Addiction Treatment

A Seattle, Wash., jury has ruled in favor of tobacco company R.J. Reynolds in a sick-smoker's case, Reuters reported May 16.

The defendant's verdict came in the case filed by Phillip Kimball, who sought $10 million in damages for the lung-cancer death of his wife, Carla, who died in 2001. Mrs. Kimball smoked Winston and Winston Light 100s for years, but quit smoking 11 years before her death.

Reynolds succeeded in shifting blame for Mrs. Kimball's death onto the victim. "The plaintiff was well aware of the risks of smoking," said company attorney Jeff Raborn. "In fact, the jury found that Mrs. Kimball was aware of the risks of smoking, and she knowingly assumed those risks. We obviously agree with this decision."

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments last week on whether prosecutors can use drug evidence obtained by police who violated rules against no-knock searches of private residences, the New York Times reported May 19.

For a second time, the court is reviewing a Michigan case where police with a search warrant broke down Booker T. Hudson's door without knocking or giving him time to open the unlocked door. The Michigan Court of Appeals refused to exclude the evidence seized by police in the raid even though it violated the "knock and announce" rules outlined in past Supreme Court rulings on the Fourth Amendment.

Observers said that the justices appeared split on whether to uphold the appeals-court ruling. The high court agreed that the police were wrong to break into Hudson's apartment, but were less clear on whether the offense was great enough to justify throwing out evidence in the case.

The federal government, in supporting the Michigan attorney general's office, is arguing that "suppression is too high a price to pay for a particular violation when the causal link between the violation and the acquisition of evidence is weak, nonexistent, or irrelevant." But Justice David Souter suggested that such a stance would render moot the knock-and-announce rule.

Hudson was found guilty of drug possession and sentenced to 18 months of probation.

Washington state has succeeded in shutting down most of its illicit homegrown methamphetamine labs, but Mexican drug cartels have swiftly moved to fill demand for the drug, the Associated Press reported May 20.

Washington law-enforcement officials say that seizures of local meth labs dropped by more than half last year after a law was passed to restrict access to precursor chemicals that can be used to create homemade meth. But now, Mexican drug cartels are shipping purer, more potent meth to the state; 75 percent of the meth sold in Washington is estimated to come from Mexico, up from about 50 percent in 2001. "As we have controlled our domestic problem, our importation problem has increased exponentially," said Washington State Patrol Detective Sgt. Gary Gasseling.

Oklahoma, which also sought to control local supplies of meth chemicals through legislation, has experienced similar trends.

Washington has seen a steady increase in people seeking treatment for methamphetamine addiction despite the crackdown on local manufacturers. "The addicts are still addicted, and the traffickers are simply stepping in to meet the demand," said Attorney General Rob McKenna. "We need to meet with the addiction issue as well as the crime issue."

European researchers say that a quarter of all cases of a leading cause of blindness are caused by smoking, and said cigarettes packs should include warnings about the risk of smoking to eyesight, the Observer reported May 21.

Smoking is one of the main causes of age-related macular degeneration, and smokers experience clouding of the eye lens up to 15 years earlier than nonsmokers, experts said. "There are many thousands of smokers who have no idea smoking can actually rob you of your sight," said (U.K.) Royal College of Ophthalmologists president Nick Astbury. "The chemicals affect blood vessels throughout the body, and one of the secondary effects is that they slowly damage the tissues of the eye."

The European Eye Study found that 27 percent of the cases of eye disease among 5,000 participants were directly related to smoking. "The evidence is so strong now that smoking really does harm the eye," said Simon Kelly, an eye surgeon at Bolton Hospitals NHS Trust in Manchester, England. "In the case of macular degeneration, we know smokers have a twofold-to-threefold risk of developing the condition. But if they also have a genetic predisposition to the disease, that becomes an eightfold increased risk."

Kelly said that TV ads also should be launched to educate the public about the link between smoking and loss of vision.

A new law signed by Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry calls for tough new penalties both for youths in possession of alcohol and those who sell booze to kids, the Enid News reported May 19.

Under the Prevention of Youth Access to Alcohol Law, alcohol sellers face a $500 fine and a year in jail for a first offense, a $2,500 fine and a year in jail for a second offense, and a $5,000 fine and five years in jail on a third, felony offense.

Underage alcohol buyers would face a $300 fine, 30 hours of community service, and a six-month driver's license revocation for a first offense, a $600 fine and 60 hours of community service and a one-year driving ban for a second offense, and a $900 fine, 90 hours of community service, and a two-year license revocation for a third offense.

Underage drinkers also would be required to undergo alcohol assessment with a possible referral to treatment.

The lightest penalties were reserved for retailers, who face a suspension of their alcohol-sales permit for up to 30 days for a first violation, with the opportunity to have the penalty waived if their employees have taken part in an alcohol-compliance program within the past two years. A second violation would bring a mandatory 30-day permit suspension, but only if the sale was by the same employee or of an 'egregious nature.'

For a third violation within two years, a mandatory 30-day suspension would be imposed, increasing to 180 days if the offense is committed by the same employee. A fourth offense within two years would bring a mandatory revocation of the company's alcohol-sales permit.

"I'm pleased to see the legislature strengthen existing laws related to underage alcohol consumption," said Garfield County district attorney Mike Fields. "This is certainly a positive step to address a multifaceted problem."