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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.

Brain scans can predict smokers' behavior change: New study

Brain scans showing neural reactions to pro-health messages can predict if you'll keep that resolution to quit smoking more accurately than you yourself can. That's according to a new study forthcoming in Health Psychology, a peer-reviewed journal.

1 Feb 2011

New nicotine addiction mechanism revealed

A new discovery has shown why some people cannot give up tobacco and may lead to new anti-smoking treatments. The researchers have found a brain pathway which when defective leads to an uncontrollable desire to smoke. This is a “sub-unit” of a receptor protein sensitive to nicotine.

31 Jan 2011

$61 million anti-tobacco campaign launched to prevent lung cancer

The Australian Federal Government is backing a $61 million advertising campaign to stop smoking. This is the nation’s biggest anti-tobacco campaign. The message is graphic and simple: every cigarette brings cancer closer. Health groups have backed the campaign but advertising industry experts say the public has become increasingly immune to scare campaigns.

31 Jan 2011

Reduction in secondhand smoking associated with fewer cases of middle ear infection among children

Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers and colleagues from Research Institute for a Tobacco Free Society have found that a reduction in secondhand smoking in American homes was associated with fewer cases of otitis media, the scientific name for middle ear infection. The study appears on January 26, 2011, as an online first article on the website of the journal Tobacco Control.

28 Jan 2011

DKMA issues GMP certificate to Cambrex Zenara Indian manufacturing facility

Cambrex Corporation announced today that the Danish Medicines Agency (DKMA) has issued a Certificate of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) compliance for its manufacturing site in Hyderabad, India, following an audit conducted in October 2010. The DKMA Certificate is accepted by all EU Health Authorities and by authorities of several other countries that recognize EU Certification.

18 Jan 2011

Pharmacists can help patients to manage their medication and stop smoking

Consulting a pharmacist, or other healthcare professional, when quitting smoking boosts a patient's chance of long-term success from three per cent to 30 per cent.

17 Jan 2011

Exposure to 'thirdhand smoke' poses additional health risks

Scientists are reporting that so-called "thirdhand smoke" - the invisible remains of cigarette smoke that deposits on carpeting, clothing, furniture and other surfaces - may be even more of a health hazard than previously believed. The study, published in ACS' journal, Environmental Science & Technology, extends the known health risks of tobacco among people who do not smoke but encounter the smoke exhaled by smokers or released by smoldering cigarette butts.

13 Jan 2011

NIDA awards Scripps Research, University of Pennsylvania $8.2M grant to develop tobacco addiction treatment

The Scripps Research Institute and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have been awarded approximately $8.2 million over five years to develop novel compounds that could eventually become drug candidates for the treatment of tobacco addiction. Of the funds awarded, $5.7 million will go to Scripps Research, and $2.5 million to the University of Pennsylvania.

12 Jan 2011

Nicotine may act as treatment for some symptoms of schizophrenia

Smoking is a common problem for patients with schizophrenia. The increased tendency of patients diagnosed with this disorder is to not only smoke, but to do so more heavily than the general public. This raises the possibility that nicotine may be acting as a treatment for some symptoms of schizophrenia.

11 Jan 2011

Breathing tobacco smoke increases blood pressure of pre-school children

If you smoke around your children, they could have high blood pressure or be headed in an unhealthy direction before learning their ABC's, according to research reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

11 Jan 2011

No smokers in Britain by 2050

According to a major investment bank there would be no smokers in Britain by 2050. According to Citigroup analyst Adam Spielman the decline is sharp and sure and would show up as no smokers in 30 to 50 years time. The analyses used data to reveal that the percentage of adult smokers in the UK has fallen from 53 per cent in 1960 to 21 per cent in 2008. Spielman said, “If these trends continue, then by 2050 many important tobacco markets will have gone to zero smoking.”

9 Jan 2011

Nicotine replacement therapies to quit smoking

Although smoking is an expensive habit, let's face it, nicotine replacement therapies (NRT) to help you quit smoking can seem like expensive purchases as well.

6 Jan 2011

Unique vaccine produces long-lasting anti-cocaine immunity in mice

Researchers from The Scripps Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medical College, and Cornell University have produced a long-lasting anti-cocaine immunity in mice by giving them a unique vaccine that combines bits of the common cold virus with a particle that mimics cocaine.

5 Jan 2011

Safe vaccine protects mice against effects of cocaine

Researchers have produced a lasting anti-cocaine immunity in mice by giving them a safe vaccine that combines bits of the common cold virus with a particle that mimics cocaine.

5 Jan 2011

Researchers develop unique vaccine that produces long-lasting anti-cocaine immunity in mice

5 Jan 2011

Vaccine blocks cocaine high in mice - human trials likely

Researchers have produced a lasting anti-cocaine immunity in mice by giving them a safe vaccine that combines bits of the common cold virus with a particle that mimics cocaine.

4 Jan 2011

Bupropion and varenicline help curb cigarette craving

The smoking cessation medications bupropion and varenicline may both be associated with changes in the way the brain reacts to smoking cues, making it easier for patients to resist cravings, according to two reports posted online today that will appear in the May print issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

4 Jan 2011

Free nicotine patches to help smokers quit this New Year

British smokers thinking of quitting have a reason to celebrate this New Year. Free nicotine patches are to be offered on the NHS as part of a major drive to help smokers quit. The Department of Health has announced that smokers would be given coupons for a week’s free trial of the patches in the “Quit kits”. The patches included in the kit will be either NiQuitin Clear 21mg patches or Nicotinell TTS 30 21mg/24 hour patches, Step 1.

29 Dec 2010

Ramius/RP Group extend tender offer to acquire Cypress Bioscience

Ramius V&O Acquisition LLC, affiliates of Ramius LLC (collectively, "Ramius") and affiliates of Royalty Pharma (together with Ramius and Purchaser, the "Ramius/RP Group") announced today that the Ramius/RP Group is extending its previously announced tender offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Cypress Bioscience, Inc., a pharmaceutical company engaged in the development of innovative drugs to treat central nervous system (CNS) disorders, until Midnight, January 5, 2011, unless the offer is otherwise extended.

22 Dec 2010

Smoking can increase pain severity in cancer patients

The relationship between smoking and cancer is well established. In a study published in the January 2011 issue of PAIN, researchers report evidence to suggest that cancer patients who continue to smoke despite their diagnosis experience greater pain than nonsmokers.

22 Dec 2010