Smoking while using oxygen blamed for fire at Fargo's Sanford Medical Center

FARGO (KFGO-AM) — Investigators say a patient who was smoking while using oxygen caused a fire that injured both the patient and a staff member at Sanford Medical Center in downtown Fargo last week. Fire chief Steve Dirksen says the combination of pure oxygen and open flame is extremely volatile.  He says it was quick […]

Sanford fire caused by smoking around oxygen

By Forum staff reports FARGO – Fargo fire investigators say the fire that injured two people and caused the evacuation of several patients at Fargo’s downtown Sanford Medical Center on Thursday was caused by someone smoking while using oxygen. Sanford officials said the fire originated in a patient room early Thursday morning and was extinguished […]

Ready to quit smoking? Here's what works best

Kim Painter, Special for USA TODAY It’s always a good time to quit smoking. But if smoking cessation has a season, it’s about to begin. Thursday is the American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout, a day on which all smokers will be encouraged to abstain or start making a plan to quit. In coming weeks, […]

Our View: Do more to keep e-cigs, youths apart

The Times Editorial Board, SC Times Surveys of Minnesota and U.S. youth show alarming increase in e-cigarette use. Lawmakers can slow this increase by immediately acting to limit access. Two surveys released the past week — one state and one national — deliver a powerful message about the most pressing issue regarding e-cigarettes: Government needs […]

CDC: E-Cigarette Use Rising in High School Kids

By MIKE STOBBE AP Medical Writer Use of electronic cigarettes by high school students tripled over three years, according to a new government report released Thursday. In a large national survey last year, 4.5 percent of high school students said they had used e-cigarettes in the previous month. That’s up from 1.5 percent in 2011 […]