Bertrand Dautzenberg, France’s Top Antismoking Expert (and also a Renowned Plagiarist) Co-Authors Study on «Third-Hand Smoke»

It is well known that antismoking researchers do not hesitate to rely on gross exaggerations, lies and manipulations of statistical data (numerous examples in Table of Contents) with the objective of touting or speeding up bans on smoking (Prohibition) In the United Kingdom, many will remember that the best example is given by ASH (Action on Smoking and Health) who, a few weeks before the national ban (July 2007), disseminated a communique based on an interview with two major «« waterpipe »»™ antismoking experts : Wasim Maziak and Alan Shihadeh

>> ASH (Action on Smoking and Health). ““Shisha 200 times worse than a cigarette” say Middle East experts””. 27 March 2007 (prepared by Martin Dockrell)(accessed 13 June, 2008)

Sub-heading: “Three leading experts from across the Middle East have warned that excluding “shisha bars” when England goes smokefree on July 1 could worsen the grave inequalities in health that already affect ethnic minorities.”

In France, before our summer holidays humm...., Bertrand Dautzenberg, plagiarist and president of the national antismoking agency “OFT” (Office Français du Tabagisme)[sort of French ASH], came up with a new study he has co-authored:

Becquemin MH, Bertholon JF, Bentayeb M, Attoui M, Ledur D, Roy F, Roy M, Annesi-Maesano I, Dautzenberg B. Third-hand smoking: indoor measurements of concentration and sizes of cigarette smoke particles after resuspension. Tob Control. 2010 Aug;19(4):347-8.

« What this paper adds » (according to the Tobacco Kontrol journal, not us !) Guess what ?

>> « This study is the first to investigate the hypothesised resuspension of deposited particles of tobacco smoke (‘thirdhand smoke’) » !

Third-Hand Smoke was first “discovered” by tobacco experts investigating cigarettes. So far, no ««waterpipe »» expert has mentioned Shisha Third Hand Smoke, so we’ll refrain from commenting in a field that is not ours. We give below two sources that will be enough for those who wish to undertstand at least what it is about. For information though, First-hand smoke is the one inhaled by the cigarette smoker. Second-hand smoke, the side one (the one that goes up in the air between two puffs).

>> Kabat G. Is “Thirdhand Tobacco Smoke” a Valid Scientific Concept or a Public Relations Gimmick ? The Columbia University Press Blog 2009 (09 January)

This issue is of importance as it appears that hundreds of thousands of dollars will be spent to fight it...

>> Siegel M. California Taxpayers to Spend a Quarter Million Dollars Studying Effects of Thirdhand Smoke Dust on Skin. The Rest of the Story - Monday, August 09, 2010

OTHER RELEVANT READINGS

Concerning Bertrand Dautzenberg and plagiarism:

A recent supporting editorial by the Editors of Tabaccologia, a peer-reviewed biomedical journal about tobacco smoking:

>> Editors : Plagiarism in biomedical sciences: a bad habit that needs to be rooted out [Il plagio in campo medico-scientifico: un malcostumbre da estirpare]. Tabaccologia 2009;4:5-7 [English and Italian].

>> Plagiarism in tobacco research (by Kamal)

>> An open letter against plagiarism and plagiarists. Tabaccologia 2009; 1: 46-7 (by Kamal)

>> Editions Margaux-Orange (Paris) funded by Big Pharma, and publishing plagiarism:

Bertrand Dautzenberg and Jean-Yves Nau: Tout ce que vous ne savez pas sur la chicha . Paris, Margaux-Orange/OFT (Office Français du Tabagisme), 2007.

Image: Courtesy of Mimifrou

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LEBANON: New US Interference in Home Social & Cultural Affairs in the Name of the WHO FCTC (Framework Convention for Tobacco Control)

First 190 words tapped from the Knol Hotline

"Beirut: “A smoking ban in public places is expected to take effect within a year, George Saadeh, head of the National Tobacco Control Program announced at a debate on tobacco control held at American University Beirut (AUB) Tuesday”[1] .

It was a great show indeed, reminiscent of crowds acclaiming other assaults on liberties during World War II: “AUB students, gathered to hear the keynote speaker, greeted the announcement [i.e. the Prohibition of smoking (cigarettes and narghile) in cafes, restaurants, fines for whom break the law] with overriding support”.

