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Bigger belly may up smokers' lung cancer risk 

Smokers who carry more weight around their waistlines may be at greater risk of lung cancer, according to a new study.

The finding, along with the fact that lung cancer risk is actually higher among leaner smokers, provides "intriguing" evidence that how a smoker stores fat could play a role in his or her likelihood of developing lung cancer, Dr. Geoffrey C. Kabat of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York, told Reuters Health.

Several studies have found that a lower body mass index (BMI) means a higher lung cancer risk among smokers. "Reflex explanations" for the link include the fact that smokers are skinnier than non-smokers, Kabat noted in an interview, as well as the tendency for people to gain weight after they quit smoking. Another proposed mechanism for the relationship is that people lose weight when they develop lung cancer.

But careful analysis of the data doesn't bear out these explanations, Kabat said. To better understand the relationship, he and his colleagues looked at data from the Women's Health Initiative. . . .

The findings, reported in the American Journal of Epidemiology, must be confirmed by other investigators, and don't offer any clues on the mechanism behind the relationship, Kabat noted.

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EDITORIAL: Dangerous smoke signals  

The complaints made to the broadcasting regulator, Ofcom, about Marco Pierre White's ITV series on British food, in which the chef was seen smoking, appear unlikely to get anywhere. . . .

Yet there is something disturbing about the way in which those who would censor depictions of smoking in the media seem to be getting more of a hearing since the advent of the UK smoking ban last year. Few now disagree with the banning of overt cigarette advertising on billboards and television. But should this prohibition be gradually extended to all depictions of smoking on television or film? Of course not. . . .

As for Ofcom, it should be very wary of mission-creep. The job of the watchdog is to ensure that broadcasters behave in a responsible manner. It is not there to censor the depictions of practices that some in our society happen to dislike.

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TV chef is accused of glamorising cigarettes  

Marco Pierre White has been accused of promoting cigarettes during his recent television series, Marco's Great British Feast, after appearing on screen smoking.

Ofcom is investigating whether the programme broke the rules after complaints from nine people. Its code states that programmes should not seek to glamorise cigarettes to under-18s.

In the first episode of the ITV series on 2 July, White, 46, was pictured holding or smoking a cigarette on at least eight occasions. In the second show he had three cigarettes in the first six minutes.

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Study: Quitting smokers gain less weight using nicotine lozenges 

If you want to gain fewer pounds after you quit smoking, use a nicotine lozenge instead of nicotine gum, according to findings published Tuesday in the Wisconsin Medical Journal.

In the first head-to-head comparison of gum and lozenge smoking cessation aids, people using a lozenge gained 5.4 fewer pounds on average than those using gum, after eight weeks of treatment.

The quit-smoking rate was slightly better for lozenge users than gum users, with a 15.1 percent quit rate for lozenge users at the eight-week treatment mark compared to an 11.3 percent rate for the gum users.

The study was conducted on 408 participants at Aurora Sinai Medical Center in Milwaukee between June 2004 and July 2005.

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• Nicotine Water Reappears As 'Smoking Alternative' 

After being removed from the market by the FDA in 2002 . . .

"Nicotine Water" maker Global Beverage Innovations says the product now meets the FDA requirement that it be reformulated as a dietary supplement. The company Monday announced two versions of "Nicotine Water" that are equivalent to three cigarettes. One includes tabacco along with nicotine while the other has 84 percent less nicotine.

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Eel drink for Japan's hot summer 

A canned drink called "Unagi Nobori," or "Surging Eel," made by Japan Tobacco Inc., hit the nation's stores this month just ahead of Japan's annual eel-eating season, company spokesman Kazunori Hayashi said Monday.

"It's mainly for men who are exhausted by the summer's heat," Hayashi said of the beverage, believed to be the first mass-produced eel drink in Japan.

Many Japanese believe eating eel boosts stamina in hot weather.

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How the Overweight and Smokers Are Perceived 

* Video Reports

Forty percent of Americans view a person that smokes more negatively, while 29% view a significantly overweight person more negatively.

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• Impact of Smoking, Being Overweight on a Person’s Image 

The majority of Americans say the fact that a person smokes or is significantly overweight does not affect their opinion of that person, although 40% say they have a more negative opinion of smokers, and 29% have a more negative opinion of someone who is significantly overweight.

The impact of a person's habits or external appearance on his or her image is a significant factor in today's society, given that groups of people claim they are unfairly discriminated against because of these types of personal characteristics. Smokers have often complained about societal discrimination, and, in recent years, some U.S. states and municipalities have included or are considering including weight in broad laws banning discrimination on the basis of such fundamental personal characteristics as race, gender, or age.

