Tobacco News and Research

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Links found between built-environment and prevalence of overweight/obesity

Does your neighborhood have a lot of fast food outlets, few sidewalks, and no parks? If yes, your physical neighborhood may be hampering your ability to be physically active and placing you at increased risk for obesity.

11 Aug 2008

First cigarette "buzz", addiction linked to gene

Anyone who has ever tried smoking probably remembers that first cigarette vividly. For some, it brought a wave of nausea or a nasty coughing fit. For others, those first puffs also came with a rush of pleasure or "buzz."

10 Aug 2008

Smoking among child cancer survivors highest in most at risk group

Childhood cancer survivors who are most at risk of developing a second cancer are more likely to smoke than other childhood cancer survivors - reveals a Cancer Research UK study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

3 Aug 2008

New oral vaccine combats various versions of the plague

A University of Central Florida researcher may have found a defense against the Black Plague, a disease that wiped out a third of Europe's population in the Middle Ages and which government agencies perceive as a terrorist threat today.

31 Jul 2008

Drop in child deaths in NSW - but aboriginal children still six times more likely to die

Recently released figures on child deaths in New South Wales have revealed that the number has dropped overall - down almost 40 per cent in the past decade - this equates to 8.6 lives per 100,000 children and young people saved, however this does not appear to apply to indigenous children.

29 Jul 2008

CQ's Armstrong discusses Medicare 'trigger' bill, health IT legislation, tobacco regulation, mental health parity measure

Drew Armstrong, a health reporter for CQ HealthBeat, discusses House efforts to delay action on a Medicare "trigger" bill, health information technology legislation, an FDA tobacco regulation bill and steps toward passing mental health parity legislation in this week's "Health on the Hill from kaisernetwork.org and CQ."

29 Jul 2008

WHO welcomes Bloomberg/Gates new agenda to fight tobacco use

WHO welcomes the announcement from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Bloomberg Philanthropies to inject significant new resources into the global fight against tobacco use.

23 Jul 2008

Bloomberg and Gates to tackle tobacco use globally

Michael Bloomberg and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today announced a truly historic commitment of $500 million to the global fight against tobacco use, focused on helping governments in developing countries implement proven policies and programs to reduce tobacco use.

23 Jul 2008

Advanced Cancer Therapeutics licenses technology to develop HPV vaccine

Advanced Cancer Therapeutics (ACT) has announced the signing of two new collaborative agreements that will advance development of the Company's novel human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine program.

23 Jul 2008

Gilead initiates phase III trial of Elvitegravir

Gilead Sciences, Inc. has announced that it has begun enrolling patients in a Phase III clinical trial of its investigational antiretroviral agent elvitegravir (GS 9137), a novel oral integrase inhibitor that is being evaluated for the treatment of HIV-1 infection.

22 Jul 2008

NYT examines record of cooperation on health care, other issues by McCain

The New York Times on Monday examined how presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) since his failed 2000 presidential campaign has "mastered the art of political triangulation -- variously teaming up with ... the new Republican leaders, with Democrats against Republicans and with the president against the Democrats" on health care and other issues -- to "become perhaps the chamber's most influential member."

22 Jul 2008

Tobacco plant vaccine a cure for cancer?

Scientists in the U.S. say the tobacco plant could be used to "grow" key components of a cancer vaccine; they suggest that the same plant which is responsible for causing cancer may offer a way to treat the disease.

22 Jul 2008

First human tests of an injectable vaccine grown in genetically engineered plants

Plants could act as safe, speedy factories for growing antibodies for personalized treatments against a common form of cancer, according to new findings from the Stanford University School of Medicine. The findings came in the first human tests of an injectable vaccine grown in genetically engineered plants.

21 Jul 2008

Gene expression test could help determine who needs more aggressive treatment

Researchers from four leading cancer centers have confirmed that an analysis involving a panel of genes can be used to predict which lung cancer patients will have the worst survival. The finding could one day lead to a test that would help determine who needs more aggressive treatment.

21 Jul 2008

Early exposure to tobacco smoke causes asthma and allergy

Babies exposed to cigarette smoke before birth or during the first months afterwards run a greater risk of developing asthma and allergy. This according to a doctoral thesis from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet.

19 Jul 2008

Tobacco industry manipulates menthol levels to attract young people

Research released today in the American Journal of Public Health found evidence that the tobacco industry has manipulated menthol levels and created new cigarette brands with the intention of gaining market share among young adults and adolescents.

17 Jul 2008

Closing coal-fired power plants directly improves cognitive development in children

Closing coal-fired power plants can have a direct, positive impact on children's cognitive development and health according to a study released by the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health (CCCEH) at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health.

14 Jul 2008

Obesity ranks as top health concern for kids, poll finds

As children's waistlines continue to grow, so have concerns about childhood obesity. According to a report released today by the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health, childhood obesity is now the No. 1 health concern for kids in 2008, topping smoking and drug abuse. In 2007, childhood obesity ranked third among parents' top 10 overall health concerns for kids.

14 Jul 2008

Heavy alcohol use tied to conditions in the college environment

That is one of the key findings from research conducted by researchers with the Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study (CAS), a landmark study that surveyed more than 50,000 students at 120 colleges from 1993 to 2001.

13 Jul 2008

Common genetic variations increase risk of life-long nicotine addiction for young smokers

Common genetic variations affecting nicotine receptors in the nervous system can significantly increase the chance that European Americans who begin smoking by age 17 will struggle with life-long nicotine addiction. Published July 11 in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics, this research - led by scientists at the University of Utah together with colleagues from the University of Wisconsin - highlights the importance of preventing early exposure to tobacco through public health policies.

13 Jul 2008