The Daily Star article does not mention the existence of a study behind the show at the US-American University of Beirut. It was recently published in the antismoking Tobacco Control journal and its authors are Georges Saade, Andrew Seidenberg, Vaughan Rees, Zaher Otrock and Gregory N Connolly. Its is titled “Indoor secondhand tobacco smoke emission levels in six Lebanese cities” and obviously aims to be the main "scientific evidence" to justify tobacco smoking Prohibition in Lebanon, in a scenario very similar to neighbouring Syria (see related Knol on Smoking Prohibition in Syria). Interestingly, the latter, as a model, is cited by the authors...[2]."

References (as provided from the source of the wire):

[1] Simona Sikimic. Smoking ban in public spaces expected within a year. The Daily Star, Thursday, April 08, 2010)

[2] Saade G, Seidenberg AB, Rees VW, Otrock Z, Connolly GN. Indoor secondhand tobacco smoke emission levels in six Lebanese cities. Tob Control 2010;19: 138-142.

Globalink-affiliated US Pharmaceutical-Industry funded Prohibitionist Envoys (from Harvard University) hand in hand with Globalink-affiliated US-American University of Beirut ““Waterpipe”” Prohibitionist outpost in the Middle East, measure tobacco passive smoke (“second-hand smoke”) in 28 Lebanese hospitalities during the stuffy holy Ramadan month. Then, publish biased data in antismoking Tobacco Kontrol journal

This is not all. They had the cheek to issue serious warnings whose tone sounds like those directed to Iran to dismantle its traditional Mass Entertainment Weapons

Quotations tapped from the Knol Hotline :

“The study reads from the onset: "To date, Lebanon has failed to enact comprehensive clean indoor air laws despite ratification of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) […] Despite ratification of the FCTC in 2005, both cigarette and water-pipe smoking are commonly practised in enclosed public places throughout Lebanon, leading to unsafe levels of indoor particulate pollution. Smoke-free policies are needed in Lebanon […] "

CONCLUSION

To Prohibitionist Yankees:

One thing only: Go Home, Hands Off Lebanon and Leave Lebanon in Peace !

To Lebanese Patriots:

1) Demand the withdrawal of Lebanon from the imperialist anti-democratic WHO FCTC (Framework Convention for Tobacco Control) !

2) Disseminate the corresponding historic speech

3) Resist US interference in your social and cultural affairs !

4) Demand accountability and the reimbursement of the public money granted to experts for providing the pseudo-scientific "haram"/"treif" studies against the national interest and for the direct benefit of pharmaceutical companies !

Christians, Jews and Muslims of Lebanon, Unite against "Haram" "Treif" Science !

“Haram science” and “Treif science” ? … What’s this ?

Christian sisters and brothers say to all Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Communists, Hinduists, Taoists, etc. of the world : “Don’t Be Afraid” (our Lord Jesus) !

and remember:

Seek [good, sound] science from the cradle to the grave !

Not Bad science, pseudo-science, junk science which are an insult to Religion !

RELEVANT READINGS

The Lebanese Ban on Smoking in Hospitality Venues (Cafes, etc.):US Interventionism and Prohibition in the Name of the FCTC (Framework Convention on Tobacco Control)

The Syrian Ban on Smoking in Hospitality Venues (Cafes, etc.) :The Challenge of Scientific Integrity

Prohibition Through the Hookah Looking-Glass (historical speech with a call to States to withdraw from the FCTC)

Dr Rima Nakkash, US-AUB Ambassador of Shisha Prohibition in the Arab World

Sex Maniacs in French Antismoking Organizations Abuse of Public Money

Narghile, Sex and the US-American Univer-City of Beirut... Tobacco Control, Prostitution and the City of Bombay...

Antismoking SEX MANIACS Strike Again in EGYPT : Fatimah El-Awa & WHO “Framework Convention for Tobacco Control”

Hail Iranian President and his Anti-Prohibition Stance ! Support Iran’s Right to Maintain its Traditional Mass Entertainment Weapons !