The July Gallup Poll Social Series Consumption Poll probed Americans' images of people who smoke . . .

Perhaps not surprisingly, most smokers themselves say the fact that a person smokes doesn't affect their opinion of that person. But almost half of nonsmokers say they feel more negatively about a person if that person smokes. This suggests that smokers should realize that one out of two nonsmokers they come in contact with will think less of them simply because of their tobacco habit.

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• MAYBE WE SHOULDN'T HAVE STOPPED SMOKING 

The theory: Obesity rates are up at least partly because smoking rates are down. (Meaning we'd have less of a weight problem if we had more of a smoking problem -- not that anyone thinks that would be a good thing.) . . .

Our experts weigh in: Assessments of smoking's role in today's obesity rates range from "small" to "not big." Susan Roberts of Tufts University says that, although people gain weight when they quit smoking, often they are gaining back weight they lost when they started. "It does contribute," says James Hill of the University of Colorado, "but it is not a major determinant of the obesity epidemic."

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• Low-income households opt for cigarettes over food  

A new study from Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has revealed that low-income households with a smoking family head or spouse lack consistent access to food, spending more on cigarettes.

Such families purchase, on average, 10 packs of cigarettes per week, spending around 33.70 dollars, which could otherwise add two pounds of ground beef, two pounds of chicken breasts, 64 ounces of fresh orange juice and 10 pounds of frozen vegetables to the weekly menu, at current supermarket prices.

The team led by Brian Armour analyzed the data from the 2001 Panel Study of Income Dynamics

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Caterers have misread smoke signals  

This time last year the British high street saw an unprecedented wave of behind-the-scenes spending on sparkling new kitchen facilities, as optimistic restaurant and pub operators predicted that the ban on smoking in public places - introduced in England 12 months ago tomorrow - would trigger an explosion in eating out.

Reliance on the old guard of heavy-smoking pub "regulars" would be replaced with brisker trade, including more women and families looking for something more adventurous than a bag of pork scratchings with their drinks.

But the investment was a huge financial bet - and it now looks to be failing spectacularly for all but the largest and most canny operators.

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LETTER: Consumers pick food over tobacco  

With the flooding in the Midwest, I have a possible solution to the impending food problem: Have half the farmers in Eastern and Southern states, such as Georgia, plant corn or soybeans instead of tobacco. True, the cost of tobacco will likely rise, but I have a more important addiction --- eating --- that needs to be satisfied and I've heard that I'm not alone in this. . . .

Having more farmers who normally grow tobacco grow corn or soybeans instead should help keep food prices in check.

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Maternal smoking tied to overweight children 

Maternal smoking in the first trimester of pregnancy may increase the risk of overweight in children later.

The prevalence of obesity is increasing worldwide, and the rising number of obese children and adolescents is of particular concern. Smoking is a predisposing factor for abdominal obesity, glucose intolerance and insulin resistance. Maternal smoking has been associated with preterm birth and low birth weight. On the other hand, the incidence of obesity is higher in children and adults born of smoking mothers. However, till date no study has examined whether smoking in the first trimester lead to childhood overweight.

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Your Lifestyle, Your Genes and Cancer 

We've known for a long time that a high-fat diet, obesity and lack of exercise can increase the risk of developing heart disease and type 2 diabetes, two conditions that affect millions of Americans. What we are finding out now is that those same lifestyle factors also play an important role in cancer. That's the bad news. The good news is that you can do something about your lifestyle. If we grew thinner, exercised regularly, avoided diets rich in red meat (substituting poultry, fish or vegetable sources of protein) and ate diets rich in fruits and vegetables, and stopped using tobacco, we would prevent 70 percent of all cancers.

The strongest evidence of the importance of lifestyle in cancer is that most common cancers arise at dramatically different rates in different parts of the globe. . . .

While we've known about the importance of tobacco and cancer for more than 50 years, we are just beginning to understand how diet, a healthy body weight and regular exercise can protect us against cancer.

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Smoking link to hearing loss risk 

Page last updated at 23:09 GMT, Monday, 9 June 2008 00:09 UK

Smoking damages blood flow to the ear

Smoking and obesity could both cause permanent hearing damage, say scientists.

Either could threaten blood flow to the ear, they say, with damage levels clearly linked to the level of obesity or the length of a smoking habit.

However, the Antwerp University-led study found that high levels of work noise remained the biggest risk.

In a separate study, smoking in middle age was linked to worse memory, which could hasten the arrival of dementia.

Once the damage is done, it's done. It does not repair

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