Title:�Winston Man' of cigarette-ad fame dies of cancer By: Doup, Liz, Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, FL), Mar 02, 2009Database:Newspaper Source
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�Winston Man' of cigarette-ad fame dies of cancer
- jbickel27 Mar 5, 2009- jbickel27 Mar 5, 2009
By Liz Doup
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. _ Alan Landers, a former cigarette pitchman turned anti-smoking advocate, died at his Lauderhill, Fla., home Friday.
He was 68.
The self-proclaimed "Winston Man" had been in a 14-year legal battle with R.J. Reynolds and other tobacco companies, claiming smoking caused his healthproblems. His case was scheduled for trial in April.
A survivor of two lung cancers, Mr. Landers was undergoing chemotherapy and radiation for recently diagnosed tonsillar cancer. He also suffered from emphysema.
"He fought a good fight," says Tim Howard, his attorney. "Alan was an example of light, energy and courage. It's a tribute to his spirit that he beat the odds so many times."
Mr. Landers, whose legal name was Allan Levine, was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and moved with his family to Lakeland, Fla., as a teenager. He later worked in New York and California as a model and actor. He also taught acting.
"He was a big star to us," says his niece, Robin Levine Carns, of Plantation, Fla. "He'd come in from L.A. for a visit and was always a lot of fun."
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, during the peak of his modeling career, Mr. Landers appeared in Winston ads on billboards and in magazines.
But by the late 1980s, he faced a series of illnesses that he attributed to a lifetime of heavy smoking.
In 1995, he signed on to a class-action suit alleging that cigarette companies intentionally hooked people on nicotine and conspired to hide information aboutsmoking's hazards.
Ultimately, the Florida Supreme Court threw out a record $145 billion class-action jury award in that suit in 2006. But individuals were allowed to sue singly. As a result, Mr. Landers was one of as many as 9,000 people in Florida with legal suits involving tobacco companies. His attorney says no decision has been made on whether to pursue his case.
As courts wrestled with the legal issues, Mr. Landers pleaded for tobacco reform in Washington and Tallahassee, Fla., and traveled the globe for the World HealthOrganization.
"I helped save lives," he told a Sun Sentinel reporter for a story that appeared shortly before his death. "I told the truth: Eventually, smoking will kill you. It's slow. But it'll kill you."
He is survived by a brother, Jack Levine, of Destin, Fla.; Robin Levine Carns and other nieces and nephews. No funeral service has been planned.
Blanca Cantu
Feb. 25--When Veronica Yanez lights up a cigarette, her two cats, Lola and Riley, run away. Her 12-year-old Pomeranian dog Sasha isn't far behind.
The Dallas woman knows smoking is bad for her own health, but seeing her pets' reactions and talking with her veterinarian about the effect of smoking on their health has been another factor for her to consider. The question is whether it will be enough.
"I know it's something I need to do," said Yanez, 26. "It's just an addiction that I have that I can't get over. The last thing that I would want to do is hurt my animals in any way."
New research from the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit suggests that smokers are more likely to quit the habit for the sake of their pets' health than for their own. But many people in the Dallas area say quitting smoking is so difficult that worries over their pets' health might not be enough of an incentive to make a permanent lifestyle change.
"Unless [people] know for sure it's messing their pet up, I don't think they'll [quit]," said Greg Barr, who cares for his 86-year-old mother's Yorkie named Pepper. Both of them smoke around the dog.
The research, which was based on a Web survey, showed that few people know that second-hand smoking has been tied to cancers, respiratory problems, skin diseases and other healthproblems in cats and dogs.
Dickson Bain, a veterinarian at the Hillside Veterinary Clinic in Dallas, said he's seen pet owners bring in dogs and cats that developed coughs and asthma due to their owners' heavy smoking. He has advised some customers to quit smokinginside so their pets' exposure to smoke is limited. In those cases, the animals'health has improved, he said.
Still, Bain said he's skeptical about whether a broader animal campaign would stop smokers from lighting up.
"I think most people are so addicted, they can't stop," he said.
In his office, technician Gabby Redmon, 24, bashfully admitted to smokingaround her two dogs and two cats. When Redmon lights up, her Rottweiler Layla gives her a look and walks out of the room. Redmon, who has asthma, said she would quit if something bad happened to her pets or if her own health worsened.
"I know better and that's the sad part," she said.
Redmon said learning more about the effect of smoking on pets has prompted her to take her cigarette outside.
Sharon Milberger, who conducted the research, said a nationwide education campaign could encourage more people to make those kinds of changes for their own interests and that of their pets. Her research has been published by the international medical journal Tobacco Control.
"I think they just forget that the pets breathe in the smoke just the way humans do," Milberger said. "[Pets] can't articulate that, so [owners] don't think about it."
