European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 17, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday october 17, 1985 the stars and stripes Page 13 health & science news smoking husband increases wife s lung cancer risk new York a non smoking women whose husbands smoke run a greater risk of lung cancer than those with non smoking husbands and the risk rises with the number of cigarettes the husband smokes at Home according to a new american cancer society study. Past studies have disagreed on whether so called passive smoking increases the lung cancer risk of non smoking wives of smokers and the cancer society s official position adopted in 1981, is that the Matte needs More study. But one author of the new study says he believes there is enough evidence to say there is an increase although far less than a woman would face by Starling to smoke herself. The study of 134 non smoking women with lung cancer found that having lived with a smoking husband could double their risk of lung cancer if the Man smoked heavily at Home. More cigarettes More risk the risk went up with the number of cigarettes the husband or other cohabitant smoked at Home and the total number of cigarettes he smoke a. Said Lawrence Gar Finkl. One of the researchers and the can cer society s vice president for epidemiology and statistics. The Overall increase in risk barely failed to reach the statistical test for significance Garfinkll said. But he said the Urcla smoking habits in . Ch1959-72 study do first results from study begun in 1982 in percent men nonsmokers women nonsmokers 125.6% 67.2% l current cigarette smoker 48.4% current smoker i 27.2% 156.4% 26.1% 21.1% sex smoker 117.3% sex smoker 1 5.6% 39.8% 22.5% pipe Cigar 11.  Chicago Tribune graphic so Roo a/nenca/1 cancer society s cancer prevention lion ship Between increased cigarette smoking by the husband and increased risk to the wife did meet statistical significance. The study will be published in inc Jour Nal of the National cancer Institute. It found that in comparison to women whose husbands did nut smoke non smok ing wives of smokers Overall ran a 23 per cent greater Chance of pelting lung cancer. When classified by the number of cigarettes the husband smokes at Home the increase was 3 i percent. The risk increased with the number of cigarettes smoked at Home jumping to Marc than double he risk of an unexposed wife if the husband smoked More than 20 cigarettes a Day at Home the study found. Garfinkll said the increase in risk i nothing at All like even Light smokers ver sus  where the risk can be increased by four times or so. In general lung cancer among non smokers is rare with maybe 10 per  non smoker getting lung cancer every year he said. 134 lung cancer subjects it look a search of four hospitals to find 134 non smoking women diagnosed with lung cancer from 1971 to 1981. He said. Forty four had not been exposed to a Hus band s smoke at Home Garfinkl said. Another 402 women who had Colon rec Tum cancer which has not been tied to smoking were used in a comparison group for inc risk analysis. Asked about the accuracy of estimates that a husband smoked More than 20 cigarettes a Day Garfinkll said such estimates arc probably Good enough to differentiate Between heavy smokers and Light smokers and that s All you can  results May Only be temporary Etc says radio wave hair removers not effective Washington up americans spend about $37.5 million a year to have hair removed with heat emitting radio Waves but the government doubts that hair today will be gone tomorrow. The Federal Trade commission charged wednesday there is no proof that the electronic devices Stop unwanted hair growth permanently despite claims to the contrary by manufacturers. The Etc named Only one company in its administrative complaint remo Vatron International corp. Of Boston but Laid the action is a warning to the Industry about unsupported claims. The Etc specifically accused remo Vatron the biggest maker of the devices of deceptive and unfair practices for claiming without substantiation that the product permanently removes hair. Frederick Goodman remo Vatron s chief officer said the charges arc false. We have been in business for 10 years. It has been clinically tested and it works. We have hundreds of letters from satisfied  Phoebe Morse director of the Etc s Reg Iona office in Boston which brought the charges said the product May temporarily remove hair but there is no evidence of Perma nent results. She said there Are at least eight companies that sell such devices As a painless and effective alternative to electrolysis the inserting of a Needle like probe into each hair Root and killing it with heat. It s painless however it is not effective Morse said. Remo Vatron Sells its devices to Beauty salons for about j3,500. The products Are said to remove hair by killing the roots with heat emitting radio Waves. Salons charge customers about s35 a session. The Etc said its staff estimates that individuals spend an average of j360 a