Nicotine News and Research

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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.

Researchers find no significant change in smokers' habits after smoking ban

Smokers have become accustomed to stepping outside at bars and restaurants. But has the change in rules governing enclosed public places inspired enough of them to smoke less behind their own closed doors or maybe even quit altogether?

4 Mar 2015

Chrono Therapeutics gets support to develop SmartStop device for smoking cessation

Chrono Therapeutics, a pioneer in digital drug products, today announced an investment by Rock Health, the leading seed fund in digital health, to support the advancement of Chrono's SmartStop programmable transdermal drug delivery system and real-time behavioral support program for smoking cessation.

3 Mar 2015

Extending use of bupropion before quitting reduces smoking behavior

Smokers may be more likely to successfully quit their habit if simple adjustments were made to how an existing anti-smoking medication is prescribed, according to a new study by a University at Buffalo research team.

3 Mar 2015

Study suggests that strong beliefs can treat nicotine addiction

Two identical cigarettes led to a discovery by scientists at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute. Study participants inhaled nicotine, yet they showed significantly different brain activity. Why the difference? Some subjects were told their cigarettes were nicotine free.

27 Feb 2015

People who use snus are at increased risk of developing alcohol dependency

People who use snus run twice the risk of developing alcohol dependency compared with non-users, and the more one uses snus, the higher the risk. This has been found in a study from Umeå University which was published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

25 Feb 2015

Hair sample tests reveal underreported exposure to tobacco smoke among preemies with lung disease

Public health experts have long known that tobacco smoke exposure (TSE) can be harmful for children with bronchopulmonary dysplasia, a lung disease that often accompanies premature birth.

24 Feb 2015

Tobacco smoke exposure common among children with bronchopulmonary dysplasia

Public health experts have long known that tobacco smoke exposure (TSE) can be harmful for children with bronchopulmonary dysplasia, a lung disease that often accompanies premature birth.

24 Feb 2015

Nicotine metabolite supports learning, memory by amplifying action of primary chemical messenger

Nicotine's primary metabolite supports learning and memory by amplifying the action of a primary chemical messenger involved in both, researchers report.

19 Feb 2015

Nicotine addiction medication produces greater reductions in smoking prior to quitting

Among cigarette smokers not willing or able to quit smoking in the next month but willing to reduce with the goal of quitting in the next 3 months, use of the nicotine addiction medication varenicline for 24 weeks compared with placebo produced greater reductions in smoking prior to quitting and increased smoking cessation rates at the end of treatment and at 1 year, according to a study in the February 17 issue of JAMA.

18 Feb 2015

Loyola doctor offers tips to stay healthy during shoveling season

Mother Nature scored a touchdown this Super Bowl Sunday, dumping more than a foot of wet, heavy snow on the Chicago area and causing many to take to the streets and alleys to clear thoroughfares.

9 Feb 2015

New study suggests that e-cigarette vapors can damage lungs

Do electronic cigarettes help people quit smoking? As the debate continues on that point, a new University of Rochester study suggests that e-cigarettes are likely a toxic replacement for tobacco products.

8 Feb 2015

New study finds that teen smokers use multiple tobacco products

Teens who use tobacco products are likely to use more than one product, including e-cigarettes, hookahs and pipes, and smokeless tobacco, according to a new study by RTI International.

8 Feb 2015

Electronic cigarettes and smoking cessation: an interview with Professor Peter Hajek

The electronic cigarette has been invented by Chinese pharmacist Hon Lik in 2003. The rise in electronic cigarettes (EC) popularity was initially a grass root phenomenon. EC are estimated to be at least 95% safer than cigarettes and they appeal to smokers who cannot or do not want to stop smoking, but who want to reduce the risks smoking poses to their health.

5 Feb 2015

Johns Hopkins researchers reveal that e-cigarettes weaken immune system

In a study with mice, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health researchers have found that e-cigarettes compromise the immune system in the lungs and generate some of the same potentially dangerous chemicals found in traditional nicotine cigarettes.

5 Feb 2015

Bionomics initiates BNC210 Phase 1b clinical trial in healthy volunteers

Bionomics Limited has initiated a Phase 1b clinical trial in healthy volunteers of BNC210, the Company's drug candidate in development for the treatment of anxiety and depression.

2 Feb 2015

Gradual smoking cessation may be key for quitting

Smoking is harmful in almost every respect. Cancer, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases are just a small part of a well-documented portfolio of serious consequences of smoking.

29 Jan 2015

Researchers one step closer to identifying how lung cancer cells metastasize

Smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer, and it is estimated that more than 159,000 people in the United States died from the disease last year. Most of these deaths were because the cancer had spread to other organ sites. Following their recent discovery of a protein pathway, Moffitt Cancer Center researchers are one step closer to understanding how lung cancer cells metastasize.

28 Jan 2015

New experimental study shows immunotherapy can reduce acute effects of heroin

Immunotherapy could have a place in the treatment of substance abuse in the future. A specific antibody can reduce the acute effects of heroin, according to a new experimental study at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.

21 Jan 2015

Venom of cone snails provides leads for possible treatment of cancer, addiction

While considered a delicacy in some parts of the world, snails have found a more intriguing use to scientists and the medical profession offering a plethora of research possibilities. Cone snails are marine mollusks, just as conch, octopi and squid, but they capture their prey using venom.

15 Jan 2015

How quickly smokers metabolise nicotine may point to best quitting method

The success of different smoking cessation treatments could be predicted by how quickly smokers break down (metabolise) nicotine in their bodies, according to new research published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine journal.

13 Jan 2015