E-Lites USA News

A study in the US has shown that smoking and obesity in pregnancy can significantly increase the risk of the heart defects in new-born babies. The study, which was conducted by researchers at the University Medical Centre, Groningen, analysed 800 babies born with congenital heart disease between 1997 and 2008 and correlated the results with the risk factors of obesity and smoking in the babies’ mothers during pregnancy.

Plain packaging laws, which ban any branding, colours or design on cigarette packs, have been called a ‘major threat’ to the tobacco industry by a prominent anti-smoking campaigner. Simon Chapman, professor of public health at the University of Sydney, commented that "this is unequivocally the biggest thing ever to hit the tobacco industry – the biggest threat it's ever faced”.

Chapman has been instrumental in the plain packaging row in Australia, proposing the ban in a research paper in 2008 and thereafter leading the campaign that eventually saw the legislation pass in 2011.  

Patients who have been diagnosed with lung cancer do not all quit smoking, with a third found to still smoke a year after they have been diagnosed. These are the findings of a recent study on smoking rates in cancer patients at Massachusetts General Hospital. 

The study, which was conducted in partnership with Harvard Medical School in Boston, questioned over 5000 patients who had been diagnosed with lung cancer or colorectal cancer. The results showed that 39% of lung cancer patients and 14% of colon cancer patients were still smoking on diagnosis. 

The Christmas period always leaves people feeling a little short on cash, and this year, with the global recession, rising cost of living and continuing times of economic downturn, more of us than ever will be looking to start the New Year with a more frugal approach.

There is no doubt about it; stopping smoking is difficult for even the most highly willed smoker. Despite all of the health evidence and research provided on the negative health affects caused by smoking, smokers will often fail in their quit attempt. In fact, research suggests that of the large numbers of people who try to quit smoking each year, only 5% will succeed without medical assistance/intervention.  So new research suggests a vaccine could be the answer...

A study into the performance of soldiers in the US armed forces has found that soldiers who smoke can have an increased risk of injury and may lack the physical capability of their non-smoking counterparts. Studies by U.S. Army Public Health Command (USAPHC ) found that smoking in soldiers increases the risk of sustaining injuries, particularly overuse injuries and damage to musculoskeletal tissue that accumulates with repetitive activities, such as running. The risks of injury have been found to be up to 90% higher for smokers than non-smoking soldiers.