year before deciding to Stop the treatments. Some have spent As much As $6,000 for a series of unsuccessful  the Etc also accused remo Vatron of falsely saying the product has been approved by the Federal communication commission. The Etc said the company s claim suggests that the acc had approved the hair removal process while the Agency merely determined that operating the device would not interfere with radio broadcasts. The charges will first be heard by an Etc administrative Law judge. He will return a recommendation to the commission. The Etc s decision can then be appealed tothe courts. If the company is found to be making false claims the Etc could prohibit it from making claims without substantiation. It could also require the firm to disclose the product s limitations and the nature of the acc approval. Morse said the Etc could have sought refunds for con Sumers but would have had to charge the company with fraud which is tougher to prove and name As defendants the Beauty salons which she said May actually be victims too. Hanging upside Down May harm eyes sex sen Javius san Francisco up putting your feet above the head during yoga handstands or hanging from anti Gravity boots May relieve Back problems or tension but a researcher reports that the upside Down position is dangerous to your eyes. Or. Thomas Friburg who presented his data at the annual meeting of the american Academy of opt apology stressed the physical changes were not permanent. But we Don t know what the outcome would be if a person continued such an activity Over a prolonged period of time said Friburg who conducted the studies through the University of Texas health science Center in Dallas. Although he said it was too Early to offer firm guidelines Friburg recommended against staying in the upside Down position for longer than 10 minutes at a time with two minute Breaks Between such exercises. Those who suffer from glaucoma or Reti Nal vascular diseases which affect the Retina should avoid inverted positions altogether he cautioned. An inverted position May be Gootis for the mind and Back but it causes Eye pressure to nearly double a concern that is especially serious for those who have glaucoma or cer Tain other Eye diseases he said. He noted More than 1 million americans have bought Iho inversion boots which Are heart valves caused 100 deaths group says los Angeles a the recall of uni planted Bjork Shiley artificial heart valves did t go far enough says a Ralph Nader consumer group alleging about 100 people have died because the devices broke. The recall did not include valves already implanted in people or smaller valves made by Hilcy inc. Of Irvine. Any cardiac surgeon who implants any of these valves is begging for a malpractice suit said or. Sidney Wolfe director of Nader s Public citizen health research group in Washington. The recall covers Only the larger sizes 29mm, 31mm and 33mm of the Bjork Hilcy 60-Dcgree conc to concave heart valves manufactured Between March and june 1982 by Hilcy inc. Hooked to bars so inc person can hang upside Down. Also untold numbers of snorts enthusiasts youngsters conditioning for inc olym pics and football players stay in the inverted position for exercise  As an extreme example he Cilcy the Case Ofa political prisoner in the Middle East who was Hung upside Down for 11 hours a Day Fornix months. Even though the pressure in his eyes is now Normal he has suffered significant damage to his peripheral vision and is legally Blind in the right Eye Friburg said. It takes up to several minutes for the Eye pressure to return to Normal after the inverted exercise is completed he said. We Are Uncer Tain How much the Eye can tolerate and for How Long without permanent damage. For most healthy people there is no great danger he said but we have the concern that some susceptible individuals May suffer damage similar to that caused by glaucoma. At this stage we Don t know exactly who could be  glaucoma the result of increased fluid pressure inside the Eye that presses on and damage the optic nerve can cause Blind spots a loss of peripheral vision and even Tully blindness. Urges Freedom of Choice for dying san Francisco up former Republican sen. Jacob jails of new York speaking in bursts allowed by the Respirator that keeps him alive called for dignity and Freedom of Choice for the dying. Each individual should declare his or her intentions regarding inc Lime when the individual loses the ability to make his or her decisions about medical care the wheelchair bound javits told a news Confer ence. Javitz 81, was stricken six years ago with Amy trophic lateral sclerosis Al which is commonly known As Lou Gehrig disease. He is paralysed from the neck Down but still scheduled a round of appearances in a Busy three Day visit to Northern California. Als which is fatal and progressively paralytic wastes the nerves that control Muscles and victims in inc final stages Are often reduced to communicating Only by blinking their eyes. The illness does not affect the mind