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.
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.
Smoking during pregnancy puts children at risk of psychotic symptoms – Mothers who smoke during pregnancy put their children at greater risk of developing psychotic symptoms in their teenage years. New research published in the October issue of the British Journal of Psychiatry shows a link between maternal tobacco use and psychotic symptoms.
Banning smoking in public places and workplaces is good for the heart — Inhaling secondhand smoke greatly increases risk of heart attack, even among young and nonsmokers. – Public smoking bans appear to significantly reduce the risk of heart attacks, particularly among younger individuals and nonsmokers, revealed by researchers in a new study.
Anti-smoking law helps waiters to quit smoking — The results confirm that 5 percent of waiters have stopped smoking. – Researchers from the Catalan Institute of Oncology have studied the impact of the law banning smoking in public places such as bars and restaurants on those working in these places.
Smokers’ tongues fail taste test — Nicotine may cause functional and morphological alterations of fungiform papillae or taste buds on the tongue. – Smokers have fewer and flatter taste buds. A study of the tongues of 62 Greek soldiers, published in the open access journal BMC Ear, Nose and Throat Disorders, has demonstrated how cigarettes deaden the ability to taste.
