Testing It Up

An analysis of data from a 2010 survey found that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has the support of many Americans should the agency decide to exercise its authority to lower nicotine levels in cigarettes.

Researchers at the Schroeder Institute for Tobacco Research and Policy Studies at the Legacy Foundation said 47 percent of the respondents in the survey would support government-mandated reduction of nicotine levels in cigarettes; 16.6 percent opposed the action; and almost 36.8 percent had no opinion, HealthDay reports.

The study also revealed that smokers who considered quitting are more likely to support regulation than smokers who are not thinking of quitting. African Americans, Hispanics, and those with lower education levels were especially supportive of nicotine reduction.

“Nicotine reduction could be a promising tool to protect the population from the harm and death caused by tobacco products,” study lead author Jennifer Pearson, a Schroeder Institute research investigator, said in a news release. “This study shows us that such measures could be acceptable to a large number of Americans.”

Pearson added that their findings would be helpful for the FDA in determining public opinion if ever it decides to push such regulation.

According to the Centers and Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), smoking is responsible for about one in five deaths in the U.S. annually. Each day, more than 3,800 people younger than 18 smoke their first cigarette, and 1,000 persons younger than 18 begin to smoke on a daily basis. Those who smoke are at increased risk for cancer, heart disease, stroke, and lung diseases (including emphysema, bronchitis, and chronic airway obstruction).

A new study showed that the number of hospital patients who smoke has dropped from 25 percent in 1995 to 18.4 percent in 2010.

In the study, researchers surveyed about 5,400 hospitalized smokers admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital’s tobacco treatment program between 2007 and 2010. Their findings reveal a decline in the number of patients smoking on hospital grounds. They said one possible explanation to the decline is the increased use of  nicotine replacement therapy patches, lozenges, gum and inhalers.

The researchers wrote that the use of  nicotine replacement therapy had increased more than twelve-fold from 1995 to 2010.

“It is encouraging that there has been improvement, but it’s discouraging that the nicotine replacement therapy has not been able to put more of a dent into this,” study’s lead author Susan Regan, an instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston, told Reuters.

Boston’s Massachusetts General Hospital allows people to smoke at two smoking shelters on its property. Ragan pointed out these shelters are where smokers likely to light up cigarettes. He said keeping the hospital campus smoke-free is one way to completely eliminate smoking and prevent patients from leaving their ward to smoke.

But Ragan was quick to say their findings are only based on one hospital and the conditions it faces may not be the same as others.

The observance of World Tobacco Day provides an opportunity for people to pause and take a serious look at the effect of tobacco use on people’s health.

Now on its 25th year, World No Tobacco Day helps raise awareness on the health impact of using tobacco on the user as well as the people around him or her – on the day of the observance itself, and, hopefully, beyond.

Statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO) indicated that 6 million people die from tobacco use each year around the world. Of that number, 600,000 are due to second-hand smoke.

A report from the World Lung Foundation, on the other hand, showed that if tobacco use trends continue, there may be as many as 1 billion tobacco-related deaths worldwide within this century.

A study in the Journal of Medical Internet Research shows positive feedback regarding the observance of World No Tobacco Day. A statement from researcher Joanna Cohen, Ph. D., of the Institute for Global Tobacco Control of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said: “The majority of smokers do want to quit, and World No Tobacco Day is an effective reminder and inspiration… This research encourages all of us to continue the long fight against tobacco, but we should never let down our guard against the tobacco industry’s devious tactics to undo the public health gains we have been able to make.”

Dr. Ann Wending, M.D., MPH, medical director of Tobacco Cessation at Heathways, shared: “The annual celebration of World No Tobacco Day provides an opportunity to remind us of the dangers of tobacco use. Although, here in the U.S., we have made progress in the use of tobacco, both here and around the world, use and exposure to tobacco is the number one cause of preventable death.”

It is something we have heard time and again, from the people who have tried – and are still trying – to do it: quitting smoking is easier said than done.

The important thing to remember, however, is that regardless of how difficult it may be to kick the cigarette habit, it is something that is not impossible, especially for those who have the right level of determination, resources, and support.

A strategy that can be employed by those who wish to quit smoking is to find one’s smoking triggers, or things that ignite an urge to smoke, and manage them.

