Smoking is bad. Bad for mom. Bad for the unborn and born baby alike. Now, a new study reinforces its adverse effect on the developing child, with a focus on the damage done to the kidneys.
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Vivek Murthy recently announced that e-cigarettes pose a "major public health concern," adding that "the use of nicotine-containing products by youth, including e-cigarettes, is unsafe." But that's not what the science says. It'd be far better for the Surgeon General to say that those who don't currently vape shouldn't do it, bit, but that e-cigarettes are likely to prove much safer than regular cigarettes.
Are the very real physical costs of your outrage worth it? Albeit the election, contentious divorce or nonstop negativity, there are tangible prices to our responses to these and other types of triggers.
The prevalence of dementia in the United States significantly declined from 11.6 percent in 2000 to 8.8 percent in 2012. The consequence of this impacts retirement, families, the health care system, life expectancy, morbidity and mortality, pensions, housing, transportation and countless societal realms.
More than 40 million people across the country watched the Cubs win Game 7 of the World Series. Thinking about America in 1908, when the Cubs last were champs, could be one big reason why their story has resonated with the public. So we compared some of today's public health issues to those of 108 years ago.
The CDC recently released data on the prevalence of tobacco use, and there's a regional pattern. Tobacco is most popular in Midwestern and Southern states, where roughly 20 to 25 percent of the population smokes. Meanwhile, as maps reveal, those same regions struggle with the highest percentages of people with obesity.
Not only does cigarette smoking damage the lungs, it can cause often hidden damage to the heart that has nothing to do with cholesterol levels. A recent study found changes in the actual heart structure of current smokers. On the plus side, former smokers' hearts seemed to have more of the characteristics of never smokers than of current smokers.
There's some encouraging health news from the CDC about teenage behavior that should make parents breathe a bit easier. It's a report that shows that today's teens are basically making better health choices then previous teenage groups. And they are also making much better decisions than teens did a generation ago.
When it comes to helping people quit smoking, there is no such thing as an aggressive method. It's time for the United States to use pictorial warning labels, even if they are disturbing, to aid smokers to kick an awful and deadly habit.
It's tough to quit smoking — in spite of the array of drugs and nicotine replacement therapies available. The best strategy to use, according to recent research, is to just stop or quit "cold turkey," no matter what helpers one chooses.
While the forces arrayed against harm reduced products (e-cigarettes, vapor products) are formidable Big Tobacco, Big Government, Big "Public Health" the millions of ex-smokers who now vape instead will eventually hold sway, one way or another. There is light in the tunnel, so don't lose hope.
A new study from Chinese researchers found a small, but significant, benefit among smokers trying to quit who have a particular gene variant related to the dopamine reward system. The benefit is not large enough to give any smokers comfort: just don't even start.