Top journalist MICHAEL GRACZYK has said in a recent article that Health Care in the United States simply must be addressed, and the sooner the better. GM chairman Jim Wagoner says that these issues are hurting firms and the U.S. economy as a whole.
This crises of a "health care burden" affects every firm plus the govt. and affects our capability to create jobs as a nation, he says.
....I should point out that Robert Kiyosaki in his rich dad books had referred to this coming crises of healchcare as we move from the industrial age to an information age economy. These changes will not only affect our country but also the rest of the West, Japan and even some other countries such as IUndia.

Rockingham News out of New Hampshire has reported about House Bill 1704.
Despite the innocent-seeming name of the Fair Share Health Care Fund, its actual intention appears to be anything but benign, according to the newspaper, and there will be a debate about the merits of setting a mandated amount that firms with over fisteen hundred workers have to spend for their workers’ health care insurance.
HB 1704 actually arrived after an extreme legislative battle in Maryland, where Wal-Mart used a minimum of 4 large lobbying firms and spent many millions in an attempt to defeat a similar bill. Despite the governor’s veto, a bipartisan effort led to the bill’s passage.
While the newspaper has many doubts that HB 1704 will ever be effective, they at least hope the political and philosophical debate over the bill’s merits leads to constructive, wider solutions and does not just turn into a lobbyist free-for-all. The people of New Hampshire deserve better than the money-backed battle that took place in Maryland.

In an article posted by:
Contact: William R. Miller, Ph.D.
(wrmiller@unm.edu)
of the esteemed
University of New Mexico, it was reported that the majority of individuals with alcohol disorders do not enter specialized treatment; they are seen in regular health-care or social services, which is often reflected in their poor treatment . Given this reality, participants in a roundtable discussion at the June 2005 annual meeting of the Research Society of Alcoholism in Santa Barbara, California deliberated the need to address alcohol problems during routine health care. Proceedings are published in the February issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research. He also stated that "Alcohol problems are really common, roughly one in every 10 or 11 people drink too much, and the consequences cost us all," said William R. Miller, Distinguished Professor of psychology and psychiatry at the University of New Mexico, and chair of the discussion. "You have about a 40 percent chance of being in an alcohol-related vehicular crash, anywhere from a fender-bender to a fatal crash, at least once in your lifetime. For every dollar spent to purchase alcoholic beverages, Americans incur about two dollars in social and health care costs. Averaged across the population, that's about $1000 per year for every U.S. adult, whether or not they themselves drink. For those who are directly affected by their own problem drinking or that of a family member, the costs are much higher."

In Wellness & Fitness News out of Michigan, State Senators of the GOP are renewing efforts to reward individuals for exercising and refusing to smoke, and they claim (rightly in my opinion) that this will eventually drive down health care costs (if not immedietly).

Legislation from state Senator Tom George will potentially charge Medicaid patients less for services if they exercise regularly and do not smoke, plus give state contracting preferences to businesses that have employee wellness programs.
Additional bills could also potentially add the use of cigarettes as a factor in setting health insurance premiums and require elementary schools to offer physical education for thirty minutes a minimum of 2 days per week.

George, a practicing physician from Portage, says unhealthy behaviors are known to account for a staggering quarter of all health care costs!

In a news report in the California based Simi Valley Acorn,
an important trend was reported upon:
Researchers know that regardless of which ethnic background you have, one key to getting good health care is good communication between you and your health care providers.

The first step in good communication is finding a physician in whom you feel comfortable speaking with. Talking about your health means sharing information about how you feel, both physi

cally as well as emotionally. Having a good relationship with yourprincipal is one of the best ways to ensure your general wellness.

This physician knows you and your particular health history. He or she can help you make medical decisions that suit your values and can guide you toward other medical specialists and healthcare providers you may need.

A basic plan for your visit can also help:

1. Before going to the doctor, make a list of the things you want to discuss.

2. Think about how you’re going to describe your symptoms.

3. Put your questions in order so you’re sure to ask about the most important ones first.

4. During your visit, make sure you understand what the medical tests you are getting are for.

5. When a doctor makes a diagnosis, make sure you understand your condition and fully discuss your treatment options.

If you’re not comfortable or you’re unable to do these things yourself, consider bringing a family member or friend and let them know in advance what you want from your visit. Make sure you play your part to get the best healthcare possible.

This article was adapted from NIH News in Health, a publication of the National Institutes of Health (newsinhealth.nih.gov).