Title:�Winston Man' of cigarette-ad fame dies of cancer By: Doup, Liz, Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, FL), Mar 02, 2009Database:Newspaper Source
HTML Full Text
�Winston Man' of cigarette-ad fame dies of cancer
-By Liz Doup
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. _ Alan Landers, a former cigarette pitchman turned anti-smoking advocate, died at his Lauderhill, Fla., home Friday.
He was 68.
The self-proclaimed "Winston Man" had been in a 14-year legal battle with R.J. Reynolds and other tobacco companies, claiming smoking caused his healthproblems. His case was scheduled for trial in April.
A survivor of two lung cancers, Mr. Landers was undergoing chemotherapy and radiation for recently diagnosed tonsillar cancer. He also suffered from emphysema.
"He fought a good fight," says Tim Howard, his attorney. "Alan was an example of light, energy and courage. It's a tribute to his spirit that he beat the odds so many times."
Mr. Landers, whose legal name was Allan Levine, was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and moved with his family to Lakeland, Fla., as a teenager. He later worked in New York and California as a model and actor. He also taught acting.
"He was a big star to us," says his niece, Robin Levine Carns, of Plantation, Fla. "He'd come in from L.A. for a visit and was always a lot of fun."
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, during the peak of his modeling career, Mr. Landers appeared in Winston ads on billboards and in magazines.
But by the late 1980s, he faced a series of illnesses that he attributed to a lifetime of heavy smoking.
In 1995, he signed on to a class-action suit alleging that cigarette companies intentionally hooked people on nicotine and conspired to hide information aboutsmoking's hazards.
Ultimately, the Florida Supreme Court threw out a record $145 billion class-action jury award in that suit in 2006. But individuals were allowed to sue singly. As a result, Mr. Landers was one of as many as 9,000 people in Florida with legal suits involving tobacco companies. His attorney says no decision has been made on whether to pursue his case.
As courts wrestled with the legal issues, Mr. Landers pleaded for tobacco reform in Washington and Tallahassee, Fla., and traveled the globe for the World HealthOrganization.
"I helped save lives," he told a Sun Sentinel reporter for a story that appeared shortly before his death. "I told the truth: Eventually, smoking will kill you. It's slow. But it'll kill you."
He is survived by a brother, Jack Levine, of Destin, Fla.; Robin Levine Carns and other nieces and nephews. No funeral service has been planned.
Blanca Cantu
Feb. 25--When Veronica Yanez lights up a cigarette, her two cats, Lola and Riley, run away. Her 12-year-old Pomeranian dog Sasha isn't far behind.
The Dallas woman knows smoking is bad for her own health, but seeing her pets' reactions and talking with her veterinarian about the effect of smoking on their health has been another factor for her to consider. The question is whether it will be enough.
"I know it's something I need to do," said Yanez, 26. "It's just an addiction that I have that I can't get over. The last thing that I would want to do is hurt my animals in any way."
New research from the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit suggests that smokers are more likely to quit the habit for the sake of their pets' health than for their own. But many people in the Dallas area say quitting smoking is so difficult that worries over their pets' health might not be enough of an incentive to make a permanent lifestyle change.
"Unless [people] know for sure it's messing their pet up, I don't think they'll [quit]," said Greg Barr, who cares for his 86-year-old mother's Yorkie named Pepper. Both of them smoke around the dog.
The research, which was based on a Web survey, showed that few people know that second-hand smoking has been tied to cancers, respiratory problems, skin diseases and other health problems in cats and dogs.
Dickson Bain, a veterinarian at the Hillside Veterinary Clinic in Dallas, said he's seen pet owners bring in dogs and cats that developed coughs and asthma due to their owners' heavy smoking. He has advised some customers to quit smokinginside so their pets' exposure to smoke is limited. In those cases, the animals'health has improved, he said.
Still, Bain said he's skeptical about whether a broader animal campaign would stop smokers from lighting up.
"I think most people are so addicted, they can't stop," he said.
In his office, technician Gabby Redmon, 24, bashfully admitted to smokingaround her two dogs and two cats. When Redmon lights up, her Rottweiler Layla gives her a look and walks out of the room. Redmon, who has asthma, said she would quit if something bad happened to her pets or if her own health worsened.
"I know better and that's the sad part," she said.
Redmon said learning more about the effect of smoking on pets has prompted her to take her cigarette outside.
Sharon Milberger, who conducted the research, said a nationwide education campaign could encourage more people to make those kinds of changes for their own interests and that of their pets. Her research has been published by the international medical journal Tobacco Control.
"I think they just forget that the pets breathe in the smoke just the way humans do," Milberger said. "[Pets] can't articulate that, so [owners] don't think about it."
_
Cantu, Blanca. "New research shows smokers may quit habit for sake of pets." Dallas Morning News, The (TX) (25 Feb. 2009). Newspaper Source__. EBSCO. [Library name], [City], [State abbreviation]. 5 Mar. 2009 <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nfh&AN=2W62W64117559807&site=ehost-live>.