Feature Channels: Smoking

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A new study led by researchers at the American Cancer Society shows serious smoking cessation activity declined among adults in the United States immediately after the onset of COVID-19 and persisted for over a year. Declines in attempts to quit smoking were largest among persons experiencing disproportionately negative outcomes during COVID-19, including Black people, people with comorbidities, middle-aged people, and lower educated people. The data was published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Network Open.

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People who reported smoking or vaping prior to their hospitalization for COVID-19 were more likely than their counterparts who did not smoke or vape to experience severe complications, including death, from the SARS-CoV-2 infection.

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UNC School of Medicine researchers are beginning to parse the underlying genetic differences in people who abuse substances. The more they learn, the better chance they will be able to create therapies to help the millions of people who struggle with addiction.

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Users of fourth-generation nicotine-salt-containing devices, such as Juul and disposable devices, display a unique mix of cellular biomarkers indicative of immune suppression.

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Evelyn Fuertes, BA, NDTR, community outreach coordinator and member of the Cancer Health Equity Center of Excellence at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, the state’s only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, together with RWJBarnabas Health, works to educate communities and providers on cancer prevention.

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Cannabinoid vaping products, genomic biomarkers to determine tumorigenic potential, and analyses of various testing assays are just a few of the article topics in the July 2022 issue of Toxicological Sciences.

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They may only be in 4th or 5th grade, but 1 in 10 pre-teen children already say they’re curious about using alcohol or tobacco products, and 1 in 50 say they’re curious about using marijuana, a new study shows. As many as 3% of the nearly 12,000 9- and 10-year-olds surveyed say they already have a friend who uses one of these substances. And those who said they did were also much more likely to be curious about trying alcohol or tobacco and other nicotine-containing products themselves.

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The American Thoracic Society applauds the FDA’s decision to remove Juul products from the U.S. marketplace. This decision is long overdue.

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A new scientific statement issued by the American Heart Association calls on policymakers at the local, state and national levels to take action to reduce or prevent e-cigarette use among adolescents to lower lifetime cardiovascular risk. Current scientific evidence indicates e-cigarettes may adversely affect the cardiovascular and respiratory systems over the lifetime of users, according to the statement chaired by Loren Wold, professor and associate dean for research operations and compliance in The Ohio State University College of Medicine.

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With stay-at-home orders during the COVID-19 pandemic, youth spent more time at home with family and were more isolated from in-person interaction with peers. Largely due to this social isolation from peers, substance use among youth declined, according to researchers at the WVU School of Public Health.

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Here are some of the latest articles that have been added to the Aging channel on Newswise, a free source for journalists.

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Researchers at The University of Kansas Cancer Center have released the results of a clinical trial that examined the effectiveness of varenicline in African Americans. In their study published in JAMA, African American daily smokers who were given varenicline while receiving counseling had significantly greater quit rates than those who received a placebo.

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Parental smoking is a significant risk factor for developing smoking behavior and nicotine dependence in offspring. These findings suggest that parental nicotine exposure may promote addiction-like behaviors in subsequent generations. Given the significance of cigarette smoking for public health, preventing nicotine use among adolescents is critical to ending tobacco use disorder and decreasing e-cigarette use.

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It’s no secret that puffing cigarettes is the culprit behind a host of ailments, including respiratory diseases and throat cancer. But a new UNLV study reveals that male smokers — who, demographically, are more likely than women to light up — are also placing themselves at a significantly increased risk of osteoporosis, bone fractures, and early death.

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A new study led by researchers at the American Cancer Society shows perceptions of electronic or e-cigarettes as being “more harmful” than cigarettes by adults in the United States more than doubled between 2019-2020 and perceptions of e-cigarettes as “less harmful” declined between 2018-2020.

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The study found that participants who had stopped smoking retained a significantly increased risk of heart failure for decades after they’d stopped smoking.

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Menthol cigarettes increase youth smoking and nicotine addiction report researchers at the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science at University of California San Diego.

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Below are summaries of recent Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center research findings and other news.

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Graphic warning labels led smokers to hide their packs but not change other smoking behaviors according to report by University of California San Diego Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science researchers.

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On World No Tobacco Day, May 31, the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS), of which the American Thoracic Society is a member, is voicing concerns over the tobacco industry’s impact on environmental health and ultimately lung health.

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More than 1 million United States youth became new daily tobacco users within two years, most were vaping e-cigarettes daily, report UC San Diego Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science researchers.

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Seven healthy habits and lifestyle factors may play a role in lowering the risk of dementia in people with the highest genetic risk, according to research published in the May 25, 2022, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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E-cigarette makers are adding potentially dangerous levels of the synthetic cooling agents WS-3 and WS-23 to disposable e-cigarettes and e-cigarette refills sold in the U.S., according to research published at the ATS 2022 international conference.

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A University of Washington study of adult smokers finds that those who switch to vaping some or all of the time may adopt other healthy behaviors.

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The news of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s proposal to ban mentholated cigarettes and flavored cigars will save lives. Every two and a half minutes, someone in the U.S. is diagnosed with lung cancer. Every day in the U.S., 400 lives are lost to lung cancer. If the FDA’s proposal is approved, researchers expect a 15 percent decline in tobacco smoking. Over the next 40 years, that decline in smokers could result in saving up to 654,000 lives. Nearly one-third of those deaths avoided will be among non-Hispanic Black smokers, who are more likely to use menthol cigarettes than non-Hispanic White smokers.

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New research led by scientists at the American Cancer Society shows the need for continued surveillance of the changes in shopping interest and sales for Puff Bar, the most preferred brand of electronic cigarettes or e-cigarettes among youth in the United States. Public interest in shopping and sales of Puff Bar skyrocketed in 2020.

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Researchers at Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found a way to help more patients who want to stop smoking. The successful strategy involves using electronic medical records to help identify smokers when they visit their oncologists and offering help with quitting during such visits.

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A new study in JNCCN finds patients with cancer who smoke are more likely to receive evidence-based cessation assistance by using the ELEVATE program, increasing the likelihood of better outcomes.

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Today, the FDA announced its decision to “prohibit menthol as a characterizing flavor in cigarettes and all characterizing flavors in cigars.”

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UC San Diego study shows chronic JUUL use leads to inflammatory changes across the body, and may affect organs’ response to infection; results depend on e-cigarette flavor.

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New studies published in The Journal of the American Dental Association underscore the importance of regular dental visits in the prevention of the sixth most common cancer in the world – oral cancer.

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Cigarette smoking is overwhelmingly the main cause of lung cancer, yet only a minority of smokers develop the disease. A study led by scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and published online today in Nature Genetics suggests that some smokers may have robust mechanisms that protect them from lung cancer by limiting mutations. The findings could help identify those smokers who face an increased risk for the disease and therefore warrant especially close monitoring.

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A study shows statistically significant and potentially clinically important differences between those who increased and decreased tobacco use during the pandemic. Among current smokers, 28.2 percent reported increased tobacco use, 17.3 percent reported decreased tobacco use and 54.5 percent reported no change.