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.
Smoking increases depressive symptoms in teens — Universities of Toronto and Montreal study published in Addictive Behaviors – While some teenagers may puff on cigarettes to ‘self-medicate’ against the blues, scientists at the University of Toronto and the University of Montreal have found that smoking may actually increase depressive symptoms in some adolescents.
Cigarette smoke causes harmful changes in the lungs even at the lowest levels — First study to show alteration in the function of genes in the lungs resulting from secondhand and low-level smoking – Casual smokers may think that smoking a few cigarettes a week is “no big deal.” But according to new research from physician-scientists at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, having an infrequent smoke, or being exposed to secondhand smoke, may be doing more harm than people may think.
Link found between passive smoking and poorer mental health – Second hand smoke exposure is associated with psychological distress and risk of future psychiatric illness, according to new UCL research that suggests the harmful affects of passive smoking go beyond physical health.
Philip Morris, Lorillard and R J Reynolds have challenged antismoking signs in New York, USA. – In US, 3 tobacco companies Philip Morris, Lorillard and R. J. Reynolds, and trade associations have challenged antismoking graphic images of diseased brains, lungs and teeth.
WHO calls for protection of women and girls from tobacco — World No Tobacco Day 2010 focuses on the marketing of tobacco to women – In observance of World No Tobacco Day 2010, the World Health Organization (WHO) is urging global action to protect women and girls against the sickness and suffering caused by tobacco use.
MSU researchers testing vaccine to help people quit smoking — Novel approach blocks ‘pleasure sensation’ – In a unique twist to a decades-old health crisis, Michigan State University researchers are testing a new vaccine to help people quit smoking and avoid relapses.
Nationwide smoking ban would help reduce heart attack admissions, slash costs – Smoking ban would save more than $90 million in US and significantly reduce hospitalizations for heart attack, according to a Henry Ford Hospital study.
Tobacco company’s new, dissolvable nicotine products could lead to accidental poisoning — Candy-like appearance and flavorings may increase appeal to infants and youth – A tobacco company’s new, dissolvable nicotine pellet–which is being sold as a tobacco product, but which in some cases resembles popular candies–could lead to accidental nicotine poisoning in children, according to a new study from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), the Northern Ohio Poison Control Center, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Combining Weight-Focused Counseling, Medication Helps Women Quit Smoking – For women smokers worried about their weight, combining cognitive behavioral therapy addressing weight concerns with the medication bupropion appears more effective than counseling alone to help them quit smoking.
Smokers at risk from their own ‘second-hand’ smoke – Smokers are at additional risk from breathing environmental tobacco smoke, contrary to the prevailing assumption that such risks would be negligible in comparison to those incurred by actually smoking, revealed by researchers.
Quitline messages that stress benefits of quitting may improve smoking cessation – Smokers who received gain-framed messaging from quitline specialists (i.e., stressing the benefits of quitting) had slightly better cessation outcomes than those who received standard-care messaging (i.e., potential losses from smoking and benefits of quitting).
Nicotine Patch Plus Lozenge Appears Best for Smoking Cessation – In a comparison of five different smoking cessation medications, a nicotine patch plus a nicotine lozenge appears most effective at helping smokers quit.
