Urine Test Predicts Smokers' Lung Cancer Risk

So try to hold off for at least an hour

(NEWSER) - You probably already know that smoking is bad for you, but a new study shows that smoking first thing in the morning is apparently even worse. Among the 7,610 smokers studied—62% of whom had lung cancer—those who lit up within 30 minutes of waking were 79% more likely to have developed lung cancer than smokers who held off for an hour or more after waking, reports the BBC. More»

Court decides electronic smokes should be treated like tobacco

(NEWSER) - The Food and Drug Administration's attempt to crack down on "electronic cigarettes" has been defeated in court. A federal appeals court ruled that the products, which create a nicotine vapor instead of smoke, should be treated like tobacco products—not like nicotine-placement gum or patches, which would place them under tighter regulation. The decision means that while the FDA can regulate the marketing of e-cigarettes, it hasn't got the power to restrict sales or block imports, reports the Los Angeles Times . More»

(AP) - President Barack Obama cited his own long struggle to quit the cigarettes he took up as a teenager as he signed the strongest-ever US anti-smoking bill today and praised it for providing needed protections for future generations. "It is a law that will save American lives," Obama said. "The decades-long effort to protect our children from the harmful effects of smoking has finally emerged victorious." More»

Widow scores first blood in potentially groundbreaking trial

(NEWSER) - Addiction to cigarettes caused chain smoker Stuart Hess’ death from lung cancer, a Florida jury ruled yesterday, paving the way for his widow to receive damages from Phillip Morris. The case is the first of 8,000 to spin out of a landmark 1994 class-action suit. That case's $145 billion award was overturned in 2006, and though the Hess verdict won’t directly affect the other 7,999 plaintiffs, it is being closely watched, the Miami Herald reports. More»

Rate drops, though 43M still light up; 443K die yearly as result

(NEWSER) - Smoking in the US is at its lowest since cigarettes became widespread after World War I, Reuters reports, with fewer than 20% of adults in the country lighting up—the lowest figure on record. Observers credit the gradual decline to awareness, bans on smoking in public places, and prohibitive taxation. Still, smoking is estimated to kill 443,000 people a year. More»