Lung disease costing $9b a year

The Australian Lung Foundation says new research has found an alarming number of Australians are affected by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

The disease, commonly caused by cigarette smoking, is a long-term illness causing shortness of breath, emphysema and chronic bronchitis.

A report by Access Economics has found almost one in five Australians aged over 40 have COPD, putting a direct $900 million burden on the health care system each year.

The report estimates overall costs to the economy at almost $9 billion annually.

Professor Peter Frith from the respiratory services unit at Adelaide Hospital says people need to made more aware of the disease so it can be detected earlier.

"Where we can get them to take on treatments that will actually help them to prevent them becoming disabled and dying early," he said.

Quote: Lung disease caused by cigarette smoking may cost $9b a year but when you subtract that figure from the Federal Governments tax on cigaretts (that was meant to cover ill-health) then the figure is diminished somewhat, so there is a bit of propaganda here by our corporate goverment and media. That is not to say people shouldn't give up smoking. Of course they should. Now!

Woman fined for boozy ruckus on flight

A MELBOURNE woman who was fined $1000 for offences on a Qantas flight said she was served 20 glasses of champagne and other alcohol after take-off.

Bronwyn Streader had drunk the champagne, two glasses of red wine and a gin and tonic while on medication, her lawyer told Melbourne Magistrates Court yesterday.

Alex Lewenberg said Streader, 30, was a human rights and refugee activist in Japan, with a doctorate in Japanese culture.

"When I fly Qantas economy I'm lucky to get three glasses of orange juice," Mr Lewenberg said, "but if you're blonde and good-looking you get 20 glasses of champagne."

Streader pleaded guilty to charges of interfering with a crew member, smoking and not wearing a seatbelt during landing. The court heard she had boarded a Sydney-bound flight in Tokyo on March 28 and was seen drinking various types of alcohol.

The prosecution said Streader was served about five alcoholic drinks in a five-hour period. About halfway through the flight she was told to stop smoking, but she lit another cigarette before her packet was confiscated.

When a flight attendant later found evidence she had smoked in a toilet, the captain sent his co-pilot to deliver Streader a formal warning.

"Krieger [the co-pilot] attempted to give [her] the warning but [she] refused to listen and instead reached out and grabbed a pen from the left pocket of Krieger's shirt," said the prosecution's summary tendered in court. "I'm going to sue you. I'm going to take all your names," she had said, and when Krieger reappeared she grabbed his identification on his shirt.

During the aircraft's descent, Streader left her seat, refused to return to it and stood in the galley during landing, after which she was arrested.

Mr Lewenberg said his client had been seriously assaulted in Tokyo, and on the flight she had been affected by a combination of alcohol and medication.

In his sentencing remarks, the magistrate, Lance Martin, said Streader had been bitterly disappointed with the Japanese authorities' response to her assault. Mr Martin said although misbehaviour on aircraft could put lives at risk, he accepted that Streader, who flew from Japan for yesterday's hearing, was traumatised and had acted out of character.

She was put on a 12-month bond, without a conviction, and ordered to pay $600 to the court fund and $400 in costs.

Kids used as bait over tobacco laws

Questions have been raised over the use of minors as bait to catch out vendors who are willing to illegally sell them cigarettes.

The Opposition claims the South Australian Government is breaching its own industrial relations laws by rewarding the undercover helpers with department store vouchers, rather than paying them.

Children as young as 14 are regularly sent in to try to catch out cigarette retailers who are selling to minors.

The Health Department offers $50 vouchers for the work.

But Opposition MP David Pisoni says the young people are being short-changed.

"The issue here is that we have the Minister for Health breaking his own State Government's industrial relations laws," he said.

Mr Pisoni says it is illegal to pay the children anything less than the appropriate award rate.

Dr Kevin Buckett of the Health Department disagrees, arguing the children are volunteers who perform a community service and are thanked with vouchers.

"We're consistent with the legal advice that we've had and we've run the program for six or seven years now and it's been a very successful program," he said.

"These are not volunteers, these are kids out there working for the government. Volunteers work for Meals on Wheels, volunteers don't work for government agencies."

The Health Department has ruled out any review of the program.