Tobacco.org

• Stress levels and smoking: Why your dad's bad habits may have wrecked your genes 

But medicine is increasingly pointing the finger specifically at fathers, with studies showing how male genes and even men's diets and stress levels can create serious health problems for their offspring, including diabetes, depression and obesity.

This latest finding is part of a larger picture where scientists are starting to discover diseases passed from man to boy through the Y chromosome

It seems that the Bible warning holds true for health: the sins of the fathers really do plague their children -- and this effect may pass on to their grandchildren, too.

The latest evidence in this newly emerging jigsaw comes from research that shows a common genetic flaw may increase a son's risk of heart disease by 50 per cent. . . .

'You can reduce your risk if you mitigate the effects of other dangers, such as your weight, blood pressure and cholesterol levels,' says Ms Bloomer.

This latest finding is part of a larger picture where scientists are starting to discover diseases passed from man to boy through the Y chromosome. . . .

Scientists are also learning how the bad effects of men's lifestyle habits, such as their diet, stress levels, weight and smoking, can be transmitted through the genes in their sperm.

Just as disturbingly, it seems that men can pass on addictive behaviours and stress-related depression.

Here, it is not only sons who are affected but daughters, too, because these problems are passed on through genes that are not on the Y sex chromosome. . . .

Even smoking when very young can affect men's sperm -- and surprisingly, this may make their sons prone to becoming overweight.

The discovery was made using survey results from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children -- an investigation into the health of 14,000 mothers and their children in the Bristol area.

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• As America's waistline expands, costs soar 

The startling economic costs of obesity, often borne by the non-obese, could become the epidemic's second-hand smoke. Only when scientists discovered that nonsmokers were developing lung cancer and other diseases from breathing smoke-filled air did policymakers get serious about fighting the habit, in particular by establishing nonsmoking zones. The costs that smoking added to Medicaid also spurred action. Now, as economists put a price tag on sky-high body mass indexes (BMIs), policymakers as well as the private sector are mobilizing to find solutions to the obesity epidemic. . . .

Obesity-related absenteeism costs employers as much as $6.4 billion a year, health economists led by Eric Finkelstein of Duke University calculate . . .

One recent surprise is the discovery that the costs of obesity exceed those of smoking. In a paper published in March, scientists at the Mayo Clinic toted up the exact medical costs of 30,529 Mayo employees, adult dependents, and retirees over several years.

"Smoking added about 20 percent a year to medical costs," said Mayo's James Naessens. "Obesity was similar, but morbid obesity increased those costs by 50 percent a year. There really is an economic justification for employers to offer programs to help the very obese lose weight." . . .

For years researchers suspected that the higher medical costs of obesity might be offset by the possibility that the obese would die young, and thus never rack up spending for nursing homes, Alzheimer's care, and other pricey items.

That's what happens to smokers. While they do incur higher medical costs than nonsmokers in any given year, their lifetime drain on public and private dollars is less because they die sooner. "Smokers die early enough that they save Social Security, private pensions, and Medicare" trillions of dollars, said Duke's Finkelstein. "But mortality isn't that much higher among the obese."

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• Doctors back denial of treatment for smokers and the obese  

A majority of doctors support measures to deny treatment to smokers and the obese, according to a survey that has sparked a row over the NHS's growing use of "lifestyle rationing".

Some 54% of doctors who took part said the NHS should have the right to withhold non-emergency treatment from patients who do not lose weight or stop smoking. Some medics believe unhealthy behaviour can make procedures less likely to work, and that the service is not obliged to devote scarce resources to them.

However, senior doctors and patient groups have voiced alarm at what they call "blackmailing" of the sick, and denial of their human rights.

Doctors.net.uk, a professional networking site, found that 593 (54%) of the 1,096 doctors who took part in the self-selecting survey answered yes when asked: "Should the NHS be allowed to refuse non-emergency treatments to patients unless they lose weight or stop smoking?"

One doctor said that denying in-vitro fertilisation to childless women who smoked was justified because it was only half as successful for them. Another said the NHS was right to expect an obese patient or alcoholic to change their behaviour before they underwent liver transplant surgery.

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• HC tells govt to consider curbs on tobacco  

The Allahabad high court in an important direction has directed the state government to now consider the appropriateness of restricting the consumption, sale and distribution of tobacco and nicotine in food products on the same lines as the MP government has already put restrictions on the consumption, sale and distribution of the tobacco and nicotine in food products.

Passing this order on a PIL filed by Indian Dental Association and UP state & others, a division bench consisting of Justice Amar Saran and Justice Anurag Kumar has asked the chief secretary of the state either to put restriction on the same lines as in MP or show cause through the appropriate secretary in this court by the next date on May 23, 2012as to why such a direction imposing the restrictions on the consumption, sale and distribution of tobacco and nicotine in food products may not be issued by this court for enforcement of regulation to 2.3.4 prohibiting the use of tobacco and nicotine as an ingredient in any food product.

The bench has also made it open to the manufactures of the paan masala and gutkha products to move intervention application for clarifying their position by the next date. The petitioner through the PIL seeking ban on the production , sale and consumption of tobacco and nicotine in food products, it has been alleged that the use of the same are causing oral cancer.

