Smoking Cessation News and Research

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Health insurance plans extend efforts to end tobacco use

Nearly three-quarters of all health insurance plans included in a new survey rely on evidence-based clinical guidelines to address tobacco use, and almost all plans, 98 percent, provide full coverage for at least one type of smoking cessation intervention.

16 Sep 2004

Patient autonomy is an essential factor in motivating effective change in health behavior

Counselors were more successful in motivating smokers to quit when they explored the smokers' personal values, discussed their knowledge of the health risks, and supported patients as they tried to solve their problem, a University of Rochester study has found.

16 Sep 2004

Public call for legal age of smoking to be raised helps underline dire health-care consequences of long-term smoking

A new British report commissioned as part of BBC News' Healthy Britons poll has found that 80% of people want the legal age of smoking raised from 16 to 18. This follows a recent report in the journal Education and Health on the health-care consequences of long-term smoking.

6 Sep 2004

Nicotine patches and gum less effective for women than men

Research at Texas A&M University reveals that one of the most widely used forms of treatment - nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), or nicotine chewing gum and 'the patch' - may be less effective for women than men.

5 Sep 2004

Young adults ate and smoked more in the 1990s

Young adults, apparently believing they are immune from risk, had large increases in smoking and obesity and had continued poor eating habits during the 1990s, according to surveys of more than 120,000 people.

31 Aug 2004

New study confirms benefits of rimonabant in weight loss

Phase III clinical study comparing placebo to rimonabant, the first agent in a new therapeutic class known as selective cannabinoid type 1 (CB1) blockers, showed that overweight or obese people taking rimonabant 20mg once daily benefited from a significant reduction in their body weight

29 Aug 2004

Are nicotine patches safe for pregnant women?

A £1 million study, being led by a team of multidisciplinary researchers at The University of Nottingham, is to look at whether nicotine replacement skin patches could help pregnant mums to stop smoking.

26 Aug 2004

Nicotine replacement therapy shown to help teenagers and women

In the first study, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have found that the nicotine patch seems to work as well, at least initially, for teens as it does for adults. In addition, the patch, the top delivery form of NRT (followed by gum, an inhaler and a nasal spray) worked equally well with or without supplementation by an anti-depressant given to the teens.

21 Aug 2004

Smoking may be on the rise again

The statistics are alarming: About one in five high school seniors smoke cigarettes daily. Yet nearly half a million Americans die prematurely from tobacco-related disease and smoking is projected to in some way kill one third of all smokers.

15 Aug 2004

Newborns may be harmed when pregnant women take Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) and other anti-depressants during the third trimester of pregnancy

Health Canada is advising Canadians that newborns may be adversely affected when pregnant women take Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) and other newer anti-depressants during the third trimester of pregnancy.

9 Aug 2004

Personalised medicine designed to enhance people's chances of quitting smoking

The latest spin-out from the University of Oxford, G-Nostics, focuses on personalised medicine designed to enhance people's chances of quitting smoking.

6 Aug 2004

FDA approval for mint flavor nicotine gum

Watson Pharmaceuticals announced today that it has received approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration on its Abbreviated New Drug Application for nicotine polacrilex gum, mint flavor, in the 2 and 4 mg strengths.

3 Aug 2004

Hypnotherapy for quitting smoking more effective in men

Hypnotherapy when used to quit smoking is more likely to be effective for men than women.

31 Jul 2004

Study finds that physicians help patients quit smoking but could provide more education

Physicians are an important resource in New Jerseyans’ fight to stop smoking, but they can and should become even more effective educators, according to a survey by the Center for State Health Policy (CSHP) at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.

21 Jul 2004

Tobacco, obesity, HIV/AIDS and immigrant health addressed by members of congress

Members of Congress, public health experts, community leaders and citizens of South Florida convened today to address racial and ethnic health disparities in the areas of tobacco, obesity, immigrant health and HIV/AIDS.

11 Jul 2004

Pfizer donates $3.7 million worth of Nicotrol patches to the New York City Department of Health

To help smokers quit, Pfizer is donating $3.7 million worth of eight-week courses of the Nicotrol patch, a leading nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH).

9 Jul 2004

A shameful record of exploitation throughout the history of the NHS

A shameful record of exploitation throughout the history of the NHS, with the UK reliant on other countries sending us doctors to meet our healthcare needs, was condemned today (Monday 28 June 2004) by the chairman of the British Medical Association, Mr James Johnson.

28 Jun 2004

Cutting down on cigarettes may actually increase consumption of smoke, carbon monoxide and nicotine

Smokers who pride themselves on successfully cutting back as a step toward quitting tobacco altogether may be caught in a haze of self-deception.

21 Jun 2004

Heart attack patients are discharged without evidenced-based, guideline recommended, life-prolonging therapies

Heart attack care is more likely to match recommended guidelines when health care providers use standardized forms and other reminders, and institutional systems reinforce goals for treatment and patient lifestyles, according to a new study in the June 16, 2004 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

16 Jun 2004

Joint initiative to tackle cancer, diabetes, heart disease and stroke

Three of the nation’s leading not-for-profit health agencies today announced a joint initiative to empower Americans to help lower their risk of cancer, diabetes, heart disease and stroke by following a single set of recommendations.