Copyright 2009 Medical News Today Latest Smoking / Quit Smoking News From Medical News Today. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/smoking/ admin@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Admin) editors@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Editors) en-us Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171706.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171706.php "Breaking a cigarette addiction may be one of the toughest commitments anyone can make. It takes a lot of support. But if you're a smoker, today you'll have the support of millions of other soon-to-be ex-smokers, if you join them in the Great American Smokeout. "Saying no to cigarettes is one of the most important commitments you can make to your health. Smoking / Quit Smoking Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171701.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171701.php "With recent news that adult smoking rates have remained unchanged since 2004, and research showing that a clear majority of smokers want to quit, we urge smokers to mark today's 34th Great American Smokeout by making a quit plan and finding out about free resources that help them quit successfully. Research shows that advance planning and preparation greatly increase the likelihood of succeeding. Smoking / Quit Smoking Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171539.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171539.php Indoor smoking bans have forced smokers at bars and restaurants onto outdoor patios, but a new University of Georgia study in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that these outdoor smoking areas might be creating a new health hazard. The study, thought to be the first to assess levels of a nicotine byproduct known as cotinine in nonsmokers exposed to second-hand smoke outdoors, found levels up to 162 percent greater than in the control group. Smoking / Quit Smoking Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171535.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171535.php A recent study determined there is a significant risk of seizure for individuals who currently smoke cigarettes. Boston-based researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School also found that long-term, moderate intake of caffeine or alcohol does not increase the chance of having a seizure or developing epilepsy. Epilepsy Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171516.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171516.php Toddlers and obese children suffer more than other youth when exposed to secondhand smoke, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2009. "Secondhand smoke in children is not just bad for respiratory issues, as has been previously described by other researchers," said John Anthony Bauer, Ph.D. Smoking / Quit Smoking Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171382.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171382.php A study by researchers at the University of Bergen, Norway, and the Institute of Psychiatry (IoP) at King's College London has found that depression is as much of a risk factor for mortality as smoking. Depression Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171394.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171394.php The Electronic Cigarette Association (ECA) urged decision-makers to seek alternatives to combustible tobacco that reduce Americans' exposure to the multitude of harmful chemicals and toxins found in cigarettes. His remarks came in response to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study released last week showing that smoking rates among U.S. Smoking / Quit Smoking Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171349.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171349.php Global Corruption Fight Slowing, Report Says A new report from Transparency International says the fight against corruption worldwide is slowing as urgency to address the global economic downturn recedes, Bloomberg reports. HIV / AIDS Wed, 18 Nov 2009 04:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171307.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171307.php For the second consecutive year, the United States earned only a "D" on the March of Dimes Premature Birth Report Card, demonstrating that more than half a million of our nation's newborns didn't get the healthy start they deserved. In the 2009 Premature Birth Report card, seven states improved their performance by one letter grade and two fared worse. Pregnancy / Obstetrics Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171265.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171265.php While previous studies have indicated a "probable" connection between smoking and ALS, a new study published in the Nov. 17, 2009 issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, states that smoking may now be considered an "established" risk factor for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. The findings come from Baystate Medical Center neurologist Dr. Multiple Sclerosis Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171282.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171282.php AMD Alliance International strongly urges all smokers to participate in the Great American Smokeout on November 19 to save their eyes and protect their vision from the debilitating effects of macular degeneration. Research has demonstrated that age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a progressive disease that causes the loss of central vision, is two to three times as frequent among tobacco smokers, and the risk is dose dependent(1, 2). Smoking / Quit Smoking Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171318.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171318.php An experimental vaccine called NicVAX, designed to treat nicotine addiction that works by stopping the drug from reaching the brain, moved a step closer to the market when the vaccine developer Nabi Biopharmaceuticals (Nabi), based in Rockville, Maryland, US agreed an option and licensing deal with GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals SA (GSK), based in Brussels, Belgium. Smoking / Quit Smoking Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171186.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171186.php While previous studies have indicated a "probable" connection between smoking and ALS, a new study published in the Nov. 17, 2009 issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, states that smoking may now be considered an "established" risk factor for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. The findings come from Baystate Medical Center neurologist Dr. Smoking / Quit Smoking Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171182.