Smoking Addiction News and Research

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Smoking to be banned at University of California campuses

The University of California is banning cigarettes and all other tobacco products from its campuses over the next two years. This drastic step is designed to both protect nonsmokers from secondhand smoke and prevent young people from developing the bad habit. Students and staff alike will be prohibited from smoking anywhere on a UC campus - including outdoor spaces, parking lots and private residences. There won't be any designated smoking areas.

16 Jan 2012

Questions raised over nicotine replacement therapy: Study

Smokers have been advised a host of choices for nicotine replacement like gums, patches and nasal sprays to help them quit. But a new U.S. study says that these do not help people quit cigarettes over the long term any better than going it alone.

10 Jan 2012

Now cannabis mouth spray to help ‘pot’ addicts quit

To help smokers quit there are nicotine patches and heroin users have methadone. However till date cannabis users have little choice except stop abruptly to quit. Cannabis withdrawal symptoms include severe insomnia, pot cravings and mood swings. “Although these are not life-threatening, they are significant enough to cause marked distress and lead people to go back to using the drug,” said lead researcher Jan Copeland.

10 Jan 2012

Smokers prefer cold turkey - launch of study into quitting smoking including popular cold turkey method

Cold turkey is the preferred method for giving up smoking according to public health researchers at the University of Sydney. With more than two-thirds of smokers giving up permanently this way the research team wants to know why.

2 Jan 2012

More than half smokers unaware of health risks: NHS Survey

The figures come from NHS Smokefree research that showed that 53% of smokers underestimate the number of annual deaths from smoking-related diseases by at least 70,000. The actual number of such deaths is more than 80,000.

2 Jan 2012

Britain mulling on cigarette plain packaging to discourage smoking

Britain wishes to follow Australia’s footsteps in banning all eye-catching designs and branding from cigarette packs to stop young people being lured into smoking. Australia meanwhile is poised to become the first nation to introduce so-called “plain” packaging on tobacco products by the end of 2012. The packs will show graphic health warnings about smoking but banish attractive colors and logos. The proposed law was cleared by parliament in November and is being closely watched by governments considering similar moves in Europe, Canada and New Zealand.

1 Jan 2012

British American Tobacco buckles up to fight plain packaging legislation

British American Tobacco (BAT) has challenged the High Court against the cigarette plain packaging legislation. BAT argues the ban is invalid because the federal government is trying to acquire valuable intellectual property without compensation. BAT lodged the writs launching its challenge in the High Court Sydney registry on Thursday. The date for hearing is likely to be no earlier than the second quarter of next year.

4 Dec 2011

Obama administration appeals to bring in cigarette pack graphic images

Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled that the cigarette makers are likely to succeed in a lawsuit to stop a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requirement that they put graphic images across the top half of all their packs.

30 Nov 2011

Ban smoking in cars urges BMA

The British Medical Association is calling for a ban on smoking in all cars. The BMA says research shows levels of toxins in a car after a cigarette has been smoked are up to 23 times higher than they would be in a smoky bar.

17 Nov 2011

FDA warnings to retailers selling cigarettes to under-18s

The federal health regulators have lashed out at some 1,200 retailers for unlawfully selling cigarettes and other tobacco products to children under 18.

13 Nov 2011

Cigarette package warnings stopped citing free speech

A federal judge has obstructed a U.S. rule requiring tobacco companies to display graphic images on cigarette packs citing free speech.

8 Nov 2011

Smoking primes the brain for cocaine addiction: Study

The study comes from the National Institute on Drug Abuse in Maryland that is the first of its kind to show how nicotine can change the brain in a way that enhances the behavioral effects of cocaine. It could help explain why so many drug-using teenagers tend to start with cigarettes and alcohol before moving on to more illegal substances.

7 Nov 2011

Chest X ray for lung cancer fails to improve survival compared to no screening: Study

This study followed 154,901 participants, about half of whom were women. About 10 percent were current smokers, and the rest were nearly evenly divided between former smokers and people who never smoked. Subjects were either offered a chest X-ray or no screening at all.

27 Oct 2011

No link between Chantix and mental health problems says FDA

According to federal health officials this Monday Pfizer's anti-smoking drug Chantix – known as Varenicline, did not increase psychiatric problems like depression and suicidal thoughts in two studies, though the findings are not definitive.

25 Oct 2011

FDA plans study on the effects of tough tobacco laws on smokers

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will be looking at the behavior and health of 40,000 smokers aged 12 and older to study the effects of new tobacco regulations.

9 Oct 2011

Smoking worst among miners, hoteliers and construction workers: CDC report

A new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report reveals that miners, construction workers and people in the hotel and food service industry have the highest smoking rates, while those in education have the lowest.

2 Oct 2011

Bulgaria’s decades old anti-smoking pill could be a cheap and effective answer to smoking cessation

A pill from Bulgaria during the Soviet era shows promise for helping millions of smokers cheaply and safely kick the habit, the first big clinical trial of it shows. It is unclear whether it will ever reach the market in the U.S. or Western Europe though.

29 Sep 2011

Hair loss, divorce and smoking in women – links established

A new study showed that genetics aside, the next strongest predictor of midline (central) hair loss among women is their marital status, with the loss of a spouse (through either divorce or death) raising the risk for thinning hair above that of married or single women.

26 Sep 2011

Exercise helps teens quit smoking

Research has shown that a program that combines counseling with physical activity may offer teens a more effective way to stop smoking. Less than 5 percent of those who were assigned to a brief smoking cessation intervention had quit smoking after three months. But, in the group of teens that received smoking cessation counseling coupled with physical activity, almost 14 percent were off cigarettes at the three-month mark. And, the findings were most dramatic for boys. Nearly a quarter of the boys in the combination group had quit smoking at the end of three months.

20 Sep 2011

Diabetes prevention in five steps: Study

According to a new study meeting just one of five key health goals reduces the odds of developing diabetes in middle age by roughly one-third. The report adds that the more goals are met the lower the risk falls, even if there is a family history of diabetes.

6 Sep 2011