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 smokers are four times as likely as nonsmokers to report feeling unrested after a night?s sleep. Nightly nicotine withdrawal may contribute to restless sleep. – Smokers spend less time in deep sleep and more time in light sleep than nonsmokers, with the greatest differences in sleep patterns seen in the early stages of sleep, revealed by researchers.
Second-hand smoke is a health hazard for you and your family. There is no safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke. Give your child a smoke-free childhood.
– This year’s theme on World Cancer Day is “children and second-hand smoke exposure”. Around 700 million children – almost half of the world’s children – breathe air polluted by tobacco smoke, particularly at home.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a Public Health Advisory to alert health care providers, patients, and caregivers to new safety warnings concerning Chantix (varenicline), a prescription medication used to help patients stop smoking. – Chantix (varenicline), a prescription medication used to help patients stop smoking reported to have certain adverse effects like changes in behavior, agitation, depressed mood, suicidal ideation, and actual suicidal behavior. US FDA issued a Public Health Advisory to alert health care providers, patients, and caregivers.
Big increase in quitters following introduction of smokefree England. Statistics show unprecedented demand for Stop Smoking Services. – Around 165,000 smokers quit between April and September 2007 – an increase of 28 per cent compared to the same period the previous year, according to new statistics out by the UK health agency.
Pfizer’s CHANTIX label in the U.S. to include a warning for neuropsychiatric symptoms, including changes in behavior, agitation, depressed mood, suicidal ideation and suicidal behavior. – Cigarette smoking is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Smoking is the leading preventable cause of disease and premature death in the United States, with more than 438,000 U.S. deaths annually attributable to smoking. Patients who smoke cigarettes should be counseled to quit. CHANTIX was approved in May of 2006 in the U.S. as an aid to smoking cessation.
Protecting children from second-hand smoke is critical as infants and children are more severely affected by exposure to second-hand smoke than adults. This is because children are smaller, have immature immune systems and higher respiratory rates. – The majority of Canadians (82 per cent) say they support a ban on smoking in vehicles with children younger than 18 years of age, according to a national poll released by the Canadian Cancer Society. The poll results also show that more than two-thirds of smokers (69 per cent) support a ban.
Smokers should make a new year’s resolution to give up the habit. The Australian Medical Association AMA is urging all smokers to put their health first in 2008. – The Australian Medical Association AMA is urging all smokers to put their health first in 2008 by making a New Year’s resolution to quit smoking for good.
The European health regulator said Pfizer’s Champix, a stop-smoking aid, should carry a warning about the risk of suicide attempts among patients.
– There have been reports of ?suicidal ideation’ (thinking about committing suicide) and suicide attempts in people taking Champix. It is very difficult to know if this is due to Champix, as the act of stopping smoking itself can make people depressed, especially if they already have a mental health problem. Depression is often associated with suicidal thoughts.
Adolescents who obtained cigarettes from social sources were less likely to become heavy smokers compared to youth who bought their cigarettes from commercial sources.
– New research in the December issue of Preventive Medicine, published by Elsevier, shows that there was a decline in access to cigarettes from commercial venues from 2000 to 2003. These findings are specific to the Minnesota Adolescent Community Cohort study, a longitudinal telephone survey of youth less than 18 years old.
