Think smokers are sexy? Think again.
In one of the first columns I wrote four years ago I stated that being a cigarette smoker lowered a single person’s Dating Quotient more than any other factor. I guess it’s OK to plagiarize myself, so I will paraphrase two statements that I wrote in 2005.

I repeat that the absolute hardest person to match in the singles’ marketplace is someone who smokes cigarettes on a regular basis, every day. Moreover, if that person identifies himself as a pack a day (or more) smoker, the resulting stigma is somewhat equivalent to being at least 100 pounds overweight or, even worse, being a Yankees fan looking for love in the bleachers at Fenway Park.

Yet many people continue to smoke. Today adult cigarette smokers in the dating world tend to fall into two categories. The first group consists of single men and women in their 20s who (like many people) started smoking to look cool and grown up as teenagers and have been unable to break the habit.

The second group consists of divorced adults who also started smoking in their adolescence and eventually did quit. But owing to the stress surrounding their divorce, fell off the non-smoking wagon.

The purpose of this column is not to preach to smokers that they should quit to improve their chances of meeting someone. Although just for the heck of it, I suggest that anyone who belongs to online dating service do the following.

Complete a profile in which you state that you are a non-smoker. Then after a while change your profile to read that you are a moderate to heavy smoker. The difference both in the number and quantity of your matches will amaze you.

But this column is not aimed at cigarette smokers. Rather it is aimed at people who have started to date or who are considering dating someone who is a cigarette smoker.

I have one question for you. Are you nuts? What are you thinking? (OK that is two questions.)

If you are looking to meet a partner with whom you can have a long-term relationship, you should be aware that most studies indicate that cigarette smoking will reduce one’s life expectancy anywhere from an average of 12 to 15 years! (If you doubt that statement because you have an uncle who is 95 and has smoked for 80 years, just Google, as I did, “life expectancy of smokers versus nonsmokers.”)

That doesn’t count those years when you would have to be a full-time caregiver to a partner suffering from emphysema, lung cancer, or any of the other smoking-related ailments.

Or perhaps you are looking to meet someone with whom you can start a family. I suggest you research studies by the American Council on Science and Health or the Centers for Disease Control. If you are a man, such studies show that “Women who smoke cigarettes are three times likelier than nonsmoking women to have difficulty conceiving; and the higher the average number of cigarettes a woman of reproductive age smokes, the smaller her chances are of becoming pregnant.”

Moreover, these studies also show that “Of the approximately 140,000 cases of miscarriage per year in the United States, about 19,000 have been attributed to cigarette smoking.”

If you are a woman, you should be aware of studies that indicate “evidence has increasingly suggested that cigarette smoking adversely affects the male reproductive system as well. Cigarette smoking damages sperm, affects hormone concentrations in men, and reduces blood flow to the penis. This reduction in blood flow can result in erectile dysfunction, or impotence.”

But let’s say that you are an admittedly shallow man just looking for a hot gal to “hook up with” for a while. Putting aside the obvious and distasteful odor of cigarettes that permeates one’s skin, breath and clothing, studies have also shown that smoking discolors teeth and lessens the skin’s elasticity, which results in increased cellulite accumulation.

The same is true in the case of men who smoke. Remember the old Marlboro Man commercials that purported that cigarette smoking brings out a manly, rugged, macho appearance?

Research shows that of the nine men who predominantly appeared over the years in these commercials, at least three died of lung cancer, including Wayne McLaren, a professional rodeo rider who succumbed at the ripe old age of 51. Just before he died, a withered McLaren appeared in a television ad in a hospital bed with tubes sticking out of him.

Yet many movies depict cigarette smoking even today as looking cool and hip. (We can forgive period pieces like “Mad Men” and the recently released “Shutter Island” in which cigarette smoking appears in almost every scene.)

The Centers for Disease Control has stated that “smoking in the movies is the most powerful pro-tobacco influence on kids today.”

Yet with all the anti-smoking health evidence, I know that some of you still walk into a bar, spot a man or woman holding a cigarette and think he or she looks sexy.

Before you approach that person, I suggest you close your eyes for a minute and picture that same person in a few years with yellow teeth and wheezing after a half mile stroll on the beach.

Then look around for someone else.

By Steve Penner, Seacoastonline

MANILA – Whether they choose to light up their first cigarette on their own or are unwitting victims of passive smoking, Filipino youth are increasingly at risk from tobacco exposure.

