Health News
More than one million Americans currently participate in the Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) program. While AA participants are reportedly notorious for their coffee drinking and cigarette smoking, very little research has quantified their consumption of these two products. Recent findings confirm that coffee and cigarette use among this population is greater than among the general U.S. population: most AA members drink coffee and more than half smoke.
The Australian Medical Association cannot believe that QANTAS has made a decision to sell in-flight duty-free cigarettes on international routes. The AMA understands that QANTAS has instructed its staff to ensure that cigarettes are 'displayed prominently on top' of the in-flight duty-free cart to 'ensure our customers are aware of the duty-free products onboard' and to 'boost sales'.
To help its members regain control of their health, Premera Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alaska is partnering with the American Cancer Society (ACS) to provide Premera members with their best opportunity to break nicotine's addictive grip - the ACS Tobacco Cessation Program - that has the highest quit rate - 49 percent - for employer-sponsored programs in the nation.
Nicotine is one of the most heavily used addictive drugs in the United States, and more than one in five people use some form of the drug (cigarettes, cigars, pipes and chewing tobacco). Despite the fact that research consistently indicates tobacco use or exposure to tobacco smoke is harmful, new smokers initiate smoking each day. In the June 2008 issue of MEDSURG Nursing, Paul C. Lewis describes the prevalence of tobacco use and the challenges associated with smoking cessation.
Cigarette companies in recent years adjusted the level of menthol in different brands of cigarettes to attract younger smokers and maintain the business of older smokers, according to a report published Wednesday in the American Journal of Public Health, the New York Times reports (Saul, New York Times, 7/17).
Menthol cigarette brands have been rising in popularity with adolescents, and the highest use has been among younger, newer smokers. Researchers at Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) explored tobacco industry manipulation of menthol levels in specific brands and found a deliberate strategy to recruit and addict young smokers by adjusting menthol to create a milder experience for the first time smoker.
Most teenagers who smoke cigarettes make repeated attempts to quit but most are unsuccessful, according to new research from the Universite de Montreal and funded by the Canadian Cancer Society. "The study found that teen smokers make their first serious attempt to quit after only two and a half months of smoking, and by the time they have smoked for 21 months they have lost confidence in their ability to quit," says Dr.
Research released in the American Journal of Public Health found evidence that the tobacco industry has manipulated menthol levels and created new cigarette brands with the intention of gaining market share among young adults and adolescents.
A new study by US researchers who examined internal industry documents, market and national survey reports and lab test results, concluded that the tobacco industry manipulated the menthol content of cigarettes to attract young new smokers and encourage them to become dependent on nicotine.
Researchers examined U.S. cigarette brands popular among youth to determine whether or not tobacco manufacturers manipulate menthol in an effort to target young, experimental smokers. Menthol in cigarettes masks harshness and irritation for new smokers. Menthol is used as an additive in approximately 90% of cigarettes manufactured in the United States, although only about one-third of these cigarettes are explicitly marketed as mentholated.