New Tobacco Warnings

Surgeon general issues new tobacco warnings.
The Los Angeles Times /Orlando Sentinel (12/9, Shrieves) writes that a report set to be released Thursday by the US surgeon general has found that "any exposure" to tobacco smoke can cause immediate damage to the human body. "There is no safe level of exposure to cigarette smoke," Surgeon General Regina Benjamin said. "Inhaling even the smallest amount of tobacco smoke can also damage your DNA, which can lead to cancer." The report also finds a minimal difference between being a light smoker and a heavy smoker. "That's because of the inflammatory processes occur at very, very low doses," said cardiologist Dr. Stanton Glantz.
The AP (12/9) notes that Thursday's report "is the 30th issued by the nation's surgeons general to warn the public about tobacco's risks," but "is unusual because it devotes more than 700 pages to detail the biology of how cigarette smoke accomplishes its dirty deeds -- including the latest genetic findings to help explain why some people become more addicted than others, and why some smokers develop tobacco-caused disease faster than others."
CNN (12/9, Young) says that the report "links smoking directly to 13 different cancers including esophagus, trachea, stomach, pancreas, kidney, bladder, cervix and acute myeloid leukemia." It also "ties smoking to more than a dozen chronic diseases like stroke, blindness, periodontitis, heart disease, pneumonia; reproductive problems like diminishing fertility; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma and other respiratory illnesses."
The Washington Post (12/9, Stein) "Checkup" blog reports that Matthew L. Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, called the report "a stark reminder of how lethal and addictive smoking truly is." Bloomberg News (12/9, Peterson) also reported on this story.