Scottish smoking ban seen to cut heart attacks

By Gene Emery

BOSTON (Reuters) - Scotland's 2006 ban on smoking in public places cut the heart attack rate by 17 percent within one year, with non-smokers benefiting most, researchers reported on Wednesday.

The study is the first real-time, large-scale look at how a ban on second-hand smoke might benefit smokers and nonsmokers. Earlier research looked at the effect of smoking bans in individual cities, or had other limitations.

"A total of 67 percent of the decrease involved non-smokers," Dr. Jill Pell of the University of Glasgow and colleagues wrote in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The number of people admitted to nine Scottish hospitals for a heart attack dropped 14 percent among smokers, 19 percent among former smokers and 21 percent for those who had never smoked.

In contrast, the rate declined only by 4 percent in England during that period, before a ban went into effect there. Historically, heart attack rates in Scotland had been dropping 3 percent per year.

"There are a number of countries considering whether to impose similar bans, and obviously the more evidence of the effectiveness of such intervention, the more likely they are to do that," Pell said in a telephone interview.

Among the 5,919 cases she and her colleagues studied, women seemed to benefit the most. The heart attack rate among smokers dropped 19 percent compared to an 11 percent decline among men. It dropped 23 percent among female nonsmokers versus 18 percent among nonsmoking males.

There had been concern at the start of the ban that it would increase the amount of smoking in private homes.

Using measurements of a chemical that gauges exposure to cigarette smoke, the researchers found that the fear was unfounded, and exposure to secondhand smoke declined by 42 percent.

"So it seems that the ban is not only protecting non-smokers, it is changing society's idea of what is normal," said Pell.

When New York imposed tough restrictions on public smoking, exposure levels declined by 47 percent.

The United States does not have national smoking restrictions. Limits are placed by individual states or municipalities.

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25 Breast Cancer Myths and Misunderstandings (Nos. 1-5)

(CORBIS)

1. Myth: Only women with a family history of breast cancer are at risk.

Reality: Roughly 70% of women diagnosed with breast cancer have no identifiable risk factors for the disease. But the family-history risks are these: If a first-degree relative (a parent, sibling, or child) has had or has breast cancer, your risk of developing the disease approximately doubles. Having two first-degree relatives with the disease increases your risk even more.

2. Myth: Wearing an underwire bra increases your risk of getting breast cancer.

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Reality: Claims that underwire bras compress the lymphatic system of the breast, causing toxins to accumulate and cause breast cancer, have been widely debunked as unscientific. The consensus is that neither the type of bra you wear nor the tightness of your underwear or other clothing has any connection to breast cancer risk.

3. Myth: Most breast lumps are cancerous.

Reality: Roughly 80% of lumps in women's breasts are caused by benign (noncancerous) changes, cysts, or other conditions. Doctors encourage women to report any changes at all, however, because catching breast cancer early is so beneficial. Your doctor may recommend a mammogram, ultrasound, or biopsy to determine whether a lump is cancerous.

4. Myth: Exposing a tumor to air during surgery causes cancer to spread.

Reality: Surgery doesn't cause breast cancer and it doesn't cause breast cancer to spread, as far as scientists can tell from the research so far. Your doctor may find out during surgery that your cancer is more widespread than previously thought, however. And some animal studies have shown that removing the primary tumor sometimes enables metastatic cancers to grow, but only temporarily; this has not been demonstrated in humans.

Former Playboy model Pamela Anderson has admitted to having breast implants.

(NEWS.COM.AU)

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Restaurant tipping law to change

Tips left for restaurant staff do not always reach them

Employers are to be banned from using tips and service charges to "top up" staff pay to meet the minimum wage, under government plans.

The changes, set to come into force next year, will benefit those working in industries such as restaurants, where tipping is commonplace.

Firms are currently allowed to divert service charges into takings.

Unions have welcomed the move, saying that not allowing employees to have tips in addition to pay is an "abuse".

The national minimum wage, currently £5.52, rises to £5.73 on 1 October.

'Common sense'

Business Secretary John Hutton said there needed to be more transparency in tipping.

Waiters and waitresses across the country have been hungry for the tips loophole to be closed and the announcement today will satisfy their appetites Derek Simpson Unite 10 years of the minimum wage

He called on employers to make it clear how tips were distributed so that customers knew where their money was going and whether or not the establishment operated a fair tipping policy.

"Hundreds of thousands of people in the UK have jobs in sectors where tipping is commonplace," Mr Hutton said.

"When people leave a tip, in a restaurant or elsewhere, they expect it to go to service staff and as consumers, we've got a right to know if that actually happens.

"This is an issue of fairness and common sense, and it's one many people clearly care a lot about."

'Vulnerable workers'

Unions, which have argued that the current law is unfair, have welcomed the move.

UK restaurants are accused of not being upfront about staff tips

"Waiters and waitresses across the country have been hungry for the tips loophole to be closed and the announcement today will satisfy their appetites," said Derek Simpson, joint leader of the Unite union.

"It is great news that unscrupulous employers will no longer be able to use the tips left for staff to subsidise low wages."

The union intends to introduce a Fair Tips logo in bars and restaurants across the UK - showing that staff receive at least the minimum wage as well as all tips.

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said that presently "unscrupulous" employers could "cheat" workers out of tips that were meant for them.

The quicker this is ended completely the better Paul Kenny GMB General Secretary

"The government is right to make sure that workers can keep their tips and that the responsibility to pay the minimum wage rests squarely with employers," he said.

"This is a welcome example of the government responding to the concerns of hard-pressed, vulnerable workers.''

GMB General Secretary Paul Kenny said its members in the hotel and catering industry had fought a 10-year campaign to end tips being counted towards their pay.

"Far too many rogue employers have been using tips to make up the national minimum wage," he said.

"The quicker this is ended completely the better."

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