are a smoker and think that is bad, the states are beginning to apply their own tax on top of the one the government just put in place. This is similar to the gasoline issue in that it keeps going up, but we need gasoline to travel, we do not need cigarettes at all. Spend nothing on cigarettes and you will have plenty left to pay for that expensive fuel.
Finally, the cost of gasoline has peaked for the time being and came back down. Now you can at least make it to work without taking out a loan to get there. But smokers out there need to get ready to see the price of cigarettes be the back up for a tax revenue increase. Even though the extreme taxing of cigarettes might not be something that everyone, especially smokers, agree with, because they might actually go up in price so much that it will force some people to have to quit, but is that such a bad thing in itself?
When you are addicted to nicotine and what ever the thousands of chemicals are that go in the processing of cigarettes, it is similar to being an addict hooked on some of the harder drugs like heroine or methamphetamine. It is almost as difficult for some to stop smoking as it is for these other drug users to kick their habits. What is amazing to some people is that cigarettes are killers just like any of these other drugs, yet they are still legal for adults to buy. What many people do not understand about the government is how they determine that it is perfectly alright to tax one drug like cigarettes to death, and outlaw others. There is the argument that some drugs like methamphetamine or heroine alters the personality of the user and this is true. But have you ever seen a smoker who is really addicted to cigarettes when they can not get one? That also can be a very ugly picture.
Going back just only a few years ago, cigarette prices were around two dollars a pack, but with the new taxes being applied, they are now doubled in price. If you are a smoker and think that is bad, the states are beginning to apply their own tax on top of the one the government just put in place. This is similar to the gasoline issue in that it keeps going up, but we need gasoline to travel, we do not need cigarettes at all. Spend nothing on cigarettes and you will have plenty left to pay for that expensive fuel.
Finally, the cost of gasoline has peaked for the time being and came back down. Now you can at least make it to work without taking out a loan to get there. But smokers out there need to get ready to see the price of cigarettes be the back up for a tax revenue increase. Even though the extreme taxing of cigarettes might not be something that everyone, especially smokers, agree with, because they might actually go up in price so much that it will force some people to have to quit, but is that such a bad thing in itself?
When you are addicted to nicotine and what ever the thousands of chemicals are that go in the processing of cigarettes, it is similar to being an addict hooked on some of the harder drugs like heroine or methamphetamine. It is almost as difficult for some to stop smoking as it is for these other drug users to kick their habits. What is amazing to some people is that cigarettes are killers just like any of these other drugs, yet they are still legal for adults to buy. What many people do not understand about the government is how they determine that it is perfectly alright to tax one drug like cigarettes to death, and outlaw others. There is the argument that some drugs like methamphetamine or heroine alters the personality of the user and this is true. But have you ever seen a smoker who is really addicted to cigarettes when they can not get one? That also can be a very ugly picture.
Подписаться на:
Сообщения (Atom)