Feature Channels: Smoking

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Vaping and e-cigarettes have quickly become popular among teens today, but Michigan Medicine pulmonary expert, Wassim Walid Labaki, M.D., warns that vaping won’t mitigate risks to your health, and could be responsible for creating them.

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• Brain aneurysms were detected by pre-symptomatic screening in 9% of patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, more frequently in those with a history of hypertension and smoking. • Very few patients experienced aneurysmal ruptures, but the overall rupture rate was approximately 5 times higher than in the general population.

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"We were seeing a real drop-off in youth smoking, but now we're seeing an increase," says Dr. Beth Ebel, a UW Medicine pediatrician and researcher with the Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center. Among teens as young as middle-school age, vaping with products that have nicotine "predisposes you to cigarette smoking later on." Nicotine, once derived from tobacco plants to kill insects, works by altering the nervous system. "We've used it, refined it, concentrated it, and now we have a pure form of one of the most addictive substances known," Ebel says in downloadable video soundbites (2:22).

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While cigarette use for high school students is at an all-time low (8%), 21% of students in the United States report using e-cigarettes in the past month; the highest level to date. The use of e-cigarettes--or electronic cigarettes often called vaping--has increased tremendously for young people over the past few years, making health care professionals and parents question its potential harm on health. This is unfortunate considering the hope that e-cigarettes could represent a less-harmful alternative to traditional cigarettes for current adult smokers. Michael Steinberg, MD, MPH, at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, discusses the potential risks of e-cigarettes for teenagers, as well as the benefits for adults undergoing smoking cessation in a video produced by the medical school.

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Sorry, marijuana moms and dads: Using pot may not make you a more relaxed parent, at least when it comes to how you discipline your children. A study of California parents found that current marijuana users administered more discipline techniques of all kinds to their children on average.

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Being able to see green spaces from your home is associated with reduced cravings for alcohol, cigarettes and harmful foods, new research has shown.

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The tobacco industry’s court-ordered anti-smoking advertisements reached just 40.6% of U.S. adults and 50.5% of current smokers in 2018, according to new research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

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Efforts by the FDA and some cities to limit the availability and appeal of e-cigarettes to young users could drive some existing users to smoke more tobacco cigarettes to get their fix, according to new research from Duke Health.

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CT scans of the lungs of smokers with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease — when analyzed by a mathematical function called airway fractal dimension — can estimate increased risk of death for a group of people who are not otherwise identified as high-risk by conventional tests.

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New NCCN Guidelines for Patients: Bladder Cancer explains the lengthy surveillance process that follows active treatment for the sixth most-common cancer in the United States.

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A simple set of decision-support tools combined with institutional buy-in can help increase the number of cancer patients who engage in treatment to help them quit tobacco, data from researchers in the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania show.

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Alcohol and cannabis are commonly used together, and their co-use has public health implications. A preliminary study looked at the effects of two cannabinoids – delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and cannabidiol (CBD) – on drinking and craving. The study found that higher levels of THC are associated with greater co-use of alcohol, whereas CBD-based products may be associated with lower levels of alcohol co-use. These results and others will be shared at the 42nd annual scientific meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA) in Minneapolis June 22-26.

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There is a lack of agreement about the relationship between marijuana and alcohol use. Does marijuana use increase or decrease alcohol consumption? Research based on interviews with users of both marijuana and alcohol reveals that recreational users tend to drink more alcohol, and medicinal users drink less alcohol, on marijuana-use days. These results and others will be shared at the 42nd annual scientific meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA) in Minneapolis June 22-26.

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“Our findings suggest that certain types of stores — tobacco shops, convenience stores and those with a lot of tobacco advertising — are more likely to sell tobacco to a young person without checking his or her ID."

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Tobacco dependence is very common in patients hospitalized with substance use disorders (SUDs) – but most don't receive recommended treatment for tobacco dependence while in the hospital, reports a study in the Journal of Addiction Medicine, the official journal of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM). The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.

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In this issue, find new public health research on marijuana use in high school students, nutrition labeling and a barbershop HIV intervention

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College affirmative action bans may adversely affect the health of underrepresented minority high school students, according to the results of a new study from researchers at Penn Medicine. Between 1996 and 2013, nine U.S. states banned consideration of race and ethnicity in college admissions. A new study in PLOS Medicine shows that the action bans had unanticipated effects, specifically resulting in increased rates of smoking among minority high school students

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A new article published by researchers from University of Puget Sound and University of Washington reports that, based on analysis of public wastewater samples in at least one Western Washington population center.

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James Heckman, MD, Assistant Medical Director of Healthcare Associates at BIDMC and Aria Olumi, MD, Chief of Urologic Surgery at BIDMC, share tips for improving men's health.

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Researchers cite Big Tobacco's marketing stronghold on African American smokers among reasons why this group is 12% less likely to quit.

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Smokers may be at a higher risk for developing hypertension, and an overactive response to normal drops in blood pressure may help explain why, according to researchers.