Steven Schroeder, MD, director of the Smoking Cessation Leadership Center at the University of California, San Francisco, shared: “For long-time smokers, daily life can be filled with triggers.” Triggers may include certain places, times of the day, foods, and activities.

These triggers may make giving up one’s cigarette habit difficult, but once a determined smoker recognizes what these triggers are and makes a conscious effort to avoid or defuse them, he or she may very well be on the right path towards a smoke-free life.

Triggers, the article shared, are a type of conditioned response. For instance, if one usually has a cigarette during a coffee break, than one may associate the smell of coffee with smoking. Scott McIntosh, PhD, associate professor of community and preventive medicine at the University of Rochester in New York and director of the Greater Rochester Area Tobacco Cessation Center shared, however, that these responses can be broken.

“If you’re used to smoking in the car, for example, practice driving short distances without smoking. If coffee triggers a craving, practice taking your coffee break without having a cigarette. Have a glass of wine but don’t accompany it with a cigarette. Focus on breaking your own most powerful triggers in advance of quitting,” McIntosh said.

There are many reasons why people are wary about quitting smoking, and one of their concerns is the fact that quitting may lead to weight gain. While that may be true, the benefits that may be derived from quitting smoking far outweigh the few extra pounds that you may gain from giving the habit up. And there are things that you can do to keep that weight gain to a minimum.

People who quit smoking may possibly gain weight because nicotine curbs the appetite, and perks one up when one’s energy levels are low because of hunger. This is why quitting smoking makes one more hungry, and causes one to eat more. Nicotine also dulls the taste buds, and makes the body burn calories faster. This combination makes food taste better and leads one to eat more, while the body is not burning calories as fast as it used to.

The first thing to keep in mind is how much healthier you will become once you are able to quit smoking. Then, focus on quitting first, before worrying about dealing with whatever weight you may gain because you quit; and while working on kicking your cigarette habit, make it a point to eat healthy foods and be more active.

One should be conscious about food labels and which foods are high in calories and fats – and steer clear of these foods. Load up on fruits, vegetables, and whole grain foods, and find ways to stay physically active. It can be simple things as choosing to take the stairs as opposed to the elevator, or something more significant as deciding to start hitting the gym regularly. It would be beneficial if one stayed away from alcohol, and eat at least three meals a day.

A new study revealed that some states are not allocating a significant portion of its collections on cigarette taxes and its tobacco settlement on smoking prevention programs aimed at preventing the youth from smoking.

The state of Texas is currently 39th among states in terms of paying for smoking prevention and smoking cessation programs, allocating only $5.5 million per year for these programs. Its collections from cigarette taxes and its tobacco settlement is $1.9 billion per year.

In a statement accompanying the report, entitled “A Broken Promise to Our Children: The 1998 State Tobacco Settlement 13 Years Later,” the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and other organizations shared that “Texas is spending less than a penny of every dollar in tobacco revenue to fight tobacco use.” Texas is said to be spending only 2 percent of what is recommended on smoking cessation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

James Gray, Texas director of government relations for the American Cancer Society, shared: “It’s such a missed opportunity… Tobacco is the No. 1 cause of preventable death in Texas.” The American Cancer Society is among the groups that issued the report, which also included the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association, the Robert Wood Johnson , and Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights.

Tobacco use is said to be behind the deaths of more than 24,000 people each year. Most of those who use tobacco started using it at the age of 14 or 15.

While the thought of smokers coming together may conjure images of groups of people puffing away happily amid inter-mingling clouds of smoke, those who came together for the Great American Smokeout actually sought to do the exact opposite.

For some of them, it meant making a brave and concrete step to give up a habit that is older than the observance of the Great American Smokeout itself.

Many smokers chose to start the journey to being cigarette-free on the Great American Smokeout, which fell on November 17 this year. The observance is the brainchild of the American Cancer Society, which designated the third Thursday of Lung Cancer Awareness Day as a day to lay off the smokes – and to make plans to give them up for good.

That is exactly what retired general contractor Cliff Campbell, 71, wants to do. Campbell, who underwent an aortic bypass earlier this year, shared: “I’ve meant to quit many times… It’s going to happen. It’s either that or die.” Campbell had started smoking when he was 11.

