Freedom from Smoking

Unwise to cut tobacco control funding in tough times

2008-05-09T21:38:00.000-07:00

The U.S. and many other economies across the globe are going through tough financial times just now. In these tough times, legislators and policy makers have to make tough choices about how to spend limited budgets. In recent times in the United States, one of the targets for cuts has been tobacco control funding. Using my home state as an example, I’d like to summarize some of the reasons why...

Which kids in the US are most likely to use tobacco?

2008-05-06T13:18:00.000-07:00

The tobacco industry has a problem. Its products kill the consumers when used as intended. Given the high rate of people ceasing tobacco use due to premature death or success in beating the addiction, the industry has its work cut out in replacing these consumers with new users. Each company is aware that smokers quickly develop brand loyalty, and so the race is on to hook kids before other...

Become an Ex

2008-04-30T10:39:00.000-07:00

On previous posts I’ve talked about good websites for helping smokers quit: Can smoking cessation internet sites help you to quit? 4/21/07 http://www.healthline.com/blogs/smoking_cessation/2007/04/can-smoking-cessation-internet-sites.html There are quite a few good ones, and so far my favorite is at www.quitnet.com . But I recently checked out a fairly new one and was very impressed. Its at...

Tobacco Harm Reduction

2008-04-25T08:09:00.000-07:00

There are a bunch of policy options designed to reduce the harm to health caused by tobacco. Right now, those option focus on reducing exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke pollution, reducing initiation of smoking among young people, and encouraging existing smokers to quit. In many developed countries these policies have had some success, with significant reductions in the proportion of the...

Smoking and suicide

2008-04-23T06:58:00.000-07:00

It has long been known that people who smoke are at greater risk of attempting and committing suicide than people who don’t smoke. On the face of it this doesn’t seem particularly surprising as people who sometimes think that they would rather not live would appear to have less reason to quit smoking to improve their health and live longer. But the recent concern about onset of depression and...

Which U.S. states smoke most and least?

2008-04-21T09:55:00.000-07:00

The latest data on cigarette smoking prevalence by state was just released in the U.S. Before I tell you the results, make a guess at what percentage of adults you think are cigarette smokers (a) in your state and (b) in the whole of the US? The data are from a survey called the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) which is organized by CDC. It obtains a representative sample of...

Vote for Healthline for Webby Award

2008-04-20T10:30:00.000-07:00

Healthline has been nominated for the prestigious Webby Award in the category of “Health." The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences will choose Webby Award winners, but the People’s Choice Webby lets you decide. It’s easy: Simply log on to http://peoplesvoice.webbyawards.com/ Register to vote (or log in if you are a returnee) After registration, click on the Web site icon and find...

Can cigarettes be made less deadly?

2008-04-20T06:08:00.000-07:00

Since it became clear in the 1950s and 60s that cigarettes are deadly when used as intended, there have been various attempts to make them less harmful. These have included the addition of and modifications to filters, and changes in the type of tobacco used. But none of these changes has made a great deal of difference. Part of the problem is that changes that reduce the amount of one toxin...

Smoking and Lung Cancer

2008-03-29T17:16:00.000-07:00

Everyone knows that smoking causes lung cancer. But how big are your risks of getting lung cancer if you smoke and what is it about tobacco smoking that causes lung cancer? For some illnesses caused by smoking, smokers have a 50% or a 100% greater chance if getting that illness than never smokers. Stomach cancer and pneumonia are like that. A 100% greater risk doesn’t mean 100% chance of getting...

Lung Cancer, Spiral CT and Tobacco Industry Funding

2008-03-26T07:02:00.000-07:00

An interesting article was published in the New York Times yesterday, revealing that one of the studies reporting the most positive effects on the potential of spiral CT in detecting early stage lung cancer, was funded by the tobacco industry. The article raises questions about the motivations from the tobacco industry to fund such a study, and the reasons for lung cancer researchers accepting...

Buy cigarettes on the internet? Expect a large invoice.

2008-03-25T20:38:00.000-07:00

As many states raise the excise tax on cigarettes, smokers in high-tax states are sometimes tempted to go online and save money by ordering from an out-of-state discount store to avoid paying the tax. Many states (34 by 2006) have now passed laws governing these types of sales, and at least 5 have banned direct to consumer shipment of cigarettes. Because of the myriad of complex state and...

How have New York and New Jersey reduced smoking?

2008-03-24T19:30:00.000-07:00

From 1992-2002 cigarette smoking prevalence in New York City remained relatively stable, with around 21-22% of adults being smokers. However, in 2002 the city began to implement a comprehensive five-point tobacco control plan, as follows: 1. Increased city cigarette tax from 8c to $1.50 per pack. 2. Implement comprehensive smoke-free workplace legislation (including bars and restaurants). 3....

Why Chantix may reduce alcohol consumption.