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Body Mass Index, Exercise, and Other Lifestyle Factors in Relation to Age at Natural Menopause: Analyses From the Breakthrough Generations Study 

• Menopause: Lifestyle affects when women go through the change as smokers have it two years earlier 

Drinking, smoking and carrying extra weight can all influence when a woman goes through the menopause, suggests a new study.

The lifestyle factors were all linked to when women stopped having periods, according to research from the Institute of Cancer Research in the UK.

Smoking made the largest impact with smokers experiencing the change an average two years earlier that those who didn't have the harmful habit.

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Foundation unveils diet plan to help smokers quit  

The John Tung Foundation, a health promotion body, on Wednesday unveiled a four-week diet plan that it said will help people quit smoking.

The diet plan features five meals per day with a total calorie intake of 1,800, which is the standard amount for the average adult male, said Hsieh Yi-fang, the dietitian who designed the plan.

Smokers are advised to eat foods that contain vitamins A, B, C, which could help ease withdrawal symptoms in the first week after they stop smoking, Hsieh said.

Having soup and fruit before proceeding to a meat course could help control weight gain, she said.

She also suggested chewing a piece of sugar-free gum to replace the desire to smoke.

The diet plan is part of a broader effort to help smokers quit, said Lin Ching-li, the head of the foundation's tobacco control division.

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• Heart Attack Grill Customer Collapses While Eating Double Bypass Burger, Smoking 

Not this again. A Las Vegas woman in her 40s collapsed at the Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas while dining on a double bypass burger, smoking cigarettes and drinking a margarita. She was found unconscious at the restaurant and during resuscitation.

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Omega-3s shown to help protect against harmful effects of smoking: scientists  

• Omega-3 fatty acids may help to reduce the physical harm caused by smoking 

The study, carried out in Greece, assessed the effect of four-week oral treatment with 2 g/day of omega-3 fatty acids on the arterial wall properties of cigarette smokers. The results showed that short-term treatment with omega-3 fatty acids improves arterial stiffness and moderates the acute smoking-induced impairment of vascular elastic properties in smokers.

"These findings suggest that omega-3 fatty acids inhibit the detrimental effects of smoking on arterial function, which is an independent prognostic marker of cardiovascular risk," said Dr. Gerasimos Siasos, University of Athens Medical School, 1st Department of Cardiology, "Hippokration" Hospital. "The cardioprotective effects of omega-3 fatty acids appear to be due to a synergism between multiple, intricate mechanisms involving anti-inflammatory and anti-atherosclerotic effects. Furthermore, AHA recommends that people without documented history of coronary heart disease should consume a variety of fish (preferably oily - rich in omega-3 fatty acids) at least twice per week."

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Woman dead at 30 had eight liters of Coke, 30 cigarettes per day 

Obese Workers' Health Care Costs Top Those of Smokers 

Obese workers have even higher health costs than smokers, a new study finds.

Researchers examined data from more than 30,000 Mayo Clinic employees and retirees who had continuous health insurance from 2001 to 2007.

The analysis revealed that both obesity and smoking were associated with higher health care costs. Average yearly health costs were $1,275 more for smokers than nonsmokers and $1,850 more for obese people than those with normal weight.

Health care costs for morbidly obese people were up to $5,500 more a year than for normal weight people. . . .

The study was published in the March issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

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Study: Obesity Surpasses Smoking in Employee Health Care Costs 

Rock Creek Pharmaceuticals Announces Market Entry of Anatabloc® Unflavored as the First Brand Extension of its Anatabloc® Product Line 

Rock Creek Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Star Scientific, Inc. (NASDAQ: CIGX), announced that Anatabloc® Unflavored is available as an option on the shopping cart on the Anatabloc® website at https://store.anatabloc.com/products as of today. Anatabloc® Unflavored is a revised formulation containing the same active dietary ingredients in the same dose as our original Anatabloc® product. A significant number of individuals using Anatabloc® communicated to us their interest in an Anatabloc® product without mint flavoring; others expressed an interest in a product that does not contain artificial sugar substitutes. Anatabloc® Unflavored is a formulation that can be used by any current or new users of our Anatabloc® product who wish to avoid sweeteners and flavors. The new formulation is the same as the original with respect to the other ingredients and can be used in the same manner. . . .

As of today, the Anatabloc® Unflavored image appears on the main landing page for the Anatabloc® website. Visitors to the website will be able to purchase Anatabloc® Unflavored at a single, one-time purchase price of $99.99 or as part of our Advantage Club renewal program, at $79.99. Each bottle of Anatabloc® Unflavored will contain 200 tablets.

Curtis Wright, IV, MD/MPH, Senior Vice President and Medical Director of Rock Creek Pharmaceuticals said, "When we received the first request for an alternative formulation, there was never any doubt that we would try to fulfill it, since we anticipated that various consumers would want to have the benefit of using Anatabloc® without artificial flavors or sweeteners. We are very pleased that our production team was able to develop a formulation free of artificial flavors and sweeteners for those customers who either do not care for the mint flavoring or prefer not to use artificial sweeteners for a variety of personal reasons. Our goal in formulating Anatabloc® is to promote health and optimum nutrition

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Levy tax on tobacco, junk food, says IIM Ahmedabad thinktank  

A fund for public health should be created by levying specific taxes on tobacco, alcohol, petrol and junk foods, believes Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) faculty Dileep Mavalankar.

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