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.

Viewpoints: Entitlement 'train wrecks' approaching; Collecting for health bills at the hospital

The evidence has been clear for a long time now regarding the future of those twin financial train wrecks known as Social Security and Medicare. We have known for decades that without significant reform both are on a path toward insolvency.

30 Apr 2012

Tobacco packaging targets young people and women

Young people and women are identified as target groups to aim tobacco packaging at according to a new Cancer Research UK report released on Thursday.

26 Apr 2012

Study confirms link between smoking and reduced risk of acoustic neuroma

New research confirms an association between smoking and a reduced risk for a rare benign tumor near the brain, but the addition of smokeless tobacco to the analysis suggests nicotine is not the protective substance.

24 Apr 2012

NZ all in for plain tobacco packaging

New Zealand’s cabinet has agreed in principle to introduce plain packaging for all tobacco products in New Zealand, following a similar move in Australia.

22 Apr 2012

New passive vaccine reverses dangerous symptoms of cocaine overdose

Scientists are reporting development and successful testing in laboratory mice of a substance that shows promise for becoming the first antidote for cocaine toxicity in humans. According to a report in ACS' journal Molecular Pharmaceutics, the new so-called "passive vaccine" reversed the motor impairment, seizures and other dangerous symptoms of a cocaine overdose, which claims thousands of lives each year among users of the illicit drug.

19 Apr 2012

First specific antidote for cocaine toxicity

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have shown that an injectable solution can protect mice from an otherwise lethal overdose of cocaine. The findings could lead to human clinical trials of a treatment designed to reverse the effects of cocaine in case of emergency. Cocaine is involved in more than 400,000 emergency-room visits and about 5,000 overdose deaths each year in the United States.

19 Apr 2012

Push for plain cigarette packaging reaches new heights

Labor’s plain packaging laws for cigarettes allow the commonwealth to advertise a political message without paying for the privilege and acquire the property of tobacco companies, the High Court has been told.

18 Apr 2012

UK tobacco display ban to reduce youngsters taking up the habit

A ban on displays of tobacco is coming into force in England. Ministers hope it will help curb the number of young people taking up smoking. Cigarettes and other products will have to be kept below the counter in large shops and supermarkets, while small outlets are exempt until 2015. Other parts of the UK are planning similar action to drive down smoking rates.

9 Apr 2012

California regulator calls Aetna rate hike 'unreasonable'; Maricopa County (Ariz.) hikes premiums for stealth smokers

California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones used authority, granted under a year-old state law, to call out the rates as unreasonable. In Arizona, Maricopa County raised premiums on hundreds of county workers who either failed a saliva testing for nicotine or refused to take it.

7 Apr 2012

Some smokers quit smoking on first try while others have to quit repeatedly

Some people quit smoking on the first try while others have to quit repeatedly. Using such mobile technology as hand-held computers and smartphones, a team of researchers from Penn State and the University of Pittsburgh is trying to find out why.

5 Apr 2012

New drive to prevent youngsters from inhaling second-hand smoke at home

There has a rise in the number of smokers despite the fewer public places at which to light up and one of the world's highest cigarette prices. Sales have hit a four-year high in 2009: 2.44 billion cigarettes, or 6.7 million a day. This was a 12-per-cent rise over 2008's figure of 2.17 billion sold; in 2005, it was 2.09 billion.

1 Apr 2012

First study to explore differential gender effects of secondhand smoke exposure

The negative health effects of early-life exposure to secondhand smoke appear to impact girls more than boys-particularly those with early-life allergic sensitization, according to new research from the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine.

27 Mar 2012

Additional help does not improve success rates for smokers trying to quit

A major research trial to test whether extra support for smokers calling an NHS quitline - on top of what is already offered by the service - has found the additional help does not improve success rates for quitting the habit.

26 Mar 2012

Dissolvable tobacco harmless finds FDA panel but promises detailed review

An advisory panel to the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) said Thursday that people who exclusively use dissolvable tobacco products have a greatly reduced risk of cancer and respiratory illness compared with those who regularly smoke cigarettes.

25 Mar 2012

Urban children more likely to be smokers

More than 75 percent of fourth-graders in urban and rural settings have measurable levels of a nicotine breakdown product in their saliva that documents their second-hand smoke exposure, researchers report.

22 Mar 2012

Scientists reveal first-ever glimpse of complete kappa opioid receptor structure

At the molecular level, drugs like salvinorin A (the active ingredient of the hallucinogenic plant Salvia divinorum) work by activating specific proteins, known as receptors, in the brain and body.

22 Mar 2012

Court rules in favor of graphic labels on cigarette packages

An appeals court ruled on Monday that the government’s planned graphic warnings on cigarette packages was legal and didn’t violate the free speech rights of tobacco companies.

20 Mar 2012

Smoking may restore self-control

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., have found that when they deplete a smoker's self control, smoking a cigarette may restore self-control.

20 Mar 2012

NZ campaigners hope for and work towards a smoke-free world

New Zealand anti-smoking groups want to see the world become smoke free by 2040. Delegates from our National Tobacco Control Working Group are heading to Singapore next week to submit a proposal to the World Conference on Tobacco or Health. The New Zealand delegation wants tobacco removed from trade agreements, and treated the same as the likes of arms, ammunition and asbestos.

19 Mar 2012

U.S. to launch graphic anti-smoking warnings

The United States Government is starting a major new effort to cut the country's smoking rate by showing graphic images of people who have sustained life-altering health problems after smoking for years.

18 Mar 2012