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Last Updated: Nov 17th, 2006 - 22:35:04 |
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C. elegans provides model for the genetics of nicotine dependence
The unassuming C. elegans nematode worm, a 1-millimeter workhorse of the genetics lab, is quite similar to human beings in its genetic susceptibility to nicotine dependence, according to University of Michigan researchers.
Nov 4, 2006, 18:20
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Smoking Ban Associated With Rapid Improvement In Health Of Bar Workers in Scotland
Bar workers in Scotland showed significant improvements in respiratory symptoms and lung function within 2 months following a ban on smoking in confined public places, according to a study in the October 11 issue of JAMA. Exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke is a major worldwide public health issue, according to background information in the article. The effects on individuals has been difficult to measure, but a number of studies have established an increased risk of coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular disease and lung cancer, and the 2006 report by the U.S. surgeon general highlighted the causal relationship between secondhand smoke and premature death. In addition, for patients with preexisting respiratory conditions such as asthma, secondhand smoke leads to poorer disease control and more frequent hospital admission.
Oct 11, 2006, 05:11
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Smoking media literacy (SML) is a valuable tool in efforts to discourage teens from smoking
Today alone, more than 4,400 U.S. teenagers will start smoking, according to statistics from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration. Many of these adolescents will be lured to cigarettes by advertisements and movies that feature sophisticated models and actors, suggesting that smoking is a glamorous, grown-up activity. However, teens who are savvier about the motives and methods of advertisers may be less inclined to take to cigarettes, a University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine study indicates.
Oct 10, 2006, 12:45
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Hold the Hookah
The growing fad of smoking tobacco through a waterpipe, sometimes known as a hookah, is rapidly turning into a worrisome epidemic, according to a Georgetown University researcher who says smokers who think this form of tobacco use is less toxic than cigarettes are wrong.
Oct 1, 2006, 22:51
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Weight concerns affects women's motivations to stay smoke-free after delivery
Although many women quit smoking during pregnancy, the majority will resume smoking after having a baby. Results of a University of Pittsburgh study suggest that women's worries about weight may decrease their motivation to remain smoke-free postpartum. The study is published in the October issue of the Annals of Behavioral Medicine.
Sep 15, 2006, 17:43
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Nicotine Withdrawal Begins Within 30 Minutes
Smokers who have tried to quit are well aware of the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal: cravings for cigarettes, mood disturbances, appetite increase and sleep problems. However, it had not previously been known when withdrawal symptoms first appear. Thomas H. Brandon, Ph.D., Director of H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute's Tobacco Research & Intervention Program and his research team from Moffitt and the University of South Florida study examined this and found that within 30 minutes, the abstaining smokers reported greater cravings for cigarettes. Results have been published in the most recent issue of Psychopharmacology, authored by Peter S. Hendricks, Joseph, W. Ditre, and David J. Drobes, and Brandon.
Aug 22, 2006, 20:28
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Varenicline Appears Effective In Helping Smokers Kick The Habit
Women younger than age 75 years who eat diets rich in the yellow plant pigments lutein and zeaxanthin may have a reduced risk of developing the eye disease age-related macular degeneration, according to a report in the August issue of the Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Aug 15, 2006, 13:28
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Smokers with chronic pain smoke more
Smokers who experience significant pain smoke more cigarettes per day than those who are not regularly in pain, according to a study published by researchers at the University of Kentucky. However, more than half of smokers with pain are at least considering quitting smoking.
Aug 3, 2006, 17:12
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Varenicline Prevents Relapse of Smoking Behaviour
In a study, Serena Tonstad, M.D., Ph.D., of Ulleval University Hospital, Oslo, Norway and colleagues with the Varenicline Phase 3 Study Group conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial evaluating the efficacy of an additional 12 weeks of varenicline used for relapse prevention in smokers who successfully achieved abstinence following an initial 12-week varenicline treatment.
Jul 5, 2006, 19:12
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Varenicline produce higher continuous smoking abstinence rates
In a study, Douglas E. Jorenby, Ph.D., of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wis., and colleagues with the Varenicline Phase 3 Study Group conducted a study designed identical to that of Gonzales et al to assess the efficacy and safety of varenicline for smoking cessation compared with placebo and bupropion SR during initial treatment and long-term follow-up.
Jul 5, 2006, 19:09
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Varenicline shows effectiveness in helping smokers quit
The drug varenicline shows effectiveness in helping smokers quit and abstain from smoking when compared to placebo and the smoking cessation medication bupropion, according to three studies in the July 5 issue of JAMA. Although nearly 41 percent of smokers try to quit smoking each year, relapse is common, and only about 10 percent achieve and maintain abstinence. The negative effects of nicotine withdrawal account, in part, for low success rates, according to background information in the article. Approved pharmacotherapies to treat nicotine dependence (e.g., nicotine replacement therapy and bupropion) have had important, but moderate efficacy, with reported rates of quitting generally twice those of placebo. Additional and more effective therapies are needed.