“The younger a child starts to smoke, the greater the chances of becoming a regular smoker,” said Dr Maricar Limpin, executive director of the non- government group Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Alliance Philippines (FCAP), during a media forum on tobacco use in the Philippines, held on Feb. 12 in the Philippine capital Manila. “The youth are being specifically targeted by the tobacco industry as future customers.”

Among Filipino youth aged 13 to 15 years, three in 10 currently use tobacco products, smoke cigarettes, chew tobacco and use ‘shisha’ (a water pipe for smoking), which is gaining popularity in Mid-Eastern restaurants in select urban areas in the country.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) “messages that tobacco kills is not very relevant to young smokers, who believe themselves to be immortal. By the time they understand the health risks and are ready to quit smoking, addiction has taken hold.”

Furthermore, young people are regularly exposed to second-hand and even third-hand smoke, the residue left in a room after someone smokes, which often sticks to furniture and clothes. Infants and young children who play with items that have been exposed to cigarette smoke can eventually develop asthma and other smoking-related diseases.

Based on the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS), a school-based survey that tracks tobacco use among young people across the world, the Philippines has one of the highest percentages of young smokers across Asian countries. About 30 percent of adolescents in the Philippines’ urban areas smoke. Of these, more than 70 percent started smoking between the ages of 13 and 15.

The GYTS was developed by the WHO and the Center for Disease Control, a U.S. federal health agency. Data are compiled by participating countries and released in different years. The latest Philippine study was conducted in 2007.

In other Asian countries, figures are much lower. Country reports indicate, for instance, that Indonesia has 12.6 percent students who “currently smoke cigarettes” and Thailand, 11.7 percent.

In South-east Asia alone, the Philippines has the second highest number of smokers, noted FCAP, one of the organisers of the recent tobacco forum. Over a third of the country’s 90 million population smokes cigarettes.

“Children are the most vulnerable to second-hand smoke, which is six times more poisonous than mainstream smoke. Cigarette smoke is being imposed on them even if they don’t like it. This is a violation of their right to remain healthy and breathe clean air,” said Dr Limpin.

About six in ten children live in Filipino houses where other people smoke. Figures from FCAP further show that about 200,000 young Filipinos will suffer from smoking-related diseases early on in their lives, and about 80,000 will perish from it.

Globally, WHO estimates that 250 million children could eventually die of tobacco-related diseases.

Despite a Philippine ban on selling cigarettes to minors aged 18 and below, more than half of the country’s youth can easily buy cigarettes in stores. Enforcement remains weak as most cigarette vendors do not know the law or refuse to enforce it for fear of losing business, according to Dr Limpin.

“Tobacco companies don’t care about existing users. They’re addicted already and will continue to buy cigarettes. They need to replace all those consumers who will eventually die,” said health undersecretary Alex Padilla during the forum.

He added that when it comes to cost, the Philippines has gained a reputation for having the highest-priced medicines and cheapest cigarettes in Asia. In the United States, a standard pack of cigarettes averages $4.50 to $5, including taxes. In the Philippines, a pack of 20 cigarettes costs roughly 35 to 40 pesos (80 U.S. cents).

The cost of each cigarette stick hawked on the streets is about the same as that of a piece of candy or gum. About 70 percent of cigarette sales in the country come from single stick sales (about two pesos or less than one U.S. cent apiece), reported ‘Tobacco Reporter’ Magazine in 2008. Many of the cigarette vendors on the street are children.

Accessibility and cheap prices bring cigarettes closer to the youth’s grasp, so they often get introduced to smoking at early ages. The youngest child that FCAP has on record was only six years old when he started smoking.

The Philippines’ Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003 bans cigarette advertisements on television, radio, cable, print and billboards except within “point of sale retail establishments.”

The law stipulates that the ban on advertising was supposed to take place in January 2007, but the total ban on advertising only took place in July 2008.

Tobacco companies have been able to skirt these advertising bans by employing creative tactics. Creative marketing strategies employed by tobacco companies, such as product placements and posters in visible areas like restaurants, malls, community stores, smoking lounges, and sponsorships in concerts, also add to the brand recall among the youth, said FCAP.

Another example of a subtle product placement is commercial outdoor parasols bearing the signature colors and brand names of cigarettes. Cigarettes are also sold openly in convenience stores and mall kiosks.

