A study published by the Journal of the National Cancer Institute in the United States has claimed that 800,000 lives have been saved following a concerted effort to reduce smoking rates in the country over the past 40 years. The study, by researchers at the Cancer Research Center in Seattle, calculated the figure by looking at the projected number of lung-cancer deaths between 1975 – 2000 based on the number of smokers up until 1970; comparing this with the actual recorded figures during this time.

The scientific model used by the researchers suggested that 550,000 male and 240,000 female lung cancer deaths had been avoided during the 25 year period. The researchers further claim that had all smokers ceased to smoke cigarettes following the first real health warnings about tobacco in 1964, a total of 2.5 million lung cancer deaths could have been prevented.

A study on the levels of exposure to passive smoke students experience in the US has shown a reduction over the past 10 years. The study, undertaken by researchers at the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion and the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), found that exposure to passive smoke amongst middle and high school children has dropped in both non-smokers and smokers over the period. The study’s researchers maintain that passive smoking levels in the US are still worryingly high, however. 

A recent study has found a link between early stage smoking cessation and a chemical associated with clinical depression. The study, undertaken in Toronto, Canada at a Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, found that heavy smokers who were abstaining from smoking showed increased levels of the chemical monoamine oxidase, a protein known to be present in patients suffering from clinical depression, in their brains.  

Tobacco companies in the US are celebrating after a federal judge has ruled against making it mandatory for tobacco firms to display graphic images on packets of cigarettes.  The proposal, which would have made it mandatory for images, such as a picture of a sewn up corpse and an image of diseased lungs, was put forward by the Food and Drug Administration as a means of warning people about the dangers of smoking. 

However, District Judge Richard Leon ruled against the proposed mandate earlier this week on the grounds that such warning would violate free speech. If passed, tobacco companies selling cigarettes in the states would have had to display the large images on every packet of cigarettes produced to be sold in the country. 

Australian researchers who have been looking into the feasibility of bringing an anti-smoking vaccination to help people trying to quit smoking into general usage in the country, have concluded that the current costs outweigh the benefits. The research team, based at the University of Queensland, have determined that the high cost of the vaccine, along with the number of doses required per individual (six per year), make it ‘unrealistic’ as a means of helping people in Australia quit smoking.

There are over 4000 chemicals in normal cigarettes, but how many of them can you name and what are the risks associated with inhaling these substances into your body? The fact is that although smokers inhale the smoke from cigarettes every day, they often do not realise the sheer number of chemicals that cigarettes contain, and furthermore, just how harmful these chemicals are. 

Of the 4000 chemicals that are contained in cigarette smoke, at least 80 of them are known to be carcinogenic – ie. cancer-causing.

New legislation to make it illegal for people to smoke electronic cigarettes in public places in the US state of Utah has been put ‘on hold’ following too many questions being raised by lawmakers in the state. The controversial proposal, which would see it become illegal to smoke electronic cigarettes and ‘hookah pipes’ in public spaces in Utah, was put to a halt following reservations from lawmakers. The bill on the ban of hookah pipes and electronic cigarettes was passed last summer, but is yet to come into force pending legislative action on the issue.