An article in Newswise called "Living Well: Health and Wellness Tips from Indiana University" states that candy and like sweets might be a seemingly nice gift for your partner during valentine's day, yet it should be noted that an overabundance of sugar may sometimes cause headaches, fatigue and even nutritional deficiencies, reports Marjorie DeBruyne, a nutritionist with Indiana University's Adult Fitness Program. Irregardless of their calories, sugar's high and crash can really wreak havoc on your system according to her..........

"From the perspective of performance, a ultra high-sugar diet is going to have negative effects on your mental capabilities. You may have a rush when your blood sugar level peaks after eating sugar, but a quick drop will make you feel tired and hungry and affect concentration."

DeBruyne instead recommends adding fiber and protein to each meal and snack to stabilize blood sugar levels and sustain a feeling of relative fullness.

"The other reason to add fibrous foods to your diet is to supply nutrients. Sugar has energy, but it does not have vitamins or minerals. Filling up on sugar can lead to skipping other, more nutritious choices. I suggest that you have small portions of the sugary foods you like, but add something wholesome like fruit, whole-wheat toast or a glass of milk."

And DeBruyne definately does not recommend using artificial sweeteners.

"Some evidence suggests that using artificial sweeteners can de-sensitize you to sweet tastes and lead to higher calorie consumption, so you do not save any calories in the end. I advise my clients to stick with the real thing, even soda, but to be aware of portion size and choose the smallest serving possible."

Indoor Pools may be somewhat dangerous, says medicinet. According to
(HealthDay News), via medicinet, Indoor swimming is especially popular during the winter, and no one disputes its benefits for keeping fit.

But a recent research study by the United States government's National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) showed that continued exposure to disinfection byproducts around indoor pools may damage protective lung cells and even lead to asthma.

Here are a couple of suggestions the NIEHS says can reduce your risk:

If you are a regular indoor pool swimmer, consult your doctor to determine whether you may or may not have a problem.
Reduce your pool time by an hour a week.
-- Deborah DiSesa Hirsch

In Pharmacy News,
The United States Govt. has stated that it will not repay states whom are buying emergency drugs for literally thousands of individuals who can't get their drugs because of numerous problems with the new Medicare drug program that began January 1, 2006.

These states have to seek repayment from private insurance plans that provide drug coverage on behalf of Medicare, Knight Ridder Newspapers reported.

The computer, phone, data and human errors plaguing the new drug program have left over one million Medicare beneficiaries unable to obtain life-saving drugs, Knight Ridder said.

The Academic Health Center has reported that the University of Minnesota is going to Offer Online Maternal and Child Health Master's Program.
In the story out of Minneapolis/St. Paul (January 18, 2006), people working in the field of maternal and child health now can earn a Master of Public Health degree by taking the majority of their courses online from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. The online coursework is being developed through a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resource Administration (HRSA). The grant was made available in response to the shortage of maternal and child health professionals and in order to provide coursework to those working in the field who have not had formal training.

The University of Minnesota School of Public Health was among the very first schools of public health in the nation to offer distance learning courses and it has continued to be a technological leader in distance learning opportunities. Students who pursue this program are able to take courses online on the day and time of their choosing. The courses are focused on progressive issues in the field and are designed to respond to emerging needs in the community.

In a story out of New York by esteemed journalist By Graciela Flores, Reuters UK has reported that Health risks rise from teens to young adulthood.
The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health followed some fourteen thousand adolescents over time into young adulthood. Participants were first interviewed when they were twelve to nineteen years of age, and then when they were ninetten to twenty-six years of age.
This particular research study observed some twenty leading health indicators, and found that in fifteen out of the twenty declined as the subjects became young adults. "Diet got worse, people got less exercise, had less access to health care, there was a lower health insurance rate," Harris explained. The team also found increases in substance use. "Young adults drink more, smoke more cigarettes, use narcotics."

The research study, from the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, also found important disparities among races and ethnicities. "This is not a story where minorities are always worse off," Harris says. "It really depends on what behavior you are looking at."

For instance, white people were actually more likely to use cigarettes and binge drink, and their increase in substance use was the greatest from adolescence to young adulthood. Blacks were a little worse off in terms of physical exercise and obesity, while Native Americans had worse problems regarding asthma.

Among female adults, Asians and blacks were the least likely to exercise, while among male adults, whites and blacks were the least likely to exercise.

