Smoking Cessation News and Research

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Female smokers who stop before middle age on average gain ten extra years of life

The largest-ever study of the hazards of smoking and benefits of stopping for women in the UK has shown that female smokers lose at least ten years of lifespan, but that stopping before the age of 40, and preferably well before the age of 40, avoids more than 90% of the increased risk of dying caused by continuing to smoke, while stopping before the age of 30 avoids over 97% of it.

29 Oct 2012

Results of diabetes management program to be presented at Canadian Cardiovascular Congress

In Canada alone, almost 2 million people are known to be living with diabetes. And around a million more have the disease but are not aware of that fact, and have not been given the tools they need to control their blood sugar and safeguard their health.

29 Oct 2012

Stroke survivors who smoke risk their life

In a study detailed in the American Heart Association’s journal Stroke, researchers recruited 1,589 stroke survivors between 1996 and 1999 and examined the occurrence of deaths, recurrent strokes and heart attacks over a 10-year period. They found smokers and former smokers who suffered stroke had greater risk of death, multiple strokes or heart attack when compared to patients who were never smokers.

25 Oct 2012

AHA/ASA honors UCLA Medical Center with Get With The Guidelines-Stroke award

Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award.

25 Oct 2012

Pro-smoking content being promoted in smartphone apps

Pro-smoking content, some featuring explicit cigarette brand images, is being promoted in smartphone apps reaching millions of users worldwide, including teenagers and children.

23 Oct 2012

CAMH scientists identify potential new approach to prevent smoking relapse

Scientists at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) have identified a potential new approach to preventing smoking relapse, which occurs frequently in smokers who attempt to quit, despite current treatments.

23 Oct 2012

Combination of medication and behavioral therapy improves smoking cessation rates

Smokers who try to quit would be more successful if they combined medication or nicotine-replacement therapy with behavioral counseling, finds a new review in The Cochrane Library. Few lifestyle changes deliver as many positive health benefits as quitting smoking, including improved circulation, lowered blood pressure and a decreased risk of cancer and heart disease.

20 Oct 2012

Integrative Medicine helps people heal faster

The body has an innate desire to heal itself. Encouraging self-healing is the focus of Greenwich Hospital's Integrative Medicine Program.

19 Oct 2012

Study identifies new risk factors for bladder cancer

Low depressive symptoms and a longer telomere length are compelling factors that contribute to a prolonged life for bladder cancer patients according to researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

19 Oct 2012

Quitting smoking may improve HRQoL in advanced lung cancer

The health-related quality of life of patients with advanced-stage lung cancer is worsened if they smoke, report UK researchers.

17 Oct 2012

Empire BlueCross BlueShield introduces Medicare Advantage plans in New York City

Empire BlueCross BlueShield is introducing a number of Medicare Advantage (MA) plans in New York City that include access to the acclaimed CareMore health delivery system, which helps members maintain their health.

15 Oct 2012

Smoking cessation programs must be made available for current active-duty war fighters

In a new study published in Frontiers, Dr Timothy Durazzo and colleagues from the San Francisco VA Medical Center and University of California, San Francisco, expand upon their decade of research showing that smoking while kicking the alcohol habit impairs memory, learning and other cognitive skills--ultimately making it more difficult to weather the long storm of sobriety.

15 Oct 2012

Nearly all groups of patients with spinal stenosis do better with surgery

Nearly all groups of patients with spinal stenosis—but not smokers—do better with surgery than with nonsurgical treatment, reports a study in the October 1 issue of Spine.

10 Oct 2012

SRR intervention decreases unintended pregnancies, unprotected sex in adolescent girls

Adolescent girls participating in a sexual risk reduction (SRR) intervention study were more likely to practice abstinence and, if sexually active, showed substantial decreases in unprotected sex, number of partners, and unintended pregnancies, reports a research team led by principal investigator Dianne Morrison-Beedy, PhD, RN, WHNP-BC, FNAP, FAANP, FAAN, Senior Associate Vice President of USF Health and Dean of the College of Nursing at the University of South Florida.

10 Oct 2012

Study evaluates impact of graphic anti-smoking ads

"Harder hitting ads worked equally well, regardless of how much you wanted to quit, how much your income is and your level of education," said Matthew C. Farrelly, Ph.D., chief scientist at RTI International in Research Triangle Park, N.C., and lead author on the study.

9 Oct 2012

Research emphasizes importance of smoking cessation for people with stroke or TIA

A study of stroke patients from Southern Ontario found those who smoke have more difficulty with problem-solving and decision-making than non-smokers.

3 Oct 2012

New insights on global fight to prevent cancers

New insights on the global fight to prevent cancers were presented during the ESMO 2012 Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology in Vienna. The studies highlight the challenges of overcoming misunderstandings about how important lifestyle factors are in reducing cancer risk.

1 Oct 2012

Medicaid: Ariz. expansion savings detailed; Kan. prepares for managed care approval

In Medicaid news, a report details how an expansion there would save Arizona money. And a Kansas official says a planned move of recipients to managed care is likely to be approved by federal authorities.

28 Sep 2012

HSS recognizes Kaiser Permanente Colorado as a 2012 Hypertension Control Champion

Today, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius recognized Kaiser Permanente Colorado as a 2012 Million Hearts Hypertension Control Champion. Million Hearts is a national public-private initiative of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

18 Sep 2012

Cardiovascular mortality in Brazil has increased 3.5 times more than in other developing countries

Despite Brazil's successful prevention campaigns which have contributed to a reduction in risk factors such as smoking, cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the first cause of death in the country, at 32%. Tobacco consumption and decrease of salt in local diets are some of the risk factors that will be discussed at the 67th Annual Congress of the Brazilian Society of Cardiology which takes place in Recife, Brazil from 14 to 17 September 2012.

15 Sep 2012