Vaping more effective than nicotine patches, but there’s a catch
Nicotine-containing e-cigarettes are almost twice as effective as nicotine patches and gum in helping smokers to quit, a study suggests. A year after quitting tobacco, however, most vapers were still using e-cigarettes, while fewer than one in 10 smokers who quit with the help of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) were still using it.
7 February, 2019
pharmacynews.com.au
Can Tech Change The Way We Tackle Smoking?
It’s estimated that every year around 207,000 children aged 11-15 start smoking. Children who live with parents or siblings who smoke are three times more likely to smoke themselves and with 14.9% of adults classified as smokers, it is a problem that will persist. […] Anyone with even a passing interest in health knows the risks, which makes it even more shocking to see that 15 percent of the population (an estimated 7.4 million people) are smokers. It’s a habit that costs the NHS £2.5 billion a year in England alone, […]
2019-01-30
forbes.com
Think before you sign: a new letter attacking the Foundation for a Smokefree World
A draft activist letter to the WHO Executive Board is circulating widely on email networks – so widely that it has even been sent to me. It is a response to an open letter from the Foundation for a Smokefree World to the WHO Executive Board, which is having its annual meeting 24 January – 1 February, 2019.
I won’t be signing the activist letter, but I would like to suggest that others who are inclined to sign think carefully before they put their name and reputation behind this one. I recommend asking seven questions before signing. Click here to read more…
27 January, 2019
www.clivebate.com
A Harm Reduction Guide for Parents of Teens Who Vape
Re-post from the nicotine science and policy
“There is a difference between trying a substance and using it often enough and heavily enough that it causes health, social and life problems,” explains Dr. Sheila Vakharia*, policy manager for the Office of Academic Engagement at the Drug Policy Alliance. “Although we should keep an eye on use rates, it is more important to think about how frequently and often people are using any substance.”
17 January, 2019
filtermag.org
The Cost of Smoking: Quit and You Could Buy a New Car Every Year
Re-post from the nicotine science and policy
Smoking kills people, but the habit gets their wallets first. While research has long proven a nicotine addiction causes harm to one’s health, new analysis proves it causes serious damage to financial health too. Smokers in Connecticut, the state that ranks highest in terms of the financial cost of cigarette smoking, are spending nearly $56,000 annually on their habit, according to new analysis published Wednesday by personal finance website WalletHub. Over their lifetimes, smokers in Connecticut are spending more than $2.8 million.
10 January, 2019.
fortune.com
Vaping: Smokers who switch could be less likely to use cigarettes again
Re-post from the nicotine science and policy
One of the most common New Year’s resolutions is to stop smoking. Quite rightly so, considering smoking is the biggest leading, preventable cause of death, worldwide. In fact, tobacco is the only legally-available product that kills up to one in every two users, when used as intended. There are a number of ways to stop smoking. But the most common include going “cold turkey”, the use of medication – usually offered by doctors and stop smoking services – or the switch to e-cigarettes.
07 January, 2019
medicalxpress.com
About Electronic Cigarettes (E-Cigarettes)
- E-cigarettes have the potential to benefit adult smokers who are not pregnant if used as a complete substitute for regular cigarettes and other smoked tobacco products.
- E-cigarettes are not safe for youth, young adults, pregnant women, or adults who do not currently use tobacco products.
- While e-cigarettes have the potential to benefit some people and harm others, scientists still have a lot to learn about whether e-cigarettes are effective for quitting smoking.
- If you’ve never smoked or used other tobacco products or e-cigarettes, don’t start.
- Additional research can help understand long-term health effects. Click here to learn more
www.cdc.gov
Low-income, rural kids at higher risk for second- or third-hand smoke exposure
Infants and toddlers in low-income, rural areas may be at higher risk for second- and third-hand smoke than previously reported, according to a study supported by the National Institutes of Health. Approximately 15 percent of children in the study tested positive for cotinine, a byproduct formed when the body breaks down nicotine, at levels comparable to those of adult smokers. About 63 percent of children in the study had detectable levels of cotinine, suggesting widespread exposure to smoke. […]
9 December, 2018
nih.gov
How to stop smoking … for good
Nobody knows who first said, “To succeed, you first have to fail.” But it’s a phrase many smokers likely relate to. About half of all smokers try to quit each year, according to federal data. But only about 7 percent are successful. “We’ve heard about people who say, ‘That’s it!’ and they stop for good. But that’s pretty rare,” said tobacco researcher John Dani. “The average person makes multiple attempts before they quit.”
7 December, 2018.
medicalxpress.com
High risk alternative tobacco products disproportionately sold in low-income communities
Retailers in minority and low-income communities are more likely to sell and advertise the most inexpensive and risky alternative tobacco products, according to a new study […]. Potentially less risky, non-combusted products such as smokeless tobacco and e-cigarettes are more accessible in higher income and predominantly White neighborhoods. Until this study, little was known about the ways in which alternative tobacco products are promoted in the retail environment in the context of the tobacco risk continuum.
5 December, 2018
eurekalert.org
Can e-cigarettes help people quit smoking?
Re-post from the nicotine science and policy
Electronic cigarettes and novel tobacco products have emerged as “alternatives” to traditional smoking, which is responsible for nearly 700,000 deaths every year in the EU. Advocates for so called “next generation products” insist they are much less harmful compared to smoking. They also refer to studies saying that these products can help smokers completely quit smoking.
30 November, 2018
youtube.com
Sperm count 50% lower in men whose fathers smoke
Re-post from the nicotine science and policy
While studies have repeatedly linked maternal smoking during pregnancy with reduced sperm count in male children, a new research showed that men whose fathers smoked at the time of pregnancy also had 50 per cent lower count of sperms than those with non-smoking fathers. The findings showed that, independently of nicotine exposure from the mother, socioeconomic factors, and their own smoking, men with fathers who smoked had a 41 per cent lower sperm concentration and 51 per cent fewer sperm count than those with non-smoking fathers.
27 November, 2018
iol.co.za