According to the Boston Globe in a story out of
Concord, New Hampshire, Smoking ban backers say citizens' health is the real issue at hand. Supporters of banning smoking in restaurants and pubs told lawmakers Tuesday they have a duty to protect the public's health.
If the pending bill is approved, New Hampshire would be state number 12 to ban smoking in restaurants and bars, according to the American Cancer Society. The latest state to enact a ban is New Jersey under a law signed Sunday that takes effect April fifteenth.
New Hampshire now allows smoking in restaurants with less than fifty seats. But bigger restaurants have to install ventilation systems, dividing walls or come up with other ways of keeping smoking and non-smoking sections apart.
Kris MacNeil, a cigarette vending machine operator from Concord, testified that the bill wasn't needed.

"It is not against the law for a restaurant or cocktail lounge to outlaw smoking all on their own," she said.

She said that many restaurants have spent thousands upon thousands of dollars installing ventilation equipment that would no longer be needed.

Workers can choose employment at places that ban smoking, she said.

The Washingtom Post has reported that individuals of Latin American origin are at more risk for certain serious health problems than the rest of the population.
For example, a minimum of 1 out of 4 Hispanic adults in the United States is overweight, which is one of the most obvious precursers for health problems, says the the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In addition, Hispanic in America under the age of ten have about a fisty percent lifetime risk of developing type two diabetes, which is linked to obesity, according to the American Medical Association.

Furthermore, in the District of Columbia, nearly 4 of every 10 Latino adults surveyed by the Council of Latino Agencies in September said they did not exercise on a regular basis.

· "Latinos who spoke Spanish only . . . were at greatest risk of being overweight and obese," according to the council's recent report, "The State of Latino Health in the District of Columbia."

Another interesting aspect of the Zone Diet Plan with respect to the last article posting
is it's emphasis on using different omega fatty acids than just the typtical omega-6 fatty acids that we typically get with our Western Diets. For example, Dr. Barry Sears recommends taking fish oil supplements for it's rich long-chain omega-3 fatty acids content (as long as it is the pure stuff recommended by a third party reviewer such as IFOSprogram.com)and also olive oil which is very rich in omega-9 fatty acids that are not so easy to get in our diets otherwise. Olive oil is also fairly high in antioxidants. He also says that getting omega-3's will help to reduce inflammation in many cases and help with our hormones as well which can influence weight gain and weight loss as well. He says some red wine is acceptable at meals. Obviously the main facet of the Zone Diet program is the ratio of protein to carbohydrates.

I took a few days off which is why there has not been any new blog posts in a while.
Here is a new article that recently appeared in Red Orbit from journalist Nigel Rosser entitled:" Diet Alert on Mental Health"



CHANGES to our diets over the last fifty years has been linked to the Britain's rising mental health problems.

Food can have an immediate and lasting effect on mental health and behaviour because of the way it affects brain function and structure, according to the Mental Health Foundation and Sustain, which campaigns for better food and farming.

Their report today, Feeding Minds, says that changes in food production have cut essential fats, vitamins and minerals. Intake of omega-3 fatty acids has fallen but intake of omega-6 fatty acids is up. Research links this with concentration and memory problems and depression.

The charities are urging the Government to increase support for measures to ensure people have access to nutritious foods.

Editors Note: This is exactly what Dr. Barry Sears, the inventor of the Zone Diet has said. He stated that your Diet effects
your hormones, such as insulin, which then effects your mood and that for many people food is the biggest drug of them all.

A health psychologist from Colorado is opening a health and wellness center called Branches Holistic Health and Wellness Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on the grounds of the Children's Home.
In a news report, founder Katherine T. Kelly said this center will provide a "Canyon Ranch approach to health -- a combination of health and wellness services (that) promotes a proactive focus on wellness rather than the reactive focus on sickness that most conventional health care settings seem to offer."
This center will offer mental and behavioral health, nutrition, physical health, personal fitness training, massage therapy, movement therapy and other holistic and wellness services. The center will also offer classes on health cooking and stress management, workshops, retreats and other events. And it will work with the Children's Home to develop family-based weight management programs.

Canyon Ranch is a chain of health spas and health resorts based in Tucson, Arizona

A report from the Associated Press reported on MSNBC shows
that you simply cannot be both fat and healthy. I think most of us know this already but this study just confirms it further.
The report out of Chicago, Illinois says that Middle-age people who are obese but have normal blood pressure and cholesterol levels are kidding themselves if they think that their state of health is alright.

