Nicotine News and Research

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Nicotine is an alkaloid found in the nightshade family of plants (''Solanaceae'') which constitutes approximately 0.6–3.0% of dry weight of tobacco, with biosynthesis taking place in the roots, and accumulating in the leaves.

Nicotine rush hinges on sugar in neurons

As with other questions involving good sensations, the answer appears to be sugar.

23 Jul 2007

D-Cycloserine found to help people with obsessive-compulsive disorder

Researchers at the University of Minnesota have found that a drug originally developed to fight tuberculosis may help people with obsessive-compulsive disorder make more progress in therapy sessions.

20 Jul 2007

Review of smoking cessation techniques

Some people are unwilling or unable to stop smoking, but are prepared to try and reduce the numbers of cigarettes they smoke each day.

18 Jul 2007

Quitting smoking with rimonabant

Using selective cannabinoid 1 (CB1) receptor antagonists such as rimonabant at a dose of 20 mg per day can help people quit smoking, can help them to remain abstinent, and can help prevent the weight gain that so often accompanies attempts at stopping smoking.

18 Jul 2007

Going in to hospital provides an opportunity to stop smoking

A Cochrane Systematic Review has found that the chance of successfully quitting can be enhanced if patients receive smoking cessation counselling during their stay, and then have at least one month of supportive contact after going home.

18 Jul 2007

Depression and smoking link

Ever wonder why smoking and depression seem to go together? A Saint Louis University School of Public Health researcher finds the connection is genetic.

17 Jul 2007

Cigarette smoking associated with reduced risk for developing Parkinson's disease

A pooled analysis of data from previous studies suggests that cigarette smoking appears to be associated with a reduced risk for developing Parkinson's disease, with long-term and current smokers at the lowest risk, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of Neurology.

10 Jul 2007

Anti-smoking drug Chantix works for alcohol too

According to researchers a popular anti-smoking pill may also curb the urge to drink alcohol.

10 Jul 2007

Should hookah smoking be part of England's smoking ban?

Campaigners are trying to get hookah smoking exempted from England's smoking ban for cultural reasons.

9 Jul 2007

Just one smoke can lead to nicotine addiction

A new study published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine shows that 10 percent of youth who become hooked on cigarettes are addicted within two days of first inhaling from a cigarette, and 25 percent are addicted within a month.

4 Jul 2007

Study to look at effect of using nicotine patches during pregnancy

1050 pregnant women are being recruited for the most extensive trial of its kind to establish the effect of using nicotine patches during pregnancy.

4 Jul 2007

Young adult smokers are highly motivated to quit

Despite tried and true methods to quit smoking, young adults do not take advantage of these proven smoking cessation treatments that can double their chances of quitting, University of Illinois at Chicago public health researchers report.

29 Jun 2007

Cigarette taxes do reduce smoking but can lead to bootlegging

Increasing cigarette taxes is an effective strategy for reducing tobacco use but there may be negative consequences especially in disadvantaged minority communities.

29 Jun 2007

Mothers' second-hand smoke exposure while pregnant linked to children's ADHD

Children whose mothers were exposed to second-hand smoke while they were pregnant have more symptoms of serious psychological problems compared to the offspring of women who had no prenatal exposure to smoke, according to a new University of Washington study.

28 Jun 2007

Smoking may interfere with alcoholics neurocognitive recovery from abstinence

Alcoholics frequently smoke. Anywhere from 50 to 90 percent of individuals in North America who seek alcoholism treatment are also chronic smokers.

26 Jun 2007

Smoking affects ligament healing

The list of reasons you shouldn't smoke has gotten longer. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are reporting that smoking interferes with ligament healing.

23 Jun 2007

Children who have at least one parent who smokes have 5.5 times higher levels of cotinine

Having a mother that smokes was found to have the biggest independent effect on cotinine in the urine , quadrupling it. Having a smoking father doubled the amount of cotinine, one of chemicals produced when the body breaks down nicotine from inhaled smoke to get rid of it.

20 Jun 2007

Babies with parents who smoke have cotinine in their urine

British scientists say babies with parents who smoke have five times as much cotinine, a nicotine byproduct, in their urine than infants whose parents are non-smokers.

20 Jun 2007

Researchers use 'genomic pathway' to predict Parkinson's

A new Mayo Clinic study provides strong evidence that the joint effects of common DNA variations in several genes that encode proteins within a well-defined biological pathway largely explain why some persons get Parkinson's disease while others don't, and even predict with great accuracy at what age people might develop their first symptoms.

17 Jun 2007

Addressing multiple unhealthy behaviors at once may be more effective than sequential approach

Physicians trying to help patients change more than one behavioral risk factor may have more success approaching several topics at once rather than addressing them separately over time, according to a report in the June 11 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

14 Jun 2007