In response to the tough economic times, smokers are re-lighting used cigarette butts, a new study found. Although smokers may be saving some money, they are paying with their health and researchers warned that re-lighting cigarettes does not reduce exposure to harmful chemicals. “Smokers who re-light cigarettes may be at higher risk of lung cancer and chronic bronchitis,” said senior study author Michael Steinberg, director of the Tobacco Dependence Programme at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey in the US, in a news release. The study involved about 500 smokers seeking treatment from the Tobacco Dependence Programme. Of these, 46 percent admitted to re-lighting cigarettes. This group smoked 16 cigarettes daily on average, while smokers who did not re-light smoked an average of 20 cigarettes each day. According to the study, women were more likely to re-light cigarettes and higher rates of re-lighting were also found among black people and

The best way of cutting the number of cancer cases worldwide is to fight the tobacco industry’s tactics in developing countries and ensuring the best vaccines get to those most in need, according to a new report published in Science Translational Medicine. Experts reporting from a recent meeting of cancer organisations across the world said smoking and other forms of tobacco use are the main drivers of a growing global burden of cancer. “The number of people diagnosed with cancer across the world is increasing. But there are clear actions that all countries can take which will go a long way to reducing both the numbers diagnosed from cancer and deaths from the disease,” said Harpal Kumar of the charity Cancer Research UK in the report. Those actions included higher taxes on tobacco products, ensuring health workers set an example by not smoking, deglamourising the habit and protecting poor countries

Exposure to second-hand smoke increases a person’s risk of developing early signs a heart disease. According to a new study, signs of coronary artery calcification were found in 26 percent of people who never smoked, but were exposed to varying levels of second-hand smoke as an adult or child, compared to just 18 percent in the general population. The more you’re exposed to second-hand tobacco smoke, the more likely you are to develop early signs of heart disease, the study indicates. And those who reported higher levels of second-hand smoke exposure had the greatest evidence of calcification, a build-up of calcium in the artery walls. After taking other heart risk factors into account, the researchers concluded that people exposed to low, moderate or high levels of second-hand smoke were 50, 60 and 90 percent, respectively, more likely to have evidence of calcification than those who had minimal exposure. “This research

Government’s annual death report has confirmed the trend that fewer South Africans have been dying of HIV/AIDS-related diseases. However, more people are dying of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes. Released in the Free State yesterday morning (THURSDAY), the Statistics SA report Mortality and causes of death in South Africa, 2010: Findings from death notification, records and analyses deaths reported in 2010 as it is written on death certificates completed by doctors and others certified to do so. The findings were released in Thabo Mofutsanyane district in Phuthaditjhaba, which recorded the highest death rate in the country. KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng had the highest overall number of deaths in 2010. In summary, the number of deaths processed by Stats SA in 2010 was 543 856, a 6.2% decline from the year before with the highest number of deaths among those aged 35-39 and 30-34. Overall, there were slightly more male than female

People living with HIV in South Africa, who access antiretroviral therapy (ART) before their immune systems are severely compromised, have life expectancies close to that of the general population, researchers have found. Published this week in the journal PLOS Medicine, the research shows that the life expectancies (additional years of life) are around 80% of that of the general population, provided those with HIV initiate treatment before their CD4 count (a measure of the strength of the immune system at the time of starting treatment) drops below 200. The findings could impact on the cost of life insurance (reducing it) and epidemiological modeling estimates, which typically assume that life expectancy after starting ART is around 10 years. Lead researcher from the University of Cape Town Leigh Johnson and colleagues collected information from six HIV treatment programs in South Africa between 2001 and 2010. The survival model shows that – as

MEDIA RELEASE: As of this month (April), some public sector AIDS patients will start to take simplified ARV treatment of just one pill a day to manage their infection. The South African National AIDS Council (SANAC) welcomes this change in treatment protocols by the Department of Health. The Council hopes that this will encourage patients to stay on treatment, thus reducing the incidences of non-compliance and non-adherence. “On behalf of men in South Africa and organisations working with men and boys, we welcome the good news by the Minister of Health that the national Health Department is introducing fixed dose combination (FDC) anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment. In the process of rolling out the once a day ARV tablet, which contains a combination of three vital ARVs – Tenofovir, Efavirenz and Emtricitabine – the ARV programme should improve through increased compliance and maintenance of patients on ARVs, including the introduction of new