It would be cool to have a third hand

A New Cigarette Hazard: ‘Third-Hand Smoke’

Parents who smoke often open a window or turn on a fan to clear the air for their children, but experts now have identified a related threat to children’s health that isn’t as easy to get rid of: third-hand smoke.

That’s the term being used to describe the invisible yet toxic brew of gases and particles clinging to smokers’ hair and clothing, not to mention cushions and carpeting, that lingers long after second-hand smoke has cleared from a room. The residue includes heavy metals, carcinogens and even radioactive materials that young children can get on their hands and ingest, especially if they’re crawling or playing on the floor.
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Among the substances in third-hand smoke are hydrogen cyanide, used in chemical weapons; butane, which is used in lighter fluid; toluene, found in paint thinners; arsenic; lead; carbon monoxide; and even polonium-210, the highly radioactive carcinogen that was used to murder former Russian spy Alexander V. Litvinenko in 2006. Eleven of the compounds are highly carcinogenic.

I always found it ironic that most of the respiratory therapists smoke and then go around giving neb treatments.

I remember when my daughter was in the NICU for 11 days you could pick out the nurses that smoked. How ironic they make a big deal about keeping the NICU sterile and making the parents do a 5 minute hand scrub and gown up before visiting their kids but some of the RN's absolutely reek of smoke.

Supreme Court allows lawsuits over 'light' cigarettes ads

Court allows lawsuits over 'light' cigarettes

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court on Monday handed a surprising defeat to tobacco companies counting on it to put an end to lawsuits alleging deceptive marketing of "light" cigarettes.

In a 5-4 split won by the court's liberals, it ruled that smokers may use state consumer protection laws to sue cigarette makers for the way they promote "light" and "low tar" brands.

I'm sorry but anyone that thinks they are safe because they smoke lights should not be allowed to breed.

Kentucky Cigarette tax go for launch?

Cigarette tax gets plenty of support at town meeting

Gov. Steve Beshear's town meeting here on the state budget crisis got a little smoky Thursday, as the proposed cigarette tax hike drew the most public comments.

However, only one of the approximately 100 people at North Middle School questioned the wisdom of raising the tax, saying it might put Kentucky merchants in border cities at a competitive disadvantage.

Beshear said that's not necessarily so. "We're the third lowest state in the country at 30 cents," and his proposal is to raise it 70 cents, which would still be 19 cents lower than the national average. All the states to the north have higher taxes, he said, saying only merchants that border Missouri and West Virginia might find themselves at a disadvantage.

Essentially, Beshear said, a tax on tobacco "is an easier sell than any other tax out there right now" and Kentucky may be forced to raise its sales tax if the economy gets too much worse.

Five other people spoke on the issue Thursday and were all in favor of the idea, especially state Rep. David Watkins, D-Henderson, who pre-filed a bill last week to raise the tax 70 cents. He sponsored an identical bill last year that failed in the Senate.
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Keep up the good fight Dr Watkins. I do hope when this passes it can be worded so that the extra money can go to offset the cost of the Medicaid program and not into the black hole of the general fund.

Previous post on the subject here.

A tax increase I can agree with

State Rep. David Watkins, a Henderson physician, said he's planning to reintroduce his proposal to raise the state's cigarette tax by 70 cents. Watkins, a Democrat, pushed the cigarette tax hike earlier this year, but it stalled.

Watkins said raising the tax to $1 per pack likely would generate more than $200 million in revenue. It would also benefit the state long-term by improving citizens' health and reducing state-funded medical costs, Watkins said.

"This is when we need leadership," Watkins said. "We need to have leaders stand up and lead and show that they have some backbone, and that they have some fortitude to stand up and make our state a prosperous and healthy state."

I hope Dr Watkins can get this passed this time. Smokers are a huge drain on our health care resources. Kentucky has one of the lowest taxes on cigarettes and is has one of the highest rates of smokers.

Last week a new cancer study was released and congratulations to Kentucky for having the highest cancer death rate (218.7 per 100,000 people) in the nation. Since cigarette smokers account for nearly a third of U.S. cancer deaths it should be no surprise.

I would propose however that all taxes from cigarettes do not go in the general fund but go directly towards offsetting the states Medicaid overrun. The bill may well garner more support if the taxpayer thinks it won't get pissed away as easily as the rest of our tax dollars that disappear into the that black abyss of the general fund.