Tobacco News and Research

RSS

Proposed 25% cut in tobacco taxes will cost Maine $96.2M in future health care costs

Declaring it an "irresponsible policy that will cost Maine millions in higher health care costs and weaken efforts to protect kids from smoking" the Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund called on Republican gubernatorial candidate Paul LePage to stop supporting a proposed 25 percent cut in the state's tobacco tax.

18 Oct 2010

ASTRO honors founder of The Oral Cancer Foundation

The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) has named Brian Hill of Newport Beach, Calif., as its 2010 Survivor Circle Award winner. Hill will be recognized with a trophy and a $1,000 prize during the Awards Ceremony on Tuesday, November 2, 2010, during ASTRO's 52nd Annual Meeting in San Diego. He has chosen to donate the funds from the award to benefit The Oral Cancer Foundation, the nonprofit he started a decade ago.

18 Oct 2010

European Society of Cardiology to commence new programme of Global Scientific Activities at GW-ICC

On the opening day of today's Great Wall International Congress of Cardiology in Beijing the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) will take its first step in a new programme of Global Scientific Activities. The GW-ICC will host a one-day ESC educational programme built around highlights from the Society's annual meeting in Stockholm and this year's newly published ESC guidelines.

14 Oct 2010

Novel hormonal treatments may help ER-negative breast cancer patients: Study

Women who have estrogen (ER) negative breast cancer may have more drug treatment options than previously thought, a Creighton (pronounced Cray-ton) University study suggests. The study is reported in the Oct. 11 online version of the journal Oncogene.

11 Oct 2010

Asia Pacific Conference on Tobacco addresses developing country smoking

American Public Media's "Marketplace" reports on the Asia Pacific Conference on Tobacco or Health, where experts from 41 countries discussed how the tobacco industry has "been been targeting developing countries more and more" (10/7).

11 Oct 2010

ESC pleased with European Health Award recognition for Chronic Disease Alliance

The European Society of Cardiology is delighted to see the European Health Award 2010 handed to the Chronic Disease Alliance at the 13th European Health Forum held in Gastein 6 - 9 October 2010.

11 Oct 2010

Smoking leads to epigenetic changes associated with cancer development: Research

For the first time, UK scientists have reported direct evidence that taking up smoking results in epigenetic changes associated with the development of cancer.The results were reported at the 35th Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) in Milan, Italy.

11 Oct 2010

Tobacco consumption raises risk of death in comparison with non-smokers

Researchers from the Polytechnic University of Cartagena (UPCT) estimate that each pack of cigarettes really costs €107 for men and €75 for women, when premature death is taken into account. These figures confirm previous studies, and are of key importance in the cost-benefit analysis of smoking-prevention policies.

8 Oct 2010

Roskamp to initiate RCP-006 clinical trials for Alzheimer's disease

Today the Roskamp Institute said that it is pleased to announce that it will soon begin clinical trials of RCP-006, a compound found in tobacco, for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

8 Oct 2010

New standards for bomb suits

When a bomb technician inspects a potential explosive device, the bulky protective suit might be the only defense he or she has. Bomb suit manufacturers run tests on their protective suits to ensure they can withstand an explosion, but there currently is no single set of requirements that the suits must meet before they can be sold.

8 Oct 2010

Mass. attorney general recommends approval of Caritas sale; Calif. will require students to get whooping cough vaccine

Attorney General Martha Coakley yesterday recommended approval of the proposed sale of Caritas Christi Health Care to a New York private equity firm, a deal that would bring for-profit health care on a large scale to a state long dominated by nonprofit hospitals.

8 Oct 2010

First Edition: October 7, 2010

Today's headlines include stories on waivers given some companies that offer only minimal health insurance coverage, insurers' political efforts during this campaign season and efforts in New York to bar the use of food stamps to buy soda.

7 Oct 2010

Semi-synthetic opioid may improve withdrawal symptoms in infants

Thousands of infants each year have exposure to opioids before they are born. Over half of these infants are born with withdrawal symptoms severe enough to require opioid replacement treatment in the nursery. Such treatment is associated with long hospital stays which interferes with maternal/infant bonding. Now, a team of researchers at Thomas Jefferson University has tested a semi-synthetic opioid they say has the potential to improve the treatment of these newborns, which could save hundreds of millions in healthcare costs annually if future tests continue to show benefit.

7 Oct 2010

MEPs organizes joint meeting to improve policies for tackling chronic diseases

In an unprecedented effort to bring prevention of chronic diseases to the top of the EU agenda, the MEP Heart Group , the MEP Group for Kidney Health , the EU Diabetes Working Group and MEPs Against Cancer organise a joint meeting today in the European Parliament, together with representatives of health professionals and health activists at European level.

6 Oct 2010

WHO Eastern Mediterranean meeting opens in Cairo

The 57th WHO Eastern Mediterranean regional meeting opened Sunday in Cairo, Egypt, the Emirates News Agency reports.

6 Oct 2010

FEHBP premium costs to increase next year, just not as much as this year

The Washington Post reports that the price federal employees pay for health insurance next year won't go up as much as it did this year, but that the 7.2 percent increase for 2011 is "much greater than inflation or any pay increase or cost of living adjustment they might get."

6 Oct 2010

EU called upon to tackle problem of chronic non-communicable diseases

Members of the European Parliament are calling on the Presidency of the EU and Member States to tackle urgently the problem of chronic non-communicable diseases that are responsible for 86% of all deaths in the WHO European Region. Their call is supported by an alliance of European health professionals, including ECCO - the European CanCer Organisation - and ESMO - the European Society for Medical Oncology.

5 Oct 2010

Excessive profits made by cigarette manufacturers need to be capped

An independent regulatory agency is needed to cap the excessive profits made by cigarette manufacturers, say researchers from the University of Bath.

4 Oct 2010

Nicotine reduction strategy should be an urgent research priority

After a major review of scientific information, six leading tobacco research and policy experts have concluded that a nicotine reduction strategy should be an urgent research priority because of its potential to profoundly reduce the death and disease from tobacco use. Their findings were published today in the journal Tobacco Control.

4 Oct 2010

FEHBP premiums to increase by 7.2 percent

Federal employees will see their health insurance premiums increase at a far higher rate than their pay next year, but less than many private sector workers. The Office of Personnel Management announced Friday that the average incrdase for Federal Employee Health Benefits Program enrollees will be 7.2 percent.

4 Oct 2010