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Substituting smokeless tobacco products can save smokers' lives

Substituting smokeless tobacco products can save smokers' lives, and there is a scientific foundation that proves it.

20 Feb 2012

Quit-smoking drug Chantix effective in cocaine and alcohol addiction

Varenicline is unique among anti-addiction medications in the way it affects the brain. Like nicotine, varenicline activates a specific receptor for a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine, but it does so less intensely than the active ingredient of cigarettes does. The net effect is that the drug seems to help by both cutting cravings and making the formerly desired drug less pleasant — without making non-drug pleasures less intense. Alcohol works on the same chemical receptors in the brain as nicotine, and it may enhance the pleasurable effects of smoking.

18 Feb 2012

Mass spectroscopy identifies total of 1,210 UCB proteins

Blood tests have been a mainstay of diagnostic medicine since the late 19th century, offering a wealth of information concerning health and disease. Nevertheless, blood derived from the human umbilical cord has yet to be fully mined for its vital health information, according to Rolf Halden, a researcher at Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute.

15 Feb 2012

Radiation induces testicular cancer in male fetuses

Male fetuses of mothers that are exposed to radiation during early pregnancy may have an increased chance of developing testicular cancer, according to a study in mice at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

14 Feb 2012

Hospitals seek to consolidate in Ga., Wis. and N.Y.; Other state hospital news

Hospitals in Atlanta, Wisconsin and New York are consolidating or partnering more closely with others in a bid to reduce costs and save themselves. In other hospital news, small California hospitals market back surgery to patients and a Minnesota hospital faces a "patient abuse" crisis.

10 Feb 2012

State roundup: Iowa ponders HPV awareness program; Md. workers will see pharmacy plan change; Mass. changes saving money for cities

Iowa's health department would launch a $250,000 public awareness program about the human papillomavirus vaccine under a bill approved today by a Senate subcommittee. ... Senate Study Bill 3097 would allocate $250,000 for the program, which includes vaccinations for low-income women between the ages 19 and 26 who have no other health coverage. The bill was approved today by a Senate Human Resources subcommittee and now heads to the full committee for further consideration.

10 Feb 2012

Higher blood levels of lead, cadmium may delay pregnancy in couples

Higher blood levels of cadmium in females, and higher blood levels of lead in males, delayed pregnancy in couples trying to become pregnant, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other academic research institutions.

9 Feb 2012

Link between coronary artery disease and prostate cancer

In a large analysis of men participating in a prostate drug trial, researchers at the Duke Cancer Institute found a significant correlation between coronary artery disease and prostate cancer, suggesting the two conditions may have shared causes.

8 Feb 2012

Smoking leads to early cognitive decline: Study

There is growing evidence that using cigarettes can also affect the brain: the latest study shows that smoking is associated with cognitive decline as early as age 45, and that male smokers may be more vulnerable to these mental effects than women.

7 Feb 2012

Facebook and Twitter addiction: Study

The researchers from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business recently conducted an experiment involving 205 people in Wurtzburg, Germany to analyze the addictive properties of social media and other vices.

7 Feb 2012

BPS Annual Meeting to be held Feb. 25 - 29 in San Diego

The latest news and discoveries in medicine, physics, environmental science, and interdisciplinary fields will be featured at the 56th Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society (BPS), held Feb. 25 - Feb. 29, 2012, at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, Calif. With more than 4,000 poster presentations, 200 exhibits, 20 symposia, and 6,000 research scientists in attendance each year, the BPS Annual Meeting is the largest meeting of biophysicists in the world.

7 Feb 2012

Smoking cessation reduces coughing, other respiratory symptoms within weeks

If the proven long-term benefits of smoking cessation are not enough to motivate young adults to stop smoking, a new study shows that 18- to 24-year olds who stop smoking for at least two weeks report substantially fewer respiratory symptoms, especially coughing.

4 Feb 2012

New editorial offers clarity on confusing drug and alcohol addiction terminology

A new editorial released this week offers clarity and structure on confusing drug and alcohol addiction terminology for prescribers, users and regulators. "Through a glass darkly: can we improve clarity about mechanism and aims of medications in drug and alcohol treatments?" is published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, the official journal of the British Association for Psychopharmacology, published by SAGE.

4 Feb 2012

Addiction could be a legacy from parents: Study

Researchers have found that like other inherited traits – addiction could be a legacy from parents. A child of drug-addicted parents is eight times more likely to become an addict than a child growing up in a drug-free home. However in families whose very brains seem primed for addiction, some children still go on to lead productive lives free of drugs, according to new research.

3 Feb 2012

First signs of atherosclerotic heart disease may appear in early childhood

When we think about people with heart disease we usually think about middle-aged men. In reality, atherosclerotic heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women in North America, but its impact starts much earlier than adulthood. Though children will rarely, if ever, have overt symptoms of atherosclerosis, the first signs of this disease appear in early childhood and perhaps even before birth.

1 Feb 2012

Tobacco smoking may increase risk of esophageal cancer in Barrett's patients

Barrett's esophagus (BE) patients who smoke tobacco are at a two-fold increased risk of developing esophageal cancer, according to a new study in Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association. BE patients who smoke also double their risk for developing advanced precancerous cells.

31 Jan 2012

First Edition: January 27, 2012

Now on Kaiser Health News' blog, Christian Torres reports on a speech given at the Care Innovation Summit in Washington, D.C., by Marilyn Tavenner, the president's nominee to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, about the health law's accomplishments: "Tavenner will likely make some of the same arguments for the law and CMS initiatives when – or if – she encounters a grilling at her yet-to-be scheduled Senate confirmation hearing.

27 Jan 2012

Study provides valuable information on which cancer patients might need help to quit smoking

A new analysis has found that a substantial number of lung and colorectal cancer patients continue to smoke after being diagnosed. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study provides valuable information on which cancer patients might need help to quit smoking.

23 Jan 2012

Poor and uneducated smokers face difficulty in quitting

Quitting smoking is never easy. However, when you're poor and uneducated, kicking the habit for good is doubly hard, according to a new study by a tobacco dependence researcher at The City College of New York.

21 Jan 2012

Lung association criticizes state tobacco policies

Anti-tobacco efforts by U.S. states were "abysmal" last year as their collective spending on anti-smoking programs declined 11 percent and only two raised cigarette taxes, the American Lung Association said. While more than half the states already ban the use of cigarettes in restaurants, bars and workplaces, no additional states passed comprehensive anti-smoking laws last year, the Washington-based health advocacy group said today in a report.

20 Jan 2012