Simon Chapman’s Lost Battle of “Tobacco Control”. Wretched Intent to Mobilize Muslims & Jews Against the Tobacco Industry (Australian Pig Blood Story)

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Waterpipegate and Climategate : Man Made Hookah (Shisha, Narghile, ""Waterpipe"") Side-Stream Smoke and Climate Change

First 150 words (foreword) tapped from the Knol Hotline

“This is a critique of Nancy Daher et al (US-American University of Beirut)’s unethical and highly politicised paper on ““waterpipe”” side-stream smoke, based on the smoking machine operated by Alan Shihadeh (id.)[1] . The right place to discuss a controversial paper containing serious errors and biases is the journal in which it was published. Unfortunately, for political (and not scientific) reasons, this is not always possible. On the very reasons for which this was not permitted, please contact us.

Interestingly, the Atmospheric Environment journal is hosted by the University of East Anglia (School of Environmental Sciences). It is noteworthy that the Climate Research Unit of this institution was recently hacked by individuals who succeeded in revealing how dissenting views are silenced and blocked [2].

“Waterpipegate” refers to one of the other numerous ethical scientific scandals involving the World Health Organisation [3-6] [...]”

Cited References:

[1] Nancy Daher N, Saleh R, Jaroudi E, Sheheitli H, Badr T, Sepetdjian E, Al-Rashidi M, Saliba N, Shihadeh A. Comparison of carcinogen, carbon monoxide, and ultrafine particle emissions from narghile waterpipe and cigarette smoking: Sidestream smoke measurements and assessment of second-hand smoke emission factors. Atmospheric Environment 2010; 44(1): 8-14.

[2] Peter Kelemen (Columbia University's Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences). What East Anglia's e-mails really tell us about climate change. Popular Mechanics 2009 (1 Dec). "If scientists attempted to exclude critics' peer-reviewed papers from IPCC reports, this was unethical in my view."

[3] Chaouachi K. A Critique of the WHO's TobReg "Advisory Note" entitled: "Waterpipe Tobacco Smoking: Health Effects, Research Needs and Recommended Actions by Regulators. Journal of Negative Results in Biomedicine 2006 (17 Nov); 5:17. Doi:10.1186/1477-5751-5-17

[4] Oxman AD, Lavis JN, Fretheim A. Use of evidence in WHO recommendations . Lancet. 2007 Jun 2;369(9576):1883-9.

[5] F. William Engdahl. WHO ‘Swine Flu Pope’ under investigation for gross conflict of interest. Voltaire Non Aligned Press Network 2010 (22 Jan)

[6] Girard M. World Health Organization Vaccine Recommendations: Scientific Flaws, or Criminal Misconduct? Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons 2006;11(1):22-3.

Image: Courtesy of Florence Cestac, Metro, 24 Jan 2008


RELEVANT READINGS

Alan Shihadeh, Findings on waterpipe second hand smoke: E-Letter to the BMJ (Oct 20, 2009)


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Support the Juggling Gypsy's Smoking Show against Pseudo-Scientific Tobacco Prohibition !

Jan 5, 2010 (Tobacco Reporter) — Patrons at the Juggling Gypsy Café and Hookah Bar in Wilmington, North Carolina, are continuing to smoke despite a public places tobacco smoking ban that was imposed on the state at the beginning of this year.

And, according to a story by Kristy Ondo for WTOC-TV (Part I , Part II), bar manager, Denny Best, believes that the law isn’t being broken.

At the end of the smoking ban legislation is an exemption for actors working on a live production set; so, with a web cam and a streaming web site, the Juggling Gypsy has transformed itself into a stage on which all its patrons strut. All that is needed, says Best, is for patrons to sign a video release form.

The plot thickens in what is likely to be a two-act tragedy.

What Is the Smoking Show ?

"The Smoking Show, brought to you by the Juggling Gypsy Entertainment Parlor in Wilmington,NC, is a live reality-based webcast theatrical production portraying people smoking while interacting in peculiar social situations. Featuring a zany cast of regularly appearing characters portraying their former selves in 2009. With nightly cameos byinternational musical and theatrical ensembles thrown into the mix, the Smoking Show is sure to entertain everyone, from smoking enthusiasts, to music lovers, to fans of unscripted chaos. Everyone is a performer here, whether it's blowing smoke rings, swallowing swords, slamming beers,
dancing, juggling, standing on your head, eating funnily, you name it...If you have a talent, and you're in the area, come join our live studio audience and share your talent with the world!"

