Smokers not only suffer from nicotine addiction but the ravaging effects of thousands of inhaled chemicals upon their respiratory system and body. What was it like to run like the wind, to engage in an extended period of brisk physical activity without becoming seriously winded? What was it like to climb flight after flight of stairs, to play full-court basketball, or chase a child or the family pet without ending up gasping for air? Every now and then I meet a smoker who lets me know that they enjoy running. What they don’t seem to appreciate is the tremendous strain they subject their heart and body to when doing so. It’s a matter of availability of sufficient oxygen to keep vigorously working muscle well fueled and alive. Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless toxic gas produced when any carbon-based material is burned, including tobacco. When smoking, the amount of carbon monoxide entering the bloodstream varies greatly (up to 25mg per cigarette) depending upon such factors as how intensely the smoker smokes, whether or not they cover the filter ventilation holes with their lips, and the particular brand smoked.

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Cigarettes may be harder to quit than the standard variety, particularly for lower-income smokers, a new study suggests.

The findings add to evidence that mentholated cigarettes may be especially addictive, but highlight a role for socioeconomics as well, researchers say.

They found that black and Hispanic smokers who favored menthol cigarettes had lower long-term quit rates than their counterparts who smoked standard cigarettes. There was no such difference among white smokers overall, but there was a pattern among unemployed whites: those who smoked menthol cigarettes had lower quit rates at one month.

Previous research has found that menthol-cigarette smokers tend to have higher blood levels of nicotine than other smokers do.

"This study suggests that people who smoke mentholated cigarettes -- particularly those with a low disposable income -- may inhale more nicotine and toxins per cigarette," lead researcher Kunal K. Gandhi told Reuters Health.

This, in turn, may spur a stronger addiction, explained Gandhi, a researcher at University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

Income may enter the picture, Gandhi and his colleagues say, by altering the way in which people smoke. Low-income smokers may try to get more out of each smoke break by taking more puffs per cigarette or inhaling more deeply.

Menthol makes this an easier task because its cooling effect helps mask the harshness of nicotine and other tobacco toxins.

Cigarette vending machines and packets of 10 could be outlawed under government plans aimed at preventing children and young people smoking.

The plans, which include banning branding and logos, apply to England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Similar plans have been unveiled in Scotland.

Smokers' lobby group Forest said there was "no evidence" to show the plans would to cut smoking in young people.

Meanwhile, a new TV advert campaign is targeting parents who smoke.

The adverts warn that children of smokers are three times more likely to take up the habit than those of non-smokers.

Under current pricing, a packet of 10 cigarettes cost about £3, compared to nearly £6 for 20.

Last week the Scottish Government announced a range of proposals to restrict tobacco sales in Scotland - including a ban in shops from displaying cigarettes in "pride of place" on their shelves.

On the latest consultation document, Public Health Minister Dawn Primarolo said it was vital to take away temptation from children.

"Protecting children from smoking is a government priority and taking away temptation is one way to do this," she said.

"If banning brightly coloured packets, removing cigarettes from display and removing the cheap option of a pack of 10 helps save lives, then that is what we should do, but we want to hear everyone's views first."

cigarettes may have to be sold under the counter as part of new Government proposals described as "creepy and authoritarian".
Newsagents and supermarkets may also have to move their cigarette displays out of view so as not to tempt people to take up smoking.
The "out of sight, out of mind" proposal is part of the Department of Health's consultation to be launched later this spring, which looks at ways to stop children smoking. The relevant legislation could be introduced in the autumn.
But the move has been denounced by critics as further evidence of a growing "nanny state" and another assault on smokers. Neil Rafferty, a spokesman for the smokers' rights group Forest, said: "This is another attempt by the Government to stigmatise smokers and make them feel bad about themselves.
"It is a creepy and authoritarian measure. Tobacco is a perfectly legal product from which the Government makes more than £10 billion a year in taxes." Other measures on the table include the outlawing of vending machines from pubs and restaurants and making nicotine-replacement gums and patches easier to buy.
According to the Department of Health, the strategy - coupled with the ban on smoking in public places - will save hundreds of lives. Dawn Primarolo, the public health minister, said: "It's vital we get across the message to children that smoking is bad. If that means stripping out vending machines or removing cigarettes from behind the counter, I'm willing to do that."
According to the Office for National Statistics, the proportion of adults who smoke has dropped from 24 per cent to 22 per cent since the ban was introduced last July. The Government has a target of reducing the proportion of smokers to 21 per cent by 2010. David Cameron, the Conservative leader, said: "I think this is worth looking at. As someone who struggled with giving up smoking, it helps if you take away some of the temptation."
Shane Brennan, a spokesman for the Association of Convenience Stores, which represents 33,000 shops, said: "This is going to be a massive burden on retailers and we are not sure that the end justifies the means. Cigarettes are already kept behind the counter."
Mark Littlewood, the communications director of the think tank Progressive Vision, said: "Banning the display of cigarettes and vending machines would be petty, pointless and patronising." "These sorts of ideas are typical of a government who seem hell bent on intervening in every single aspect of our lives, however trivial."