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‘Casual’ smokers may also have nicotine addiction
Many light smokers — those who smoke one to four cigarettes per day or fewer — meet the criteria for nicotine addiction and should therefore be considered for treatment, said the study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
IANS: Even if you consider yourself a light or “casual” smoker, it does not necessarily mean that you have completely escaped nicotine addiction, warns new research.
Many light smokers — those who smoke one to four cigarettes per day or fewer — meet the criteria for nicotine addiction and should therefore be considered for treatment, said the study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
“In the past, some considered that only patients who smoke around 10 cigarettes per day or more were addicted, and I still hear that sometimes,” said Jonathan Foulds, Professor at Pennsylvania State University in the US.
“But this study demonstrates that many lighter smokers, even those who do not smoke every day, can be addicted to cigarettes. It also suggests that we need to be more precise when we ask about cigarette smoking frequency.”
The researchers examined an existing data set from the National Institutes of Health in the US, including more than 6,700 smokers who had been fully assessed to find out if they met the 11 criteria listed in the 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5) for tobacco use disorder.
They found that 85 per cent of the daily cigarette smokers were addicted to some extent — either mild, moderate or severe addiction.
“Surprisingly, almost two thirds of those smoking only one to four cigarettes per day were addicted, and around a quarter of those smoking less than weekly were addicted,” Foulds said.
The researchers found that the severity of cigarette addiction, as indicated by the number of criteria met, increased with the frequency of smoking, with 35 per cent of those smoking one-to-four cigarettes per day and 74 per cent of those smoking 21 cigarettes or more per day being moderately or severely addicted.
“Lighter smoking is correctly perceived as less harmful than heavy smoking, but it still carries significant health risks,” said Jason Oliver, Assistant Professor at Duke University in the US.
Due to the considerable time spent on following the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act No. 09 of 1950, approval has been granted at the cabinet meeting held on 11-01-2021 to amend the said Land Acquisition Act appropriate to the current requirement so that the time taken for the process of acquisition of lands can be minimized, lands can be acquired under a simple procedure, and the compensation can be paid under a unified procedure. The initial draft has been prepared for that purpose, and the legal draftsman has informed that the policy approval of the Cabinet of Ministers should be taken for the completion of the activities of the preparation of the draft.
Accordingly, taking into consideration the proposal presented by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land, and Irrigation, the Cabinet of Ministers has decided to instruct the legal draftsman to prepare the draft promptly.
Since the procedures that should be followed in obtaining and managing foreign debts are covered by the Public Debt Management Act No. 33 of 2024, the Foreign Debt Act No. 29 of 1957 and all the amendments thereto should be cancelled. The policy agreement has been provided at the cabinet meeting held on 09-12-2024 for that purpose. The clearance of the Attorney General has been received for the Foreign Debt (Abolishment) Draft prepared by the draftsman.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal presented by the President, in his capacity as the Minister of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development to publish the said draft in the Government Gazette and thereafter to present it to the Parliament for approval.
It was decided by the then Cabinet of Ministers at the cabinet meeting held on 02-09-2024 to liquidate the Co-operative Wholesale Corporation Act No. 47 of 1949 and to liquidate the said establishment.
However, there is a possibility to perform a decisive role for the Co-operative Wholesale Corporation in the implementation of government roles within the market operation with the objective of a continuous supply of quality goods and services to the public under a reasonable price through the promotion of market competitiveness in compliance with the “Rich country—beautiful life” policy framework.
Therefore, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Trade, Commercial, Food Security, and Cooperative Development to abolish the previous cabinet decision in respect of the liquidation of the Cooperative Wholesale Corporation and recommence the business activities of the said corporation based on a feasible business plan.
Cabinet nod to amend Land Acquisition Act No.09 of 1950
Foreign Debt Act No. 29 of 1957 and all amendments thereto to be repealed
Co-operative Wholesale Establishment to continue
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