FCAP has been lobbying Congress to pass the Graphic Health Warning Bill, which will require cigarette manufacturers to put warning images depicting diseases and disabilities people can get from smoking on cigarette packs.

Philippine lawmakers, particularly those hailing from the tobacco farmlands in the northern parts of the country, have opposed the proposed legislation, saying it would adversely affect the tobacco farmers’ income and the economy in general.

At present, cigarette packs in the Philippines carry warning labels that read, “Cigarette smoking is dangerous to your health.” FCAP said text warnings are not effective because smoking prevalence in the country is still increasing.

Scientific and international studies show that graphic health warnings have been effective in reducing smoking in other countries.

“Consumers know that smoking is bad for their health, but they don’t know why it is. Graphical health warnings will show consumers clearly the effects of smoking and hopefully deter children from starting to smoke,” said Bobby del Rosario, vice-president and founding member of FCAP.

Some countries like Australia, New Zealand and Mexico have implemented graphic health warnings on cigarette packs, covering up to 60 percent of the packaging face. In Britain, half of the packaging reads “Smoking kills.”

Meanwhile, advocates stress the urgency of putting preventive measures in place, as tobacco companies shift their focus from developed to developing countries.

“Markets in developed countries are declining. That’s why companies are targeting emerging economies like Asia and Africa, which are less literate and more corrupt,” said del Rosario.

The Department of Health cited the need to educate the mass-based retailers so they will stop selling cigarettes to minors. Cigarette affordability must also be addressed, it added.

“We have to put the cigarettes beyond the reach of the youth and that may be (done) by increasing their prices. While graphic warnings may work, the more effective way to address the problem is by increasing taxes and prices for cigarettes,” said the health department’s Padilla.

“What we only are trying to achieve is to minimise the introduction of tobacco to the youth as they are the prime targets of these tobacco companies.”

By Kara Santos, Ipsnews
Feb 15, 2010

Raising Virginia’s cigarette tax by $1 per pack would bring in $317.7 million in new annual revenue to help close the state’s budget shortfall, according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and other health groups.

Increasing the tax in Virginia also would prevent 65,100 children from becoming smokers; spur 34,100 current adult smokers to quit; save 29,800 residents from premature, smoking-caused deaths; and save $1.4 billion in health care costs, the report said.

Virginia’s cigarette tax is 30 cents per pack, which ranks 49th in the nation. The national average is $1.34 per pack.

Nationally, increasing cigarette taxes by $1 a pack would raise $9.1 billion in revenue annually.

Tobacco makers oppose higher taxes after a 62-cent-a-pack increase in U.S. taxes last year hurt demand for cigarettes made by Altria Group Inc., the largest producer, Reynolds American Inc. and Lorillard Inc.

“Cigarettes are already extremely heavily taxed” and taxes “inflict long-term pain on all taxpayers, not just smokers,” said Bill Phelps, a spokesman for Henrico County-based Altria.
Web site holding job seekers’ contest

In celebration of its one-year anniversary, RichmondJobNet.com is running a contest for job seekers to win personal career counseling valued at more than $1,500.

Run by the Greater Richmond Partnership, the Web site for job seekers, employers and entrepreneurs now also includes career-focused blogs, a career assessment tool and a job search function. The site also offers RichmondJobNet Radio, a collection of interviews with authors and experts available as podcasts.

To be eligible for the contest, you must be at least 18, actively seeking employment and live in Richmond or the counties of Chesterfield, Hanover and Henrico. An explanation, in 150 words or less, of what you need the makeover is required. The contest runs through Feb. 26.
THE NATION
Citigroup launches new foreclosure plan

Citigroup Inc. plans to let homeowners on the verge of foreclosure stay in their homes for six months — if they turn over the deed to their property.

Citi is launching the pilot program, dubbed “Foreclosure Alternatives,” this week in Texas, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey and Ohio. Initially, about 1,000 homeowners are expected to participate. It may expand the program nationwide.

In a normal foreclosure, a lender assumes legal control of the property and evicts the homeowner. But Citi’s program, like other “deed in lieu of foreclosure” efforts, allows the homeowner to avoid a completed foreclosure. While the owner must still leave the home after six months, the program results in a less severe hit to the borrower’s credit score.
Google Inc. to build Internet networks

Google Inc. plans to build a handful of experimental, ultra-fast Internet networks around the country to ensure that tomorrow’s systems can keep up with online video and other advanced applications that the search company will want to deliver.

