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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: smoking cessation

smoking cessation stories: 20 news summaries

 More Americans Smoking 

Rates tick up slightly after holding steady for 5 years

Nov 12, 09 8:29 PM CST
(Newser) - The number of smokers has ticked up a notch after five years of decline or holding steady. The percentage of Americans who light up rose from 19.8% in 2007 to 20.6% in 2008, a CDC report says. The longer-term picture is better: Since 1998, the percentage has dropped... More »

MORE ABOUT:
smoking • smoking cessation • cigarette • anti-smoking • CDC

Anti-Smoking Chantix, Zyban Pose Suicide Risk: FDA

Smokers with mental illnesses should avoid them, agency says

Jul 1, 09 4:59 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Food and Drug Administration is warning smokers about serious mental-illness risks of two smoking-cessation drugs, as reported suicides among their users increase. Chantix and Zyban must now carry the agency’s strongest warning label, the New York Times reports. The FDA isn’t trying to scare patients, an official... More »

MORE ABOUT:
FDA • pharmaceutical companies • GlaxoSmithKline • Pfizer • smoking cessation • Chantix • women's issues • Zyban

(Newser) - The recession—coupled with a historic increase in the federal tobacco tax—is hitting smokers pretty hard, MSNBC reports. “We had a light bill that needed to be paid, so we paid a third of it so we could have cigarette money,” said one who’s tried to... More »

MORE ABOUT:
tobacco • recession • addiction • smoking cessation • cigarette • Obama administration

(Newser) - He wasn't all that happy to be asked about it—again—but President Obama admitted during his news conference today that, yes, he still lights up the occasional cigarette, reports ABC News. “Have I fallen off the wagon sometimes? Yes.” Obama said he’s not a “daily... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • smoking • cigarettes • smoking cessation • President Obama • Big Tobacco

 Quit Smoking? Yes We Can! 

President-elect's struggle with nicotine could help others kick the habit

Dec 29, 08 10:29 AM CST
(Newser) - Barack Obama is about to become the nation's smoker-in-chief, and anti-smoking advocates are hopeful he'll become a powerful example for other smokers if he finally manages to kick the habit. He has quit several times but so far has always gone back to smoking up to eight cigarettes a day,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
lung cancer • White House • heart disease • smoking • cigarettes • dopamine • smoking cessation • nicotine patch • Nicorette • President Obama • Smoking Cessation Leadership Center • nicotine addiction • tobacco smoke

'I Won't Smoke in White House,' Obama Vows

Obama working to stay on the wagon

Dec 8, 08 2:43 AM CST
(Newser) - Barack Obama promised the nation yesterday that he won't be sneaking smokes at the White House. The president-elect, who has been trying to kick his habit, told Meet the Press that he'll respect the mansion's smoke-free policy. He admits having "fallen off the wagon" in the past, but seemed... More »

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Barack Obama • White House • smoking • smoking cessation • cigarette • President Obama

Fewer Than 20% of US Adults Smoke, a First

Rate drops, though 43M still light up; 443K die yearly as result

Nov 13, 08 2:10 PM CST
(Newser) - Smoking in the US is at its lowest since cigarettes became widespread after World War I, Reuters reports, with fewer than 20% of adults in the country lighting up—the lowest figure on record. Observers credit the gradual decline to awareness, bans on smoking in public places, and prohibitive taxation.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
American Cancer Society • lung cancer • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention • smoking • tobacco • smoking cessation • World War I • cigarette • decline

FDA May Strengthen Chantix Label

Anti-smoking drug linked to more seizures, accidents

Oct 22, 08 5:25 PM CDT
(Newser) - The FDA may beef up its warning for the anti-smoking drug Chantix after an increase in the number of serious incidents linked to the drug, the Wall Street Journal reports. A drug-safety group tallied 1,001 reports of patients suffering seizures, blackouts, and loss of motor control—some while driving—... More »

MORE ABOUT:
FDA • drug companies • Pfizer • smoking cessation • side effects • Chantix

'Ex' Smoker Obama Still Lights Up

He 'fesses to bumming cigs when pressure trumps fight to stay fit

Oct 9, 08 2:20 AM CDT
(Newser) - It's not easy staying healthy during a grueling campaign, admits Barack Obama, who even fesses up to bumming a few cigarettes. He still manages to squeeze in six 45-minute workouts per week—but the ex-smoker admits giving in to temptation and sucking down the  occasional coffin nail, Obama tells Men's ... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • smoking • smoking cessation • Election 2008 • cigarette

 E-Cigs Not Safe: WHO 

Devices sold as smoking treatment

Sep 20, 08 7:14 AM CDT
(Newser) - Electronic cigarettes are untested and possibly unsafe, the WHO said today. The device—a mock cigarette that releases a fine mist of nicotine, sans fire—has been sold over the internet as a smoking cessation aid, Reuters reports. The problem is that it could release, besides nicotine, “many other... More »

MORE ABOUT:
smoking • World Health Organization • regulation • smoking cessation • cigarette • electronic cigarette

