Medication, support can help kick smoking

November 4, 2012 / TheSpectrum.com / — Most smokers realize that tobacco is harmful and nearly 35 million smokers want to quit each year. Unfortunately, more than 85 percent of those who try to quit on their own relapse, most within a week, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (www.drugabuse.gov). Why is kicking […]

Nicotine triggers chemicals that make you anxious: Study

November 9, 2012 / Firstpost.com / —  Inactivation of a specific sub-class of nicotinic receptors may be an effective strategy to help smokers quit without feeling anxious, a new study has found. According to researchers from the Virginia Commonwealth University, these findings could pave way for development of novel therapies to help smokers quit without […]

Smokers miss work more often, cost UK billions

October 31, 2012 / NEW YORK (Reuters Health) / – Smokers miss an average of two or three more days of work each year than non-smokers, according to a new analysis of 29 past studies. Based on that finding, absenteeism due to smoking cost the UK alone 1.4 billion pounds – or $2.25 billion – […]

The 21st century hazards of smoking and benefits of stopping

October 27, 2012 / The Lancet / — Background Women born around 1940 in countries such as the UK and USA were the first generation in which many smoked substantial numbers of cigarettes throughout adult life. Hence, only in the 21st century can we observe directly the full effects of prolonged smoking, and of prolonged […]

CAMH Scientists Identify Potential New Approach to Prevent Smoking Relapse

October 22, 2012 / News Medical / —  Scientists at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) have identified a potential new approach to preventing smoking relapse, which occurs frequently in smokers who attempt to quit, despite current treatments. “We have developed a protein peptide that may be a new type of highly targeted […]

CAMH Scientists Identify Potential New Approach to Prevent Smoking Relapse

October 22, 2012 / News Medical / —  Scientists at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) have identified a potential new approach to preventing smoking relapse, which occurs frequently in smokers who attempt to quit, despite current treatments. “We have developed a protein peptide that may be a new type of highly targeted […]

Smoking in cars leads to pollution levels over three times UN threshold

A study by doctors in Britain measured fine particle concentrations in the cars of 17 drivers, comparing trips with and without smoking. The doctors found that journeys that involved smoking had levels of fine particles that were over three times the recommendation set by the World Health Organization.   October 16, 2012 / NY Daily […]

Smoking may lead to cataracts in aging population

October 12, 2012 / MedicalExpress.com / — Cigarette smoking is a well-known risk factor for a wide-range of diseases. Now, scientists have evidence that smoking may also increase the risk of age-related cataract, the leading cause of blindness and vision loss in the world. Reported in Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science (Smoking and Risk of […]

Big tobacco companies resist admissions of wrongdoing

October 15, 2012 / Reuters / Washington  – U.S. tobacco companies told a federal judge on Monday they should not be required to tell the public they manipulated nicotine levels to make cigarettes more addictive, or that they repeatedly lied about the health effects of light cigarettes. The companies – including Altria Group Inc and […]

With lung cancer, quitters do better than smokers

October 12, 2012 / FoxNews.com / — Younger people with advanced lung cancer who quit smoking more than a year before their diagnosis survive longer than those who continue smoking, according to a new study. It’s known that people who never smoked are more likely to survive the disease than those who light up. But […]