RELEVANT READINGS

NEW HYPER SCIENTIFIC STUDY justifying prohibition , by Pr NOONAN from University of Virginia, Charlottesville:

"Exemptions for hookah bars in clean indoor air legislation: a public health concern"

SUMMARY : Popularity of waterpipe smoking or hookah smoking in the United States has been growing for some time now among youth and young adults. Currently, many cities and states have exemptions that allow hookah bars to remain in operation despite the passage of clean indoor air legislation. From a public health perspective this is concerning for many reasons. One public health concern with the increase in popularity of this type of tobacco use is the associated health effects. Another concern is that hookah smoke produces a sweet smelling aroma making it less obvious that patrons and employees of hookah bars are inhaling noxious fumes from mainstream smoke, as well as the toxins from the charcoal that is used to heat the tobacco. The purpose of this paper is to discuss smoke-free air legislation in relation to hookah use, the public health implications of exempting hookah bars from current smoke-free legislation, and implications for the public health nurse in protecting the public from the dangers of second-hand smoke, and limiting this new form of tobacco use.

Juggling Gypsy Smoking Show:

The Smoking Show (USTREAM)

Fighting Prohibition, its Commercial Interests & the Passive Smoking Fraud : Hookah “Smoking Ban Debate Rages On” in Chapel Hill, NC (ABC)

Hookah Bars in Paris Fight Smoking ban. Abdelkader El-Ahmer, Owner of Houara Lounge, Is a World Hero in Tobacco Prohibition Times

Is Medical Concern about Hookah Environmental Tobacco Smoke Hazards Warranted ? [A Tribute to Gian Turci, who has recently passed away] The Open General & Internal Medicine Journal 2009; 3:31-3.

Hookah (Shisha, Narghile) Smoking and Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS). A Critical Review of the Relevant Literature and the Public Health Consequences. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2009; 6(2):798-843.

UK Ban on Smoking in General and on Hookah Smoking in Particular Should Not Stay. RR, British Medical Journal 2009 (18 Mar)

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Fighting Prohibition, its Commercial Interests & the Passive Smoking Fraud : Hookah “Smoking Ban Debate Rages On” in Chapel Hill, NC (ABC)

__
Chapel Hill, NC (ABC): "Adam Bliss, the owner of Hookah Bliss, says the law is unfair, and is threatening his business of two-and-a-half years." […] "Bliss says he will fight the ban all the way to court."

Full Story (plus video) HERE

RELEVANT READINGS

Hookah Bliss 'to stay open' (Herald Sun)

Hookah Bars in Paris Fight Smoking ban. Abdelkader El-Ahmer, Owner of Houara Lounge, Is a World Hero in Tobacco Prohibition Times

Is Medical Concern about Hookah Environmental Tobacco Smoke Hazards Warranted ? [A Tribute to Gian Turci, who has recently passed away] The Open General & Internal Medicine Journal 2009; 3:31-3.

Hookah (Shisha, Narghile) Smoking and Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS). A Critical Review of the Relevant Literature and the Public Health Consequences. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2009; 6(2):798-843.

UK Ban on Smoking in General and on Hookah Smoking in Particular Should Not Stay. RR, British Medical Journal 2009 (18 Mar)


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Syria Dismantles its Mass Entertainment Weapons ! Does Historic Ban on Smoking in Hospitality Venues Mean Secret Big Deal with New US Administration ?

Unbelievable : a KNOL on Prohibition ! Prohibition is here, says the author !(*).

"Tobacco is injurious for health and the Syrian government is right to ban smoking in certain public places. However, the recently enacted decree does not distinguish between non-ventilated, poorly and well-ventilated public areas [1]. The case of Syrian coffee houses is striking for the inconsistency and poses the question of the scientific integrity of the US and Syrian experts who touted the ban."


So what, will you bury your head in the sand ? The article concludes:

"Syrians and truth seekers of the world should encourage Bashar Al-Assad, who is also a doctor, to reconsider his decision at his earliest convenience in order to cancel the decree before popular unrest causes more problems in his country. Otherwise, we fear that critics might conclude that the US-Syrian Centre for Tobacco Studies is not anything but a Trojan horse for US tobacco prohibitionist interventionism in Syria, if not for other secret mid-term neo-conservative objectives: toppling the Syrian regime for instance…"


RELEVANT READINGS

Joanna in Wonderland. Anti-Fruit Smoking Activism at the US-American University of Beirut

UNDP Sexy Report Reveals that Shisha Poses Threat to “Human Security in Arab States” !