NW University researchers tracked 17,643 patients for some 3 decades and found that being overweight in mid-life substantially increased the risk of dying of heart disease later in life — even in people who began the study with healthy blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

High blood pressure and cholesterol are strong risk factors for heart disease. And these are common in people who are obese, which is thought by some to explain why obese individuals are simply more prone to getting heart disease.

This research study appears in tomorrow’s Journal of the American Medical Association.

Individuals were Chicago-area male and female adults in their mid-40s on average who had no heart disease or diabetes when the study began. They were followed for an average of thirty-two years. The researchers tracked deaths from cardiovascular disease and diabetes, as well as hospitalizations for those conditions, starting at the age sixty-five.

Ultimately, participants with normal blood pressure and cholesterol at the start, those who were obese — or grossly overweight — were forty three percent more likely than normal-weight participants to die of heart disease later on. They were also 4 times as likely to be hospitalized for heart disease.

If this isn't another good reason to lose weight I don't know what is.

Here is latest wellness tidbits:
according to FOX Health News in an article entitled: 'Awaken Woozy? Study Likens Morning Grogginess to Intoxication', your brain's ability to function during those first waking moments may be as impaired as if you had been drinking, reports journalist Miranda Hitti.

Sleep experts call that feeling “sleep inertia.” Everyone else calls it grogginess. Now, a small new research study shows it is far from your brain’s finest hour.

In the short report, published as a research letter in The Journal of the American Medical Association, comes from researchers including Kevin Wright, PhD, of the Sleep and Chronobiology Laboratory at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Wright’s small study included some 8 males and a female. They were about twenty-nine years old, on average, and were paid for their participation.

None previously had sleep disorders. They also had not recently crossed time zones or done any type of shift work.

For 3 weeks, participants got 8 hours of nightly sleep at home. They also avoided alcohol, medications, nicotine, recreational drugs, and caffeine during that time frame.



The participants spent a week at a sleep lab. For the first 6 nights, they got 8 hours of sleep following their normal bedtimes.

Participants also spent some time adding double-digit numbers together. They were not simply wasting time. That adding skill was supposed to come in handy later on.

In some good news on the health front, Health Care Inflation Slowed in 2004.
According to an article by the Associated Press, Spending on health care grew at a rate of seven point nine % in 2004, the lowest overall increase since the year 2000, mainly due to a shift by many individuals to less expensive generic drugs, according to a research study.
On the whole, spending on health care in the US still came to nearly two trillion, or about $6,820 a person, the research study said (this is still quite staggering to me).
Generic drug producers and firms which manage pharmaceutical benefits programs for insurers and large employers took some of the credit credit for the slow down in drug spending. The groups said the government should encourage more generic substitution for brand-name drugs and greater reliance on mail-service pharmacies.
(I agree wholeheartedly).
Health care spending continued to rise at a much faster rate than overall inflation, however, the report warned. Wholesale prices rose by 4.1 percent overall during 2004.

The full report on health care spending is in the January issue of the journal Health Affairs.

Health care shakeups are on the way,
according to Andy Miller of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper in Georgia.
Each and every year, the safest and most predictable bets in health care are that medical costs will surely rise, individuals will pay much more for their health insurance premiums, and the number of individuals without health coverage will rise.

While the year 2006 may indeed continue those trends it also might bring some much needed changes that will basically mean a fundamental rewrite of Georgia's entire health care system. In fact xperts predict it will be the largest year of change for the state's health industry and it's patients.
Georgia's most dramatic change may come in April, when the state moves some 1,ooo,ooo indivuduals from Medicaid insurance program for the poor and disabled into HMOs. This overhaul will also affect about two hundred thousand kids who have PeachCare.
And some other new and revised programs will affect how many more get health care in Georgia.

The whirlwind of 2006 began with last Sunday's debut of Medicare's biggest revision in its history: offering prescription drug coverage to its beneficiaries.

Many state employees and privately insured workers will also face revisions in their health plans in 2006.

Amy Norton of Reuters health news has reported that Parents who smoke may still be able to help to keep their kids from starting the harmful habit.
It was found that a program aimed at helping parents speak with their kids about smoking lowered the likelihood that the kids would try cigarettes by the grade six. All of the parents were smokers.