The Google project, announced yesterday, also is intended to provide a platform for outside developers to create and try out applications that will require far more bandwidth than today’s networks offer.

The company said its fiber-optic broadband networks will deliver speeds of 1 gigabit per second to as many as 500,000 Americans. The systems will be many times faster than the existing DSL, cable and fiber-optic networks that connect most U.S. consumers to the Internet today at speeds typically ranging from 3 megabits to 20 megabits per second.

By Staff Reports, Timesdispatch

A common indoor air chemical reacts with residues of tobacco smoke clinging to clothing, skin and surfaces to form potent carcinogens, researchers at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory reported in a study published Monday.

A few years ago, researchers began paying closer attention to the potential health effects of “thirdhand smoke,” which is a thin layer of toxic substances from tobacco smoke that settles on surfaces long after cigarettes have been extinguished.

The scientists, however, are the first to find that nitrous acid, an indoor air pollutant created by gas appliances, vehicle engines and tobacco smoke, reacts with nicotine found on surfaces.

“We want to make people aware that there’s a potential
hazard from thirdhand smoke that has not been recognized before,” said Lara Gundel, one of the authors of the study, which was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

“This is a new finding that a common pollutant can react with nicotine to form carcinogens right in our own homes,” said Gundel, who works in the lab’s Indoor Environment Department.

The term “thirdhand smoke” was coined in 2009, in a study in the journal Pediatrics which found that 65 percent of nonsmokers thought that the residue of tobacco smoke found on furniture and drapes, in rugs and dust, and on skin and clothing, can harm children and infants. Only 43 percent of smokers thought that it posed a health risk.

That study focused n earlier research analyzing the potential harms to children and infants from ingesting or breathing any of the 250 toxic substances found in tobacco smoke, such as lead. Research also found that many children had detectable blood levels of cotinine, a chemical formed by exposure to nicotine.

However, the Berkeley lab researchers also found that when nitrous acid in the air reacts with nicotine, tobacco-specific nitrosamines, or TSNAs, are created.

Unburned tobacco and tobacco smoke already contain TSNAs, which in 1989 the U.S. surgeon general listed among the carcinogens found in tobacco.

What’s new is how many more of them are created when nicotine reacts with nitrous acid. After exposing surfaces to tobacco smoke, the Berkeley lab researchers found levels of TSNAs increased 10 times after exposure to nitrous acid.

The health hazards of tobacco smoking and secondhand smoke are well known, with research associating inhalation of the smoke with elevated risk of cancer and heart disease.

This thirdhand smoke, however, enters the body via a different route, either through skin exposure, dust inhalation and ingestion, and it poses an “unappreciated health risk,” the Berkeley researchers wrote. Children and infants are of particular concern, since they have far more exposure to contaminated surfaces, and with their smaller sizes would absorb proportionately more TSNAs than adults.

The human health effects of thirdhand smoke have not been well-studied, Gundel said, and further work is needed to understand the extent of the threat they pose.

David Sutton, a spokesman with the Altria Group, parent company of Philip Morris USA, noted that no human exposure measurements were done as part of the Berkeley study.

“The study authors recommended more research on the topic,” he said. Sutton said that Altria discourages adults from smoking when children are present.

Still, smoking outside does not eliminate exposure to TSNAs, since nicotine from smoke adheres to clothing and skin, and it can be carried back inside. Nor does opening windows or using a fan help much, since nicotine, a sticky molecule, readily clings to surfaces.

As a precaution, Gundel advised replacing furniture and drapes that have been heavily exposed to nicotine, and she supports 100 percent smoke-free public places. In addition, smoking inside vehicles also leaves behind nicotine on surfaces, she noted.

The Berkeley researchers plan to continue their studies on thirdhand smoke, assessing how long TSNAs can remain on surfaces, and seeking reliable biomarkers for studying the uptake of them into the body.

The study was sponsored by the University of California’s Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program.

By Suzanne Bohan, Mercurynews

3 per cent increase in 15-19 age group, StatsCan reports
More teenagers in Quebec are turning to smoking – a troubling new development that raises questions about whether the provincial government has gone far enough to curb tobacco use among youth, experts say.

The latest survey on smoking by Statistics Canada shows that in Quebec, one in five teens age 15 to 19 lit up last year – an increase of three per cent from 2008.

By comparison, the national smoking rate for that age group declined to 14 per cent from 15 per cent.