Hail Iranian President and his Anti-Prohibition Stance ! Support Iran’s Right to Maintain its Traditional Mass Entertainment Weapons !

Bury the Peace Pipe and Dig it Up Again: Iran Between US Prohibitionism and National Sovereignty, Freedom, Dignity and Persian Art de Vivre

Syria, Iran and the Threat Posed by Hookah Smoking to the Free Civilized World

etc, etc. (browse the index)


(*) Chaud Crâne, Kamal !


Image: Courtesy of Middle East Online

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Unethical German Gas Chamber Study Published in the Food and Chemical Toxicology Journal

The Food and Chemical Toxicology journal has published so far a series of strongly biased studies on a ““waterpipe””™ smoking machine (US-American University of Beirut). It has now published a paper based on an unrealistic and unethical experiment led by a team of German experts from the Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, Bavarian Environment Agency, and the Federal Institute for Risk Asessment:

Hermann Fromme, Silvio Dietrich, Dieter Heitmann, Holger Dressel, Jürgen Diemer, Thomas Schulz, Rudolf A. Jörres, Knut Berlin, Wolfgang Völkel: Indoor air contamination during a waterpipe (narghile) smoking session. Food Chem Toxicol. 2009 Apr 23.

This experiment consisted in consecutive hookah smoking sessions FOR ABOUT 4 HOURS in a room of 20 m² (volume 57 m³) in which THE WINDOWS WERE KEPT CLOSED. The experts also used quick-lighting charcoal and a tiny amount of the smoking product to make things better.... By accepting to publish such a study (by the way full of other speculations about addiction, cancer and so on, not to mention the levels of toxic substances they have found), the Food and Chemical Toxicology journal has also endorsed the great hazards of the about 240 litres of smoke (*) to which the victims (called “volunteers” in the publication) have been exposed in the gas chamber: namely Christine MOSCH, Franziska NACHTMANN and Elcim SECKIN. According to an independent source, this constitutes a violation of the Helsinki Declaration on “Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects”.

(*) 240 litres: calculated according to the standardized US-American University of Beirut smoking machine which represents the unanimous and world best model for hookah smoking. Hookah smoke contains the same carcinogens as those found in cigarettes. For memory, cigarette smoke -and therefore hookah smoke which has no scientific reason to be different- contains almost 5000 chemicals. Therefore, and since a single cigarette hardly generates 0.5 litre of smoke, the inflicted torture was that of smoking the equivalent of 480 cigarettes (240 : 0.5), each containing 5000 chemicals. The same source adds that “these human guinea-pigs were only thanked for “for their substan[t]ial support and for smoking the waterpipe”.

However, they were not informed that their life would be endangered and were not told why ventilation would not be allowed as it happens in all hookah (narghile, shisha) lounges of the world”.

CONCLUSION

1. Pray for Christine MOSCH, Franziska NACHTMANN and Elcim SECKIN. Write to them and advise them to bring the German Agencies and their ““waterpipe”” researchers to court.

2. All this in the name of Hookah Environmental Tobacco Smoke and Hookah Third Hand Smoke (forced charcoal emissions…) !

3. Question: What is hazardous for health: ““Waterpipe””™ smoke or ““Waterpipe””™ experts ?

4. Other question: Lies, Fake Reports, Fake Posters and Images, Lies again, Plagiarism, Junk Studies by the Dozens, Gas Chambers…. Where Will Antismoking Extremists Stop ?

[Material added Feb 24, 2010]

Kamal said his critique was finally published :

Hookah (shisha, narghile, "water pipe") indoor air contamination in German unrealistic experiment. Serious methodological biases and ethical concern

and that in their response, the authors saved their face by stating that during the 4-hour smoking session, there was actually “ventilation” as "fresh air could enter the room through the leaky [closed] windows”…

RELEVANT READINGS

New Conjuring Trick by US-American University of Beirut’s Illusionists. Tons of Aldehydes Found in Narghile (Hookah, Shisha) Smoke… You’re Dead!


"United Kingdom Ban on Smoking in General and on Hookah Smoking in Particular Should NOT Stay", Analysts Say

Tetralogy of Hookah World Premieres Now Complete with Pioneering Study on Hookah and Cigarette Passive Smoking (Environmental Tobacco Smoke)


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