Health e News
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More Australian smokers said they wanted to quit smoking since their cigarettes were sold in drab green packs with graphic health warnings as prescribed by the plain packaging law implemented in the country last December. A study of 500 Australian smokers showed most believed their cigarettes were less satisfying and of lower quality than a year ago, with most also thinking more about quitting. The study was published in the British Medical Journal. “Smokers have been telling us that our new plain packaging and larger graphic health warnings are putting them off,” the Australian Health Minister, Tanya Plibersek said in a Reuters Health report. “And while tobacco companies haven’t changed the formula of their products, we’ve had feedback from smokers saying their cigarettes taste worse since the government’s required packaging to be plain.” Despite an increased intention to quit smoking, British American Tobacco (BAT) said that they haven’t seen any
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Menthol cigarettes are more dangerous than regular cigarettes. This is according to the results of a scientific review by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States, which, in light of these findings want to tighten regulation of menthol cigarettes. “Menthol cigarettes pose a public health risk above that seen with non-menthol cigarettes,” reads a report by the FDA, detailing preliminary results from the study they conducted. The report found that while menthol cigarettes are no more or less toxic than regular cigarettes, menthol’s cooling and anaesthetic properties can reduce the harshness of cigarette smoke, increasing their appeal to new smokers. “Menthol smokers show greater signs of nicotine dependence and are less likely to successfully quit smoking,” the FDA said. The FDA is currently investigating potential limits on the amount of menthol used in cigarettes, and how these products are marketed to the youth. However, anti-tobacco groups in
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You may be fooling yourself if you think that reducing the number of cigarettes you smoke will protect you from the health risks caused by smoking, new research published in the American Journal of Epidemiology suggest. For the study, researchers from the University of Glasgow, in Scotland, tracked two groups of smokers – the first included 1 524 working people who were tracked from the 1970s (when they were in their 40s, 50s and 60s) to 2010, and the other group included 3 730 people from the general population who were tracked for more or less the same period of time. The researchers found no difference overall in death rates between those who smoked and those who only cut down. In one of the studies, they found a lifespan benefit for those who cut down, but only among those who smoked 21 or more cigarettes per day. “These inconclusive results
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Scientists have discovered that so-called thirdhand smoke – the residue that clings to surfaces after tobacco was smoked in the space – causes genetic damage in human cells, according to a study published in the journal Mutagenesis. Humans can be exposed to thirdhand smoke through inhalation, ingestion or skin contact. “Tobacco-specific nitrosamines – chemical compounds in thirdhand smoke – are among the most potent carcinogens there are,” said the study co-author, Lara Gundel, a scientist from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in the United States. “They stay on surfaces, and when those surfaces are clothing or carpets, the danger to children is especially serious.” Thirdhand smoke is particularly insidious because it is extremely difficult to eradicate. Studies have found that it can still be detected in dust and surfaces more than two months after someone smoked in an area. Common cleaning methods such as vacuuming, wiping and ventilation are not effective
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Children exposed to tobacco smoke in the womb may be at higher risk of hearing loss in later years, according to a recent article in the journal JAMA Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery. Researchers from New York University (NYU) examined data from almost 1 000 children aged 12 to 15 who took part in the 2005/2006 National Health Examination Survey in the United States. They found that about 16 percent of them had been exposed to tobacco smoke while in the womb. These teenagers had evidence of hearing loss and were nearly three times more likely to have one-sided, low-frequency hearing loss compared to youngsters without such exposures. The study could not prove a cause-and-effect relationship between smoking during pregnancy and hearing outcomes in offspring, only an association. “This is an effect which has been described previously for the adult population, so it is logical that it would also
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Member states of the European Union are backing plans for bigger and bolder health warnings on cigarette packs and bans on most flavourings such as menthol. Under the new proposals, prominent health warnings would have to cover 65 percent of tobacco packaging and include graphic warnings. “We have an opportunity today to step up to the mark, or we can walk away and fail our children,” said Irish Health Minister James Reilly. EU Health Commissioner Tonio Borg said the crackdown was aimed at reducing smoking-related deaths, which stand at around 700 000 a year in the 27-nation bloc. The new regulations aim to stop youngsters from being swayed into smoking by enticing packaging and flavours that could get them hooked. Whatever the overall EU regulations contain in the end, individual member states would be allowed to impose even tougher rules as they please. The blueprint was decided despite the opposition
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