What’s more, 11 per cent of Quebec children up to the age of 11 said that they were exposed to second-hand smoke at home, compared with five per cent for the whole country.

“Something is attracting teenagers to smoking,” said Marc Drolet, a spokesperson for the Quebec division of the Canadian Cancer Society.

“There was a downward trend for the past 10 years, and now for some reason, the trend has probably reversed. Unfortunately, we are now the Canadian champions in that (smoking age) category.”

Drolet conceded that the government has taken some strong anti-smoking measures to date, like banning it in bars and restaurants. But he urged Quebec to do more to curb subtle marketing campaigns by tobacco companies aimed at youth.

Karine Rivard, press attaché to Health Minister Yves Bolduc, defended the government’s anti-smoking initiatives and said that more were planned for this year.

She noted that Quebec has banned the sale of single cigarillos with grape and other flavours that had been popular with some teens.

“The government intends to continue to intensify the fight against tobacco,” Rivard said. She declined to describe some of the proposed anti-smoking measures.

The survey did contain some good news, however. The prevalence of tobacco use in an older age group of Quebecers – 20 to 24 – dropped to 25 per cent last year from 31 per cent for the corresponding period in 2008.

Smoking is considered the main cause of avoidable cancer globally, killing more than 5 million people each year.

Tobacco use has been linked to 85 per cent of cases of lung cancer and is responsible for 30 per cent of all cancers, according to the Canadian Cancer Society. In Quebec, 7,400 Quebecers received a diagnosis of lung cancer last year and 6,500 died from that illness.

The Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey is carried out semi-annually and is based on a survey of more than 9,000 respondents. The latest survey was for the months of February to June 2009.

By AARON DERFEL, The Gazette

The company that manufactured a cigarette that allegedly exploded in the mouth of a security guard has paid compensation equal to less than Rp 1 million for each of the teeth the man lost.

Andi Susanto, 31, was riding his motorcycle along Jl. Teuku Umar in Cibitung, Bekasi, last Thursday, and smoking a Bentoel Clas Mild — marketed as the ultimate experience of satisfaction and smoothness — exploded in his mouth with devastating consequences.

The mysterious explosion blew five teeth from his mouth and required numerous stitches.

His helmet was also found to have cracked.

Widia, Andi’s sister, confirmed that Bentoel had paid Rp 5 million ($535) in compensation — a figure that would have equated to Rp 1 million per tooth had it not been for the fact that another two teeth were extracted on Monday.

“The cigarette company has provided us with compensation. We have accepted their goodwill to help us,” Widia said.

She said the company had agreed to pay all of Andi’s immediate medical expenses at the Bekasi General Hospital and would also fund the ongoing rehabilitation treatment — presumably to include a new set of teeth.

“We have settled all the outstanding matters with the cigarette company,” she said, adding that Andi’s condition was steadily improving.

“The doctor says that he can go home, but we have to wait until his condition is much better,” she said.

Bekasi Police investigators are waiting on the results of laboratory tests, which are expected today, to help shed light on what they admit is a highly unusual case.

Bekasi Police Chief Herry Wibowo said on Sunday that the laboratory would test the remaining fragments of the cigarette as well as Andi’s jacket and helmet.

Herry said investigators were looking for traces of explosives, including potassium.

He said there were no plans to recall Clas Mild cigarettes.

Iwan Sulistyo, the marketing chief of the Clas Mild brand, said the company could offer no explanation for what had happened to Andi.

Iwan confirmed, however, that the company had agreed to provide compensation and would also ensure that Andi’s medical bills were paid in full.

“We are communicating with the police and still waiting on the forensic laboratory tests,” Iwan said. “We do not put any strange materials in the cigarettes so we think that this is a weird case. This is the first time for us.”

The Norwegian Ministry of Finance is excluding the $518 billion Government Pension Fund Global from investing in 17 tobacco companies including British American Tobacco, Philip Morris and Japan Tobacco.

The Ministry of Finance drafted rules states the fund will exclude all companies that produce any tobacco, regardless of the amount the company produces.

This means the pension fund will exclude more companies than those companies that are described as “tobacco” by index providers.

Information regarding each company’s involvement in tobacco production was sourced from index provider, FTSE Group, and analysis of company websites.

Alliance One International, British American Tobacco, Philip Morris, Altria Group, Imperial Tobacco Group, Souza Cruz SA, Universal Corp VA and Reynolds American Inc are among those excluded from the fund’s investment universe.

Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global is a very active responsible investor. Last year, the fund placed the European engineering conglomerate, Siemens AG, ‘on observation’ after it was revealed the company had been embroiled in corruption early last year.

ALBANY — A legislative push would deny Gov. David A. Paterson his $1-per-pack cigarette tax increase until the state begins collecting taxes on tobacco products sold on American Indian reservations.

The governor included the cigarette tax increase in his proposed budget. But when the governor’s call to start collecting the taxes on such sales to non-Indians would kick in remains unclear, although it likely would be months after the proposed tobacco tax increase takes effect June 2.

“We should collect before we tax,” State Sen. Carl Kruger, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said Tuesday at a legislative hearing looking into ways to end the tax-free sales.

“Everyday that goes by we are not doing the right thing for the people of New York,” said Kruger, a Brooklyn Democrat who called the long-standing tax-free sales a “diabolical scheme” that has denied the state billions of dollars in tax revenue.

Lawmakers are growing frustrated with the Paterson tax collection plan because they have not been able to obtain details on when or how the new effort would work. Paterson officials said last week that the Department of Taxation and Finance would issue rules within a matter of days to collect the tax.

“Unfortunately, attempts to clarify these questions with the relevant executive branch authorities have been unsuccessful to date,” said Sen. Craig D. Johnson, the Port Washington Democrat who presided at Tuesday’s hearing.

The Paterson administration did not respond to questions about the tax collection effort.

Earlier in the day, the Senate’s top Democrat distanced himself from the cigarette tax increase.

“No new fees, no new taxes,” Senate Democratic Conference Leader John L. Sampson of Brooklyn said of the plan to raise the excise tax to $3.75 per pack.

Representatives of the Seneca Nation of Indians were in the Capitol on Tuesday, also seeking details of the governor’s plan.

“It’s unclear,” J. C. Seneca, a Seneca councilor, said of the timetable or structure for the tax collection after a meeting with Paterson’s top lawyers.

The Senate committee released a spread sheet it received from the Paterson administration showing that Indian tribes with casinos owe the state $55 million in back payments for security and background work performed by the State Police at the gambling halls. Of this total, the Senecas owe $40 million for State Police work at the Seneca Niagara and Seneca Allegany casinos.

“We have to sit down and figure out the charges,” Seneca said.

Tuesday’s Senate hearing, a continuation of a session that began in October in New York City, included a fiery defense of the Seneca position by the nation’s representatives.

Convenience store operators, meanwhile, turned out to urge lawmakers not to impose the new $1 cigarette tax without resolving the collection dispute. They said doing otherwise would encourage more illegal Indian and bootleg sales.

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has disposed of Golden Tobacco Company’s appeal against a judgment of the Company Law Board (CLB) on January 19, 2009, which stayed resolutions passed by the company’s board.

The court on Friday asked the CLB to pass a judgment on the matter by February 2.

The Golden Tobacco board had sought to sell or jointly develop some of its land banks in Mumbai, Hyderabad and Guntur.
However, Pramod Jain, a minority shareholder in the company, filed a case against Golden Tobacco, Sanjay Dalmia, the company’s promoter, and Gujarat Heavy Chemicals Ltd (GHCL) in the CLB alleging foul play.

He alleged that GTC wanted to sell the land and use the proceeds to pay off its liabilities to Indiabulls Financial.

Jain urged the CLB to monitor the land sale and make sure that the money collected is used for the welfare of the company. “I want the CLB to appoint a real estate consultant and the company to invite a global tender to sell the land,” he said.

Sanjay Dalmia refused to comment when DNA contacted him on Saturday.

As per the resolution, Golden Tobacco has given powers to J P Khetan, the company’s managing director, and AK Joshi, director (finance), to take necessary steps for the sale or joint development of the land.

Dalmia had on January 20 told DNA that the company has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a real estate developer.CLB asked to pass judgment by Feb 2.

He refused to divulge details.

Golden Tobacco Company has, however, not yet informed the stock exchanges about the MoU. It has also not notified it about the CLB order.

Dalmia and Indiabulls Financial are in a legal tangle. Indiabulls had filed an FIR on July 25, 2009 against Dalmia and a few other directors of GHCL alleging he had duped it of Rs 641 crore. It alleged that Dalmia had issued bogus shares of Golden Tobacco Company and GHCL as collateral.