Past studies have shown that the kids of chronic smokers are at very high risk of taking up the unhealthy habit, which makes it crucial to help these parents address the topic with their kids, according to Dr. Christine Jackson, a senior research scientist at the Pacific Institute for Research Chapel Hill Center in North Carolina.

Many parents who smoke might be somewhat hesitant to have such discussions since they oftenfeel guilty about their smoking or believe they'd seem "hypocritical" to their children (I can understand that).

But keeping the kids from smoking may take much more than simply telling them not to do it: the tactic so many parents rely on.


The new research study looked at the effects of a program that helped smoking parents learn "anti-smoking socialization."

The study conducters randomly assigned seven hundred and seventy-six families to one of 2 groups: a program group where parents periodically received written materials to help them discuss smoking with their children; or a comparison group where parents received only short fact sheets on smoking.

Parents in the program used the materials to help them talk with their kids about their own history with smoking and what it means to be addicted, among other topics.

the study found that twelve percent of kids who were in the program group said they had tried smoking, versus some nineteen % in the comparison group.

The study findings show that, with the proper tools, parents who smoke can quite possibly discourage their kids from doing the same. But the role of these parents in smoking prevention efforts has until this time been mostly ignored.

According to a recent Reuters Health Report originally reported by Medline Plus,
quite a few non-smokers develop lung obstruction.
Most of the cases are unexplained, Dr. Ronald J. Halbert of Cerner Health Insights in Beverly Hills, California said. "The bottom line is that we really don't know what is going on in these people very well,".
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is generally considered a disease of cigarette smokers, Halbert and his colleagues note in the American Journal of Medicine, and very little is known about the illness in those individuals who have never smoked.
Halbert's group looked at the % of adults in the 3rd National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey who had airway obstruction.

42% of the survey participants between the ages of thirty and eighty had never even smoked, and non-smokers accounted for some twenty-three% of the cases of lung obstruction.

Among the non-smokers with lung obstruction, some nineteen% reported being diagnosed with asthma, while twelve and half% reported COPD, "leaving sixty-eight and a half% with no prior respiratory diagnosis.

It is possible, Halbert said, that the mechanism behind lung obstruction in non-smokers may be entirely different than that involved in smoking-related COPD. More research is needed to answer this question, he stated.

In the interim Halbert advised physicians: "Do not completely ignore the possibility of COPD in your patients who have never smoked."

SOURCE: American Journal of Medicine, December 2005.

It seems that coffee may actually reduce breast cancer risks in females who have a family history of the disease, says a research study of nearly seventeen hundred females in 4 nations.

The research study found that drinking a minimum of 6 cups of regular coffee per day reduced the breast cancer risk by nearly seventy percent in females who have BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutations, the New York Daily News reported.

And females with the gene mutations who drank 4/5 cups per day had a twenty-five percent reduced risk of breast cancer, and those who drank a single cup to three cups a day had a ten percent reduced risk of it.

This benefit was not seen in women who drank decaffeinated coffee. The researchers believe that caffeine may offer this protection through its effect on female hormones, the Daily News reported.

The study appears in the International Journal of Cancer.

Add this to the possible benefits of coffee, which seem to me to be adding up.
By the way, coffee is also relatively high in antioxidants.

In more heart news, according to DrugInfoNet, more deaths have been linked to theNatrecor Heart Drug, unfortunately. These developments have caused the United States Food and Drug Administration withdraw the drug from the market, the Associated Press reported.
The new fatalities bring to 7 the number of patients who died within thirty days of being treated with Natrecor during the research study, which was conducted some 3 years ago.
New York cardiologist Dr. Jonathon Sackner-Bernstein has stated that he thinks the drug should be withdrawn. He was the lead author of a report that was critical of Natrecor that was published last year in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The FDA approved Natrecor in the year 2001 to treat serious breathing problems related to heart failure. Early in 2005, the FDA ordered that more information about the risk of death from the drug be included in the package insert for physicians.

According to a Health News story in Healthscout by Janice Billingsley, soy may not be that great for your heart. In an animal study showing strong links between diet and a specific type of heart disease, researchers report that consuming soy might adversely affect the condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

University of Colorado scientists found that when male mice who carried a gene mutation associated with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a disease in which the heart muscle thickens abnormally, were taken off their normal soy diets, their heart function improved significantly compared to HCM male mice who stayed with soy. Female mice with HCM did not show the same substantial change, according to the report.
That is interesting. I had been told that soy was supposed to be good for your heart. That a certain amount of Soy protein made for ahealthier heart. Jury is still out on that one I guess.