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171182.php Risk of bladder cancer for smokers has increased since the mid-1990s, with a risk progressively increasing to a level five times higher among current smokers in New Hampshire than that among nonsmokers in 2001-2004, according to a new study published online November 16 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Cancer / Oncology Tue, 17 Nov 2009 01:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171057.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171057.php Almost three quarters (73%) of smokers and ex smokers have not had a lung function test despite 21% of this group experiencing symptoms of a chronic lung disease in the last 12 months according to a new survey released today by the British Lung Foundation, ahead of World COPD Day. Smoking / Quit Smoking Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171077.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171077.php As smokers nationwide struggle to quit the habit, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is offering assistance to those childhood cancer survivors who need help with smoking cessation. Despite the known health risks of tobacco use, about 18 percent of adults who survived childhood cancer are smokers-an average almost equal to that of the general population. Smoking / Quit Smoking Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171080.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171080.php The British Psychological Society welcomes the passage of measures protecting young people from harm caused by tobacco into law in the Health Act 2009. The President of the Society, Sue Gardner, says: "We regard the protection of children and young people from smoking as an extremely high priority. All the available evidence suggests that the earlier young people start to smoke the more difficult they will find it to quit. Smoking / Quit Smoking Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170958.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170958.php Despite progress in some areas, smoking rates among U.S. adults remained stalled in 2008, halting the nation's progress in ending the tobacco epidemic, according to a CDC study. The study, released in advance of the annual Great American Smokeout, found that 46 million Americans (20.6 percent) were current cigarette smokers in 2008, which is virtually unchanged since 2004 when 20.9 percent of adults reported being smokers. Smoking / Quit Smoking Thu, 12 Nov 2009 05:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170725.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170725.php "Africa faces a surge in cancer deaths unless action is taken in the next decade to stem rising smoking levels in a continent where anti-tobacco laws remain rare, U.S. scientists said Wednesday," Reuters reports (Kelland, 11/11). A joint report (. Smoking / Quit Smoking Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170745.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170745.php Whether you smoke three cigarettes or three packs of cigarettes a day, kicking the habit is difficult. Various nicotine replacement products are on the market to make quitting easier. But which product is right for you? Experts from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center are here to help. "Quitting smoking is a wonderful thing to do for yourself and your loved ones, but it can be really hard without help," said Jennifer Irvin Vidrine, Ph.D. Smoking / Quit Smoking Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170637.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170637.php Academic Health Center scientists, physicians, and research centers have attracted 128 grants totaling nearly $35 million in federal stimulus money (as of Nov. 10) since the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was approved in February 2009. This will result in a total economic impact of more than $105 million; according to the National Institutes of Health, $1 of research funding multiplies to more than $2 of goods and services in the economy. Alzheimer's / Dementia Wed, 11 Nov 2009 03:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170542.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170542.php As African nations are poised to undergo the highest increase in the rate of tobacco use among developing countries, nearly 90 percent of people on the continent remain without meaningful protection from secondhand smoke, according to a new report released at a regional cancer conference. The report, Global Voices: Rebutting the Tobacco Industry, Winning Smokefree Air, points to signs of hope, however. Smoking / Quit Smoking Wed, 11 Nov 2009 02:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170517.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170517.php As the debate over health care reform dominates the media and political arena, a new American Lung Association report finds that states aren't doing enough to help smokers quit - and policymakers must fix this in the health care reform process. Smoking / Quit Smoking Tue, 10 Nov 2009 04:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170406.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170406.php Hookah pipe smoking has gained a foothold with Florida teens, according to a new University of Florida study, which shows 11 percent of high school students and 4 percent of middle school students have tried it. The findings were presented at the American Public Health Association's annual meeting in Philadelphia and appear in the November issue of the American Journal of Public Health. The study was conducted in collaboration with the Florida Department of Health. Smoking / Quit Smoking Tue, 10 Nov 2009 02:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170350.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170350.php With the American Cancer Society's Great American Smokeout Challenge just a week away, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) is giving smokers yet another reason to quit. The scientific evidence is clear -- smoking has a direct negative impact on postoperative outcomes. Quitting smoking is one of the best things people can do to improve their chances of recovering from surgery without complications. Smoking / Quit Smoking