Alphabetical list:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W X Y Q Z 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
News: November 30, 2009
Switching to Light Cigarettes Will Not help you Quit Smoking
November 30, 2009The Center of Disease Control (CDC) says that there are 44 million American smokers and many of these smokers are looking for ways to quit. Some smokers in an attempt to kick the habit are switching to "light" or "ultra light" to help their battle against nicotine, however, a new study suggests switching to a lighter cigarerette does not help.
A newly published study published in the November 2009 issue of Tobacco Control, analyzed survey data from about 31,000 smokers who were asked whether they had switched to a milder or low-tar brand of cigarettes and the reasons for the switch. It was discovered that smokers who switched from full flavor cigarettes for cigarettes that are lighter, made more attempts to kick the habit than other smokers who did not switch.
"It may be that smokers think that a lighter brand is better for their health and is therefore an acceptable alternative to giving up completely," Dr. Hilary Tindle of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, who led the study.
A quarter of the people in the study said they switched because of flavor but nearly 20 percent said they had switched for better flavor and the desire to smoke a less harmful cigarette, and as part of an effort to stop smoking completely.
Tindle's team discovered that those who switched to lighter brands were 58 percent more likely to have tried to quit smoking between 2002 and 2003 than those who stuck with their brand. But they were 60 percent less likely to actually succeed in quitting.
"Forty-three percent of smokers reported a desire to quit smoking as a reason for switching to lighter cigarettes. While these individuals were the most likely to make an attempt, ironically, they were the least likely to quit smoking," Tindle said. Other research has shown that so-called low-tar cigarettes have just as much tar, nicotine and other compounds as regular cigarettes.
Switching to light cigarettes will not help you quit smoking, however, there are many safe products on the market and alternative therapies that can help smokers kick the habit.
Written by Tyler Woods Ph.D.
Tucson, Arizona
Exclusive to eMaxHealth
Archive issues: (50)
Archive list: 1 2 3 [4] 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
December 5, 2009 | Half of teen girls have STIs by 2 years of first sexWithin 2 years of having sex for the first time, half of teenage girls may be at least one of three common sexually transmitted infections (STIs), according to results of a study published today. Often, those girls are infected by the age of 15. Researchers followed 386 urban adolescent girls aged 14 to 17 for up ...
December 4, 2009 | Antidepressants May Change Your PersonalityTaking antidepressants may not only help alleviate depression, but could make you more extraverted and less neurotic, new research suggests. Extraversion, which is associated with positive emotions, is ...
December 3, 2009 | Smoking Exposure Now Linked to Colon, Breast CancersAdd colorectal cancer to the list of malignancies caused by smoking, with a new study strengthening the link between the two. And other studies are providing more bad news for people who haven't managed to quit: Two papers published in the December issue of Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a themed issue on tobacco, strengthen the case for the dangers of secondhand smoke for people exposed to fumes as children and as ...
Related articles:
Independence and invulnerability - coping strategies
Standards of masculinity can not only create stress in themselves for some men, they can also limit these men's abilities to relieve stress. Men and women have different ways that they appraise stressful situations and cope with them. Some men appraise situations using the schema of what is an acceptable masculine response rather ...Section: Mens health risks
Treatment - medication (bladder instillations)
DMSO, a wood pulp extract, is the only approved bladder instillation for IC/PBS yet it is much less frequently used in urology clinics. Research studies presented at recent conferences of the American Urological Association by C. Subah Packer have demonstrated that the FDA approved dosage of a 50% solution of DMSO had the potential of creating irreversible muscle contraction. However, a lesser solution of 25% was found to be reversible. Long term use is ...Section: Interstitial cystitis
Chronic bacterial prostatitis - signs and symptoms
Chronic bacterial prostatitis is a relatively rare condition - occurs in less than 5% of patients with prostate-related non-BPH lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) - that usually presents with an intermittent UTI-type picture and that is defined as recurrent urinary tract infections in men originating from a chronic infection in the prostate. Dr. Weidner, ...Section: Prostatitis