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Tobacco companies used psychological means to deliberately target women

Health researchers have revealed this week that tobacco companies specifically designed cigarettes to appeal to women's desires to be thin and healthy in ways that went "far beyond marketing and advertising".

31 May 2005

New finding in studying dopamine transporter

Confirming findings in a previous study, Yale researchers observed an altered availability of the dopamine transporter in healthy persons with a genetic variation linked to substance abuse and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

30 May 2005

Allergies may be linked to irregular periods

New research is suggesting a there is possibly a link between allergic conditions such as asthma and hay fever and irregular periods.

29 May 2005

Fewer adults smoke in the U.S. and the number is dropping

Using data from the 2003 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), the study found that approximately 21.6 percent of U.S. adults, over 45 million people, are current smokers.

29 May 2005

Free nicotine patches could substantially increase the likelihood of smokers quitting

Giving smokers easy access to free nicotine patches could substantially increase the likelihood of them quitting, concludes a study in this week’s issue of The Lancet.

26 May 2005

Smokers with access to low-tax cigarettes less likely to quit

Smokers who bought low-taxed cigarettes from American Indian reservations were half as likely to try to quit and had less success when they did attempt to kick the habit compared to smokers who bought full-price cigarettes.

26 May 2005

Raising tobacco taxes could curb youth’s cigar habits

The only way to effectively turn teens away from smoking cigars is to raise prices, and one way to do that would be taxing cigars at the same rate as cigarettes.

26 May 2005

Intensive tobacco control measures can sharply reduce smoking rates

Comprehensive tobacco control efforts, including raising cigarette taxes, making workplaces smoke free and offering free and readily accessible nicotine patches, have a widespread impact on lowering smoking rates.

26 May 2005

IVF treatment less effective in women living with a smoker

According to Canadian study passive smoking is apparently as damaging to a woman’s chances of having successful fertility treatment as being a smoker.

26 May 2005

Direct link between inefficient metabolism and atherosclerosis

An experiment that turned out very differently than expected led scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis to the first direct link between inefficient metabolism and atherosclerosis.

26 May 2005

Increase in heart surgery mortality from SSRIs or depression?

Duke University Medical Center researchers have found that patients who were using a class of anti-depression drugs known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) prior to undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery have significantly higher death and rehospitalization rates up to five years after the procedure than patients who were not on SSRIs.

26 May 2005

Tobacco use persists after liver transplant for alcoholic liver disease

Alcohol and tobacco often go hand-in-hand. Studies have shown that approximately 90 percent of problem drinkers also smoke or chew tobacco. But tobacco use is not adequately addressed when patients undergo liver transplantation due to alcoholic liver disease, say authors of a new report.

26 May 2005

Asthma and hay fever seem to be linked to irregular periods

The finding adds weight to the evidence, suggesting that female hormones might have a role in the development of asthma and allergies.

25 May 2005

Patients at high risk of stroke may need to continue Warfarin therapy after heart rhythm is controlled

Treatment with warfarin, a medication that prevents blood clotting, may reduce the risk of stroke by more than two-thirds in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), a condition which places them at high risk of stroke, according to a study in the May 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

23 May 2005

Heart disease and stroke burden every region of the world leading to increased inequalities in health

Heart disease and stroke are responsible for 17 million deaths each year, represent a major burden of disease in every region of the world and are contributing to an alarming increase in health inequalities, both within and between countries.

23 May 2005

Australian Medical Association indigenous health report card focuses on low birth weight babies

Australian Medical Association (AMA) President, Dr Bill Glasson, has launched Lifting the Weight, the AMA's fourth report card on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health.

22 May 2005

WHO says world must prepare for bird flu pandemic

Reports of disturbing changes to the H5N1 virus circulating in Asia is causing great concern and has prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to urge countries to prepare for a influenza pandemic.

22 May 2005

Obese people incorrectly diagnosed with asthma

Clinical tests carried out by the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research indicate obese people may be incorrectly being diagnosed and treated for asthma when in fact the reason for shortness of breath may be related to the extra weight they carry.

18 May 2005

Antiretroviral therapy may prevent excess risk of some cancers in people with HIV

In people infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) may prevent most excess cases of Kaposi sarcoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, according to a new study in the March 16 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

18 May 2005

Cardiovascular risk factors among homeless people are under-treated in Canada

The study, the first comprehensive assessment of cardiovascular risk factors in a representative sample of homeless adults, also found that cardiovascular risks among the homeless may be underestimated due to commonly used risk assessment tools that do not account for cocaine use and the level of smoking exposure.

18 May 2005