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Quitting Smoking May Halve Risk of Oral Health Problems
Posted 5 days ago by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, Feb. 7 – Adult smokers are twice as likely to develop oral health problems as those who have kicked the habit, researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have found. Compared to people who never smoked, current smokers are four times more likely to develop oral conditions, such as mouth cancers, gum disease and cavities. The CDC investigators also found that smokers between the ages of 18 and 64 are nearly 1.5 times as likely as former smokers and more than twice as likely as people who never smoked to have three or more oral health problems. Although current smokers were more likely to acknowledge the importance of oral health issues, they were less likely than former or never smokers to visit a dentist for an existing problem, the findings showed. The researchers reported that people who smoke are about twice as likely to have not been to the ... Read more
Related support groups: Smoking, Smoking Cessation
Smoking May Be Especially Tough on Men's Brains
Posted 6 days ago by Drugs.com
MONDAY, Feb. 6 – Smoking appears to speed declines in memory, thinking, learning and processing information in men, but not in women, new research suggests. One expert said the findings are just one more reason to quit the habit. "This study underscores that smoking is bad for your brain, and that mid-life smoking is a modifiable risk factor with an effect size roughly equivalent to 10 years of aging on the rate of [mental] decline," said Dr. Marc Gordon, chief of neurology at Zucker Hillside Hospital in Glen Oaks, N.Y. He was not involved with the research. The new study was led by Severine Sabia of University College London. She and her colleagues analyzed data collected from nearly 5,100 men and more than 2,100 women who had three assessments of mental functions such as memory, learning and thought-processing over 10 years and six assessments of smoking status over 25 years. The ... Read more
Related support groups: Smoking
When Mom-to-Be's Overweight and Smokes, Risk for Birth Defects Rises
Posted 12 days ago by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, Jan. 31 – Women who are both overweight and smoke during pregnancy could damage their baby's developing heart, a new study warns. Researchers in the Netherlands looked at nearly 800 fetuses and babies with congenital heart defects, but no other birth defects, between 1997 and 2008. Congenital means present at birth. This group was compared with more than 300 fetuses and babies born with chromosomal abnormalities, but without any heart defects. The results showed that women who were both overweight (body mass index of 25 or more) and smoked during pregnancy were 2.5 times more likely to have a baby with a congenital heart defect than women who either smoked or were overweight during pregnancy. The researchers also found that babies born to overweight mothers who smoked during pregnancy had a threefold increased risk of outflow tract abnormalities, in which blood flow from the ... Read more
Oral HPV Infection Strikes Men More Than Women: Study
Posted 17 days ago by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Jan. 26 – Almost 7 percent of American men and women are infected orally with the human papillomavirus (HPV), new research reveals, with men showing significantly higher infection rates than women. In fact, the study found that among those between the ages of 14 and 69, men seem to face a nearly threefold greater risk than women for oral HPV infection. The authors noted that the gender gap grows even wider with respect to HPV-16, a strain that is responsible for the vast majority of HPV-related cases of oral cancer. Men are five times more likely to be infected with HPV-16 than are women, the study found. The biggest risk factors for oral HPV infection include sex and tobacco use, the researchers say. "Our data link oral HPV infection to the number of sex partners and to smoking," said study author Dr. Maura Gillison, chair of cancer research in the department of viral ... Read more
Related support groups: Smoking, Gardasil, Cervical Cancer, Human Papilloma Virus, Human Papillomavirus Vaccine, Cervarix, Human Papillomavirus Prophylaxis
Smoking During Pregnancy Not Linked to Autism
Posted 22 Jan 2012 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, Jan. 20 – Children born to women who smoke during pregnancy are not at increased risk for autism, according to a new study. Smoking during pregnancy has been considered a possible cause of autism in children due to known links between smoking and behavioral disorders and obstetric complications, but previous studies of a connection between smoking during pregnancy and autism have had mixed results. In this study, researchers analyzed data from nearly 4,000 Swedish children with autism and a control group of 39,000 children without autism. The results showed that 19.8 percent of the children in the autism group and 18.4 percent of those in the control group had mothers who smoked during pregnancy. The study was published online in December in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders and will appear in a upcoming print issue. "We found no evidence that maternal smoking ... Read more
Poorer Folks May Find It Harder to Quit Smoking
