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.

Aggressive tots agressive adults!

New research suggests that three and four-year-olds are more physically aggressive than most adults; anyone subjected to the wrath of an indignant pre-schooler will not argue with that.

16 Oct 2007

Nicotine patch for prostate surgery relief?

The use of a nicotine patch - successfully used to help many smokers decrease their dependency on nicotine - was shown to reduce pain in men after prostate removal surgery in a new anesthesiology study.

15 Oct 2007

How does the opioid system work?

The opioid system controls pain, reward and addictive behaviors. Opioids exert their pharmacological actions through three opioid receptors, mu, delta and kappa whose genes have been cloned (Oprm, Oprd1 and Oprk1, respectively).

15 Oct 2007

New report says 'treat smokers like drug addicts'

According to the the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), heavily-addicted smokers in Britain who find it impossible to quit are being let down.

7 Oct 2007

FDA boss questions move for agency to regulate tobacco industry

Andrew von Eschenbach, the head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States, has questioned efforts by Congress to have the agency regulate the tobacco industry.

4 Oct 2007

Second hand smoke exposure slashed after three months of smokefree England

Hospitality workers' exposure to harmful second hand smoke has fallen by 95 per cent since smokefree workplaces were introduced in England on 1 July 2007, according to new research revealed at the National Cancer Research Institute Conference in Birmingham on the three month anniversary of smokefree England.

2 Oct 2007

Mechanism behind nicotine dependency revealed

The research is being published the week of October 1, 2007, in an advance, online issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

2 Oct 2007

Nicotine dependence triggered by changes in brain chemistry that follow very first dose of nicotine

Following up on studies that have indicated the speed with which adolescents can get hooked on cigarettes, researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School have conducted the first study to determine why some adolescents who try smoking get addicted while others do not.

2 Oct 2007

Stealth learning fosters science education

Rochelle Schwartz-Bloom, a Duke University pharmacology professor who left the lab bench to focus on science education, has developed a tactic for keeping students hands in the air at the end of class.

27 Sep 2007

Nicotine replacement and behavioral therapy for smoking cessation in pregnancy

Pregnant women trying to quit smoking could find it easier with help from nicotine replacement therapy, a new study finds, despite safety concerns about the risk of early delivery.

26 Sep 2007

Why some people find it so difficult to stop smoking

Mark Twain boasted that it was easy to quit smoking because he did it every day.

24 Sep 2007

Genetic variation affects smoking cessation treatment

Mark Twain boasted that it was easy to quit smoking because he did it every day.

21 Sep 2007

Smoking-cessation may be in the genes

Whether a smoking-cessation drug will enable you to quit smoking may depend on your genes, according to new genotyping research from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).

18 Sep 2007

For teenage girls dieting and smoking go hand in hand

According to the latest research teenage girls who diet are twice as likely to start smoking as their non-dieting peers.

14 Sep 2007

Link between nicotine and atherosclerosis

It's well known that smoking cigarettes increases risk for a host of serious health problems from cancer to heart disease. Now a new study from Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City looks at how they do their dirty work by contributing to atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. The evidence points to nicotine, the addictive chemical in cigarettes.

11 Sep 2007