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Call for tougher smoking warnings
1:18pm Thursday 8th May 2008
A EURO MP is calling for tougher warnings on cigarette packets in a bid to encourage more people to stub it out.
Radcliffe-based MEP Gary Titley claims the current warnings encouraging people to quit are not being updated fast enough.
He is now calling for the Government and the European Commission to highlight the link between smoking and blindness.
Mr Titley said: "There is evidence that if these warnings are not kept fresh, they lose their effectiveness.
"Not only is a smoker's risk of developing age-related macular degeneration up to four times as high as a non-smoker but, for the first time ever, a link has been found to passive smoking. Passive smokers almost double their risk of sight loss."
The MEP has already written to Health Secretary Alan Johnson about the work of the Eyes and Tobacco Study Group, based at the Royal Bolton Hospital and led by consultant ophthalmic surgeon, Simon Kelly.
Your Say Yourtheboltonnews
chas, suffolk says...
1:26pm Thu 8 May 08
player #1, Half the world away says...
2:38pm Thu 8 May 08
Not only is a smoker's risk of developing age-related macular degeneration up to four times as high as a non-smoker
He actually says it is the risk that is greater chas, so what you say is actually backing up their claim. the only difference is that this report gives figures as to how that risk factor rises for smokers.
What might have been a useful comparative tool would have been statistics around the risk factors of other things, like you stated, hypertension, sunlight etc.
apple, says...
4:16pm Thu 8 May 08
VM User, Bolton says...
6:31pm Thu 8 May 08
No doubt this idiot will say NOTHING about the problems with alcohol so prices can be put sky high (Which actually needs doing)
chas, suffolk says...
6:39pm Thu 8 May 08
Drinking can affect our eyesight. Too much and we cannot see clearly and hence the saying blind drunk.
Le Roi, says...
7:24pm Thu 8 May 08
RagReader, Horwich says...
8:12pm Thu 8 May 08
chas, suffolk says...
8:38pm Thu 8 May 08
I am at present watching Sherlock Holmes and cannot see how you come to that conclusion.
gm, lancs says...
11:33pm Thu 8 May 08
RagReader, Horwich says...
12:26am Fri 9 May 08
chas wrote:Player #1 pointed it out.
Ragreader I am at present watching Sherlock Holmes and cannot see how you come to that conclusion.
Elementary.
chas, suffolk says...
8:30am Fri 9 May 08
My comment was a quote from a AMD site. Again I say, where is the proof?
player #1, Half the world away says...
10:04am Fri 9 May 08
chas wrote:the quote you used chas, actually backed up the article, in that you both said that smoking is a risk factor to blindness. The difference, as i pointed out earlier, is that the article gives the statistics of the risk factor, while your quote does not give the statistics for the other risk factors.
Ragreader My comment was a quote from a AMD site. Again I say, where is the proof?
the proof is not definative, and no one has said it is, but it is the risk factors, the studies that you quote confirm this, that guide the legislation.
most cigarette packets say smoking can kill, how much tougher of a warning does gary titley want.
i think the idea is to refresh the messages, the design, wording etc, so that the message does not lose its impact upon smokers.
chas, suffolk says...
10:23am Fri 9 May 08
Genes and diet were mentioned first because they are the biggest factors.
Those warnings have failed. The number of smokers had been decreasing for decades, until ASH and the Government got involved.
player #1, Half the world away says...
10:44am Fri 9 May 08
chas wrote:so what are the figures for obesity and genetic theories? is it four times higher, more? the fact that you say it doesn't make it true chas. i don;t doubt that other things have attached risk factors for all sorts of issues, but without researched figures as to what the health risk is then we can't count them credible.
Player Genes and diet were mentioned first because they are the biggest factors. Those warnings have failed. The number of smokers had been decreasing for decades, until ASH and the Government got involved.
chas, suffolk says...
11:55am Fri 9 May 08
As you say we need PROOF.
Notice the wording in the story
"Not only is a smoker's risk of developing age-related macular degeneration up to four times as high as a non-smoker
'Upto'. This is always used when they have no idea.
player #1, Half the world away says...
2:34pm Fri 9 May 08
chas wrote:actually, no its used when the figure is fluctuating. upto would mean there were instances at the higher rate, and some instances at lower rates too.
Player As you say we need PROOF. Notice the wording in the story"Not only is a smoker's risk of developing age-related macular degeneration up to four times as high as a non-smoker'Upto'. This is always used when they have no idea.
As in - "chas has up to 3 brain cells working at any one time." doesn't mean all 3 work in sync, maybe only one or 2 are working. you get me now chas? you still haven't given any risk factor stats for the other factors you mentioned. (I don't mind if you use "up to" when delivering them)
chas, suffolk says...
2:56pm Fri 9 May 08
You must learn to read. I said that what I quoted was from a AMD site, so ask them for the the risk factors.
I guess that your marks for reading at school, if you ever went to school, was maybe upto one out of 0ne hundred.
player #1, Half the world away says...
3:03pm Fri 9 May 08
chas wrote:but the concept of quoting, chas, is that you are responsible for it, its validity and its appropriateness. i would say that any figures that are with the quote are surely going to be relevant to this article, so i would have thought you would have copied them in.
Player You must learn to read. I said that what I quoted was from a AMD site, so ask them for the the risk factors. I guess that your marks for reading at school, if you ever went to school, was maybe upto one out of 0ne hundred.
Ah... but to do that, and take ownership of your own opinions and statements would leave you open to being wrong, and we couldn't have that now could we.
Seriously, i think you are right, there are lots of other risk factors to a lot of the issues that smoking is blamed for. but quoting AMD without the stats is a pretty basic error, even for someone like me who can't read, and it doesn't promote your point of view at all, it just makes you look like a cretin. even the BN offered limited stats in their report, you offered nothing but C&P without stats, without direct source info and with a great amount of bias, generalisation and stereotyping.
please research if you must, but do it properly, don't just click the "i'm Feeling Lucky" button on google!
chas, suffolk says...
3:32pm Fri 9 May 08
Try researching the meaning of 'upto'. Upto 100% of posters would agree that you are an idiot.
derby0543, bury says...
5:07pm Fri 9 May 08
chas, suffolk says...
5:20pm Fri 9 May 08
Phil Button, Basingstoke says...
11:01pm Mon 12 May 08
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chas, suffolk says...
1:19pm Thu 8 May 08
So where is the PROOF?