Letter: Fracking like cigarette smoking

I am a retired mining engineer with experience in underground and surface mining, geological engineering, rock mechanics, landfill operation, quality assurance and building construction. I am not a fracking expert, but I am familiar with many issues that can affect fracking.
No conclusive studies prove that all elements of a fracking operation are safe and that ground water and surface water are not contaminated from the fracking process. Fracking is like cigarette smoking. Many people who smoke never develop cancer, COPD or other adverse side effects. But the statistical evidence clearly proves that smokers have a much higher incidence of these maladies than non-smokers and live shorter lives.
Likewise, people living in the vicinity of fracking have experienced higher rates of water, air, and soil contamination than those distant from fracking operations. There are literally thousands of anecdotal accounts of wells, springs and surface water that mysteriously went bad, of people becoming sick and of farm animals dying immediately or soon after a nearby fracking operation.
Mining, large-scale timbering, road-building, etc., adversely affect natural attractions. Should we stop doing all of these things? No, but what we must do is a thorough analysis to ensure all of the benefits outweigh all of the costs. Typically, many of the costs are subsidized and paid for by taxpayers long after the company that reaped the benefits is gone.
Energy is very important. But water is even more important. During its presentation of the proposed plans for the George Washingotn National Forest, the forest service stated that water is the most important product of the GWNF. Should we risk the water supply to millions of people for the sake of a quick energy fix?
I believe fracking, like mountaintop removal and some other mining methods, should be banned because of the inherent risks and environmental damage these cause. There are safer and more environmentally sound ways of mining and energy production that can help bridge the gap to the implementation of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.

Stroke Risk Similar Among Men and Women Smokers Worldwide

Smoking cigarettes may cause similar stroke risks for men and women, but women smokers may be at greater risk for a more deadly and uncommon type of stroke, according to new research in the American Heart Association journal Stroke.

When compared to non-smokers of the same gender, smoking increases the risk of having any type of stroke by 60 to 80 percent in women and men.

Researchers said the finding is intriguing because other studies have found strong evidence that smoking conveys a much higher risk of heart disease -- which shares a common disease process with stroke -- for women than for men.

Toronto mayor says he has smoked 'a lot of' marijuana

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, who denied allegations earlier this year that he was caught smoking crack cocaine on camera, casually admitted on Wednesday that he has smoked "a lot of" marijuana.
The offhand comment by the leader of Canada's largest city came as Ford was leaving a business luncheon and was asked by reporters if he had ever smoked the drug.
"Oh yeah, I won't deny that. I've smoked a lot of it," he said with a laugh.
Ford made global headlines in May when U.S. blog Gawker and the Toronto Star both reported that their reporters had seen a cellphone video that appears to show Ford using crack cocaine.

Non-smoking programmes useful in psychiatric treatment

Psychiatric patients who took part in a smoking-cessation programme while they were in the hospital for treatment of mental illness were more likely to quit smoking and less likely to be hospitalised again for mental illness, a new study shows.
The findings challenge a common belief among mental-health experts that smoking is a useful tool in treating some psychiatric patients. For example, cigarettes may be used as part of a reward system or doctors may sometimes smoke with patients as a way of creating a connection, said Judith Prochaska, an associate professor at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
The study
Prochaska

Czech president told to cut smoking, drinking due to health

Czech President Milos Zeman, known for his love of alcohol and smoking, was told on Friday to drastically cut down on both after being diagnosed with diabetes, the health minister said.
Martin Holcat, speaking on Czech Radio, said that on the advice of doctors, the president, 68, would have to cut down from his usual 40-to-50 cigarettes a day to about 20.

Secondhand Smoke in Restaurants Raises Risk of Cancers, Asthma

Secondhand smoke in bars and restaurants can increase risk of asthma and cancers in visitors, a new study has found.
Smoking causes many types of cancers of lung, bladder, kidneys, mouth and ovaries. Previous research has established that second-hand smoke could just be as dangerous.
Secondhand smoke contains more than 50 substances that can cause cancer, according to Medline Plus.  Passive smoke can cause lung cancer, nasal sinus cancer, respiratory tract infections and heart disease. Second-hand smoking causes about 600,000 deaths each year.

Study likens second-hand patio smoke to a ‘forest fire’

“I think what’s important is for us to remember that tobacco smoke is a Class A carcinogen, and any level of exposure bears a risk,” Kennedy, based at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md., said in an interview Saturday.
Anti-tobacco advocates are hoping the findings help make the case for a patio smoking ban in Quebec, and across the country.
Several provinces have already banned smoking on patios, including Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and Alberta. Yukon has also introduced a ban, along with Ottawa and a number of municipalities on Vancouver Island and in the lower mainland of British Columbia.

Candy cigarettes could earn big fines for General Pants store

The Health Department has threatened the General Pants store in Pitt Street with a $102,000 fine after last week receiving a complaint about it displaying a box of candy cigarettes for sale at its counter.
The cigarettes were displayed for sale in a box featuring an image of a man smiling with what appears to be a cigarette in his mouth and with the captions 'Makes you looks cool', 'Hey Dad, can I bum a smoke?', and 'Just like Dad!'.
Sydney mum Heidi Sumich said she was shopping in the store with her 13-year-old daughter when she saw the box last week.
"I thought it was really inappropriate to have that sort of thing where young people go," she told News Limited.
"I pointed it out to the shop assistant and she said they'd had a lot of complaints about it."
Angered that the store had failed to act on the complaints, Ms Sumich wrote to Health Minister Tanya Plibersek hoping she would have more clout. Cigarettes online at cheapest prices.