New York proposes 'health taxes'

Gov. David Paterson has proposed health taxes on cigarettes and soda to improve New Yorkers' health and raise about $650 million. As part of his $134 billion budget, the Democratic governor has proposed raising New York's current cigarette tax of $2.75 to $3.75 per pack, which proponents predict will decrease cigarette use by 14 percent. "Estimates by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids found an increase of this magnitude would be expected to prevent more than 100,000 children from becoming smokers and cause more than 50,000 adult smokers to quit," Paterson said in a statement. "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said adverse health effects from cigarette smoking account for more than 400,000 deaths per year, including the deaths of approximately 25,000 New Yorkers. More deaths are caused each year by tobacco use than by HIV [human immunodeficiency virus], illegal drug use, alcohol use, motor vehicle injuries, suicides and murders combined." - UPI

Cardiac benefits of smoking reduction quantified

"Cutting out just five cigarettes a day after an acute MI was associated with an 18% decrease in mortality, researchers found. And quitting completely was associated with a 37% decrease compared with persistent smoking, according to the results of a prospective population-based cohort study published in the December 15/22 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology" - medpage today

Bacteria in cigarettes may harm health

"Cigarettes are widely contaminated with bacteria, including some known to harm health, French and U.S. researchers said. Researchers at the University of Maryland in College Park and Ecole Centrale de Lyon in France found cigarettes could be the direct source of exposure to a wide array of potentially pathogenic microbes among smokers and those exposed to secondhand smoke. "We were quite surprised to identify such a wide variety of human bacterial pathogens in these products," lead researcher Amy R. Sapkota of the University of Maryland School of Public Health said in a statement. "If these organisms can survive the smoking process - and we believe they can - then they could possibly go on to contribute to both infectious and chronic illnesses in both smokers and individuals who are exposed to environmental tobacco smoke." Sapkota and colleagues used DNA microarray analysis to estimate the so-called bacterial metagenome -- the totality of bacterial genetic material present in the tested cigarettes. The findings are scheduled to be published in Environmental Health Perspectives" - UPI