Smoking is the inhalation of the smoke of burning tobacco encased in cigarettes, pipes, and cigars. Casual smoking is the act of smoking only occasionally, usually in a social situation or to relieve stress. A smoking habit is a physical addiction to tobacco products. Many health experts now regard habitual smoking as a psychological addiction, too, and one with serious health consequences.
Cigarette smoking is even more deadly than you think — US Smoking deaths may be underestimated: Study – A new study suggests that current estimates significantly underestimate the number of Americans who die from cigarette smoking. The Surgeon General estimates that each year, smoking kills about 480,000 Americans.
Miriam Hospital study examines smoking prevalence — First-of-its-kind study to examine the high-risk group and advise they be targeted for cessation – Researchers from The Miriam Hospital have found that people with mobility impairments under age 65 have significantly higher rates of smoking than those without mobility impairments.
NYU researchers find 18 percent of high school seniors smoke hookah — Higher socioeconomic status associated with higher rates of hookah use – American adolescents are turning to ethnically-linked alternative tobacco products, such as hookahs, cigars, and various smokeless tobacco products.
Ten new e-cigarette brands and over 240 new flavors appear monthly on the web — Older brands more likely to push health and price; newer ones focus on consumer choice – 10 new brands and more than 240 new flavours of e-cigarette are coming to market every month, reveals a new study. The study is one of nine pieces of research on e-cigarettes to come out of the State and Community Tobacco Control Research (SCTC) Initiative, funded by the US National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health.
E-cigarettes may boost resistance of drug-resistant pathogens – Despite being touted by their manufacturers as a healthy alternative to cigarettes, e-cigarettes appear in a laboratory study to increase the virulence of drug- resistant and potentially life-threatening bacteria, while decreasing the ability of human cells to kill these bacteria.
Nicotine exploits COPI to foster addiction – A study in The Journal of General Physiology helps explain how nicotine exploits the body’s cellular machinery to promote addiction. The findings could lead to new therapies to help people quit smoking.
Smoking changes our genes – The fact that smoking means a considerable health risk is nowadays commonly accepted. New research findings from Uppsala University and Uppsala Clinical Research Center show that smoking alters several genes that can be associated with health problems for smokers, such as increased risk for cancer and diabetes.
Stronger nicotine dependence correlates with higher post-smoking weight gain — Post smoking weight gain correlates with nicotine dependence, serum lipid levels – Smokers with more severe nicotine dependence are more likely to gain weight when they try to quit, revealed by researchers. Even with nicotine replacement therapy, individuals can gain substantial amounts of weight when they quit smoking.
Plain cigarette packets to be introduced — Australia was the first country in the world to introduce plain pack cigarettes – Ireland first EU country to ban branding on cigarette packages – Putting all cigarettes in packs of uniform colour, size and design has not caused sales staff any problems in serving customers according to new research. Researchers examining the impact of plain, standardised tobacco packaging studied how long it took shop assistants to identify and retrieve cigarettes in small shops across Australia – twice before the rollout of standardised packaging in December 2012, and twice after.
New CDC Vital Signs: Smoking among those with Mental Illness – Adults with some form of mental illness have a smoking rate 70 percent higher than adults with no mental illness, according to a Vital Signs report. Combined data from SAMHSA?s 2009?2011 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) were used to calculate national and state estimates of cigarette smoking among adults aged 18 years and older who reported having any mental illness.
