Giving up smoking sharply increases the risk of developing type-two diabetes, a US study suggests.
Researchers found quitters had a 70% increased risk of developing type-two diabetes in the first six years without cigarettes compared with non-smokers.
This is because they tend to put on weight.
However, the Annals of Internal Medicine study stressed that this should not be used as an excuse to carry on smoking.
The Johns Hopkins team also stress that smoking is a well known risk factor for type-two diabetes - as well as many other health problems, such as heart disease, stroke and cancer.
Researcher Dr Jessica Yeh said: "If you smoke, give it up. That's the right thing to do.
"But people have to also watch their weight."
The study, based on 10,892 middle aged adults who were followed for up to 17 years, found the risk of developing type-two diabetes was highest in the first three years after giving up smoking.
Around 1.8% of people giving up smoking developed type 2 diabetes each year during that period.
If quitters avoided developing the condition for 10 years, then their long-term risk returned to normal.
People who made no effort to give up smoking had a constant 30% increased risk of type-two diabetes compared with non-smokers.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
White House state dinner
A third uninvited guest attended a White House state dinner for India's prime minister in November, the US secret service has said.
It said the man, who was not named, had arrived with an Indian delegation, though there was no indication he had met US President Barack Obama.
A US couple who also gatecrashed the dinner, Tareq and Michaele Salahi, were received by the Obamas.
Three Secret Service agents were placed on leave following the incident.
The White House also said it would put in place new rules to monitor official events.
Both the Salahis and the third uninvited guest are under investigation.
None of the three were given prior security screening to attend the event, though all went through other security checks such as metal detectors, authorities say.
An unnamed US state department official told the Associated Press news agency that the third gatecrasher was a US citizen who was with a group of Indian business leaders that the state department transported from a hotel to the White House.
The state department said it had reviewed the incident and already made changes to the way it handles foreign delegations.
The Secret Service has admitted it was at fault over the Salahis, though its director has said Mr Obama was never at risk.
The Salahis have been ordered to testify before Congress later this month.
It said the man, who was not named, had arrived with an Indian delegation, though there was no indication he had met US President Barack Obama.
A US couple who also gatecrashed the dinner, Tareq and Michaele Salahi, were received by the Obamas.
Three Secret Service agents were placed on leave following the incident.
The White House also said it would put in place new rules to monitor official events.
Both the Salahis and the third uninvited guest are under investigation.
None of the three were given prior security screening to attend the event, though all went through other security checks such as metal detectors, authorities say.
An unnamed US state department official told the Associated Press news agency that the third gatecrasher was a US citizen who was with a group of Indian business leaders that the state department transported from a hotel to the White House.
The state department said it had reviewed the incident and already made changes to the way it handles foreign delegations.
The Secret Service has admitted it was at fault over the Salahis, though its director has said Mr Obama was never at risk.
The Salahis have been ordered to testify before Congress later this month.
flight security lists
The US has moved dozens of names on to "watch" and "no-fly" lists as it seeks to overhaul security in the wake of an alleged jet bomb plot, officials say.
The US government has also introduced new security measures for all travellers flying to America.
There will be extra screening for people travelling from 14 countries.
Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama is to meet officials assigned to review security after the suspected plot and is expected to announce reforms.
These will aim to "improve our watchlisting system as well as our ability to thwart future attempts to carry out terrorist attacks", an Obama administration official said.
Among those attending Tuesday's briefing will be Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, defence secretary Robert Gates, CIA director Leon Panetta, Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano and FBI chief Robert Mueller.
The review comes after an alleged plot by a 23-year-old Nigerian to blow up an airliner shortly before it was due to land in Detroit on Christmas Day.
White House spokesman Bill Burton said that since then, lists had been checked and updated, with names moved from the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment (Tide), to a watch list or no-fly list.
"Probably dozens were moved to different lists," he said.
Those on the watch list are subject to extra security checks, while those on the no-fly list are not allowed to board flights to the US
The US government has also introduced new security measures for all travellers flying to America.
There will be extra screening for people travelling from 14 countries.
Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama is to meet officials assigned to review security after the suspected plot and is expected to announce reforms.
These will aim to "improve our watchlisting system as well as our ability to thwart future attempts to carry out terrorist attacks", an Obama administration official said.
Among those attending Tuesday's briefing will be Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, defence secretary Robert Gates, CIA director Leon Panetta, Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano and FBI chief Robert Mueller.
The review comes after an alleged plot by a 23-year-old Nigerian to blow up an airliner shortly before it was due to land in Detroit on Christmas Day.
White House spokesman Bill Burton said that since then, lists had been checked and updated, with names moved from the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment (Tide), to a watch list or no-fly list.
"Probably dozens were moved to different lists," he said.
Those on the watch list are subject to extra security checks, while those on the no-fly list are not allowed to board flights to the US
France security van robbery
A gang armed with rifles and explosives has stolen several million euros from an armoured van which was transporting the cash to a bank in southern France.
About a dozen masked robbers used several cars to block the van in the village of Gemenos, near Aubagne.
Reportedly armed with kalashnikovs, the gang then used explosives to blow open the doors of the vehicle and break into its security boxes.
The Sazias security van was said to be carrying a total of 8m euros (£7.1m).
The robbers were only able to break into two of four security boxes, making off with around half of the money being transported, said a spokesman for Sazias.
