Passenger Smokers Charged

The warning that “smoking is bad for your health” might have a new twist for airline passenger Manolín Jesús Villaverde: Smoking cost him his freedom, after he caused an airliner to divert to San Antonio. Villaverde, who turned 36 on Wednesday, was pulled off the Continental Airlines flight Tuesday night after he became unruly when told to put out cigarettes. FBI agents on Wednesday hauled him into federal court on a charge of interfering with flight crew members, which carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison. A criminal complaint affidavit said Villaverde, of Miami, was on Continental Flight 1287 from Houston to Ontario, Calif., when he came out of the restroom smoking a cigarette.

Tobacco Fight Failed in All Solano County

Solano County and all its cities earned grades of F in cigarette smoking rates and efforts to prevent exposure to secondhand smoke, according to an American Lung Association annual report. The failing grades for smoking rates and restrictions on smoking in public spots and housing areas are contained in the "State of Tobacco Control 2012" report. In particular, the report looks at local policies that aim to reduce smoking cheap Camel cigarettes in outdoor areas, housing, and the sale of tobacco products. State law prevents indoor smoking in businesses, restaurants, schools and other facilities in Solano County. However, the lung association's regional director of advocacy Serena Chen said Solano cities and the county have not followed through on tobacco control laws and regulations.

Generation is up in Smoke

Smoking pot is now more common among 10th graders in the U.S. than smoking cigarettes, and according to the latest federal government survey one out of every 15 high school students smokes marijuana on an almost daily basis. A quarter of the eighth, 10th and 12th graders surveyed reported using marijuana in the last year. Think this uptick has anything to do with our government’s increasingly lenient policies governing marijuana use? Well, of course it does! “The upward trend in teens’ abuse of marijuana corresponded to downward trends in their perception of risk,” according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which released the survey results.

Indonesia Not Against Flavored Tobacco

Indonesia will not lodge an appeal against a WTO ruling on the import ban of flavored tobacco by the US, citing satisfaction despite losing its argument on the efficacy of the ban in reducing the number of young smokers. Director general for international trade Gusmardi Bustami told reporters on Friday that Indonesia had won the backing of the WTO on its stance regarding the discriminatory nature of the US import ban. The US Food and Drug Administration banned best Robinson cigarettes with fruit, confectionery or clove flavors in September 2009, arguing such cigarettes were particularly attractive to children.

Smoking During Pregnancy and Autism Spectrum Disorders

A large population-based study in Sweden indicates that there is no link between smoking during pregnancy and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in children. The study, led by Dr. Brian Lee, an assistant professor at Drexel University and a team of international collaborators, will appear in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders and was published online in December. Researchers have considered a variety of chemical exposures in the environment during pregnancy and early life as possible contributing factors in the development of autism spectrum disorders. Many have considered prenatal exposure to tobacco smoke a possible cause due to known associations with behavioral disorders and obstetric complications. Past studies of maternal smoking and autism have had mixed results.