2008-03-22T12:02:00.000-07:00

Some of those people who have posted comments on my blog have commented that when they were using Chantix (varenicline) their interest in drinking alcohol or smoking marijuana also decreased. There are a couple of obvious potential mechanisms for that effect. Firstly, we are all familiar with the association between smoking tobacco and other substance use. Smokers are much more likely to take...

Wearing the patch prior to quitting

2008-03-21T06:12:00.000-07:00

The normal recommended way to use the nicotine patch is to choose a “Target Quit Day”, smoke your last cigarette and get rid of all your tobacco the night before it, and then start wearing the patch instead of smoking on the morning of your quit day. The nicotine patch helps with smoking cessation by reducing the severity of nicotine withdrawal symptoms and cravings. The labeling on the nicotine...

Smoking and lung function

2008-03-07T06:48:00.000-08:00

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by gradually worsening airflow obstruction interfering with normal breathing, leading to disability and death. Between a quarter and a half of long term smokers develop COPD. Smokers are 13 times more likely to die from COPD than never-smokers, and in recent years more women than men are killed by COPD in the United States. Relatively...

Marlboro Snus Isn’t Really Snus

2008-03-04T19:39:00.000-08:00

In some prior posts I’ve talked about the type of smokeless snuff tobacco that is very popular in Sweden, called “snus”. This product has captured considerable attention because in that country more men now use it than smoke cigarettes, and because it is lower in toxins and carcinogens than other forms of smokeless tobacco (such that it doesn’t cause oral or lung cancer, but probably does cause...

Chantix and depression on stopping smoking.

2008-02-26T08:00:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I saw a couple of newspaper reports on the potential link between Chantix and psychiatric side effects, including discussion of some of the stories reported by people on this blog. http://www.nj.com/starledger/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-13/1203831450252170.xml&coll=1 I’ve written before about risks for depression on stopping smoking and we have also talked about psychiatric...

Snus use in Sweden: another reply to Tomar.

2008-02-19T12:59:00.000-08:00

I have previously discussed the role of snus in reducing smoking in Sweden, and criticized the IARC report’s coverage of this issue. Professor Scott Tomar (a member of the IARC committee) stated (as a comment to a posting criticising the new IARC monograph on smokeless tobacco): “Using official Swedish data for smoking for 2004 (from the ULF survey conducted by Statistics Sweden), smoking quit...

What is in cigarette smoke?

2008-02-17T16:48:00.000-08:00

More than 4000 different chemicals have been identified in cigarette smoke. Most of us have a very basic idea that these chemicals can be harmful to health and that the mechanisms whereby this complex mixture of toxins contained in tobacco smoke leads to specific diseases are complex. However, I thought it might be helpful to some readers to provide a very basic description of the ways in which...

New study compares Chantix to the nicotine patch

2008-02-11T10:24:00.000-08:00

We have already talked about the studies showing that Chantix (varenicline or Champix outside the US) is more effective than both placebo pills and Zyban (bupropion) for smoking cessation. There has also been one study comparing smoking cessation outcomes before and after Chantix was available (by John Stapleton and colleagues in the UK). Today a new study has been published comparing the...

What does a tobacco treatment clinic do?

2008-02-06T10:16:00.000-08:00

Most people who try to quit smoking do so on their own with little or no outside assistance. This doesn’t mean it’s the best way to do it. Nowadays most people also have access to a telephone quitline and over-the-counter nicotine replacement therapy. These treatment components have been proven to increase your chances of success. Some people are fortunate enough to live near a specialist...

Swedish Snus: A Reply to Professor Tomar

2008-01-22T21:04:00.000-08:00

Professor Scott Tomar (University of Florida) has made a couple of comments to my January 10th posting about the IARC report on smokeless tobacco. As these require a slightly lengthier response than a brief comment, I’m doing it here. Dr Tomar presented some data showing the quit ratio for specific age groups of ever smokers (including ever occasional smokers). The age groups stop at age 64. My...

Do you wake at night to smoke?

2008-01-16T10:21:00.000-08:00

Two papers published this month highlight the fact that a surprising number of smokers wake at night to smoke, and suggest that this is a sign of nicotine addiction. A paper published in the International Journal of Clinical Practice by Michelle Bover and colleagues at UMDNJ-School of Public Health, found that of over 2,300 cigarette smokers seeking treatment at our Tobacco Dependence Clinic,...

How does your state or country tackle tobacco?

2008-01-12T13:25:00.000-08:00

There is very good evidence that adopting a strategy of comprehensive tobacco control can be effective at reducing the number of people smoking. “Comprehensive tobacco control” means a combination of strategies including mass media campaigns, smoke-free air legislation, increased tax on tobacco products, youth education and peer-led projects, provision of tobacco dependence treatment,...

New IARC monograph on smokeless tobacco

2008-01-10T10:00:00.000-08:00

The latest report from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) was released at the end of 2007. (downloadable – though very large - at: http://monographs.iarc.fr/ ). This report is based on the opinions of an expert working group that met in Lyon, France in October, 2004. It is not clear why it took over 3 years for the report to become available, but one consequence of that delay...