Smoking Addiction News and Research

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E-cigarettes as a first-line aid for smoking cessation in adults

Should electronic cigarettes, or vapes, be accepted more widely as an effective and respected tool for treating adult smokers’ nicotine addiction?

20 Feb 2023

Researchers localize specific brain circuit mediating addiction remission

In the United States, substance use disorders are a leading cause of death among young people. Treatments such as deep brain stimulation hold promise for helping people overcome addiction, but many questions remain about what brain areas should be targeted.

13 Jun 2022

UCLA clinical trial shows efficacy of varenicline on heavy-drinking smokers

A recent UCLA clinical trial has shown encouraging results in helping daily smokers who are also heavy drinkers quit smoking and cut down their alcohol intake.

15 Jun 2021

Mental distress increases among smokers in England during COVID-19 pandemic

Scientists have conducted a survey in England to investigate the association between smoking habits and distress during the COVID-19 pandemic.

10 Dec 2020

French scientists suggest nicotinic agonists could treat COVID-19

Contrary to the warnings issued by health agencies worldwide against cigarette smoking amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), a new paper suggests the possibility that nicotine, a component of tobacco, could prevent coronavirus infection.

28 Apr 2020

Managing nontraditional risk factors to improve outcomes after cancer surgery

In a study of 142 patients preparing for cancer surgery, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers say they have evidence that psychological or social risk factors such as depression, limited resilience and lack of emergency resources along with standard medical risk factors such as high blood pressure or diabetes are linked with higher risks of surgical complications.

12 Mar 2019

Smoking at record lows in New York

New York has successfully achieved a record low rate of smoking with only 14.2 percent of people smoking.

22 Feb 2018

Worldwide report on tobacco control measures - progress over last 10 years

According to a latest report from the World Health Organization on the worldwide epidemic of tobacco addiction, the efforts to control tobacco use has increased notably over the last ten years.

19 Jul 2017

Researchers identify altered activity in distinct areas of the brain during hypnosis sessions

Your eyelids are getting heavy, your arms are going limp and you feel like you're floating through space.

28 Jul 2016

Integrative Body-Mind Training helps reduce smoking

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Tuesday that 15.1 percent of American adults smoked cigarettes in 2015, down almost 2 percent from the year before. This is the lowest recorded smoking rate in the country's history.

26 May 2016

Research finds high prevalence of smoking, low cessation rates in people with schizophrenia

Smoking addiction in schizophrenia can be explained by significantly increased activation of the ventro-medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), a region involved in the brain reward system. These new data, the result of a study by researchers at the Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Montréal and the University of Montreal confirms the tendency to smoke and low smoking cessation rates of people with schizophrenia.

18 Apr 2016

People in addiction treatment programs more likely to use tobacco

People in addiction treatment programs around the world use tobacco at two to three times the rate of people who are not being treated for addiction, according to a review of research studies from 20 countries other than the United States.

23 Sep 2015

E-cigarette use among American high school students is at an all time high

A new government report has shown that the use of electronic cigarettes has tripled among American high school students between 2013 and 2014, raising concerns that the fight against teen smoking is failing...

17 Apr 2015

New NCCN Guidelines for Smoking Cessation published

Tobacco-related diseases are the most preventable cause of death worldwide; smoking cessation leads to improvement in cancer treatment outcomes, as well as decreased recurrence. According to the American Cancer Society, in 2015, nearly 171,000 of the estimated 589,430 cancer deaths in the United States--more than 25 percent--will be caused by tobacco smoking.

16 Mar 2015

The growing evidence on standardised packaging of tobacco products

The scientific journal Addiction has today published a collection of peer-reviewed research papers and commentaries that bring together key parts of the evidence base for standardised packaging of tobacco products from 2008 to 2015.

17 Feb 2015

Electronic cigarettes and smoking cessation: an interview with Professor Peter Hajek

The electronic cigarette has been invented by Chinese pharmacist Hon Lik in 2003. The rise in electronic cigarettes (EC) popularity was initially a grass root phenomenon. EC are estimated to be at least 95% safer than cigarettes and they appeal to smokers who cannot or do not want to stop smoking, but who want to reduce the risks smoking poses to their health.

5 Feb 2015

Emerging evidence suggests electronic cigarettes can help smokers quit

New Cochrane review finds emerging evidence that smokers who use electronic cigarettes can stop or reduce their smoking.

17 Dec 2014

Electronic cigarettes reduce smoking habits

Electronic cigarettes offer smokers a realistic way to kick their tobacco smoking addiction. In a new study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, scientists at KU Leuven report that e-cigarettes successfully reduced cravings for tobacco cigarettes, with only minimal side effects.

20 Nov 2014

Blood test can predict recurrence of HPV-linked oral cancers

Research published yesterday indicates that recurrence of human papillomavirus (HPV)-induced cancers affecting the oropharynx (the area of the throat just behind the mouth) can be predicted by blood and saliva tests that screen for DNA fragments from HPV that have been shed by cancer cells.

1 Aug 2014

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease flare-ups: an interview with Dr. MeiLan Han, University of Michigan and Scott Cerreta, Director of Education, COPD Foundation

During a flare-up, symptoms of a patient’s COPD worsen significantly, and breathing becomes more difficult. A persistent increase in shortness of breath, cough and sputum production are typical symptoms.

30 Jul 2014