Tobacco Funds Decision

OXFORDSHIRE County Council leader Keith Mitchell says he is happy the county’s local government pension fund is profiting from “stupid smokers”. The Oxford Mail revealed on Monday that the fund for the county’s councils has £20m invested in two tobacco giants. The pension fund is administered by the county council and critics said the cash conflicted with councils’ responsibilities to urge people to quit. But the county council leader hit back at the Oxford Mail for printing the story, quoting Stanley Baldwin’s attack on newspapers having power without responsibility like a “harlot”.

Tobacco Use is An Anti-Malaria Drug

Hebrew University of Jerusalem scientists have come up with a novel technology for manufacturing an anti-malaria drug in tobacco. Professor Alexander Vainstein -- from the Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment at the HU-- and his graduate student Moran Farhi discovered a method that allows for the production of artemisinin - the herb used in cancer and malaria drugs -- in a heterologous plant system, such as tobacco. Medical communities around the globe agree that a key intervention to control malaria is prompt and effective treatment with artemisinin-based combination therapies. But low-cost artemisinin-based drugs are lacking because of the high cost of obtaining the natural or chemically synthesized drug.

Ernakulam is Now a Smoke Free

Have you been plagued by problems of coughing and headaches due to the presence of active smokers on your travels around? Well your visit to Ernakulam city in the state of Kerala now promises to be smoke free. This is good new especially for those who may unwittingly become passive smokers during their travel plans. A one and a half year effort by the Ernakulam district administration, Health Department, Cochin Corporation and District Panchayat has finally borne good results for the “Smoke Free Ernakulam” project. The project was aimed at controlling smoking discount Marshal cigarettes in public places and effective implementation of the Indian Tobacco Control Act.