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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.

FDA warnings to retailers selling cigarettes to under-18s

The federal health regulators have lashed out at some 1,200 retailers for unlawfully selling cigarettes and other tobacco products to children under 18.

13 Nov 2011

Smoking primes the brain for cocaine addiction: Study

The study comes from the National Institute on Drug Abuse in Maryland that is the first of its kind to show how nicotine can change the brain in a way that enhances the behavioral effects of cocaine. It could help explain why so many drug-using teenagers tend to start with cigarettes and alcohol before moving on to more illegal substances.

7 Nov 2011

Nicotine might prime the brain to enhance behavioral effects of cocaine

A landmark study in mice identifies a biological mechanism that could help explain how tobacco products could act as gateway drugs, increasing a person's future likelihood of abusing cocaine and perhaps other drugs as well, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health. The study is the first to show that nicotine might prime the brain to enhance the behavioral effects of cocaine.

3 Nov 2011

Scientists identify distinct tobacco transporter for nicotine metabolism

A team of Virginia Tech and Purdue University scientists have identified a distinct transporter used by tobacco plant cells for nicotine metabolism. The research appears in the Oct. 17 online before print issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) in the article, "A tobacco nicotine uptake permease effects alkaloid metabolism."

2 Nov 2011

Obama gets clean bill of health

President Barack Obama is in excellent health and tobacco free, his doctor said Monday in the results of the president’s second physical exam since taking office.

1 Nov 2011

Targeted brain stimulation increases cigarette cravings

Targeted brain stimulation increases cigarette cravings, a new study in Biological Psychiatry has found, which may ultimately lead to new treatments that reverse these effects. Cues associated with cigarette smoking, such as watching someone else smoke, elicit craving and may provoke relapse when smokers are attempting to quit.

1 Nov 2011

Hercules Pharma granted rights to license 22nd Century's X-22 smoking cessation aid

22nd Century Group, Inc., a company focused on smoking cessation and tobacco harm reduction products, announced today that the company licensed Hercules Pharmaceuticals LLC, its wholly-owned pharmaceutical subsidiary, exclusive worldwide rights to X-22.

31 Oct 2011

Bisphenol A can affect newborns' cholinergic signal system

Newborn mice that are exposed to Bisphenol A develop changes in their spontaneous behavior and evince poorer adaptation to new environments, as well hyperactivity as young adults. This has been shown by researchers at Uppsala University. Their study also revealed that one of the brain's most important signal systems, the cholinergic signal system, is affected by Bisphenol A and that the effect persisted into adulthood.

27 Oct 2011

No link between Chantix and mental health problems says FDA

According to federal health officials this Monday Pfizer's anti-smoking drug Chantix – known as Varenicline, did not increase psychiatric problems like depression and suicidal thoughts in two studies, though the findings are not definitive.

25 Oct 2011

FDA plans study on the effects of tough tobacco laws on smokers

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will be looking at the behavior and health of 40,000 smokers aged 12 and older to study the effects of new tobacco regulations.

9 Oct 2011

Smoking susceptibility of young people linked to tobacco displays

Young people who find tobacco displays in shops attractive and who easily recall seeing the displays have a greater chance of becoming a smoker according to a new Cancer Research UK funded research study published in Nicotine and Tobacco Research today.

7 Oct 2011

NIH/FDA study to monitor and assess impacts of new government tobacco regulations

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health today announced a joint, large-scale, national study of tobacco users to monitor and assess the behavioral and health impacts of new government tobacco regulations.

7 Oct 2011

Radiation risk in cigarettes hidden by tobacco companies

A new study of historical documents revealed that tobacco companies knew that cigarettes contained a radioactive substance called polonium-210, but hid that knowledge from the public for over four decades.

2 Oct 2011

Smoking worst among miners, hoteliers and construction workers: CDC report

A new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report reveals that miners, construction workers and people in the hotel and food service industry have the highest smoking rates, while those in education have the lowest.

2 Oct 2011

Bulgaria’s decades old anti-smoking pill could be a cheap and effective answer to smoking cessation

A pill from Bulgaria during the Soviet era shows promise for helping millions of smokers cheaply and safely kick the habit, the first big clinical trial of it shows. It is unclear whether it will ever reach the market in the U.S. or Western Europe though.

29 Sep 2011

Tobacco companies deliberately kept findings of cancer-causing radioactive particles from the public

Tobacco companies knew that cigarette smoke contained radioactive alpha particles for more than four decades and developed "deep and intimate" knowledge of these particles' cancer-causing potential, but they deliberately kept their findings from the public, according to a new study by UCLA researchers.

29 Sep 2011

22nd Century completes enrollment in X-22 Phase II-B smoking cessation study

22nd Century Group, Inc., a company focused on smoking cessation and tobacco harm reduction products, announced today that enrollment of its X-22 Phase II-B clinical trial has been successfully completed; 234 smokers have been randomized in the double-blind, active-controlled, multi-center smoking cessation study.

27 Sep 2011

Roundup: Texas House Dems ask CMS to reject Medicaid waiver request; Jobs lost as Ariz. mental health Medicaid cuts kick in

The nine House Democrats from Texas want the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services to reject their state's request that Medicaid beneficiaries get their prescription drugs through managed care plans.

23 Sep 2011

Mayo Clinic to develop Global Smoke-Free Worksite Challenge

Mayo Clinic announced today at the annual Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) meeting in New York City its partnership with other organizations to develop a Global Smoke-Free Worksite Challenge.

22 Sep 2011

NIDA announces winners of Avant-Garde Awards for Innovative Medication Development Research

Scientists proposing to develop vaccines against methamphetamine and nicotine have been selected to receive NIDA's second Avant-Garde Awards for Innovative Medication Development Research.

22 Sep 2011