Posted 19 Jan 2012 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Jan. 19 – Quitting smoking is much more difficult for poor people than for those who have greater financial and social status, U.S. researchers have found. For the study, more than 2,700 smokers were given nicotine patches and a type of treatment called cognitive-behavioral therapy, which is based on the idea that people can learn to change their behavior by changing their thinking patterns. The researchers then assessed the participants' progress in quitting smoking three and six months after the treatment period. The investigators found that, compared to people with the lowest socioeconomic status, those with the highest socioeconomic status were 55 percent more likely to have quit smoking after three months, and 2.5 times more likely after six months. The term socioeconomic status takes into account factors such as income, education, occupation and where a person lives. In ... Read more
Related support groups: Smoking, Smoking Cessation
Study Maps Path From Smoking to Emphysema in Mice
Posted 18 Jan 2012 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 18 – Smoking activates certain genes and portions of the immune system, which in turn causes inflammation that leads to emphysema. So say researchers who mapped the destructive path from smoking to the debilitating lung disease in mice. "Previously, emphysema was thought to be a nonspecific injurious response to long-term smoke exposure," study author Dr. Farrah Kheradmand, a professor of medicine and immunology at Baylor College of Medicine, said in a college news release. "These studies show for the first time that emphysema is caused by a specific immune response induced by smoke." She and her colleagues spent more than four years unraveling how smoking leads to emphysema. They exposed mice to conditions that closely simulated how humans smoke. The mice developed emphysema within three to four months, and certain inflammatory cells and genes were crucial in the ... Read more
Related support groups: Smoking, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
FDA to Weigh Safety of Tobacco Lozenges, Strips
Posted 17 Jan 2012 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, Jan. 17 – They may look and smell a lot like candy, but dissolvable, smokeless tobacco products aren't for kids. The safety and risks of "dissolvables" are the subject of a three-day U.S. Food and Drug Administration meeting this week. "Dissolvables" are flavored mints, strips and sticks of smokeless tobacco. These products are not stop-smoking aids. Instead, they are designed to allow people to satisfy their cravings for nicotine in places where smoking is banned. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. is test marketing Camel Orbs, Camel Strips and Camel Sticks in two cities, and Star Scientific Inc., is marketing two other dissolvable tobacco products, Ariva and Stonewall. Many public health advocates are concerned about the risks these products pose to children and teens, namely possible addiction and nicotine poisoning. "If you wanted to design a product that would appeal to youth and ... Read more
Related support groups: Smoking, Smoking Cessation
At More U.S. Workplaces, Smokers Need Not Apply
Posted 13 Jan 2012 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, Jan. 13 – Following the lead of the Cleveland Clinic and a growing number of other hospitals, Pennsylvania's Geisinger Health System will turn away job applicants who smoke starting next month. "This is quite a trend. Hospital systems throughout the country are doing this increasingly," said Dr. Michael Siegel, a professor of community health sciences at Boston University School of Public Health. The move further flames a debate between workers' rights organizations and health advocates over whether denying jobs based on tobacco use is just. Some argue it's a form of employment discrimination, while organizations that adopt such standards, including Geisinger, say that turning away smokers reduces health care costs and absenteeism, and sets a healthy example. Non-nicotine hiring policies are legal in many states, including Pennsylvania. Only 29 states have laws that prohibit ... Read more
Related support groups: Smoking, Cardiovascular Risk Reduction
Nicotine Patches, Gums Won't Help Smokers Quit Long-Term: Study
Posted 9 Jan 2012 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, Jan. 9 – Nicotine patches and nicotine gum – the popular mainstays of so-called "nicotine replacement therapy" – don't help many smokers kick the habit and remain cigarette-free over the long haul, new research suggests. This conclusion is based on results of several surveys conducted among nearly 800 adult smokers that revealed that those who used nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) did not gain any advantage over non-users in terms of relapse rates. This observation held up among both heavy and light smokers, regardless of whether or not nicotine replacement therapy was accompanied by professional cessation counseling. "Even though other well-controlled studies have shown that nicotine replacement therapy can be effective, our study looked at real-world use over the long-term," said study lead author Hillel Alpert, a research scientist with the Harvard School of Public ... Read more
Related support groups: Smoking, Smoking Cessation, Nicotine, Nicorette, Nicoderm CQ, Nicotrol Inhaler, Commit, Habitrol, ProStep, Nicotrol NS, Nicorelief
Anti-Estrogen Treatment Shrank Lung Tumors in Mice
