Greece in new crackdown on smokers and tobacco ads

"A new law has come into force in Greece banning smoking in enclosed public spaces and tobacco advertising. It is the second such attempt to curb tobacco addiction in Europe's biggest-smoking nation in just over a year. Smokers who break the law could be fined hundreds of euros and businesses may have to pay several thousand. But restaurant and cafe owners say they are being targeted at a time of economic crisis. It is estimated that more than 40% of Greek adults smoke - well above the EU's average of 29%"

Pioneering heart surgery saves man's life (Greece)

"Surgeons have, for the first time, used a combination of an artificial heart and stem cells to save the life of a dying man. Ioannis Manolopoulos was fitted with the mechanical pump because his heart was too weak to push blood around his body. Surgeons then injected his failing heart muscle with six million of his own stem cells in the hope that they would repair the damage. Speaking exclusively to Sky News, he said he owed the British and Greek surgeons his life. The team was led by British surgeon Professor Stephen Westaby, who has pioneered the use of mechanical pumps in patients suffering from heart failure"

Greece to impose smoking ban on July 1 in third attempt to stamp out the nation's cigarette habit

"Greece will impose a tobacco ban in public places on July 1 in its third attempt in a decade to stamp out the habit in Europe's biggest-smoking nation, the health ministry said on Thursday. Under the terms of a law voted a year ago, thousands of restaurants and bars over 70 square metres will have to build sealed-off smoking areas" - Telegraph

Heart attack calculator created

Greek researchers have developed a quick and easy artificial intelligence approach to working out heart attack risk. Physicians could use their system to provide patients with a personal risk factor and so advise on lifestyle changes or medication to lower their risk. It is well known that lifestyle factors including depression, education, smoking, diet, and obesity, play a part in the risk of cardiovascular disease. However, epidemiologists who study how health risks vary through populations have not found a way to extrapolate from such broad studies to individual risk levels. Now, Hara Kostakis of the TEI Piraeus Research Centre, in Methonis, Greece, and colleagues have investigated patterns of cardiovascular risk factors in a large population. They obtained data for almost 1000 patients enrolled in the CARDIO 2000 study who had been hospitalised with the first symptoms of ACS, acute coronary syndrome. They recorded details of body mass index, family history, physical activity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes were recorded. They then matched the data against healthy individuals as a scientific control - ScienceDaily

Smokers in Greece face high pulmonary disease rates

"Greeks, known as being among Europe's heaviest smokers, suffer high rates of pulmonary disease, with non-smokers also facing health risks, statistics published Tuesday showed. According Constantinos Gourgoulianis, the head of Greece's Pneumonological Society, 8.4 per cent of all Greeks suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease although in rural areas the number rises to 15.1 per cent. The news for urban residents is not much better as Athenians who are non-smokers actually inhale the equivalent of up to four cigarettes a day from other people who do smoke, according to a report published in the Greek daily Kathimerini newspaper. Greece has just over a year to go before a ban outlaws the habit in all public places, including restaurants, bars and offices as of January 1, 2010" - The EarthTimes