Daredevil

 

MONDAY, Aug. 25 (HealthDay News) — Exposure to burning incense over long periods of time raises the risk of developing cancers of the upper respiratory tract, a new study shows.

Interestingly, the practice did not increase the overall risk of lung cancer.

"Given that our results are backed by numerous experimental studies showing that incense is a powerful producer of particulate matter and that incense smoke contains carcinogenic substances, I believe incense should be used with caution," said study author Dr. Jeppe Friborg, of the department of epidemiology research at Statens Serum Institute in Copenhagen, Denmark. "That is, frequent use in rooms where people live should be minimized, or at least sufficient ventilation should be secured. In our study, we find the increased risk of cancer to be present in individuals reporting frequent use of incense for many years, thus, repeated exposure for years should probably be avoided."

Others echoed the thought.

"The American Lung Association is going to add it as a risk factor," said Dr. Norman Edelman, chief medical officer of the association. "It’s not nearly the danger of smoking a pack a day for 20 years, but it’s a danger."

Not only is incense burned regularly as part of daily life in large swaths of Asia, the practice is also popular among certain segments in the West.

Incense burning produces particulate matter and is known to contain possible carcinogens such as polyaromatic hyodrcarbons (PAHs), carbonyls and benzene.

There have also been reports linking the burning of incense with cancer but the results have been inconsistent.

For this study, researchers conducted face-to-face interviews with more than 61,000 Singapore Chinese aged 45 to 74 who were cancer-free at the beginning of the study.

Incense burning almost doubled the risk of developing squamous cell upper respiratory tract carcinomas including nasal/sinus, tongue, mouth and laryngeal. There was an increased risk both in smokers and in nonsmokers, pointing to an independent effect of incense smoke.

There was no overall increased risk of lung cancer, but it did heighten the risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the lung.

Will incense go the way of tobacco? Not necessarily, said some experts.

"Certainly I think bathing yourself in particles is probably not the smartest thing in the world . . . but I think very few people fill up their room with incense," said Dr. Arthur Frankel, a professor of medicine at Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine and director of the Cancer Center, Cancer Research Institute and Division of Hematology/Oncology at Scott & White in Temple.

The findings, which are in the Oct. 1 issue of Cancer, might also point researchers toward other household practices that should be investigated.

"It’s a population-based study, which means that you can make an association but not necessarily a conclusion," said Dr. Erin Fleener, a clinical assistant professor in internal medicine at the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine and an oncologist at the Bryan-College Station Cancer Clinic. "It probably promotes more work in the area of routine household items and things we need to be looking at more prospectively to make a clear cause-and-effect relationship."

In general, though, it’s not a bad idea to avoid environmental pollutants of various types.

"Anything that affects air quality negatively is not a good thing," said Dr. Len Horvitz, a pulmonary specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. "Burning in general and the release of smoke, these things are certainly to be avoided. At the very least, chemical irritants will set off asthma, and that’s reversible. Cancer is not reversible."

"This is not unlike the type of risk that one experiences from secondhand tobacco smoke," said Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, deputy chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society. "At the end of the day, people who use incense casually, I don’t think that’s a cause for major concern, but those cultures which embrace incense as part of their daily lifestyles have to consider this has a real potential risk for cancer."

 

TONIGHT by FM STATIC

I remember the times we spent together
All those drives, we had a million questions
All about our lives
And when we got to New York everything felt right
I wish you were here with me,
Tonight

I remember the days we spent together,
were not enough, it used to feel like dreaming
Except we always woke up,
Never thought not having you here now
Would hurt so much

Tonight I’ve fallen and I can’t get up
I need your loving hands to come and pick me up
And every night I miss you
I can just look up
And know the stars are
Holding you, holding you, holding you
Tonight

I remember the time you told me
About when you were eight
And all those things you said that night
That just couldn’t wait
I remember the car you were last seen in
And the games we would play
All the times we spilled our coffees
And stayed out way too late

I remember the time you sat and told me
About your Jesus, and how not to look back
Even if no one believes us
When it hurts so bad, sometimes
Not having you here

Tonight I’ve fallen and I can’t get up
I need your loving hands to come and pick me up
And every night I miss you
I can just look up
And know the stars are
Holding you, holding you, holding you
Tonight

I say
Tonight I’ve fallen and I can’t get up
I need your loving hands to come and pick me up
And every night I miss you
I can just look up
And know the stars are
Holding you, holding you, holding you
Tonight

 

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - As Tom Cruise writes the next chapter in his career, he’s developing an interest in comic-book movies.

