June 2011

Tighter smoking regulations are being proposed for Myrtle Beach.&nbsp; If you want to keep smoking now is the time to get politically involved, even if you have never done it before.<br type="_moz" />

Tobacco companies are back lobbying again against new taxes.<br type="_moz" />

From the desk of Sven Larson: &quot;When it comes to tax revenues, legislators across the country are willing to operate with very low moral standards. People’s addictions to tobacco and alcohol are already being taxed. Marijuana taxes are gaining ground, as are gambling taxes. In Ohio the state and local governments are trying to get their hands on more gambling tax revenues, leading to generous agreements with casino companies&quot;. <br />

A new study from England indicates that a smoking ban does not make smokers quit.&nbsp;&nbsp; We could have told them that for free!<br type="_moz" />

The bill to ban smoking in bars in Lousiana has failed!&nbsp; Good times in the Big Easy!<br type="_moz" />

A bill in Nevada changing a voter-approved indoor smoking ban and allowing adults-only taverns to sell food is moving forward. <br />
<p>&quot;It helps out a hurting industry,&quot; said Sean Higgins, lobbyist for the state’s tavern owners. &quot;The Clean Indoor Air Act hurt their bottom line, and it was a double whammy with the recession.&quot;</p>

During a special session of the Texas legislature another bill has been introduced to ban smoking statewide. It would prohibit smoking in restaurants, bars and other indoor public spaces in every corner of Texas by this fall.

From the New England Journal of Medicine, May edition, comes an intersting article from the mouth of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation who began their attack on smokers in the early 90’s and have funded most of the Anti-Tobacco/Lobbying efforts.<br />
<br type="_moz" />

HPV, the virus that causes cervical cancer, is also linked to throat cancer, and oral sex is a major risk factor for both men and women, new research shows.<br />
<br />
The new study shows that oral HPV infection is linked to head and neck cancer. The researchers were also surprised to find that <b>heavy smoking and drinking did not seem to add to the risk in people </b>with evidence of oral HPV infection.<br />
<br type="_moz" />