Cigarettes A New Safety Standard

Fire chiefs hope a new safety standard on discount OK cigarettes will help save lives across the county.

A recent EU safety standard means cigarettes sold in the UK should have special chemical bands in their structure so that cigarettes go out if not actively smoked.

Councillor Christine Bampton-Smith (Lib Dem, Luddenden Foot), vice-chairwoman of West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority’s Community Safety Committee welcomed the move.

Ottawa Public Smoke-Free Zones

Smokers should butt out on restaurant patios as well as city-owned parks, beaches, buildings and markets, Ottawa Public Health is recommending.

A decade after the city banned smoking indoors, the next phase of the bylaw expansion would make all city properties -including beaches, more than 1,000 parks and 300 city facilities, including the ByWard and Parkdale market stalls - smoke-free zones. Smoking on city streets and sidewalks would still be allowed.

More controversial will be the push to keep smoking off of outdoor restaurant and pub patios.

Manhattan Tobacco Cessation Program

The Manhattan Tobacco Cessation Program at the New York University School of Medicine announces release of Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence: A Toolkit for Dental Providers.

The toolkit, already at use in NYU College of Dentistry’s teaching clinics, will be distributed to dental professionals New York State and the greater dental community nationwide.

During the past three years, NYUCD clinics’ use of the Toolkit for Dental Providers has resulted in favorable smoking cessation outcomes. In one clinic alone, the cheapest Kiss cigarettes smoking rate went down from 21% to 12% from 2008 to 2011, respectively. In addition, the assist rate, which was the percentage of smoking patients that received a prescription to quit from their clinician, began at 5% in 2008 and reached its peak at 58% in 2011.

Dentists Help People Quit Smoking

Smoking is something that can seriously damage oral health. According to WebMD, cigarette use can lead to increased buildup of plaque and tartar on the teeth, a higher risk of gum disease and oral cancer and other major and minor problems such as bad breath and loss of bone in the jaw.

As a result, dentists are often encouraging their patients to give up the habit. Recently, Mobi Health News reported that the company Aetna is giving dentists tablet computers that are equipped with smoking cessation programs designed to help them encourage patients to quit.

"The program is designed as an innovative interface between patients and dentists and we anticipate that devices like tablet computers can be used to break down barriers between clinicians’ and their patients," said David Albert, D.D.S., quoted by the news source.