A cheap quit-smoking drug sold in Eastern Europe can help smokers kick the habit, but it’s not as effective as more expensive medications available in the U.S, a new study finds.
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Why Pregnant Women Shouldn’t Smoke
It’s not healthy to smoke during pregnancy but an estimated 12% to 24% of pregnant women continue to use tobacco, according to national data [PDF]. So if the existing evidence hasn’t convinced them to quit, perhaps this new study …
Study: Why Quitting Smoking Makes You Fat
It’s an unfortunate fact that when smokers kick the habit, they often gain weight — a side effect that many smokers use as a reason for not quitting.
Study: A Mysterious Gene Variant That Makes Quitting Smoking Easier
Smokers with a variant gene linked to higher risk for heroin addiction and more relapse in alcoholism actually have an easier time quitting cigarettes — and a new study finds that their pleasure from nicotine varies with the …
Why Smoking Is Especially Bad If You Have Diabetes
Smoking is a health hazard for anyone, but for people with diabetes or a high risk of developing the disease, lighting up can contribute to serious health complications.
Study: Using Toenails to Predict Risk of Lung Cancer
Most drug tests use saliva or urine, but researchers from the University of California-San Diego Medical Center and Harvard School of Public Health found that examining men’s toenail clippings was the most reliable way to figure …
When kids benefit from public smoking bans
A study conducted by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health finds that children and adolescents who don’t live with smokers experience substantial health benefits from no smoking laws. Yet, perhaps unsurprisingly, researchers also found that kids who live in counties with public smoking bans but are exposed to secondhand
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Lozenge/Patch Combo Best for Kicking Butts
Smokers are more than twice as likely to quit if they use the nicotine patch along with nicotine lozenges—compared to lozenges or patches alone, buproprion (Xyban), buproprion plus the lozenges or placebo. The trial was the largest study ever to compare these approaches head to head, and included 1,504 smokers.
All of the treatment …