More than two-thirds of American smokers want to quit, but only a fraction actually do, underscoring a need for more services, messages, and access to medications to help them kick the habit, writes Betsy McKay of The Wall Street Journal. McKay s brief article recaps this week s report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which has found that, of the nearly 69 percent of adult smokers who wanted to quit in 2010, more than half tried but only 6.2 percent succeeded.
Harm Reduction
ACSH applauds John Tierney s column in today s Science section of The New York Times, in which he argues for the promotion of electronic cigarettes as a harm reduction method to reduce the tremendous toll of smoking in the U.S.
The FDA s efforts to mandate the display of graphic images on cigarette packs have been blocked by a judge s ruling. Declaring that the regulation violates the tobacco companies First Amendment right to free commercial speech and would likely be considered unconstitutional, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon stopped the regulation from taking effect until a lawsuit filed by the companies against the graphic images is resolved.
In a letter published in Michigan s Midland Daily News, ACSH s Dr. Gilbert Ross chastises Susan Dusseau, executive director of Cancer Services of Midland, for citing misleading information on the alleged adverse health effects of smokeless tobacco. In her recent article, entitled Smokeless tobacco the new norm?, Dusseau condemned the use of such products and inaccurately stated that they target teens, when, in fact, they do not as Dr. Ross is quick to point out:
Two drugs used to help people stop smoking varenicline (Chantix) and bupropion (Zyban) carry a significantly increased risk of depression and suicidal or self-injurious behavior, according to a new study published in the Public Library of Science.
ACSH applauds a new initiative in the city of Owensboro, Kentucky, that aims to save lives by promoting the use of smokeless tobacco as a less risky alternative to smoking.
Two recent news stories take a look at innovative means of handling the serious nicotine addiction that haunts cigarette smokers. The first, a New York Magazine feature that gives its readers the lowdown on e-cigarettes, conveys much of what anyone trying to quit cigarettes should know about this option.
The illicit tobacco trade is running rampant, say some members of Congress, and they re introducing the aptly named Smuggled Tobacco Prevention (STOP) Act as a solution to this black market business. Cosponsored by an additional 118 members of the House of Representatives, the STOP Act hopes to recoup at least $5 billion in lost tobacco tax revenues while also keeping contraband cigarettes off the market. In order to accomplish this, all tobacco products manufactured in or imported to the U.S. would contain a unique identification code that would provide officials with useful tracking information in order to distinguish real tax markings from counterfeit ones.
In other tobacco-related news, four U.S. senators have sent a letter to the Major League Baseball players union, asking them to agree to a ban on chewing tobacco during baseball s World Series, which begins tonight with Texas visiting St. Louis. Along with other health officials, the senators explained why such a ban is necessary: When players use smokeless tobacco, they endanger not only their own health, but also the health of millions of children who follow their example.
Harm reduction has been an effective tool in relieving the plight of drug addicts who are at an increased risk of contracting severe infections especially hepatitis and HIV, but also drug-resistant bacteria such as MRSA as a result of using contaminated shared needles. Government-run clinics, such as Vancouver s Insite safe injection clinic, have demonstrated the beneficial effects of using this approach: Instead of reprimanding, cajoling, or even jailing heroin users, the clinic provides them with sterile needles to minimize the risks their addiction poses to the health and safety of themselves and others in the community. And such harm reduction tactics have paid off, resulting in markedly reduced rates of HIV and drug overdose cases in Vancouver.
Are hospitals really doing enough to help smokers quit the dangerous habit? The numbers seem impressive: The records show that they re providing advice on smoking cessation to 99 percent of heart attack patients, 97 percent of heart failure patients, and 95 percent of pneumonia patients. But a recent study in the Archives of Internal Medicine suggests that they re not doing an adequate job.
The clean nicotine delivery device known as the electronic cigarette has fared well in its first clinical trial. According to a new study that Italian researchers published in the journal BMC Public Health, the device may be more effective than traditional nicotine replacement therapies (NRT) as a means to help people quit smoking. And, even better, the results of the trial suggest that the e-cigarette may be effective at reducing smoking even in smokers who are not motivated to quit.