According to HealthDay Reporter Steven Reinberg (lifeclinic.com)
the amino acid known as amino acid supplement L-arginine may not help older individuals after aheart attack after all.
Early research studies had suggested that L-arginine could potentially reduce blood vessel stiffness.
But the latest findings, which seems to run counter to that research, appears in the January fourth issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association and comes from a clinical trial that was ended early after 6 patients had died.
"L-arginine administration did not improve cardiac remodeling over a 6 month period," said Dr. Gary Gerstenblith, a professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins Medical School in Baltimore, Maryland.
In their research study, Gerstenblith and his colleagues randomly assigned one hundred and fisty three heart attack patients either three grams of L-arginine or a placebo daily for 6 months. At 6 months, the researchers found that L-arginine did not reduce vascular stiffness, improve ejection-fraction, or even help clinical outcomes.

On the contrary, they discovered an increased risk of death in older patients taking L-arginine compared with those taking a placebo. 6 patients in the L-arginine group died during the 6 month study period, while none in the placebo group had died. This led the researchers to end the trial early.


...............Well, just another instance where the medical and health establishment had it completely backwards. I see a pattern forming?
Time will tell I suppose.

In a research study report (source:Diabetes care January 2006) out of New York City by Reuters Health news wire,
individuals who are physically active live longer and spend more time free of diabetes than individuals who are not active.
Using information taken from the Framingham Heart Study, which has followed over five thousand residents of Framingham, Massachusetts, over the past forty six years, researchers calculated the differences in life expectancy in subjects with and in those without diabetes associated with different levels of physical activity.
What they discovered was that at age fifty life expectancy free from diabetes is two and one third year longer for moderately active individuals and a minimum of four years longer for very those who are very active.
This research study also shows that life expectancy with diabetes is roughly a half a year less for moderately active people and one thenth of a year less for very active people.
This appears to reflect 2 opposing effects: a lower incidence of diabetes in people who are active, reducing the time spent with diabetes and lower mortality in those with diabetes, increasing the time spent with diabetes.
That makes sense to me, I always intuitavely felt that diabetes was caused by a general lack of exercise.

According to a Research Study reported by Reuters News Wire, Alcohol advertisements do in fact boost drinking among youth.
The study of young individuals between fisteen and twenty six discovered that each additional alcohol advertisement viewed every month resulted in a one percent rise in the average number of drinks consumed, according to Leslie Snyder from the University of Connecticut in Storrs.
This report, by the way, runs in direct contradiction to industry arguments that only adult drinkers are affected by alcohol advertising, Snyder says.
And another finding was that for each extra dollar spent per person on alcohol advertising in a specific media market, study participants drank three percent more each month.
Furthermore, Snyder has serious doubts as to whether or not the alcohol industry was heeding voluntary guidelines that seventy percent of the audience for its advertising be a minimum of twenty one years old.
The research study measured advertising exposure on each of these 4 media: TV, radio, magazines and billboards.
............yeah, I have my doubts as well.

In the latest Health and Wellness News, yet another region of the world is banning smoking. According to ABC News, Australia appears headed that way as Tasmania is set to become the first Australian region to enforce indoor smoking bans in drinking establishments at midnight AEDT tonight.

The state's Cancer Council says Ireland made the move in over a year ago, and smoking rates there have fallen there by some six per cent.

Council spokesman Lawson Ride has paid tribute to the bipartisan approach taken by Tasmanian politicians who have supported a range of tobacco control measures in recent years.

Mr Ride says Ireland and New Zealand have reported a strong ninety-seven percent compliance rate and no adverse economic impacts on the hospitality industry, a year after pubs and clubs became smoke-free.

"Everybody likes the ban - seventy-three per cent of Tasmanians favoured it and there's about the same level in New Zealand now favour that smoke-free ban, and we're finding that in Ireland particularly the smoking rate is going down, even smokers are choosing not to smoke while they're at the pub," he said.

Quit Tasmania spokesman Michael Wilson says it will be an added incentive for smokers to quit the habit, which is linked to six hundred deaths in the state every year.

"It's not necessarily going to make it easier but of course there's a lot less places people can smoke now, so therefore I guess they'll see that as an opportunity to quit," he said.

Well that is definately good news. Even regions I thought were strongholds of smoking appear to be finally seeing the light.