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.

High school students most likely to say they wanted to quit smoking to save money

Despite smoking's documented health risks, teens may be more worried about its damage to their wallets, a new study suggests.

8 Nov 2004

alpha4 may prove to be useful target for smoking addiction therapies

Nicotine is responsible for more than four million smoking-related deaths each year. Yet people still smoke. Why? One reason is the stranglehold of addiction, started when nicotine enhances the release of a neurotransmitter called dopamine

4 Nov 2004

Quitting smoking can be made easier with long-term comprehensive drug and psychological interventions

People who want to quit smoking have an improved chance of success if they receive long-term comprehensive drug and psychological interventions, according to a new study by UCSF researchers.

4 Nov 2004

Psychiatrically ill and nicotine-dependent individuals consume 70 percent of all cigarettes smoked in the United States

Psychiatrically ill and nicotine-dependent individuals consume approximately 70 percent of all cigarettes smoked in the United States, according to an article in the November issue of The Archives of General Psychiatry.

1 Nov 2004

Long-term medication and counseling helps smokers quit

People who want to quit smoking have an improved chance of success if they receive long-term comprehensive drug and psychological interventions, according to a new study by UCSF researchers.

1 Nov 2004

Acetaldehyde appears to increase the addictive properties of nicotine

Acetaldehyde, one of the main chemical components of tobacco smoke, appears to increase the addictive properties of nicotine, according to animal studies conducted by the UC Irvine Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center (TTURC).

29 Oct 2004

Smoking shown to quell painful sensations and heighten positive emotions

Smokers often say that lighting up a cigarette can calm their nerves, satisfy their craving and help them relax.

28 Oct 2004

Finding it hard to quit smoking? It may be due to your environment

University of Georgia School of Social Work professor Patrick Bordnick found that cigarette craving intensity increased 118 percent when nicotine-dependent participants were exposed to cues in a virtual reality environment.

19 Oct 2004

You can't buy cigarettes from your doctor, so why can you purchase tobacco products at some pharmacies?

People do not expect to be able to purchase cigarettes or other tobacco products when they visit their doctors' or dentists' offices.

13 Oct 2004

Cancer experts say labelling cigarette packets with tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide measurements is misleading and should be stopped

The tar delivery of cigarettes is routinely measured with a machine and, with the exception of the United States, stated on every packet as a legal requirement in almost every country in the world. It is accompanied by measurement of nicotine and often carbon monoxide.

8 Oct 2004

People prone to anger and aggression may be predisposed to develop an addiction to nicotine

People prone to anger and aggression may be predisposed to develop an addiction to nicotine compared with those who have happy, relaxed personalities, report NIDA-supported researchers.

6 Oct 2004

Public call for legal age of smoking to be raised helps underline dire health-care consequences of long-term smoking

A new British report commissioned as part of BBC News' Healthy Britons poll has found that 80% of people want the legal age of smoking raised from 16 to 18. This follows a recent report in the journal Education and Health on the health-care consequences of long-term smoking.

6 Sep 2004

Nicotine patches and gum less effective for women than men

Research at Texas A&M University reveals that one of the most widely used forms of treatment - nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), or nicotine chewing gum and 'the patch' - may be less effective for women than men.

5 Sep 2004

New study confirms benefits of rimonabant in weight loss

Phase III clinical study comparing placebo to rimonabant, the first agent in a new therapeutic class known as selective cannabinoid type 1 (CB1) blockers, showed that overweight or obese people taking rimonabant 20mg once daily benefited from a significant reduction in their body weight

29 Aug 2004

Are nicotine patches safe for pregnant women?

A £1 million study, being led by a team of multidisciplinary researchers at The University of Nottingham, is to look at whether nicotine replacement skin patches could help pregnant mums to stop smoking.

26 Aug 2004

Cigarettes produce 10 times more pollution than that of an average diesel exhaust

Smoke from cigarettes produces 10 times more pollution than that of an average diesel exhaust, according to a controlled experment carried out in Italy. The experiment is reported in the current issue of Tobacco Control, an international peer review journal for health professionals and others in tobacco control.

24 Aug 2004

Nicotine replacement therapy shown to help teenagers and women

In the first study, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have found that the nicotine patch seems to work as well, at least initially, for teens as it does for adults. In addition, the patch, the top delivery form of NRT (followed by gum, an inhaler and a nasal spray) worked equally well with or without supplementation by an anti-depressant given to the teens.

21 Aug 2004

Smoking may be on the rise again

The statistics are alarming: About one in five high school seniors smoke cigarettes daily. Yet nearly half a million Americans die prematurely from tobacco-related disease and smoking is projected to in some way kill one third of all smokers.

15 Aug 2004

The smoking rate among Canadian teenagers has dropped below that of the general population for the first time in almost 10 years

Data show that 18% of teens aged 15 to 19 smoked daily or occasionally last year, down from 22% in 2002. Substantial changes in the smoking behaviour of Quebec and Ontario youth are behind much of the decrease, namely lower smoking rates among boys in Quebec and girls in Ontario.

9 Aug 2004

No increased risk of heart attacks among snus/snuff users, unlike smokers

A collaborative study involving Sunderby Hospital, Luleå, and Umeå University in Sweden confirms that men who smoke run a substantial risk of developing diabetes. On the other hand, no parameters indicate that using snus (moist snuff) increases this risk.