Passive smoking: it's worse than you think/Suicidal Chinese people to be jailed/ Why are Japanese people killing themselves?

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Passive smoking: it's worse than you think

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June 30 2004 at 04:54AM

 

Paris - Passive smoking is more perilous than previously estimated,

according to the first major study to assess blood samples from people

exposed to cigarette smoke in pubs, the workplace and home.

 

Past studies into the effects of passive smoking usually look at the health

history of people who live with a smoker.

 

They have found that the passive smoker faces an increased risk of 25 to 30

percent of developing coronary heart disease when compared with someone of

similar age and background whose home is smoke-free.

 

In the latest research, British scientists cast the net wider and examined

blood levels of cotinine, a byproduct of nicotine, among more than 2 000

British men, who were also quizzed about their health, work and leisure

activities.

 

Those with higher concentrations of cotinine faced a 50 to 60 percent

increase in the risk of coronary heart disease.

 

There was no apparent risk of an increase of a stroke from passive smoking.

 

The researchers conclude that exposure to smoke at home may account for less

than half of the nicotine that is inhaled by passive smokers if their

workplace allows smoking or if they go to smokey bars and restaurants.

 

The study was carried out by a team from St. George's Hospital Medical

School and the Royal Free University College London Medical School in

London.

 

It was published online on Wednesday by the British Medical Journal (BMJ)

 

The data comes from a major heart study that was carried out among 2 105

middle-aged non-smoking men, whose health was monitored for 20 years from

the late 1970s.

 

Cotinine levels declined significantly during the course of this long study,

mainly because of changes in smoking habits. People began to smoke less, and

public places and workplaces began to enforce no-smoking rules.

 

Suicidal Chinese people to be jailed

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May 18 2004 at 01:27PM

 

Beijing - People in north-west China who attempt to commit suicide by

jumping out of high-rise buildings should not expect help but up to 15 days

in jail and a fine of 200 yuan (about R165), state media reported on

Tuesday.

 

This has been made clear by police in the city of Xian, capital of Shaanxi

province, who say suicide attempts " disturb public order and produce a

negative impact on society, " the Xinhua news agency reported.

 

Most people who climb tall buildings and say they are going to jump do not

really plan to kill themselves, but just want to attract attention, the

agency said.

 

It cited a recent example of a construction worker in Beijing who climbed a

high-voltage tower and threatened to jump unless his boss paid the salary he

was owed. - Sapa-AFP

 

Why are Japanese people killing themselves?

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June 11 2004 at 06:24AM

 

Tokyo - More Japanese committed suicide last year than ever before as poor

economic conditions drove greater numbers to end their own lives, the

government said on Friday.

 

Suicides rose 7,1 percent to 32 082 in 2003 from 29 949 the year before, the

health ministry said. It was the sixth leading cause of death after cancer,

heart disease and other illnesses.

 

Japan's economy has started to rebound in recent years amid rising exports

to Asia, but years of sluggish growth have lifted unemployment and forced

large numbers into personal bankruptcy.

 

Suicide was the leading cause of death among men in their 50s, a population

segment disproportionately affected by corporate restructuring.

 

" Men in their 50s are probably the hardest hit by unemployment and economic

slump, " said Tsutomu Ishiyama, a ministry official in charge of the

statistics.

 

Suicide also was the No 1 cause of death among those in their 20s and 30s,

the age groups that are less likely to die from illnesses, he said.

 

Overall, men accounted for nearly three-quarters of suicides. - Sapa-AP