Smoking News and Research

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New "reality" program will help those close to lung cancer victims quit smoking

Doctors in the U.S. have come up with a program which they hope will encourage the relatives and friends of lung cancer victims to quit smoking.

17 Jan 2006

Canada gets serious about smoking

Health authorities in Ontario have announced a new study aimed at helping Ontarians quit smoking.

16 Jan 2006

Another reason for not smoking during pregnancy

According to a new study by doctors at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, although the overall risk of such abnormalities in fingers and toes is relatively low, just half a pack of cigarettes per day increases the risk to the baby by 29 percent, compared to non-smokers.

11 Jan 2006

Obesity in middle age raises heart disease and diabetes risk

Obesity in middle age - even without established cardiovascular disease risk factors such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol levels - greatly increases risk of hospitalization for and death from heart disease and diabetes in older age, according to a study in the Jan. 11 issue of the JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association.

10 Jan 2006

Erectile dysfunction may be sign of coming heart disease

Most wives would say their husbands are notoriously bad about avoiding the doctor’s office. Erectile dysfunction (ED) might be the only problem that prompts some men to go to a physician. According to a new study, it could be their best chance at finding out they have underlying cardiovascular disease.

10 Jan 2006

Psychiatric patients who smoke

An editorial in the January 2006 issue of the Psychiatric Bulletin reviews the evidence for the effectiveness of gene-based smoking cessation packages, and asks whether they are appropriate for psychiatric patients.

10 Jan 2006

Tomato juice keeps emphysema from developing in new animal model of degenerative disease

Feeding tomato juice to mice kept them from developing emphysema after cigarette smoke exposure that was long enough to induce emphysema in a control group, Japanese researchers report in February issue of the American Journal of Physiology-Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology.

10 Jan 2006

Quality of care for acute myocardial infarction in elderly patients with alcohol-related diagnoses

Older Americans with alcohol problems do not get worse treatment than their sober peers when they are hospitalized for a heart attack, according to new research on Medicare patients across the country.

6 Jan 2006

New model for the origin of rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is one of the most common systemic autoimmune diseases, and one of the least understood. Smoking is the major known environmental risk factor for RA, though little is known about the mechanisms involved.

6 Jan 2006

Smoking during pregnancy increases risk of having a child with missing fingers and toes

In the largest study of its kind, plastic surgeons found smoking during pregnancy significantly elevates the risk of having a child with excess, webbed or missing fingers and toes, according to the January issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

6 Jan 2006

Elevated homocysteine levels may be a biomarker for increased risk of AMD

People who have elevated homocysteine in their blood, an amino acid that is a known biomarker for cardiovascular disease, may also be at an increased risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD), according to a study in the January issue of the American Journal of Ophthalmology.

5 Jan 2006

Smokers with a family history of lung cancer encouraged to undergo screening

To detect invasive lung cancer in its early stages, researchers urge current and former smokers who have a strong family history of the disease to take a lung function test and undergo screening with spiral computed tomography. The test is especially important should the previously diagnosed relative be young (around 50).

2 Jan 2006

Binge drinking amongst young Brit's on the rise

According to experts in the UK, hospitals are being forced to treat record numbers of young people admitted to hospital for drink-related diseases.

28 Dec 2005

Heart disease risk higher if a brother or sister has heart problems

According to a new report having a brother or sister with a cardiovascular disease poses a greater risk than having a parent with a history of the disease.

28 Dec 2005

Chromosome link found between alcohol addiction and smoking

Scientists have found in a study of tobacco users that their drinking behavior is linked to some of the same chromosome regions associated with alcohol addiction.

22 Dec 2005

Erection problems may signal heart disease

According to a new study, men who complain of erection problems, have a higher risk of heart attack, stroke, and angina.

22 Dec 2005

Second-hand smoke increases the risk of eye disease

According to a British study, smoking cigarettes, or living with someone who does, increases a person's risk of developing a progressively degenerative eye disease known as age-related macular degeneration or AMD.

22 Dec 2005

One in three U.S. teens at risk of heart disease

According to researchers in the U.S. as many as one in three American teens are physically unfit and already have many of the risk factors for heart disease.

22 Dec 2005

Living in the city - bad for you heart

According to new research, living in a busy city is bad for your heart.

21 Dec 2005

No smoking message fails with teens

According to a recently released survey by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, unless more aggressive action is taken on a federal level, to prevent kids from smoking and curb tobacco marketing, little progress will be made in reducing youth smoking rates.

21 Dec 2005