With filmmaker Sam Raimi, the actor is setting up "Sleeper" as a feature project at Warner Bros. Cruise is loosely attached to star in the adaptation of the DC Comics/Wildstorm comic, which Raimi would produce with his Star Road Entertainment partner Josh Donen.

Written by Ed Brubaker with art by Sean Phillips, "Sleeper," which ran from 2003 through 2005, centers on an operative whose fusion with an alien artifact makes him impervious to pain. An intelligence agency places him undercover in a villainous organization and falls for Miss Misery, a member of the group.

Although he remains a co-owner of United Artists — from which his longtime producing partner, Paula Weinstein, resigned last week — Cruise is not tied exclusively to that company.

His next acting job will be in the Spyglass thriller "Tourist," as if to counter the more cerebral roles he played in the UA boxoffice failure "Lions for Lambs" and the upcoming UA World War II period drama "Valkyrie," in which he plays the anti-Nazi Claus van Stauffenberg.

"Sleeper" is the third project that Cruise has become associated with over the past two weeks — all three separate from his commitments at UA. In addition to "Tourist," the actor has expressed interest in the Working Title/Universal comedy "Food Fight."

Also apart from UA, the actor picked up good notices last week for his uncharacteristic turn as a bald film mogul in the DreamWorks-Paramount comedy "Tropic Thunder."

Even if Cruise opts not to do "Sleeper," his interest in the project is propelling it, despite the challenge of complicated rights issues that must be sorted out.

"Sleeper" is a spin-off book from Wildstorm flagship title "WildC.A.T.s" and features characters from another spin-off book, "Gen 13."

Both books had been set up at different film companies around town, and some of those deals were made before DC bought the imprint in 1999.

Warners, now involved in a legal wrangle with Fox over the rights to the superhero movie "Watchmen," appears determined to cross all the t’s and dot all the i’s in its contracts for "Sleeper."

The project is being eyed not only as a starring vehicle for Cruise but also as a possible franchise for the studio.

 

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Warner Bros.’ "The Dark Knight" regained the overseas box-office lead — even as it relinquished the No. 1 domestic position after a four-week stand — reaching a foreign gross of $328.6 million with its weekend take of $42.4 from 7,775 screens in 61 markets.

Universal’s "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor," the international champ for two successive weekends, eased into second place but maintained a hot pace by grossing $29.1 million and lifting its cumulative revenue to $193.5 million.

Universal’s musical entry "Mamma Mia!" passed the $200 million mark as it pulled in $17.6 million from 2,679 playdates in 25 countries. Disney/Pixar’s "WALL-E," meanwhile, added $13.2 million and raised its international gross to $145.8 million.

Joining the top foreign grossers this weekend was Sony’s Adam Sandler-starring comedy "You Don’t Mess With the Zohan," which racked up $11.2 million thanks to key dates in the U.K., Germany and Brazil.

Warner Bros.’ CG-animated "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" opened to $7.4 million from $3,260 in 22 markets, arriving at No. 6 in the U.K. with $1.6 million from 419 screens, No. 2 in Mexico with $1.2 million from 678 and No. 4 in Australia with $1.2 million from 267.

SUCCESSFUL CRUSADER

For "Knight," it was a vindication of its ability to attract foreign moviegoers. The best the Caped Crusader previously had done overseas was $166.5 million for 2005’s "Batman Begins."

"Knight’s" return to foreign dominance was fueled by top bows in France ($9.5 million from 850 screens), Spain ($7.1 million from 570) and Russia ($3.5 million from 610). In second-weekend action in Korea, "Knight" ($5.2 million from 373) held off the debut of two local films and reached a total of $14.3 million. The second weekend in Japan, however, grossed just $1.6 million for a cumulative take of $8.7 million.

Japan welcomed "Mummy" in the No. 2 spot ($7 million from 326 screens) behind Hayao Miyazaki’s animated tale "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea" ($7.7 million from 481), which has dominated the local box office five weeks in a row for distributor Toho, with a total to date of $90 million.

"Mummy" has reached an international gross of $193.5 million thanks to strong holdovers in the U.K., Germany and Taiwan as well as solid openings in Belgium ($1.2 million from 62) and Vietnam ($177,000 from 18).

