SF suburb pushing smoking envelope

Belmont, Calif., may ban smoking in apartment complexes. and the like.

The LA Times reports:

Twenty years ago, a proposal to prohibit smoking in condos and apartments "would have been a radical and crazy idea," said Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "Today, it's an idea that's gaining growing acceptance, precisely because the science has evolved and changed."

Background:

In the late 1940s, '50s and most of the '60s, people could smoke virtually everywhere they went, with a few minor restrictions related to fire hazards, he said. When smoke was recognized at the very least as an irritant and temporary health hazard, segregated smoking and nonsmoking sections cropped up everywhere, from airplanes to offices.

That was during much of the 1970s, '80s and '90s, he said, a period underscored by the idea that "smokers have rights." Then California banned smoking in restaurants and the workplace, and the boundary for permissible smoking tightened. Suddenly it was not OK to smoke indoors in public places.

When Calabasas voted last year to effectively ban smoking outdoors, the boundary moved again. But the city, Banzhaf said, deliberately chose not to address the smoke that drifts from private home to private home in the close confines of apartment buildings and condos — at least for the time being.

Which brings us to Belmont, "which is taking the lead," he said.

It is unclear just what the City Council will do when presented with the first draft of its new ordinance, whether the anti-smoking fervor on display in November will survive, what kind of history will be made, where the line will be drawn.

Expect lawsuits, eh.
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In Wales, a smoking ban in public places

It's scheduled to take hold the day after April Fool's Day, April 2.

The health minister says violators will be shot on sight -- just kiddin. Here's what he really said:

“Long term exposure to second-hand smoke can cause lung cancer, heart disease and ban respiratory illness among non-smokers.

“The most compelling reason for introducing the as soon as possible is that experts estimate at least 400 non-smokers die each year in Wales as a result of exposure to second-hand smoke.

“We know that many smokers want to quit but find it extremely difficult. There has never been a better time to give up for good when the ban comes into force in April."

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If you want the seed to find purchase, put away the smokes

Smokers are more likely to be infertile that non-smokers, says a doc, citing studies.


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French smoking ban to take effect, stage smoking under fire and would you believe a THIRD of the world population smokes?

The French love to smoke. Almost as much as they love to make love with their faces, as the saying goes.

The big question now is will the country enforce the ban on smoking in public places, which takes effect Thursday. [link].

United Press International, which I thought had gone outta business (since you hardly ever see their wire copy in the papers), is carrying story that says the growing trend of banning smoking may well extend to actors performing on stage. Some get around such prohbitions by employing herbal smokes (presumably not that herb) but even some laws extend to non-tobacco smokes. [link]

According to a guy with an international group dedicated to helping people quit smoking, ONE-Third of the world's population smokes. I'm not sure I believe that. [link]

Smoking popular in Bulgaria

Look for a lot of people in Bulgaria to get real irritable real soon if that country joins the European Union, whose health commissioner wants new EU-member countries to adopt a smoking ban in public places.

Have you ever met a Bulgarian?

If so, and that Bulgarian happened to be male, chances are he smoked. The ladies there love to smoke, too, but not as much as the fellers.

They are a surly and smelly lot, to be sure. And they don't give a shit. You can cite all the Surgeon General studies under the sun, and they'll keep smokin'. Or shove a shiv between your ribs when you insist they stop.

Bulgaria is scheduled to join the EU this year. Don't hold your breath if this smoking edict passes. On second thought, hold your breath, if you happen to live in Bulgaria, cause it's likely full of secondhand smoke!!

Furthermore, if Bulgaria is one of the places you always hoped to visit before you die, our suggestion is you go there before the smoking ban. It'll be smellier in the cafes, restaurants and transit stations, but the people will be happy -- while they can legally smoke in public.

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Blame it on the insula

The part of the brain that may unlock the whole problem of addiction is about the size of a prune,
the NY Times reports.

“This is the first time we’ve shown anything like this, that damage to a specific brain area could remove the problem of addiction entirely,” said Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which financed the study, along with the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. “It’s absolutely mind-boggling.”

...

“In a sense it’s not surprising that the insula is an important part of this circuit maintaining addiction, because we realized some years ago that it was going to be a critical platform for emotions,” Dr. Damasio said in a telephone interview. “It is on this platform that we first anticipate pain and pleasure, not just smoking but eating chocolate, drinking a glass of wine, all of it.”

This explains why cravings are so physical, and so hard to shake, he said: they have taken hold in the visceral reaches of the body well before they are even conscious.

New smoking cure discovered

It's got its pluses and minuses.

On the plus side, you completely lose the urge to smoke.

On the minus side, you must first suffer a stroke

Read More