Smoking Blog

E-Cigarettes Pose a Health Hazard, FDA Warns

Posted 3+ months ago by Drugs.com

WEDNESDAY, July 22 – Testing of electronic cigarettes, known as e-cigarettes, has shown that they contain cancer-causing chemicals and other toxins, including a compound used in antifreeze, U.S. health officials said Wednesday.

E-cigarettes are battery-operated devices that contain cartridges filled with nicotine, flavorings and other chemicals. "The device turns nicotine, which is highly addictive, into a vapor that is inhaled," according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

And these products could encourage smoking, the agency warned. Read more...

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Internet May Be Newest Venue for Teen Tobacco Exposure

Posted 3+ months ago by Drugs.com

MONDAY, July 20 – Even if you make sure your teen isn't watching TV shows or movies that glamorize smoking, he or she may still be getting positive tobacco messages via the Internet, particularly from popular social networking sites such as MySpace and Xanga.

A new study, published online July 20 in Pediatrics, found that the Internet is the newest place for kids to get exposure to positive messages on tobacco use. Although tobacco content was found on less than 1 percent of the pages that teens view, there were more pro-tobacco pages than anti-tobacco pages. Read more...

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Team Sports Can't Compete With Films to Keep Kids From Smoking

Posted 3+ months ago by Drugs.com

MONDAY, July 6 – Taking part in team sports lowers the odds of children smoking, but it can't compete with the powerful influence of smoking in movies, a new study finds.

Movies can shape popular taste and behavior, from clothing to cultural habits; other studies have found that seeing smoking in movies increases the chances that children will light up. As many as 30 percent to 50 percent of adolescent smokers attribute their smoking to seeing it in films, researchers say.

"Team sports is clearly protective to prevent youth from smoking," said lead researcher Anna M. Adachi-Mejia, a research assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the Hood Center for Children and Families, at Dartmouth Medical School in Lebanon, N.H. Read more...

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Smoking May Trigger Brain Damage

Posted 3+ months ago by Drugs.com

FRIDAY, June 26 – A direct link exists between smoking and brain damage, researchers say.

The scientists found that a compound in tobacco triggers white blood cells in the central nervous system to attack healthy cells, resulting in severe neurological damage.

The compound, NNK, is a procarcinogen, which means it becomes cancer-causing when it's altered by the metabolic processes of the body, the researchers wrote. NNK doesn't cause direct harm to brain cells, but appears to cause neuroinflammation that leads to disorders such as multiple sclerosis. Read more...

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Obama Signs Tough New Anti-Smoking Law

Posted 3+ months ago by Drugs.com

MONDAY, June 22 – President Barack Obama signed into law Monday the nation's toughest anti-smoking law that gives the United States Food and Drug Administration unprecedented powers to regulate tobacco products.

Under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, the FDA will be able to ban labels on cigarettes such as "low tar" and "light," outlaw candy flavorings, and order companies to reduce nicotine in tobacco products. The law also requires large graphic warnings on cartons of cigarettes, the Associated Press reported.

The FDA can now regulate what goes into tobacco products, make those ingredients public, and prohibit marketing campaigns, particularly those that target children. Read more...

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Health Organizations Cheer Senate Vote on Tobacco Control

Posted 3+ months ago by Drugs.com

THURSDAY, June 11 – The U.S. Senate's historic vote late Thursday to give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration control over tobacco products brought cheers from health organizations across the country.

The legislation "will finally put an end to Big Tobacco's despicable marketing practices that are designed to addict children to its deadly products," said John R. Seffrin, CEO of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.

"Senate passage of the 'Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act' has the potential to reduce the scourge of tobacco products, which kill more than 400,000 Americans every year," he added. Read more...

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Nicotine May Help Spur 'Prediabetes'

Posted 3+ months ago by Drugs.com

THURSDAY, June 11 – The nicotine in cigarette smoke may promote insulin resistance and lead to a condition known as prediabetes, new research shows.

The finding, to be outlined Thursday at the Endocrine Society's annual meeting in Washington, D.C., could explain why smokers are at higher risk for diabetes. The same team of researchers was able to partially reverse nicotine's effect on insulin in mice by giving the rodents the nicotine-blunting drug mecamylamine. Read more...

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Alcohol, Cigarettes and Diabetes Up Colorectal Cancer Risk

Posted 3+ months ago by Drugs.com

FRIDAY, June 5 – It's been known for some time that obesity and eating lots of red meat can raise the risk of colorectal cancer, but new research sheds light on other lifestyle factors that increase risk.

Drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes and having diabetes also play a major role in determining who is going to develop colorectal cancer, study findings show.

And although exercise seemed to help ward off colorectal cancer, eating lots of fruits and vegetables didn't, according to researchers at The George Institute for International Health in Australia. Read more...

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To Quit Smoking, Try Logging On

Posted 3+ months ago by Drugs.com

TUESDAY, May 26 – Internet- and computer-based smoking cessation programs are a cost-effective alternative to more expensive telephone hotlines or counseling services for smokers who are trying to quit, according to a new study.

"With the rising cost of health care, there is a need to look for less expensive health programs that are effective," study co-author Joel Moskowitz, director of the Center for Family and Community Health at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Public Health, said in a university news release. "What we found in our meta-analysis was that Web- and computer-based programs, once they're up and running, are a worthy alternative." Read more...

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Years of Heavy Smoking Raises Heart Risks

Posted 3+ months ago by Drugs.com

FRIDAY, May 15 – Highlighting the negative impact tobacco use has on cardiovascular health, researchers say that heavy smokers were 2.5 times more likely to die than their non-smoking peers during a 30-year study in Norway.

The newly available research found that nonsmokers lived longer and experienced fewer incidents of heart attack and cardiovascular disease than smokers, especially when compared with heavy smokers (those who lit up at least 20 cigarettes a day).

Smokers were also at greater risk of developing diabetes and strokes than nonsmokers, according to the study findings, presented last week at the EuroPRevent 2009 conference in Stockholm, Sweden. Read more...

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