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Tobacco companies exploit UK’s menthol cigarette ban

Menthol cigarettes will be removed from shelves in the UK this Wednesday (20 May 2020), yet new research has found that tobacco companies failed to use the four-year phasing-in period (from 2016) to prepare for this week's ban.

18 May 2020

Does HIV infection increase the severity of COVID-19?

A new study by researchers at the New York University Grossman School of Medicine and published on the preprint server medRxiv* in May 2020 reports that being infected with HIV at the time of acquiring COVID-19 does not significantly increase the severity of illness or the risk of complications.

13 May 2020

COVID-19 pandemic is taking toll on mental and physical health of smokers

The havoc wreaked by the COVID-19 pandemic is twofold: in addition to suffering direct effects of the virus, the world is grappling with the challenge of social distancing.

13 May 2020

Study provides further insights into the relationship between smoking and COVID-19

A Canadian study available on the preprint server medRxiv* shows that current smokers are slightly more likely than never smokers to test positive for coronavirus disease (COVID-19), but cautions about the possibility of reverse causality where smokers actually quit to avoid the disease.

12 May 2020

Study sheds light on how a cellular pathway in plants senses danger signals

In nature, every species must be equipped with a strategy to be able to survive in response to danger. Plants, too, have innate systems that are triggered in response to a particular threat, such as insects feeding on them.

8 May 2020

New tool may offer a novel approach to prevent multiple chronic diseases

A study just released by Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health is reporting a blood-DNA-methylation measure that is sensitive to variation in the pace of biological aging among individuals born the same year.

6 May 2020

As lawmakers reconvene, not everyone agrees on COVID-only agenda

California lawmakers return to the Capitol this week to begin what they describe as necessary but painful negotiations to keep the state running and redirect dwindling funds to the costly coronavirus pandemic.

4 May 2020

Study: Chronic exposure to inhaled nicotine alone leads to pulmonary hypertension

A study conducted by a team of researchers at LSU Health New Orleans has shown for the first time that chronic exposure to inhaled nicotine alone increases blood pressure (hypertension), in both the body's general circulation and in the lungs that can lead to pulmonary hypertension.

4 May 2020

DNA damage and inaccurate repair mechanisms jointly cause mutational signatures

Researchers at EMBL's European Bioinformatics Institute, the University of Dundee and the Wellcome Sanger Institute analysed over 2700 genomes from C. elegans worms in order to better understand the causes of mutations.

2 May 2020

Hospitalized smokers six times more likely to quit with combination treatment, study finds

New research led by University of South Australia has found that smokers who receive the medication varenicline tartrate combined with Quitline counseling following a period of hospitalization due to a tobacco-related illness are six times more likely to quit smoking than those who attempt to stop without support.

2 May 2020

American Lung Association responds to higher rates of COVID-19 impacts among minorities

In response to emerging data showing higher rates of COVID-19 impacts among minorities, American Lung Association President and CEO Harold Wimmer shared the following statement.

30 Apr 2020

Fear of coronavirus propels some smokers to quit

In 40 years of smoking, Katie Kennedy has tried four times to quit but always went back to cigarettes. Today, she is summoning a new mental image when a craving comes on: rows of COVID-19 patients hooked to ventilators.

30 Apr 2020

Tobacco smoking identified as a potential risk factor for COVID-19 infection

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, the University of South Carolina and other institutions have identified tobacco smoking as a potential risk factor for infection of the COVID-19 virus.

29 Apr 2020

Tobacco use may explain why more men die of coronavirus than women in Spain

Whether or not you are a smoker could condition how the coronavirus affects you. At least that is what numerous researchers are saying, insisting that tobacco use is to blame for the weakened cardiovascular systems which are at greatest risk from COVID-19.

29 Apr 2020

Study: E-cigarettes damage vascular function much like traditional cigarettes

Using e-cigarettes damages the arteries and blood vessel function much like smoking traditional cigarettes, according to new research published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open access journal of the American Heart Association, and funded through the Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science of the American Heart Association, the leading voluntary health organization devoted to a world of longer, healthier lives.

29 Apr 2020

French scientists suggest nicotinic agonists could treat COVID-19

Contrary to the warnings issued by health agencies worldwide against cigarette smoking amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), a new paper suggests the possibility that nicotine, a component of tobacco, could prevent coronavirus infection.

28 Apr 2020

New study highlights the need to adopt healthy lifestyles from an early age

A large study in adolescents and children, some as young as 3 years of age, shows a link between obesity, high blood pressure, and later damage to blood vessels. The research is presented today on EAPC Essentials 4 You, a scientific platform of the European Society of Cardiology.

28 Apr 2020

Vaping, opioid addiction accelerate coronavirus risks, says NIDA director

In 2018, opioid overdoses claimed about 47,000 American lives. Last year, federal authorities reported that 5.4 million middle and high school students vaped. And just two months ago, about 2,800 cases of vaping-associated lung injuries resulted in hospitalizations; 68 people died.

24 Apr 2020

Indiana Network for Population Health aims to address the social determinants of health

The Indiana Network for Population Health has been launched by the Regenstrief Institute and collaborators, including the State of Indiana, Indiana University and the Indiana Health Information Exchange, to provide the secure exchange of comprehensive data -- especially information on social determinants of health such as housing stability and access to nutritious food -- to researchers, policy makers, healthcare providers and others on the front lines fighting opioid and other addictions.

23 Apr 2020