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.

Varenicline may reduce smoking rates before people try to quit

Smokers planning to kick the habit may have more success if they begin using a cessation medication several weeks before they actually try to quit.

6 Jan 2012

Smokers prefer cold turkey - launch of study into quitting smoking including popular cold turkey method

Cold turkey is the preferred method for giving up smoking according to public health researchers at the University of Sydney. With more than two-thirds of smokers giving up permanently this way the research team wants to know why.

2 Jan 2012

More than half smokers unaware of health risks: NHS Survey

The figures come from NHS Smokefree research that showed that 53% of smokers underestimate the number of annual deaths from smoking-related diseases by at least 70,000. The actual number of such deaths is more than 80,000.

2 Jan 2012

Geisinger system: We won't hire smokers

News outlets reported that the big Pennsylvania health care company announced the decision, though the policy won't affect current employees.

2 Jan 2012

Britain mulling on cigarette plain packaging to discourage smoking

Britain wishes to follow Australia’s footsteps in banning all eye-catching designs and branding from cigarette packs to stop young people being lured into smoking. Australia meanwhile is poised to become the first nation to introduce so-called “plain” packaging on tobacco products by the end of 2012. The packs will show graphic health warnings about smoking but banish attractive colors and logos. The proposed law was cleared by parliament in November and is being closely watched by governments considering similar moves in Europe, Canada and New Zealand.

1 Jan 2012

Geisinger stops hiring users of tobacco products

Starting Feb. 1, 2012, Geisinger will no longer hire job applicants who use tobacco products, including cigarettes, cigars, and chewing or smokeless tobacco.

31 Dec 2011

Initial results from 22nd Century's X-22 Phase II-B smoking cessation trial

22nd Century Group, Inc., a company focused on smoking cessation and tobacco harm reduction products, today announced X-22, a prescription smoking cessation aid in development consisting of very low nicotine (VLN) cigarettes, showed a reduction of smoking from baseline over the 6-week treatment period in the company's Phase II-B clinical trial.

26 Dec 2011

Researchers use functional MRI scans to perform brain decoding

At UCLA's Laboratory of Integrative Neuroimaging Technology, researchers use functional MRI brain scans to observe brain signal changes that take place during mental activity. They then employ computerized machine learning (ML) methods to study these patterns and identify the cognitive state - or sometimes the thought process - of human subjects. The technique is called "brain reading" or "brain decoding."

22 Dec 2011

Tips for people to lose weight, quit smoking and manage stress this New Year

As the New Year rolls in, many people will be looking to better themselves by resolving to lose weight, quit smoking and manage stress. Sticking to resolutions for more than a few weeks, however, is a lofty task that takes a great deal of motivation and even lifestyle changes.

21 Dec 2011

Smoking in women associated with skin cancer: Study

A new study has found a link between tobacco use and skin cancer especially in women. The study found that women who had squamous cell skin cancer were more likely to have smoked than those who were free from the disease. And those who smoked at least 20 years were twice as likely to develop squamous cell skin cancer - a less aggressive form of skin cancer as melanoma.

19 Dec 2011

Women with non-melanoma skin cancers more likely to have smoked cigarettes

Women who have non-melanoma skin cancers are more likely to have smoked cigarettes compared to women without skin cancer, said researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., who published study results in a recent issue of Cancer Causes & Control.

9 Dec 2011

British American Tobacco buckles up to fight plain packaging legislation

British American Tobacco (BAT) has challenged the High Court against the cigarette plain packaging legislation. BAT argues the ban is invalid because the federal government is trying to acquire valuable intellectual property without compensation. BAT lodged the writs launching its challenge in the High Court Sydney registry on Thursday. The date for hearing is likely to be no earlier than the second quarter of next year.

4 Dec 2011

Obama administration appeals to bring in cigarette pack graphic images

Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled that the cigarette makers are likely to succeed in a lawsuit to stop a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requirement that they put graphic images across the top half of all their packs.

30 Nov 2011

New way to enhance effects of anandamide in the body

UC Irvine and Italian researchers have discovered a new means of enhancing the effects of anandamide - a natural, marijuana-like chemical in the body that provides pain relief.

22 Nov 2011

Oral delivery of PYY hormone can help obese people lose weight

Most people understand that serious weight loss requires changing attitudes toward what they eat and how often they exercise. But, what if the process could be aided by simply chewing a stick of gum after meals? That's the question a team of scientists, led by Syracuse University chemist Robert Doyle, is trying to answer. In a groundbreaking new study, Doyle's team demonstrated, for the first time, that a critical hormone that helps people feel "full" after eating can be delivered into the bloodstream orally.

22 Nov 2011

Selecta commences SEL-068 Phase 1 clinical trial for smoking cessation and relapse prevention

Selecta Biosciences, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of synthetic vaccines and immunotherapies, today announced that it has initiated a Phase 1 clinical trial to assess the safety, tolerability and pharmacodynamic profile of SEL-068, a nicotine vaccine candidate for smoking cessation and relapse prevention.

21 Nov 2011