Falls Prohibits Smoking on Parks, Smoke-Free

To keep the peace, Falls officials have decided on a smoking ban within their parks. The supervisors agreed unanimously Tuesday night to ban the use of all tobacco products within 50 feet of any township-owned park. The issue came to the board’s attention at the Aug. 21 meeting after members were made aware of an incident between two unidentified males. “There was an issue over the summer with two adults who got into an altercation that was almost a little violent. The parent didn't want their child exposed to smoke,” said Chairman Robert Harvie.

Tobacco Use Issue, Nicotine Addiction

In previous columns on fractures and osteoporosis, I discussed the negative effects of smoking as it pertains to the musculoskeletal system. Smoking interferes with fracture healing, wound healing and accelerates osteoporosis development. In today’s column, I will take a closer look at tobacco. Ten million cigarettes are sold per minute in the world every day. In the U.S., tobacco is responsible for one in every five deaths. It is calculated that the annual cost of health-related expenses because of tobacco approaches $193 billion in the U.S. alone.

Tobacco Use on Tipton School, Tobacco Free Plicy

The Red River Tobacco Education Consortium (R2TEC) recently presented the Tipton School District with a banner promoting the school’s 24/7 Tobacco Free Policy. R2TEC is very thankful and appreciative to the Tipton School District for passing a policy that prohibits tobacco use on school property 24 hours a day 7 days a week 365 days a year.

Cigarettes Ingredients Analyzed, Welfare Ministry

The health ministry has decided to analyze all substances found in popular cigarette brands to better understand the adverse health effects of smoking with the aim of reflecting the data in its future countermeasures, according to officials. The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry has also decided to launch an expert panel by the end of this year to discuss stricter regulations for tobacco manufacturers and measures to prevent health hazards posed by second-hand smoking, the officials said.

Passive Smoking Can Affect Non-Smokers Memory

Non-smokers who regularly breathe in secondhand smoke are at risk for memory damage, according to researchers from Northumbria University. This is the first study of its kind to investigate the relationship between exposure to other people’s cigarette smoking and everyday problems with memory. Psychologists Drs. Tom Heffernan and Terence O’Neil, both researchers at the Collaboration for Drug and Alcohol Research Group at Northumbria University, compared a group of current smokers with two groups of non-smokers.

Smoking Pot and Mental Health Problems

A recently published study has tried to emphasize on the consequences faced by those, who have been in the habit of smoking marijuana, since a long time. Such smokers are found to be left with an adverse impact on their IQ levels; there is a noteworthy decline in these levels. The study included real incidents of people, who have been smoking cannabis, since they were adolescents. Stephen was just 12-years-old, when he smoked cannabis for the first time. With time, this 26-year-old from Ballymun, started enjoying and gradually it became his habit. He belonged to a family that was big, he wanted something, which could take him away from this world, his family and cannabis was his way out.

Rural Youngsters Smoke More Cigs

Tobacco addiction and exposure to secondhand smoke in rural America is highlighted in The American Lung Association’s latest health disparity report, “Cutting Tobacco’s Rural Roots: Tobacco Use in Rural Communities.” Tobacco use is higher among rural communities than in suburban and urban areas, and smokeless tobacco use is twice as common. According to the American Lung Association, rural youth are more likely to use tobacco and to start earlier than urban youth, perpetuating the cycle of tobacco addiction, death and disease.