NEWS
November 10, 2010 | By Mary Forgione, Los Angeles Times
Lung cancer, found in later stages, offers little hope. Randy Zisook was one of those diagnosed with advanced stages of lung cancer. Toward the end of his life, he warned others about the dangers of cigarette smoking by sharing his diagnosis and his story in a very public way. "This is going to affect all of us for the rest of our lives," says his wife, Lori Zisook, who has vowed to continue her husband’s awareness campaign. She recounts his life and explains her crusade in this Chicago Tribune story . Early detection is difficult, but not impossible, as explained in this Los Angeles Times story about CT scans.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
February 28, 1987
I would not deny for one moment the health hazards of smoking, whether passive or active, but has it been scientifically verified that the amount of passive smoking in Beverly Hills restaurants is sufficient to put the health of nonsmokers at risk? Beverly Hills restaurants are well air conditioned; perhaps fewer than half the patrons are smokers, and even they are bound to be eating a good deal of the time. Surely the non-smoking diners's situation is nothing like being cooped up in an office with a chain smoker, 40 hours a week, every week of the year.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
September 8, 1994
In reference to your Aug. 30 editorial on Prop. 188, "Half-Truths Cloaked in Slickness": Misled or not, all voters who signed a petition to qualify Prop. 188 for the ballot should now vote no. When these petitions were circulating, Assembly Bill 13, a statewide smoking restriction bill sponsored by Assemblyman Terry Friedman (D-Brentwood), was given little chance for passage. In a show of courage against the powerful tobacco lobby, both houses passed the bill and Gov. Pete Wilson signed it into law on July 21. AB 13 does exactly what Prop.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
July 3, 1993
Well, our City Council members finally did it--they banned smoking in all city restaurants. From my point of view it really doesn't matter anyway; my husband is out of work and we can't afford to eat out. We are not alone; there are thousands out of work in L.A. and so many companies have left Los Angeles that getting work is very hard. Between gang violence and carjackings, who wants to go out at night anyway; you could end up dead, but our police are going to enforce a smoking ban. We have gangs of men hanging around hardware stores looking for work and homeless families begging on the streets, but our City Council has nothing more important to do than pass a law banning smoking in restaurants, a law which most people, including restaurant owners, do not want.
SCIENCE
October 16, 2009 | Thomas H. Maugh II
Bans on smoking in public places and workplaces can sharply reduce heart attacks among both smokers and nonsmokers, according to a report issued Thursday by the Institute of Medicine. The report provides strong support for anti-smoking laws now in place in 21 states and the District of Columbia and is likely to bolster efforts to pass such laws elsewhere. "It's clear that smoking bans work," said Dr. Lynn R. Goldman of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, who chaired the panel that produced the report.
NEWS
December 16, 1996 | DAVID FERRELL, TIMES STAFF WRITER
For seven years, Scott Stokes conducted his own reckless inquiries into the physiological effects of pot. "I woke up to get high, and I got high to go to bed," recalled the 19-year-old from El Toro, who broke his marijuana habit only after he was arrested two years ago for burglarizing a head shop. "If I didn't have it, I would . . . start sweating, and when I'd breathe deep I'd get into these weird breathing patterns. "People say that marijuana is not addictive, but it's extremely addictive."