Smoking News and Research

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Are passive smoking, air pollution and obesity a greater mortality risk than major radiation incidents?

A new study has found that risks from radiation exposure to people involved in the Chernobyl incident may be much less significant than most of us think.

4 Apr 2007

Impact of secondhand smoke on periodontitis

A study published in this month's issue of the Journal of Periodontology found that subjects with periodontitis who were exposed to secondhand smoke were more likely to develop bone loss, the number one cause of tooth loss.

4 Apr 2007

Harvard presents to Motion Picture Association of America on depiction of smoking in movies

Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) is releasing materials presented to the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) in a scientific briefing requested by the MPAA last February 23, 2007 in Hollywood on the health impact of youth smoking and the behavioral influence of films that depict tobacco use.

3 Apr 2007

Where you live might play a bigger role in your risk for heart disease than your ethnicity or race

New research reveals that rural residents were more knowledgeable about healthy eating and heart disease risk than urban residents, but that urban residents were more motivated and optimistic about getting healthy.

3 Apr 2007

Trial of percutaneous coronary intervention added to optimal medical therapy in patients with stable coronary heart disease

Percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) involve opening partially blocked arteries to improve blood flow to the heart. These procedures are performed more than 1 million times a year.

3 Apr 2007

Maternal beef consumption associated with lower sperm concentration

New research has shown that women who ate a lot of beef while pregnant had sons who were more likely to suffer from poor sperm quality as adults, and it suggests that the growth promoters used in cattle may play a role in these men's reduced fertility.

2 Apr 2007

Breakthrough research finds genes which may help smoking cessation

Scientists supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, have for the first time identified genes that might increase a person's ability to abstain from smoking.

2 Apr 2007

SCHIP program needs substantial work

When given health insurance through the state children's health insurance program (SCHIP), teens see their doctors more often, racial disparities are eliminated and more preventive care is received.

2 Apr 2007

Diabetes and high blood pressure play a much greater role heart failure

Diabetes and high blood pressure, two conditions rooted in genetics and environmental surroundings, play a much greater role than race alone in determining who is mostly likely to develop heart failure, according to the latest study from cardiologists at Johns Hopkins.

1 Apr 2007

Coronary procedure adds no benefit over 'optimal medical therapy' alone

Percutaneous coronary intervention plus optimal medical therapy does not improve outcomes in patients with coronary artery disease, compared with optimal medical therapy alone, according to study results presented at the 56th Annual Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology in New Orleans, and published online in the New England Journal of Medicine.

1 Apr 2007

Smokers perform worse at work than non-smokers

Smokers were also more likely to have a less than honourable discharge, to be demoted, to desert, and to earn less than their non-smoking colleagues, the study showed.

1 Apr 2007

Smokers clock up extra sick days

Smokers take an average of almost eight days more of sick leave every year than their non-smoking colleagues, suggested research published in Tobacco Control .

1 Apr 2007

Exercise reduces risk of RSI

Health benefits associated with physical activity during leisure time are widely recognized, but it is not known if leisure-time physical activity decreases the risk of work-related repetitive strain injury (RSI).

31 Mar 2007

Annual computed tomography screening identifies a high proportion of patients with early-stage lung cancer

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death in both men and women, killing more people than breast, prostate and colon cancers combined, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS). According to the study, the estimated cure rate for lung cancer in the absence of screening is approximately 5 percent, but increases significantly when the cancer is diagnosed and treated at its earliest stage.

31 Mar 2007

Higher trans fat levels in blood associated with elevated risk of heart disease

High consumption of trans fat, found mainly in partially hydrogenated vegetable oils and widely used by the food industry, has been linked to an increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD).

30 Mar 2007

Genetic culprits of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Scientists at Johns Hopkins have identified the genetic culprits that trigger a hereditary form of a fatal lung disease.

30 Mar 2007

CT screening regimen finds early-stage lung cancer

Annual computed tomography (CT) screening identifies a high proportion of patients with early-stage lung cancer, according to the latest findings of the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center -- led New York Early Lung Cancer Action Project (NY-ELCAP) published in the April issue of the journal Radiology.

29 Mar 2007

Review of the health effects of Swedish Snus released

A Ministry of Health-commissioned review of the health effects of Swedish snus aims to inform the debate about whether snus and similar products have a role in reducing tobacco related harm in New Zealand.

29 Mar 2007

Study provides strongest link to date between trans fat and heart disease

High consumption of trans fat, found mainly in partially hydrogenated vegetable oils and widely used by the food industry, has been linked to an increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD).

28 Mar 2007

Medications plus lifestyle changes work as well as angioplasty to reduce deaths in stable heart-disease patients

Coronary revascularization with stenting or balloon angioplasty combined with optimal medical therapy is no more effective in preventing a heart attack, other major cardiovascular events or death in patients with stable heart disease, than optimal medical therapy alone, results of a new study conducted in 50 hospitals in the U.S. and Canada has shown.

27 Mar 2007