African Traditional Herbal Research Clinic ... - Blackherbals.com

Continued from page 35– –US Anti-Smoking Programmesgrows more AggressiveKelly shrugged off the news even as he clutched alighted cigarette in his hand."They have already banned it in so many other places,that it won't make much difference," said the 43-yearoldsalesman. Kelly added that he understood, and evensympathised with the reasons for the ban. "Smoking ismy choice, but I know it is bad for me, so I get whythey are doing it," he said.That is music to the ears of the anti-smokingmovement. Some reports have shown that smokingrelatedhealthcare costs are almost $100bn a year at atime when governments face spiralling healthcare costs.Bloomberg, and many others, have made it clear thatthey see smoking as expensive to society as a whole,not just as a private habit for the individual, and thushave not shied away from draconian measures thatwould be hard to impose on other products.But smoking rights groups have made no secret of theirhorror at the latest moves, equating it with a loss ofindividual freedom being imposed on the public fromabove."The American public is not asking for this. It iscoming from government and non-government groupsand it is attacking basic individual rights of freedom,"said Maryetta Ables, president of Forces International,a conservative group that campaigns on issues ofpersonal freedom in smoking and eating and otherconsumer choices.But Ables admitted that the current climate in the USseemed to indicate that her group was fighting a losingbattle at the moment. "There is going to be more of thissort of thing to come," she said.That did not seem to bother Paul Collins, 39, anothersmoker lighting up in Madison Square Park as herecovered from the stresses of his morning commuteinto the city."If they do it, they do it," he said with an air ofresignation "The smoking ban in bars was actuallygood for me. I cut down a bit. So I don't really mind,"he said. That is not the fighting spirit among smokersthat the Marlboro man was meant to encourage. Butthen the Marlboro man is perhaps not the best smokingsymbol anymore. Several of the rugged cowboys usedas models in the campaign contracted lung cancer andbecame anti-smoking campaigners.Leading the way• New York banned smoking in most restaurants in1995, followed by workplaces and indoor public placesin 2003, three years before such bans in Scotland andfour years before England and Wales. The Department ofHealth in England says it has no plans to extend smokefreeareas, saying such moves are up to local authorities.• Smoking was banned on Sydney's Bondi beach in 2004,after similar prohibitions on dogs, ball games andfrisbees. Soon after, the council restricted alcoholconsumption on the beach.• Amsterdam's coffee shops, where marijuana is oftenavailable, were not exempted from a smoking ban. Purecannabis or cannabis resin can be legally smoked – aslong as it is not mixed with tobacco.http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/15/new-yorksmoking-ban-outdoors☻☻☻☻☻☻Cocaine-Addiction Vaccine inthe WorksTreatment would be first-ever medication for peoplehooked on the drugThe Associated PressJanuary 2, 2008HOUSTON - Two Baylor College of Medicineresearchers in Houston are working on a cocaine vaccinethey hope will become the first-ever medication to treatpeople hooked on the drug."For people who have a desire to stop using, the vaccineshould be very useful," said Dr. Tom Kosten, apsychiatry professor who is being assisted in the researchby his wife, Therese, a psychologist and neuroscientist."At some point, most users will give in to temptation andrelapse, but those for whom the vaccine is effective won'tget high and will lose interest."The vaccine, currently in clinical trials, stimulates theimmune system to attack the real thing when it's taken.The immune system — unable to recognize cocaine andother drug molecules because they are so small — can'tmake antibodies to attack them.To help the immune system distinguish the drug, Kostenattached inactivated cocaine to the outside of inactivatedcholera proteins.Trial planned for springIn response, the immune system not only makesantibodies to the combination, which is harmless, but alsorecognizes the potent naked drug when it's ingested. Theantibodies bind to the cocaine and prevent it fromreaching the brain, where it normally would generate thehighs that are so addictive. Continued on page 38-37- Traditional African Clinic December 2009