The two parties, however, reached an out-of-court settlement in which Dalmia agreed to pay Rs 25 crore cash to Indiabulls and Rs 235 crore as mortgage by March 31, 2010. Dalmia, wanted to sell the 7.5 acre prime property in Vile Parle and Marol areas in Mumbai to pay-off the Indiabulls loan.

If the matter goes to the Supreme Court, it is unlikely that Dalmia will be able to settle the IndiaBulls spat before the deadline.
Meanwhile, Jain is seeking to take over Golden Tobacco Company and has announced an open offer for 25% stake at Rs 101 per share. He is awaiting mandatory clearances from Sebi to start the open offer.
January 25, 2010
Dnaindia

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Argentine singer Sandro, whose gyrating pelvis and romantic ballads brought comparisons to Elvis Presley and made him the first Latin American to sing in Madison Square Garden, died Monday of complications from heart and lung transplant surgery. He was 64.

Sandro, who recorded 52 albums, acted in 16 movies and was awarded a Latin Grammy for career achievement in 2005, suffered from chronic lung disease that led to the Nov. 20 surgery. He died at the Italian Hospital in the Argentine city of Mendoza, said Dr. Claudio Burgos.

Born Roberto Sanchez in 1945 in Buenos Aires, he was the author of hits such as “Asi” (“Like That”) and “Dame Fuego” (“Give Me Fire”), and his rock and pop tunes won him fame across Latin America. In the 1970s he became the first Latin American singer to play New York’s Madison Square Garden.

Last year, in one of his final interviews, the singer blamed his smoking habit for his long illness.

“I am debilitated because I cannot move. My life is my bed, my spot in the dining room where I read the newspaper, and from there I do not move,” Sandro told Mitre radio of Buenos Aires. “I am to blame for the condition that I am in. I deserve it; I sought it out. I picked up this damn cigarette.”

As a youth, Roberto Sanchez began playing guitar along with Enrique Irigoytia, another boy from his neighborhood. The two formed several rock bands that sang Spanish versions of Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis and Paul Anka hits.

But it wasn’t until he was lead guitarist for the band Los de Fuego that his fame took off.

During one performance, the lead singer lost his voice and another performer broke his guitar strings. Sanchez relinquished his guitar, took over singing duties and threw himself into dancing to the rock rhythm. The crowd went wild.

Sanchez became the group’s front man and adopted the moniker Sandro — a name his mother had wanted to give him at birth, but the Civil Registry refused.

Sandro y Los de Fuego made their TV debut in 1964 on “Circular Saturdays,” one of the nation’s most popular shows.

Sandro’s sensual, irreverent style, gyrating hips and black leather jacket sent young female fans into a frenzy; his “babes,” as they were known, would scream wildly, pull their hair and throw their undergarments onstage.

He soon earned the reputation as Argentina’s Elvis Presley.

The band recorded two albums before Sandro went solo, turning to a more melodic repertoire and entering the “romantic” genre with classics such as “Quiero Llenarme de Ti” (“I Want to Fill Myself With You”). In 1969, he made his silver screen debut in a movie with the same title.

A later film, “La Vida Continua” (“Life Goes On”), was a hit not only in Argentina but in much of Latin America.

In 1982, Sandro signed with a Puerto Rican TV channel to star in the telenovela “Fue sin querer” (“I Didn’t Mean to Do It”), which was popular among U.S. Latinos.

By 2001, he was forced to play a series of shows with the assistance of a tube attached to a microphone, to combat the effects of pulmonary emphysema.

Last year he went on a waiting list for a lung and heart transplant, which doctors said was the only way to save him from a disease that had already destroyed his vocal cords and restricted his movements.

He is survived by his wife, Olga Garaventa, whom he married in 2007. He had no children.

NEW YORK – Injectable birth control is known to lower bone density, but women may be able to limit the loss by not smoking and getting even moderate amounts of calcium, a new study hints.

Health

The findings, say researchers, show that not all women are at equal risk of bone loss from using depot medroxyprogesterone (DMPA) — better known by the brand-name Depo Provera.

DMPA is given by injection about once every three months, and is generally considered an effective, convenient and low-cost form of birth control. The contraceptive can, however, lead to significant bone loss.

While research has shown that this lost bone mass is often regained after women stop using DMPA, there are still concerns about whether substantial bone loss is completely reversible. So limiting the decline in the first place would be ideal.