James Atkinson, area executive director of the American Cancer Society, shared: “All smokers know they aren’t doing themselves any good by doing it… This gives them the additional support of knowing there is a large group of people who are trying to do it at the same time.”

Dr. Bonnie Sorensen, chief of the Volusia County Health Department, shared that giving up smoking is the most important step to do in order to improve one’s health, and that it is never too late to do so: “As soon as you quit, the cilia in your throat and lungs start working again.”

In recent years, more focus has been placed on the dangers of smoking. Despite that, though, there are still those who choose to continue to smoke.

That being said, however, a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that most of these smokers actually want to kick their habits. Dr. Tim McAfee, the director of the Office on Smoking and Health at the CDC, described the results of the study as “reassuring,” during a press conference held on Thursday.

In the November 11 issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report of the CDC, it was shared that 68.8 percent of current smokers expressed a desire to quit, while 52.4 percent have tried to quit smoking in the past year.

Education was one of the factors associated with quitting smoking, with 11 percent of smokers with a college degree able to quit, as opposed to only 3 percent of those who were unable to graduate high school.

The results of the study also indicated that blacks were most interested in quitting and had the highest quit attempt rate when compared against other groups. They were also less likely to turn to counseling or medication. They also, however, had the lowest rate of quitting successfully.

Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of CDC, shared the following in a statement: “Smokers who try to quit can double or triple their chances by getting counseling, medicine or both… Other measures of increasing the likelihood that smokers will quit as they want to include hard–hitting media campaigns, 100 percent smoke-free policies, and higher tobacco prices.”

A cheap drug may help smokers kick their smoking habit, a new research indicates, and may present a more attractive alternative to smoking cessation medications.

The drug cytisine, a nicotine substitute, is more effective at helping smokers quit smoking when compared to placebo. Its affordability, researchers believe, may be an advantage to smokers who live in poorer countries.

The study was led by Robert West of the Health Behaviour Research Center at University College London in England. West shared: “Many smokers can stop without help, but many are addicted and will continue until they die unless they get help… The key feature of this drug is that it is extremely cheap and so affordable by just about anyone in the world who can afford to smoke.”

Cytisine is extracted from the Cytisus laborinum L. (Golden Rain acacia) plant. When used as a smoking-cessation aid, it provides the same effect as nicotine replacement medications, patches, and gums. It has been sold as Tabex for about forty years, in former socialist economy countries; it does not, however, have approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and is thus unavailable in the United States.

The study was conducted in Poland, where the drug costs $15 for a course of treatment. In contrast, a 12-week course of the nicotine replacement drug Chantix (varenicline) costs $327.

West shared further: “Cytisine could save many thousands of lives, particularly in low- and middle-income countries… But it could also save health care systems and insurers in high-income countries millions on their drugs bill.”

The study was published in the Sept. 29 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

In recent years, there has been an active campaign against smoking, and an increasing number of smokers have made conscious effort to kick their habit. Quitting smoking, however, is easier said than done, such that there are those who have resorted to taking medication to help them in the smoking cessation process.

In a feature on USA Today, however, a new study has associated the quit-smoking drug Chantix to an increased risk in developing heart problems. Study author Dr. Sonal Singh, an assistant professor of general internal medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, shared: “all smokers who take Chantix are at risk for heart attack, stroke or other cardiovascular event.”

These findings were published July 4th, in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ). The study consisted of a review of 14 studies, which involved more than 8,200 smokers or users of smokeless tobacco; most of the participants of these studies did not exhibit evidence of heart disease. An estimated 4,900 of this population took Chantix, while the rest were given placebo.

The results of the study revealed that 52 of the participants who took the Chantix drug experienced serious cardiovascular events, when compared against those who were only taking the placebo.

Dr. Singh shared further: “Chantix is causing the problems it’s supposed to prevent,” in reference to the fact that smoking is among the risk factors for heart disease.

Chantix manufacturer Pfizer, however, disagrees with the study’s findings, and issued a statement that partly said: “The analysis contains several limitations; most notably that it is based on a small number of events, which raises concerns about the reliability of the authors’ conclusions.”