Nicotine News and Research

RSS

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.

Coffee intake during pregnancy associated with elevated risk of low birth weight

Drinking just two cups of coffee a day is associated with the risk of low birth weight. Researchers at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have conducted a study on 59,000 women in collaboration with the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.

12 Mar 2013

Research roundup: Insurance coverage and access to care in Massachusetts

With increasing interest in public health problems such as obesity and alcohol and tobacco use, lawmakers are increasingly considering using policy to modify behavior. According to the authors, little is currently known about the public's willingness to accept such policies.

11 Mar 2013

Addiction risk increased after mild traumatic brain injury

A study of military personnel suggests that individuals who have suffered a mild traumatic brain injury are at increased for addiction-related disorders.

8 Mar 2013

Inflammatory marker for schizophrenia treatment resistance, severity

Levels of the inflammatory marker soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 may be associated with severity of symptoms and treatment resistance in schizophrenia, say Brazilian scientists.

8 Mar 2013

Researchers identify smoking gun for environmental exposures to affect future generations

Grandmother's cigarette smoking could be responsible for her grandchild's asthma, and the recent discovery of this multi-generational transmission of disease suggests the environmental factors experienced today could determine the health of family members for generations to come, two Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute (LA BioMed) lead researchers write in the March edition of Review of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

5 Mar 2013

Tooth loss due to periodontal disease is more prevalent among postmenopausal women

Postmenopausal women who have smoked are at much higher risk of losing their teeth than women who never smoked, according to a new study published and featured on the cover of the Journal of the American Dental Association by researchers at the University at Buffalo.

2 Mar 2013

Kaposi’s sarcoma risk factors revealed

Scientists have uncovered an intriguing relationship between the risk for Kaposi’s sarcoma, smoking, and the use of highly active antiretroviral therapy.

25 Feb 2013

Loyola offers tips to help stay healthy during shoveling season

A mild winter means many are out of practice in the fine art of snow shoveling. But bending and lifting the wrong way can lead to a trip to the emergency department.

25 Feb 2013

Tobacco-free snuff, nicotine lozenges help smokers to quit

Smokeless tobacco users who said they didn't want to quit changed their minds or significantly cut back when given nicotine lozenges or tobacco-free snuff in a Mayo Clinic study.

20 Feb 2013

'Vaccine patch' could make immunizations cheaper, easier

"An innovative new way to deliver vaccines could drastically improve the health of the third world, and even the first world, by making vaccines cheaper and easier to distribute and use," Business Insider reports, adding, "The 'vaccine patch' would be as easy to apply as a Band-Aid, and would be stable for weeks at room temperature."

16 Feb 2013

IKBKE gene plays a key role in tobacco-induced lung cancer

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center have found a potential targeted therapy for patients with tobacco-associated non-small cell lung cancer. It is based on the newly identified oncogene IKBKE, which helps regulate immune response.

16 Feb 2013

Substance use common in young mental health patients

Young people using mental healthcare services have a high frequency of alcohol, nicotine, and cannabis use, Australian study results show.

15 Feb 2013

Substance use common in young mental health patients

Young people using mental healthcare services have a high frequency of alcohol, nicotine, and cannabis use, Australian study results show.

15 Feb 2013

UIC receives $2.3M federal grant to study how young adults use new tobacco products

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago's Institute for Health Research and Policy have received a $2.3 million federal grant to study how young adults use hookahs, snus, electronic cigarettes, and other new tobacco products.

10 Feb 2013

Researchers investigate e-cigarettes awareness, use and perceptions among smokers

Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), or e-cigarettes, debuted in China in 2003 and have since become available globally, particularly through the Internet. While they resemble traditional tobacco cigarettes, they produce fewer toxins in the vapor for the smoker. Still, these novel products have unknown long-term health and addiction consequences, are of varying nicotine content and delivery, and may appeal to nonusers and youth. ENDS have been banned by health authorities in Canada and Australia.

5 Feb 2013

Nicotine metabolism inversely linked to addiction severity in teens

Reduced nicotine metabolism is associated with a greater number of cigarettes smoked per day and increased levels of dependence in adolescent smokers, researchers report.

4 Feb 2013

Smoking could be reduced by plain packaging of tobacco products: Study

Experts believe that plain packaging of tobacco products would cut smoking, a new study has found. Tobacco control experts from around the world estimate that two years after the introduction of generic packaging the number of adult smokers would be reduced by one percentage point (in the UK - from 21 to 20%), and the percentage of children trying smoking would be reduced by three percentage points (in the UK - from 27 to 24%).

24 Jan 2013