Jul 5, 2006, 19:02
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False perception of reduced health risks may factor into decision to keep smoking
People who smoke low-tar and low-nicotine, or "light" cigarettes thinking they will reduce their health risks may actually be less likely to kick the habit, according to research conducted by University of Pittsburgh and Harvard University. As such, light cigarette smokers increase their lifetime risk of a variety of smoking-related diseases suggests the study published online by the American Journal of Public Health.
Jun 30, 2006, 13:11
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Genetics make it difficult for both genders to stop smoking
Researchers have long known that reasons for smoking include social pressure and other environmental factors, as well as genetic factors based on results of previous twin studies. Now a more comprehensive study of twins by researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) has provided a better understanding of these complex influences. They found that women are far more likely than men to start smoking because of environmental factors, whereas genetic factors appear to play a larger role in influencing men to start smoking.
Jun 24, 2006, 02:58
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Understanding how nicotine switches on the brain's reward machinery
Understanding what makes people crave the high of nicotine is a key to developing treatment for this highly addictive drug. And that understanding involves tracing the neural machinery by which nicotine switches on the brain's reward machinery.
Jun 15, 2006, 11:51
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Enhanced brain response to smoking cues found in African American
African American smokers show greater brain activations in response to smoking cues, such as images of individuals smoking, than Caucasian smokers, according to researchers at the University of Minnesota. The study, published in the June issue of the journal Addiction Biology, measured increased brain activity in regions associated with emotion and reward, which may explain why African American smokers are less successful than Caucasians at quitting.
Jun 3, 2006, 09:21
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Compulsion to smoke can lie dormant for three years
If you are a teen and smoked just one cigarette at the age of 11 you may take up smoking within the next few years again, says a study.
May 25, 2006, 13:27
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Analyzing Milestones and Misses in Smoking Cessation
In the first study of its kind, University of Pittsburgh psychologist and professor Saul Shiffman has discovered that people who are trying to quit smoking by wearing the nicotine patch are less likely to spiral into a total relapse if they keep wearing the patch, even if they've "cheated" and smoked a cigarette. The groundbreaking study, titled Analyzing Milestones in Smoking Cessation: Illustration in a Nicotine Patch Trial in Adult Smokers, will be published May 2 in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.
Apr 26, 2006, 18:30
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Passive smoking increases risk of glucose intolerance
A study published on bmj.com this week shows for the first time that breathing other people�s smoke raises the risk of developing glucose intolerance, the precursor to diabetes.
Apr 9, 2006, 21:40
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Smokers assume false sense of safety from ads for low nicotine cigarettes
A study by researchers at the Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine found that many smokers make false inferences about the safety of new low nicotine cigarettes. This research appears in the March issue of Psychology of Addictive Behaviors.
Mar 27, 2006, 04:12
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Smokers� Children Carry Higher Levels of Harmful Bacteria
Many of the medical risks associated with smoking, such as cancer, emphysema and heart attacks, are well-known to physicians and the general public. However, there is new evidence that more children exposed to tobacco smoke carry Streptococcus pneumoniae than children without smoking exposure, according to an article in the April 1 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, now available online.
Mar 10, 2006, 21:26
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Unplanned quit smoking attempts succeed more
Unplanned attempts to stop smoking are more likely to succeed than planned ones, concludes a study published online by the BMJ.
Jan 31, 2006, 19:00
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Reviewing evidence for effectiveness of gene-based smoking cessation
An editorial in the January 2006 issue of the Psychiatric Bulletin reviews the evidence for the effectiveness of gene-based smoking cessation packages, and asks whether they are appropriate for psychiatric patients.
Jan 23, 2006, 17:20
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Individualized nicotine patch therapy for recovering alcoholic smokers
Tobacco-caused disease is the leading cause of death for patients with alcoholism, but a study led by The Mayo Clinic Nicotine Dependence Center brings hope to non-depressed, recovering alcoholics who also smoke -- individualized nicotine patch therapy. The findings were published in the July issue of Journal of Studies on Alcohol.
Aug 16, 2005, 20:35
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Randomised controlled trial of home based motivational interviewing by midwives to help pregnant smokers quit or cut down
Motivational interviewing by specially trained midwives does not help pregnant smokers to quit, finds new research in this week�s BMJ.
Aug 15, 2005, 19:19
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Simple Questions May Determine Children's Exposure to Smoke
Pediatricians can reliably identify children at risk for environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure (secondhand smoke) by asking parents just three questions, according to an article in the May issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
May 5, 2005, 21:05
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Vitamin C counteracts some negative impacts of smoking on unborn babies
Research conducted in monkeys at the Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, suggests high doses of vitamin C may have potential to counteract some negative impacts of smoking in unborn babies. The research may benefit thousands of babies born to mothers who continue to smoke throughout pregnancy despite physician warnings. The research is published in the current edition of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
May 1, 2005, 21:45
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Why it�s so hard to stop smoking
New research has revealed that smokers may struggle to quit the habit because being deprived of nicotine means they lack motivation and find normally pleasurable tasks less enjoyable.
Apr 11, 2005, 12:33
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Smoking while pregnant may increase chromosomal abnormalities
A preliminary report suggests that maternal smoking during pregnancy is associated with increased chromosomal abnormalities in fetal cells, according to a study in the March 9 issue of JAMA.
Mar 9, 2005, 17:59
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