In a move that will essentially change the way the United States regulates tobacco, President Obama signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (H.R. 1256).
The legislation grants the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to regulate the marketing of tobacco products, specifically marketing designed to mislead consumers or recruit underage smokers. Ream more »
Casual tobacco smoking and secondhand or passive smoking can do more harm than previously thought, according to a new study which found even low levels of exposure to cigarette smoke can alternate the function of genes implicated in lung diseases.
Researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University and Presbyterian Hospital found that exposure to cigarette smoke at low levels either through passive smoking or infrequent tobacco smoking raised risk for future lung diseases including lung cancer and respiratory disease like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD. Ream more »
As if the growing number of smoking bans in restaurants, airplanes and other public places isn’t sending a strong enough message, researchers now have the first biological data confirming the health hazards of secondhand smoke. Scientists led by Dr. Ronald Crystal at Weill Cornell Medical College documented changes in genetic activity among nonsmokers triggered by exposure to secondhand cigarette smoke. Ream more »
It is important for the Maker to understand that he has not yet kicked the habit just because he has not had a smoke for almost four weeks now. Still he can placate himself with the thought the urge is not as strong and as overwhelming as before. He must watch out for those moments when the urge kicks in like pangs of longing and then he misses tobacco as he would miss a dearly beloved lover.
The first week that he quit should not count. He smoked his last full stick of cigarette in Margie’s house in Oxnard City, California. Margie is his sister. She works as a nurse practitioner in an eating disorder hospital here. Unlike a regular nurse, a nurse practitioner is licensed to diagnose and dispense medicine much like a doctor for as long as they work with a regular doctor. He decided to quit smoking after Margie once again called him a “walking time bomb” right after getting his vital signs.
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There certainly is a great deal of awareness at the local, national and global level around smoking, secondhand smoke and the associated health risks.
Every year, the World Health Organization celebrates World No Tobacco Day. On a national level, we celebrate The Great American Smoke Out and Kick Butts Day.
On the local level, public health advocates work in schools and at local community events to provide resources and education on the dangers of starting to smoke, the benefits of quitting and the health impact of secondhand smoke, sometimes called environmental tobacco smoke.
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As fewer people puff away on cigarettes, a new smoking trend is gaining popularity among young North Americans.
A new survey, published in the journal Pediatrics, confirmed that as many as one-quarter of young people in North America have used a hookah, also known as a water pipe, shisha, narghile or hubble bubble, in the last year. And according to a study in the current issue of the American Journal of Health Behavior, hookah prevalence is on the rise worldwide.
Researchers believe the popularity of water pipes may be due in part to the perception that they are safer than cigarettes.
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The Church of God of Prophecy in Hamlet is hosting a First Quit class for the community tonight from 6 to 8 p.m.
Pastor Steve Cruz contacted health educator Cindy Laton at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital to hold a program for those who are attempting to quit smoking or citizens who are thinking about it.
“It is a joint program through the church and FirstHealth,” said Cruz. “It is another way for us to reach out to the community. I think there are a lot of people who want to quit.”
Laton also feels it is important to offer programs in the community to help people feel comfortable in their surroundings.
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ATLANTA — Some U.S. cigarette brands expose people to higher amounts of cancer-causing tobacco-specific nitrosamines than some foreign cigarettes, officials said. Read more