Nicotine Addiction News and Research

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Menthol cigarette makers & FDA in a legal debate over ban

Tobacco companies have decided to sue the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over a decision that has been made in regards to cigarettes. The companies include the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. as well as Lorillard, Inc., have sued the FDA over a decision that would potentially ban all cigarettes that contain a chemical known as menthol.

28 Feb 2011

Pediatricians can play a key role in promoting tobacco-free lifestyle among children, adolescents

Nicotine addiction usually begins during the critical teenage years, and pediatric healthcare professionals can play a prominent role in promoting a tobacco-free lifestyle among children and adolescents, as described in an article published online ahead of print in Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, & Pulmonology, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

10 Feb 2011

Smoking kills, it’s as simple as that!

Australia’s Department of Health and Ageing yesterday (Monday) launched its most focused anti-tobacco campaign with a new TV adverts graphically linking smoking with lung cancer. The message of the $61 million campaign says, “Every cigarette you smoke brings cancer closer.”

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

Britain’s cancer rates improve while Denmark scores poorly

It appears that warnings regarding dangers of smoking appear to be having an effect with the UK placed in 22nd position in a world league of highest cancer rates. Figures show that for men, 280 cases per 100,000 people, is 33rd in the world, with France the highest. The rate for British women, however, is 260.5 per 100,000 – the world’s 12th highest, with Denmark top. The UK breast cancer rate for women, which is just over 89, ranks 11th.

23 Jan 2011

Smoking harms DNA within minutes: Study

According to the latest research in the US, smoking tobacco damages the body in minutes rather than years. The study was published in the Chemical Research in Toxicology revealed that the chemicals which cause cancer form rapidly after smoking.

16 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

Canada’s anti-smoking warnings get larger

Canada will have larger and enhanced warning labels on cigarette packs, it was revealed in a government announcement last Thursday. Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq said that these new warnings will cover three-quarters of the front and back of cigarette packs, up from one-half.

2 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

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

NIH grants $7.5 million for researchers to develop novel compounds in treating nicotine addiction

The Scripps Research Institute and the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine have been awarded approximately $7.5 million over five years to develop novel compounds that could eventually become drug candidates for the treatment of nicotine dependence, and possibly other drug addictions.

16 Dec 2010

e-cigarettes – Debate rages around globe

Following misleading advice that ‘e-cigarettes’ are a “healthy way” to quit smoking, thousands of smokers are switching to these electronic cigarettes. According to the Australian Medical Association (AMA) and anti-smoking groups these smokeless, battery-powered e-cigarettes packed with nicotine have not been tested for safety and could pose a serious health risk. Electronic cigarettes contain an inhaler, an atomiser and nicotine suspended in propylene glycol and water. At present they are banned in NSW and Victoria but overseas suppliers sell them online.

12 Dec 2010

e-cigarettes spark debate in U.S.

Electronic cigarettes have been seen as a tobacco product but not as drugs. The US Food and Drug Administration had appealed to the court to treat these cigarettes as drugs but the court says this is an oversight. The FDA cited five e-cigarette distributors for poor manufacturing practices and falsely claiming that the products help people stop smoking.

8 Dec 2010

Smoking reduces brain thickness

Many brain imaging studies have reported that tobacco smoking is associated with large-scale and wide-spread structural brain abnormalities.

3 Dec 2010

Molecular switch plays crucial role in addictive behavior and memory processes

Learning and memory formation are based on the creation of new connections between neurons in the brain. Also, behaviors such as nicotine addiction manifest themselves in long-term changes of neuronal connectivity and can - at least in this respect - be viewed as a form of learning.

30 Nov 2010

More women are dying of lung cancer in UK

New research shows that the rates of lung cancer in women have risen and this could be a sign that efforts to persuade them to quit smoking have failed. The cases among men have fallen on the other hand.

29 Nov 2010

New WHO report highlights second-hand smoke danger

A report, a first of its kind, that assessed all deaths related to tobacco showed that secondhand smoke sickens millions and kills more than 600,000 people worldwide each year, including more than 165,000 children under 5.

25 Nov 2010

Substance abuse treatment facilities offering nicotine replacement therapy increased by 6%: Report

The percentage of substance abuse treatment facilities offering nicotine replacement therapy to clients gradually increased by about 6 percentage points from 2006 to 2009, according to a new Spotlight report issued by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration released in conjunction with the "Great American Smokeout."

19 Nov 2010

Lung cancer in smokers versus non-smokers shows different genetic mutations

A group of scientists at B.C. Cancer Agency have found that lung cancers in smokers have different genetic mutations and look different than lung cancer in non-smokers. According to senior scientist at the BC Cancer Agency Research Centre Wan Lam, this finding is significant because it means that from now on, research, treatments and diagnostics should be tailored to the distinct genetic variations in the different lung cancers instead of expecting that a one-size fits all approach will work. He said, “At the current time, treatment does not distinguish between these different types. The subtypes are all grouped together. But with this work, we are beginning to tease out the subtypes.” The study was presented Tuesday at a conference in Philadelphia of the American Association of Cancer Research.

10 Nov 2010