Child asthma admissions fall after smoking ban

The number of children admitted to hospital with symptoms of asthma has fallen since the ban on smoking in enclosed public places came into effect, a study has found. Research shows there was a 12.3% fall in admissions in the first year after the law was introduced in July 2007, and these have continued to drop in subsequent years, suggesting that any benefits of the legislation have been sustained. NHS statistics analysed by researchers at Imperial College London showed the decline was equivalent to 6,802 fewer hospital admissions in the first three years of the law coming into effect. The findings have been published in the journal Pediatrics. Asthma affects one in 11 children in the UK. Before the ban was implemented, hospital admissions for children suffering a severe asthma attack were increasing by 2.2% a year, peaking at 26,969 admissions in 2006-07. The findings show the trend reversed immediately after the law came into effect, with lower admission rates among boys and girls of all ages, in both wealthy and poor neighbourhoods and in cities and rural areas. Previous studies have shown that hospital admissions for childhood asthma fell after smoke-free legislation was introduced in Scotland and North America. The smoking ban in England has also been found to have reduced the rate of heart attacks.

BBC forced to axe Casualty storyline due to Welsh anti-smoking laws

The BBC was forced to axe a storyline in Casualty about the dangers of smoking because of Wales's stringent anti-smoking laws. BBC1's long-running hospital drama was planning a storyline in which a smoker inadvertently caused a fire in a hotel. But Welsh law bans smoking in enclosed public places and in the workplace, which includes – unlike England – actors lighting up on set. Clare Hudson, head of productions at BBC Wales, told the Welsh national assembly on Tuesday that the smoking ban could cost its economy up to £20m a year in lost work. "We had one storyline in Casualty warning about the dangers of smoking and how it caused a fire in a hotel," said Hudson. "But we could not go ahead with it because of the current legislation. "And scenes in [the revamped] Upstairs, Downstairs were difficult to work around because we had to shoot them outside of Wales. "Our drama in Wales has been growing very steadily over the past few years. We don't want to see that growth capped on the basis of the current legislation. "Without the additional burden of this regulation we would become more successful. It would be part of a fantastic set of incentives to attract dramas here."

Top Hollywood - Smoking Actresses

A snapshot of Madhur Bhandarkar's much-hyped upcoming film Heroine that shows Kareena Kapoor smoking and drinking has aroused curiosity among citizens ever since it was released by the filmmaker on Twitter recently. The photograph showed that Kareena gearing up for a scene that obviously has her lighting up Marlboro cigs, with a glass of alcohol in one hand, even as a crew member readies to sound the clapboard. This is the second time in the recent past that a top Hollywood actress will be seen puffing away on screen. While the Union health ministry has banned the depiction of tobacco use in films and on TV unless there is 'strong editorial justification', Vidya Balan was seen smoking and drinking freely in her National Award-winning role of the eighties siren Silk in The Dirty Picture.

Efforts to curb teen smoking in full swing

As reported by the Lutterworth Mail, a school in the Harborough district in Leicestershire is offering smoking cessation help to its students. The school authorities are offering smoking cessation advice and are also providing quit smoking aids like nicotine patches to its students, the weekly newspaper notes, adding that while the focus is mostly on teen smokers, the authorities at Robert Smyth Academy are not discriminating amongst pupils of different ages.

Smoking cannabis puts drivers in the danger seat

Drivers who smoke cannabis three hours before driving are twice as likely to cause a car crash as those not under the influence of alcohol or drugs, unveils a Canadian study. Research team from Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, Canada, which reviewed nine studies of more than 49,000 people involved in accidents on public roads, found that drivers who had consumed marijuana within three hours of driving were twice as likely to cause a fatal collision. The study also found that the risk of collision was higher if the driver was aged below 35, but failed to find how much of cannabis is needed to worsen the risk of a crash. The research published in the British Medical Journal has raised the concern about the influence of drugs on road safety, as the illicit substance is used by millions of Britons aged between 16 and 24 years.

Smokeless Cigarettes – Skippy Says They’re Safer to Smoke

For the legions of cigarette smokers who can't seem to quit, the arrival of e-cigarettes has been a godsend. While most of those who smoke realize the health implications of lighting up, traditional cigarettes are extremely addictive. For those who buy smokeless cigarettes from a reputable e-cigarette store smoking has become safer and much less of a hazard.

For the legions of cigarette smokers who can't seem to quit, the arrival of e-cigarettes have been a godsend. While most of those who smoke realize the health implications of lighting up, traditional cigarettes are extremely addictive. For those who buy smokeless cigarettes from a reputable e-cigarette store smoking has become safer and much less of a hazard.