 Peer Pressure
 Helps Snuff Habit 

Researchers see group ripple effect for people trying to stop smoking

May 22, 08 9:58 AM CDT
(Newser) - New research shows people quit smoking not as individuals but in complex social clusters, each strongly influencing the others. Friends, spouses, relatives, and other social contacts all exercise an overwhelming sway over individual decisions to quit. The study covered 58,000 people from 1971 to 2003, the New York Times ... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Harvard Medical School • smoking • National Institute on Aging • smoking cessation • nicotine patch • nicotine gum • University of California San Diego • Framingham Heart Study • Dr. Nicholas Christakis • James Fowler • Richard Suzman • Dr. Steven Schroeder • Duncan Watts

Quit-Smoking Drug Linked to Heart Trouble, Dizziness

FAA bans pilots and air controllers from using Chantix after report

May 22, 08 7:39 AM CDT
(Newser) - Pfizer smoking-cessation drug Chantix has been linked to nearly a thousand serious incidents in the last quarter of 2007, the Wall Street Journal reports. A report from a drug safety group found that some users of the drug—already linked to depression and suicide—suffered heart trouble, diabetes, or accidents... More »

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FDA • drug safety • Pfizer • pharmaceutical • smoking cessation • side effects • medication • Chantix

Quit Sooner, Live Longer

Newly minted nonsmokers see benefits almost immediately

May 7, 08 2:59 PM CDT
(Newser) - Smokers who kick the habit see their risk of dying drop drastically after 5 years, and their risk level nears that of nonsmokers within 20 years, new research finds. In a study that followed 100,000 women over 3 decades, researchers recorded a 13% drop in death from all causes... More »

MORE ABOUT:
lung cancer • heart disease • smoking • public health • smoking cessation • health risks

Closet Smokers Might Get Canned

Factory workers who lied on insurance
forms may lose jobs

Apr 23, 08 4:42 PM CDT
(Newser) - A group of factory workers who lied about their smoking habits could be fired. The Whirlpool company charges lower premiums for health insurance to nonsmoking workers—and relies on the honor code when employees sign up. Now 39 workers at an Indiana factory have been suspended and face losing their... More »

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health insurance • smoking • smoking cessation • workers' rights • Whirlpool

 Best Ways to Avoid Cancer 

LiveScience identifies healthy behaviors that reduce risk

Apr 8, 08 7:40 PM CDT
(Newser) - It's not all in the genes: About half of all cancer deaths are preventable, says the American Cancer Society. Follow LiveScience's 10 healthy behaviors to reduce risk:
  1. Quit smoking!
  2. Limit alcohol consumption to one drink per day for women, two drinks per
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
American Cancer Society • diet • exercise • healthy habits • smoking cessation • cancer prevention

Your Boyfriend Does Mind
If You Smoke

German man turns
fire extinguisher on girlfriend, cigarette

Feb 19, 08 12:09 PM CST
(Newser) - A German man was so sick of his girlfriend's smoking that he turned a fire extinguisher on her, Der Spiegel reports. The 42-year-old gave a few warning shouts before spraying the apartment the two share, and he hadn't stopped yelling by the time police arrived to escort him to the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Germany • smoking • smoking cessation • cigarette • fire extinguisher

Smoking Deaths Rocket in India

Study predicts 1 million will die annually from tobacco-related illnesses

Feb 14, 08 11:05 AM CST
(Newser) - Tobacco use is the smoking gun in 900,000 deaths annually in India, and the numbers are on the rise as the nation grapples with its epidemic-scale cigarette addiction, reports the BBC. At least 1 million Indians will die annually from smoking-related illnesses in the next decade unless the nation... More »

MORE ABOUT:
India • smoking • cigarettes • tobacco • public health • smoking cessation

Anti-Smoking Poster Boy Still Lights Up

'I'm afraid to quit' despite amputation, heart attacks, stroke

Jan 12, 08 7:26 PM CST
(Newser) - New Yorkers have grown to know Skip Legault's face well from anti-smoking ads in the subway and on TV over the past few weeks. A smoker since he was eight, Legault has lost a leg to blood clots, suffered two heart attacks in his twenties, and had a debilitating stroke.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
health • heart disease • smoking • cigarettes • tobacco • smoking cessation • amputation

Healthy Steps Add 14 Years to Your Life

Exercise, don't smoke, go easy on drinking, and eat your veggies

Jan 9, 08 7:43 PM CST
(Newser) - Doing all those things you know you should be doing already can add 14 years to your life, a new study says. People who exercise, don't smoke, limit drinking, and eat fruits and vegetables lead longer lives by that amount, LiveScience reports. The European study is said to be the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
health • diet • exercise • smoking cessation

Firms Help Workers Kick Butts

Seeking savings, employers offer programs, incentives

Oct 26, 07 10:40 AM CDT
(Newser) - Smoking, everybody's favorite target, is now drawing fire from employers looking to cut medical costs by helping workers kick the habit, the New York Times reports. Employers gain significantly when employees quit, because a typical smoker racks up $16,000 in additional lifetime medical costs and saps productivity with smoking... More »

MORE ABOUT:
health care • health insurance • lung cancer • smoking • smoking ban • health care reform • smoking cessation

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