After a brief shootout with local police, the gunmen escaped and their vehicles were found later on Monday, abandoned and torched.
"This was a very organised gang," Marseille prosecutor Jacques Dallest was quoted as saying by AFP.
"They were able to break into the van using explosives, which suggests that they had serious means at their disposal."
The van had been heading to Toulon to deposit cash at a Banque de France branch.
In 2007, some 10m euros were stolen from a Sazias van in Gemenos.
About a dozen masked robbers used several cars to block the van in the village of Gemenos, near Aubagne.
Reportedly armed with kalashnikovs, the gang then used explosives to blow open the doors of the vehicle and break into its security boxes.
The Sazias security van was said to be carrying a total of 8m euros (£7.1m).
The robbers were only able to break into two of four security boxes, making off with around half of the money being transported, said a spokesman for Sazias.
After a brief shootout with local police, the gunmen escaped and their vehicles were found later on Monday, abandoned and torched.
"This was a very organised gang," Marseille prosecutor Jacques Dallest was quoted as saying by AFP.
"They were able to break into the van using explosives, which suggests that they had serious means at their disposal."
The van had been heading to Toulon to deposit cash at a Banque de France branch.
In 2007, some 10m euros were stolen from a Sazias van in Gemenos.
Nestle,takeover bid for Cadbury
Food giant Nestle says it does not intend to table a takeover bid for Cadbury, despite recent speculation.
Nestle had been linked to a possible offer following Kraft Food's hostile bid for Cadbury, announced in December.
Separately, Kraft has announced it will increase the proportion of cash in its offer to Cadbury shareholders in order to make its bid more attractive.
Kraft will use cash made from the sale of its north American pizza business - sold to Nestle for $3.7bn (£2.3bn).
More cash
The sale means Kraft will be able to offer an extra 60p per share in cash, though the overall value of the offer is not being increased.
The company will announce full details of its new offer before 16 January.
Kraft's original bid was £3 plus 0.26 new Kraft shares for each Cadbury share - a deal that analysts said would be unlikely to tempt shareholders.
The Cadbury board has launched a fierce defence against the Kraft bid, calling it "derisory" and arguing it undervalues the business.
Nestle was among the possible rival bidders expected to enter the fray.
On Monday, that speculation was fuelled when Nestle sold its remaining stake in eye-care group Alcon to Novartis for $28.1bn (£17.5bn) - a deal perceived as freeing up cash for a Cadbury bid.
However, on Tuesday it instead spent some of that money buying Kraft's frozen pizza business, which sells brands including DiGiorno and California Pizza Kitchen in the US and Canada.
In a statement, Nestle said its decision not to make, or participate in, a formal offer for Cadbury followed discussions with the UK Takeover Panel - the body in charge of regulating takeovers.
That leaves Kraft as the only current bidder for Cadbury, although the UK confectioner says it has been in talks with US company Hershey about a possible deal.
Nestle had been linked to a possible offer following Kraft Food's hostile bid for Cadbury, announced in December.
Separately, Kraft has announced it will increase the proportion of cash in its offer to Cadbury shareholders in order to make its bid more attractive.
Kraft will use cash made from the sale of its north American pizza business - sold to Nestle for $3.7bn (£2.3bn).
More cash
The sale means Kraft will be able to offer an extra 60p per share in cash, though the overall value of the offer is not being increased.
The company will announce full details of its new offer before 16 January.
Kraft's original bid was £3 plus 0.26 new Kraft shares for each Cadbury share - a deal that analysts said would be unlikely to tempt shareholders.
The Cadbury board has launched a fierce defence against the Kraft bid, calling it "derisory" and arguing it undervalues the business.
Nestle was among the possible rival bidders expected to enter the fray.
On Monday, that speculation was fuelled when Nestle sold its remaining stake in eye-care group Alcon to Novartis for $28.1bn (£17.5bn) - a deal perceived as freeing up cash for a Cadbury bid.
However, on Tuesday it instead spent some of that money buying Kraft's frozen pizza business, which sells brands including DiGiorno and California Pizza Kitchen in the US and Canada.
In a statement, Nestle said its decision not to make, or participate in, a formal offer for Cadbury followed discussions with the UK Takeover Panel - the body in charge of regulating takeovers.
That leaves Kraft as the only current bidder for Cadbury, although the UK confectioner says it has been in talks with US company Hershey about a possible deal.
CIA bomber,al-Qaeda double agent
The suicide bomber who killed seven CIA agents in Afghanistan was an al-Qaeda double agent, US media reports say.
He is said to have been a doctor from Jordan who was arrested by Jordanian intelligence a year ago.
He was then reportedly recruited by the Jordanians and CIA - who thought they had successfully turned him - and given a mission to find al-Qaeda leaders.
He is believed to have been working undercover in Afghanistan for weeks before detonating a bomb at a CIA base.
The attack at Forward Operating Base Chapman was the worst against US intelligence officials since the US embassy in Beirut was bombed in 1983.
He is said to have been a doctor from Jordan who was arrested by Jordanian intelligence a year ago.
He was then reportedly recruited by the Jordanians and CIA - who thought they had successfully turned him - and given a mission to find al-Qaeda leaders.
He is believed to have been working undercover in Afghanistan for weeks before detonating a bomb at a CIA base.
The attack at Forward Operating Base Chapman was the worst against US intelligence officials since the US embassy in Beirut was bombed in 1983.