Posted 9 Jan 2012 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, Jan. 9 – Combination drug treatment that targets estrogen production significantly reduced the number of tobacco carcinogen-related lung tumors in mice, a new study shows. "Anti-estrogens have been shown to prevent breast cancer in some women," Jill Siegfried, a professor in the department of pharmacology and chemical biology at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, said in an American Association for Cancer Research news release. "If anti-estrogens can prevent lung cancer as well, this would be a major advance, because these drugs are safe to give for long periods and there are no approved ways to prevent lung cancer," she added. Most lung cancers have a type of estrogen receptor that makes tumors grow when they're exposed to estrogen. In addition, aromatase, an enzyme in the lung, produces estrogen. Siegfried and her team found that blocking this estrogen receptor ... Read more
Related support groups: Smoking, Femara, Arimidex, Lung Cancer, Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, Aromasin, Anastrozole, Small Cell Lung Cancer, Faslodex, Letrozole, Exemestane, Fulvestrant, Teslac, Testolactone
Researchers Look at Genomes of Nonsmokers With Lung Cancer
Posted 9 Jan 2012 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, Jan. 9 – Scientists who have started to identify genes and pathways associated with lung cancer in people who have never smoked say it's a first step in the potential development of new treatments. Never-smokers – people who've smoked fewer than 100 cigarettes over a lifetime – account for about 10 percent of lung cancer cases. But this group of lung cancer patients hasn't been studied as much as smokers who develop lung cancer, according to Timothy Whitsett, a senior postdoctoral fellow in the cancer and cell biology division at the Translational Genomics Research Institute in Phoenix. He and his colleagues conducted genetic analyses on three female patients with adenocarcinoma of the lung, a form of non-small cell lung cancer. One was a never-smoker with early-stage disease, one was a never-smoker with late-stage disease and one was a smoker with early-stage disease. "In ... Read more
Related support groups: Smoking, Lung Cancer, Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, Small Cell Lung Cancer
How to Make Your Quit-Smoking Resolution Stick
Posted 26 Dec 2011 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, Dec. 26 – Quitting smoking is one of the most common New Year's resolutions, but it's easier said than done, with six of 10 smokers requiring multiple attempts before successfully kicking the habit, according to the American Lung Association. However, preparing a quit-smoking plan can greatly improve your chances of success. "Quitting smoking is the single most important step smokers can take to improve their health," Dr. Norman Edelman, chief medical officer of the lung association said in an association news release. "The start of a fresh New Year is a great time for smokers to implement their plan to quit smoking and reap the health and financial benefits of a smoke-free lifestyle." Here are some proven tips and resources that have helped thousands of people quit smoking, the lung association said. Various types of treatments and different over-the-counter and prescription ... Read more
Related support groups: Smoking, Smoking Cessation
Life After Cigarettes Is Happier: Study
Posted 16 Dec 2011 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, Dec. 16 – Not only does their health improve, but people who quit smoking get a boost in their quality of life, new research finds. "Quitting is hard, but if you can actually do it, there are a lot of benefits that you might not have thought about," said study author Megan E. Piper. "If you thought you'd have more stress, that quitting would put more stress on your relationships, or that you'll feel worse forever, that isn't the case," said Piper, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and its Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention. The findings don't make specify how much of a difference quitting makes in percentage terms. Still, they show a definite gain, she said. Three years after stopping, study participants who had quit reported fewer stressors and improved mood compared to those who continued smoking. Piper said she and ... Read more
Related support groups: Smoking
Smoking Linked to Skin Cancer in Women
Posted 15 Dec 2011 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Dec. 15 – If you're a woman who smokes and you are looking for another reason to quit, consider this: A new study has found a link between tobacco use and skin cancer. The study found that women who had squamous cell skin cancer were more likely to have smoked than those who were free from the disease. And those who smoked at least 20 years were twice as likely to develop squamous cell skin cancer, a less aggressive form of skin cancer than melanoma. Men who smoked had a modest risk for the two types of non-melanoma skin cancer – basal cell and squamous cell cancer – but the results weren't statistically significant, the study authors noted. "We don't know why," said study lead author Dana Rollison, referring to the difference between women's and men's risk. Both men and women get a lot of exposure to the sun, the main risk factor for skin cancer, she noted. But lung cancer ... Read more
Related support groups: Smoking, Skin Cancer, Squamous Cell Carcinoma
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