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Dr. Nathan Bryan, one of the nation’s top experts in the health effects of nitric oxide, is pleased to announce that Pneuma Nitric Oxide Activating Skin Serum™, a revolutionary, innovative and patent pending dual chamber technology that delivers nitric oxide gas to the surface of the skin is now available to men and women concerned about combatting the effects of aging skin.Dr. Nathan Bryan, one of the nation’s top experts in the health effects of nitric oxide, is pleased to announce that Pneuma Nitric Oxide Activating Skin Serum™, a revolutionary, innovative and patent pending dual chamber technology that delivers nitric oxide gas to the surface of the skin is now available to men and women concerned about combatting the effects of aging skin.

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If red, white and blue equals hives, tissues and shortness of breath due to asthma, your Fourth of July celebration isn’t headed in the right direction.

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E-cigarette vaping with nicotine appears to hamper mucus clearance from the airways, according to new research published online in the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

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As “World No Tobacco Day” approaches on Friday, May 31, results from a pilot study show there may be another path to help people who want to quit smoking. A study led by Kelly Buettner-Schmidt, associate professor in the School of Nursing at North Dakota State University, Fargo, looked at the role chiropractic clinics could play in providing education about tobacco cessation to their patients.

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Simultaneous use of alcohol and marijuana is riskier than using either substance alone, because their effects can interact and cause excessive depression of the central nervous system. This can result in more negative consequences such as driving under the influence, accidents, cognitive impairment, and symptoms of substance use disorders, as well as alterations in mood and well-being.

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On Friday, May 31st, the World Health Organization will ask smokers worldwide to put down their cigarettes for World No Tobacco Day. To increase the odds for success, researchers suggest using every Monday as a weekly opportunity to quit and stay quit.

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A new study by a UT Southwestern oncologist exposes what she calls an alarming trend. E-cigarette use is climbing among cancer patients and cancer survivors and could have consequences in the future.

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Marijuana use episodes among couples who frequently use the drug increase the likelihood of experiencing intimacy events, according to the results of a University at Buffalo-led study.

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People who smoke unfiltered cigarettes are nearly twice as likely to die from lung cancer and 30 percent more likely to die of all causes than those who smoke filtered cigarettes

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Women who develop COPD report smoking fewer cigarettes than men; and yet, women experience greater breathing impairments, are subjected to more acute exacerbations of symptoms and report lower quality of life than men with the disease, according to research presented at ATS 2019.

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The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center applauds the Texas Legislature today for passing Senate Bill 21, which raises the minimum legal sale age for all tobacco products from 18 to 21.

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Most people who smoke e-cigarettes want to quit and many have tried to reduce their use, according to Rutgers researchers.

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Current or former smokers with severe limitation in lung function are more likely to die from respiratory-related causes, while deaths from heart disease and lung cancer are more common in smokers with milder limitation in lung function

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E-cigarettes may diminish the body’s ability to fight viruses, specifically those that cause the flu, according to research presented at ATS 2019.

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Anand S. Iyer, M.D.Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham have published new information that stresses the need for increased mental health care for current and former smokers, especially those who suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Published in the Journal of Psychosomatic Research, physician scientists from the UAB Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine in partnership with researchers across the country say smokers with and without COPD have significant unmet mental health care needs, particularly anxiety and depressive symptoms.

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Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham have published new information that stresses the need for increased mental health care for current and former smokers, especially those who suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

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A diabetes drug is being enlisted in the war against smoking by UTHealth researchers.

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Researchers had attendees at the 2016 Hash Bash (a marijuana decriminalization event in Ann Arbor, Michigan, complete surveys on food choices while they are high. Survey takers then got to choose an orange or chips as their reward.

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In an anonymous study of more than 500 adolescents aged 12 -21, comparing survey data with urinary metabolites of nicotine (cotinine) and marijuana (THC), researchers found that teens accurately reported their use of tobacco, electronic cigarettes and marijuana, but many were unaware of the level of nicotine they were using. The study, led by Rachel Boykan, MD, of the Department of Pediatrics at the Renaissance School of Medicine, and colleagues in the department of Pediatrics, in collaboration with Dr. Maciej Goniewicz at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, is published early online in the May edition of Pediatrics.

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Psychiatrists often disregard their patients’ smoking even though tobacco use accounts for 50 percent of deaths among people with mental illness, a Rutgers-led study finds.

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Cotinine, a nicotine metabolite, may be amplifying or contributing to the addictive properties of nicotine.

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A proposed ban of menthol combustible tobacco products by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will likely be upheld in court, albeit a lengthy legal process, a Rutgers paper found.

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Smokers who are trying to quit may not always have to reach for a piece of nicotine gum to stave off a craving. Deliberately inhaling a pleasant aroma may be enough to reduce the urge to light up, at least temporarily, and could be used as part of an effective smoking cessation strategy, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.

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Reducing smoking, and its associated health effects, among Medicaid recipients in each state by just 1 percent would result in $2.6 billion in total Medicaid savings the following year, according to new research by UC San Francisco.

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Below are summaries of recent Fred Hutch research, with links for additional background and media contacts.

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A new study shows that mindfulness training—a practice rooted in ancient meditative traditions—disrupts the development of conditioned behaviors. Based on the results, the study’s authors suggest that mindfulness training may protect individuals from developing the conditioned behaviors that sustain unhealthy habits.

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Smoking is a notoriously difficult habit to break. To make matters worse, it diminishes the effectiveness of cancer treatment. A new initiative at UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center will offer cancer patients the tools they need to beat their addiction.