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.

Study demonstrates cost-effectiveness of Ottawa Model for Smoking Cessation

In a recent study published in Tobacco Control, researchers at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute have demonstrated the cost-effectiveness of the Ottawa Model for Smoking Cessation (OMSC), an intervention that includes in-hospital counseling, pharmacotherapy and post-hospital follow-up, compared to usual care among smokers hospitalized with acute myocardial infarction, unstable angina, heart failure, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

19 Jun 2014

Combining 2 smoking cessation therapies more effective for highly nicotine-dependent smokers

Combining two smoking cessation therapies is more effective than using just one for male and highly nicotine-dependent smokers who weren't initially helped by the nicotine patch, according to researchers at Duke Medicine.

17 Jun 2014

Adolescents tend to be more powerful in influencing friends to start smoking than to quit

Adolescents tend to be more powerful in influencing their friends to start smoking than in helping them to quit, according to sociologists.

13 Jun 2014

New therapeutic interventions could render addiction into manageable disease

Neuroscientists agree that abuse of drugs hijacks circuits in the brain that are crucial for decision-making, but society as a whole tends to stigmatize addicted people for lacking self-control.

10 Jun 2014

NIDA review offers new insights into the negative health effects of marijuana

The current state of science on the adverse health effects of marijuana use links the drug to several significant adverse effects including addiction, a review reports.

9 Jun 2014

Study: Mobile phone program doubles the chances that smokers will quit

More than 11 percent of smokers who used a text- messaging program to help them quit did so and remained smoke free at the end of a six- month study as compared to just 5 percent of controls, according to a new report by researchers at Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University (Milken Institute SPH.)

6 Jun 2014

Study calls for more randomized trials on e-cigarettes

E-cigarettes are a potential smoking cessation aid and they may also be able to lower the risk of nicotine dependency in high-risk groups. The available scientific evidence, however, remains insufficient.

5 Jun 2014

Researchers develop virtual platform that measures level of addiction of smokers

In Mexico, 21.7 percent of the population smokes, which is associated with 95 percent of  lung cancer cases and the development of 29 more different conditions.

31 May 2014

Sticker shock marks newly insured's health law coverage

Also, federal regulators ponder if e-cigarettes are considered tobacco use -- allowing insurers to charge more in premiums to their users. And one Texas family's Obamacare opt-out story.

31 May 2014

First Edition: May 30, 2014

Today's headlines include the latest reports about the problems with the VA health system. Kaiser Health News staff writer Julie Rovner reports: "It's not just veterans who are having trouble with health care.

30 May 2014

Seeing people use e-cigarettes increases urge to smoke among young adult smokers

Seeing people use electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) increases the urge to smoke among regular combustible cigarettes users, according to a new study of young adult smokers.

28 May 2014

Allergists warn e-smokers of unknown risks

Caveat emptor - or "buyer beware" holds true when it comes to the unknown health effects of e-cigarettes. An article in the June issue of Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, the scientific journal of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI), examines risks, including the ongoing dependence on nicotine and the dual use of e-cigarettes and regular cigarettes.

27 May 2014

Study highlights factors that can combat hookah smoking among college students

Educational campaigns meant to dissuade college students from initiating hookah tobacco smoking may be more successful if they combat positive perceptions of hookah use as attractive and romantic, rather than focusing solely on the harmful components of hookah tobacco smoke, a new University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine study found.

21 May 2014

Research suggests that e-cigarettes play positive role in reducing smoking rates

People attempting to quit smoking without professional help are approximately 60% more likely to report succeeding if they use e-cigarettes than if they use willpower alone or over-the-counter nicotine replacement therapies such as patches or gum, finds a large UCL (University College London) survey of smokers in England.

21 May 2014

Study: E-cigarettes appear to increase virulence of drug- resistant and life-threatening bacteria

Despite being touted by their manufacturers as a healthy alternative to cigarettes, e-cigarettes appear in a laboratory study to increase the virulence of drug- resistant and potentially life-threatening bacteria, while decreasing the ability of human cells to kill these bacteria

19 May 2014

Supplemental vitamin C taken by pregnant smokers improves measures of lung function for newborns

Supplemental vitamin C taken by pregnant smokers improved measures of lung function for newborns and decreased the incidence of wheezing for infants through 1 year, according to a study published by JAMA.

19 May 2014

Young adults who smoke water pipes have elevated levels of tobacco-related cancer-causing agents

Young adults who smoked water pipes in hookah bars had elevated levels of nicotine, cotinine, tobacco-related cancer-causing agents, and volatile organic compounds (VOC) in their urine, and this may increase their risk for cancer and other chronic diseases, according to a study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

16 May 2014

High-voltage e-cigarettes may expose users to increased levels of toxic chemicals

High-voltage electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) may expose users to increased levels of toxic chemicals, including formaldehyde and acetaldehyde, according to research led by Maciej Goniewicz, PhD, PharmD, a researcher in the Department of Health Behavior at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI).

16 May 2014

Many smokers still surprised about tobacco's danger facts

A new study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine finds that many smokers still find accurate and detailed facts about the dangers of tobacco both new and motivating in terms of their desire to quit. This finding proved to be especially marked among members of groups that are most likely to be smokers today.

15 May 2014

People with mental health conditions more likely to use nicotine-delivery devices, says study

Researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report that people living with depression, anxiety or other mental health conditions are twice as likely to have tried e-cigarettes and three times as likely to be current users of the controversial battery-powered nicotine-delivery devices, as people without mental health disorders.

13 May 2014