As "Mamma Mia!" climbed to $205.9 million, Universal trumpeted that it was the first of the studio’s films to pass $200 million this year despite the fact that they still have "more than 35 territories yet to release." The film’s only new weekend opening was in Spain, which tallied $4.8 million from 352 screens.

"WALL-E" opened in three small markets, with Thailand recording $783,000 from 119 screens, called the second-biggest Disney animated opening in the market. Top box-office receipts to date include the U.K. with $37.9 million in four weeks; France, $16.9 million in two; and Mexico, $16.9 million in six.

"Zohan" opened at No. 1 in Germany with $5.1 million from 593, No. 3 in the U.K. ($3 million from 392) and No. 3 in Brazil ($880,000 from 121).

New weekend openings included Paramount’s "Tropic Thunder," $2.6 million from three markets; Fox’s "Mirrors," $661,746 from 11 markets, and Fox’s "Taken," $3.3 million from Australia, Italy and Spain.

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 LOS ANGELES - Even an army of the undead could not dislodge Batman from his box-office perch.
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The Batman blockbuster "The Dark Knight" hauled in $43.8 million to rank as Hollywood’s top movie for the third-straight weekend, fending off "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor," which opened a close second with $42.5 million.

"The Dark Knight" has soared to a $394.9 million haul in just 17 days, according to studio estimates Sunday. The Warner Bros. release should sail past the $400 million mark by Monday or Tuesday, said Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner.

That would be on the film’s 18th or 19th day of release, another record for "The Dark Knight," which had an all-time high opening weekend of $158.4 million. The previous $400 million record-holder was "Shrek 2," which hit that mark in 43 days.

"It’s a film that is just rewriting the record books every day and redefining our notions of what a blockbuster can be," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers.

"The Dark Knight" will top $500 million, predicted Fellman, who would not speculate on whether it could approach the all-time domestic revenue record of "Titanic" at $600.8 million.

Even if it edged past that mark, "The Dark Knight" would lag behind "Titanic" in terms of actual tickets sold. Admission prices are up more than 50 percent since "Titanic" came out in 1997, according to Media By Numbers. "The Dark Knight" would have to take in about $900 million to match the number of tickets that "Titanic" sold.

In terms of revenue alone, however, "The Dark Knight" will pass the original "Star Wars," which is No. 2 behind "Titanic" with $461 million, and such hits as "Shrek 2" ($436.5 million), "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" ($434.9 million) and "Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace" ($431.1 million).

Early anticipation over Heath Ledger’s diabolical performance as Batman foe the Joker built to a frenzy in the months after the actor’s death from an accidental prescription drug overdose in January.

A huge opening weekend was guaranteed, but the movie has sustained its audience from stellar reviews and audience buzz.

"The movie has grown in terms of its base audience from primarily what was conceived as a young male movie to a movie for everybody, from 8 to 80," Fellman said. "They’re going to see it because of the reviews, they’re going to see it because of the word of mouth. They’re going just to see what it’s all about, and they all like it."

"The Dark Knight" also has taken in $202.5 million overseas, opening in six more markets in August, among them Japan, France and Russia.

Universal’s third "Mummy" flick sends Brendan Fraser’s adventurer and his wife, played this time by Maria Bello, to China, where they battle a resurrected ancient ruler, played by Jet Li, and his undead minions.

Though it put up strong numbers, the new installment had the smallest opening of the three movies. "The Mummy" debuted with $43.4 million in 1999 and "The Mummy Returns" did $68.1 million in 2001.

Along with its $42.5 million domestic haul, the new "Mummy" tale pulled in $59.5 million in 28 countries overseas.

"The Dark Knight" almost certainly took away some business from the "The Mummy," since both movies competed for the same action crowds.

"It looked like we could do somewhere between $45 and $50 million, but no one could have foreseen the juggernaut `The Dark Knight’ has become," said Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal.

Disney’s "Swing Vote," about a presidential election that hinges on the lone ballot of an over-the-hill slacker played by Kevin Costner, opened weakly with $6.3 million, coming in at No. 6.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "The Dark Knight," $43.8 million.

2. "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor," $42.5 million.

3. "Step Brothers," $16.3 million.

4. "Mamma Mia!", $13.1 million.

5. "Journey to the Center of the Earth," $6.9 million.

6. "Swing Vote," $6.3 million.

7. "Hancock," $5.2 million.

8. "WALL-E," $4.7 million.

9. "The X-Files: I Want to Believe," $3.4 million.

10. "Space Chimps," $2.8 million.