In the new study, researchers found that among 95 women who used DMPA for two years, those who smoked or had a low calcium intake were at particular risk of significant bone density loss — defined as a decline of at least 5 percent in the spine or hip.

Current smokers were nearly four times more likely to lose that much bone mass as non-smokers were. On the other hand, the risk declined by 19 percent for every 100 milligrams (mg) of calcium a woman got each day.

Drs. Mahbubur Rahman and Abbey B. Berenson, of the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, report the findings in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology.

The study included 95 black, white and Hispanic women who were 24 years old, on average, at the outset. Their bone density was measured when they began using DMPA and two years later.

Overall, 47 percent of the women showed at least a 5 percent decline in bone density in the spine or hip.

Of those women, 44 percent were current smokers, versus 32 percent of women who lost less bone mass. The average calcium intake in the former group was 484 mg per day — less than half of the recommended 1,000 mg for women their age.

According to Rahman and Berenson, the findings suggest that not smoking can go a long way toward limiting the bone loss associated with DMPA. The same appears true of even moderate calcium intake; women who got more than 600 mg of calcium per day had lesser bone loss — about 2 percent or less over two years.

In other findings, women who had ever had a child were also at lower risk of significant bone loss. They were half as likely as childless women to see their bone density decline by 5 percent or more.

The results suggest that for DMPA users who have had children, do not smoke and get at least 600 mg of calcium day, “concerns about bone health are minimal,” write Rahman and Berenson.

But when women do smoke or get little calcium, they add, doctors should offer them help with smoking cessation and counsel them on eating calcium-rich foods and taking supplements if needed.

SOURCE: Obstetrics and Gynecology, January 2010.

No one doubts that quitting smoking is one of the best ways to improve your health. But a new study by Johns Hopkins researchers suggests that, in the short term, tossing the cigarettes might actually increase the risk of developing diabetes.

People who quit smoking tend to gain weight, and those extra pounds can put a person at increased diabetes risk. In fact, the diabetes risk was higher for people who gave up cigarettes than for those who continued to smoke – but only within the first couple of years of quitting, according to the research appearing in today’s Annals of Internal Medicine.

After that, the diabetes risk decreased and almost disappeared after 10 years, researchers found.

The study shouldn’t deter people from quitting smoking, researchers urged. Rather, quitters should be conscientious about their weight, and doctors who counsel them should offer lifestyle coaching, intensive weight management and glucose level checks, said Hsin-Chieh Yeh, an assistant professor of internal medicine and epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the report’s lead author. In addition, some studies suggest nicotine-replacement therapy such as the patch could help patients keep off the pounds, she said.

Most importantly, “don’t even start smoking,” said Yeh. “Quitting is good, but you need to watch your weight.”

In the study of nearly 10,900 middle-age adults who were followed for 17 years, those who quit smoking had a 70 percent increased risk of developing diabetes in their first six years smoke-free. But smoking is also a risk factor for developing diabetes, researchers said. Over the same period, smokers had a 30 percent increased risk. The more a person smoked and the more pounds they gained, the higher the risk, researchers found.

Dr. Kevin Ferentz, a smoking cessation expert and associate professor in the department of family and community medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, said the study confirms what he sees in his practice – about a third of all smokers who quit gain an average of 5 to 8 pounds. It’s not because of a slowed metabolism, he said. Quitters often substitute eating for smoking.

To stop successfully, smokers need nutritional advice and a plan to tackle the triggers that keep them vulnerable to relapse, he said. Ferentz reminds quitters to munch on low-calorie snacks like carrot sticks, celery and sugar-free gum when the cravings hit.

“The key to stopping smoking is preparation, it’s not will power,” he said. “The analogy that I use is stopping smoking is a test. You either study for the test and there’s a good chance you will pass, or you don’t study and there’s a good chance you will fail.”

Dr. Mansur Shomali, a diabetes specialist at Union Memorial Hospital, questioned the study’s scope. Researchers don’t know for sure if weight gain was the sole cause for a higher diabetes risk. Quitters might have been at higher risk for developing diabetes long before they tried to kick the habit, for example.

Shomali said patients who smoke and have diabetes are at greater risk for severe cardiovascular problems.

“We sometimes think of these patients like a time bomb waiting for a heart attack or stroke,” he said. “Diabetes is bad, smoking is bad, doing both together is worse. If you stop smoking it will be better for you in the long run. There is some short-term weight gain, but you can control that.”