Copyright 2012 Medical News TodayLatest Health News and Medical News posted throughout the day, every day.http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/smoking/admin@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Admin)editors@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Editors)en-us Fri, 10 Feb 2012 06:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/241480.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/241480.phpFindings of a report published Online First in the Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals shows that men who smoke seem to be linked with a more rapid cognitive decline. According to background information, smoking is more and more renown as a risk factor for dementia in the elderly...Smoking / Quit Smoking Fri, 10 Feb 2012 01:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241397.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241397.phpMark Twain said, "Giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world. I know because I've done it thousands of times." Many smokers would agree that it's difficult to stay away from cigarettes. A new study in Biological Psychiatry this month now suggests that low dopamine levels that occur as a result of withdrawal from smoking actually promote the relapse to smoking...Smoking / Quit Smoking Fri, 10 Feb 2012 01:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241415.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241415.phpHigher blood levels of cadmium in females, and higher blood levels of lead in males, delayed pregnancy in couples trying to become pregnant, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other academic research institutions...Pregnancy / Obstetrics Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241360.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241360.phpGay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered Coloradans who smoke are not thinking about quitting or getting ready to quit, and a quarter are uncomfortable approaching their doctors for help, report University of Colorado Cancer Center researchers in a recent article published in Nicotine & Tobacco Research...Smoking / Quit Smoking Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241380.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241380.phpYoung people's choices about using drugs and alcohol are influenced by peers - not only close friends, but also sports teammates. A new study of middle schoolers and their social networks has found that teammates' smoking plays a big role in youths' decisions about smoking, but adolescents who take part in a lot of sports smoke less...Smoking / Quit Smoking Wed, 08 Feb 2012 03:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/241302.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/241302.php"It's easy to quit smoking; I've done it hundreds of times." -- Mark Twain There are many different ways to quit smoking. Some experts advocate using pharmacological products to help wean you off nicotine, others say all you need is a good counselor and support group, or an organized program...Smoking / Quit Smoking Tue, 07 Feb 2012 01:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/241241.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/241241.phpA male regular smoker has a higher risk of rapid cognitive decline, compared to his counterparts who do not smoke, researchers from University College London, England, reported in Archives of General Psychiatry...Alzheimer's / Dementia Mon, 06 Feb 2012 09:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/241228.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/241228.phpSecondhand Smoke (SHS) exposure among middle and high school students in the USA has dropped over the last ten years, researchers from the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion and the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) reported in the March edition of Pediatrics...Smoking / Quit Smoking Mon, 06 Feb 2012 01:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241201.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241201.phpIf the proven long-term benefits of smoking cessation are not enough to motivate young adults to stop smoking, a new study shows that 18- to 24-year olds who stop smoking for at least two weeks report substantially fewer respiratory symptoms, especially coughing...Smoking / Quit Smoking Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240959.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240959.php Barrett's esophagus (BE) patients who smoke tobacco are at a two-fold increased risk of developing esophageal cancer, according to a new study in Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association. BE patients who smoke also double their risk for developing advanced precancerous cells...Smoking / Quit Smoking Fri, 27 Jan 2012 04:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240843.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240843.phpHead and neck cancers respond well to the anti-cancer drug erlotinib when it is administered before surgery and a stronger dose is given to patients who smoke, according to a study presented at the Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium, sponsored by AHNS, ASCO, ASTRO and SNM...Cancer / Oncology Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240786.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240786.phpWhile the rapid improvement in socio-economic conditions is thought responsible for the high rates of cardiovascular disease in the Gulf states, deep-rooted cultural factors also play a part. "We're sitting on a time bomb," says Professor Hani Najm, Vice-President of the Saudi Heart Association, whose annual conference begins Friday 27 January...Heart Disease Thu, 26 Jan 2012 01:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240765.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240765.phpTelephone counseling services (also known as quitlines) are an effective intervention for Chinese-, Korean-, and Vietnamese-speaking smokers living in the U.S., and should be incorporated into current smoking cessation services, according to a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Quitlines have played an essential role in helping people quit smoking in the U.S...Smoking / Quit Smoking Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/240820.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/240820.phpNicotine is a nitrogen-containing chemical - an alkaloid, which is made by several types of plants, including the tobacco plant. Nicotine is also produced synthetically. Nicotiana tabacum, the type of nicotine found in tobacco plants, comes from the nightshade family. Red peppers, eggplant, tomatoes and potatoes are examples of the nightshade family...Smoking / Quit Smoking Wed, 25 Jan 2012 01:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240721.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240721.phpThe life expectancy of a person born in Japan is among the highest in the world (82...Smoking / Quit Smoking Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240687.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240687.phpHigher than normal levels of lead in the blood may signal a risk two times higher than average of developing renal cell carcinoma in smokers, according to medical researchers. "Past studies (in cadavers) have shown that, compared with kidneys from individuals without cancer, kidneys from individuals with cancer have higher lead levels," said Emily B...Smoking / Quit Smoking Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/240702.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/240702.php According to a study published January 23 online in Cancer, many smokers do not drop the habit after being diagnosed with colorectal or lung cancer. The study by Elyse R. Ph.D., M.P.H.and her team at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston involved 3,063 patients with colorectal cancer and 2,456 with lung cancer. The patients were seen at the time of diagnosis, and also five months later...Smoking / Quit Smoking Tue, 24 Jan 2012 04:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240672.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240672.phpA new analysis has found that a substantial number of lung and colorectal cancer patients continue to smoke after being diagnosed. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study provides valuable information on which cancer patients might need help to quit smoking...Smoking / Quit Smoking Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240581.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240581.phpQuitting smoking is never easy. However, when you're poor and uneducated, kicking the habit for good is doubly hard, according to a new study by a tobacco dependence researcher at The City College of New York (CCNY)...Smoking / Quit Smoking Fri, 20 Jan 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240495.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240495.phpFrom the cherry red tip of a lighted cigarette through the respiratory tract to vital lung cells, the havoc created by tobacco smoke seems almost criminal, activating genes and portions of the immune system to create inflammation that results in life-shortening emphysema, said researchers led by those at Baylor College of Medicine and the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center...Smoking / Quit Smoking Wed, 18 Jan 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240372.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240372.phpIndependent of other factors, such as smoking history and HPV status, matted lymph nodes appear to signal increased chance of oropharyngeal cancer spreading to other parts of the body Researchers at the University of Michigan Health System have found a new indicator that may predict which patients with a common type of throat cancer are most likely have the cancer spread to ...Ear, Nose and Throat Wed, 18 Jan 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240385.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240385.phpHazardous alcohol use and depression are among the 10 leading causes of disability and premature death worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. Many low- to middle-income countries have begun to see a steady increase in alcohol use and have entered the early stages of a tobacco epidemic...Alcohol / Addiction / Illegal Drugs Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/240323.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/240323.php University of California, which includes campuses in Berkely, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz, has announced its intention to implement a total blanket ban on any kind of smoking or tobacco related product anywhere on its grounds, including all outdoor spaces...Smoking / Quit Smoking Fri, 13 Jan 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240263.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240263.phpThe discovery, by researchers at the University of Melbourne, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Australia, and the Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, US, could dramatically improve treatments and slow the progression of COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) which includes the incurable condition emphysema...COPD Thu, 12 Jan 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240172.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240172.phpIt is commonly known that, much like Pavlov's dogs salivating in response to hearing the bell they associate with dinner time, smokers feel cravings and have physiological reactions to pictures they associate with smoking. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Neuroscience has shown that a smoker's cravings can also be trained to non-smoking related stimuli...Smoking / Quit Smoking