Being female or rich offers no defence against the ill heath caused by smoking, according to a new study.
Researchers from Glasgow University and NHS Scotland looked at the impact of smoking on the survival rates of 15,000 men and women over a 28-year period.
They found smokers of all social classes had a much higher risk of premature death than even the poorest non-smokers.
The survival advantage women normally have over men was also cancelled Read the rest of this entry »

Quitting smoking is tough. But if smokers won’t do it for their own good, or the benefit of family members, some may do it for their pets, say the authors of a study published today in the journal
.
Secondhand smoke is as dangerous for pets as it is for the non-smoking people who live with smokers. Non-smokers who live with smokers have to worry about the risk of lung cancer and respiratory diseases. But even dogs and cats exposed to secondhand Read the rest of this entry »

said Tuesday that he had chosen the head of a leading anti-tobacco organization to be the No. 2 official at the
.
The prospective nominee, William V. Corr, is executive director of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a nonprofit group that seeks to reduce tobacco use among children and adults.
, Mr. Corr has led efforts to review and evaluate the work of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Mr. Obama has selected
, a former Senate Read the rest of this entry »

By Mitchell H. Katz, M.D.
Today is the Great American Smokeout and while San Franciscans are doing their part to help people battle nicotine addiction, recently, I became aware that not all the health insurance plans for our county workers in San Francisco — nor in many other counties around the state – were covering all of the smoking cessation benefits recommended by the Center for Disease Control.
The City of San Francisco has embraced a Read the rest of this entry »

There are plenty of reasons to quit smoking, but if you haven’t yet kicked the habit, you may not have found the one that clicks with you. This week, new research suggested other incentives for permanently putting down the butts.
1. To protect your pet’s health.
You’re probably sick of hearing that smoking is bad for you, but what about Fido and Fluffy? A study published this week in
found that more than 28 percent of smoking pet owners said Read the rest of this entry »

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Teenagers who underestimate the risks of smoking — or overestimate the social value — are substantially more likely than their peers to take up the habit, a new study suggests.
Researchers found that among 395 high school students they followed for two years, those who thought the health risks of smoking were fairly low, or the social benefits fairly high, were about three times more likely than their peers to start Read the rest of this entry »

MONDAY, Feb. 23 (HealthDay News) — Children who are allowed to watch R-rated movies are more likely to smoke, say researchers who analyzed data from a four-year study of more than 1,200 Massachusetts youngsters.
“We don’t know why this is so. It may have to do with a parenting style that is permissive of activities that are not age-appropriate. Or it may be an outcome of all the smoking scenes in R-rated movies,” lead author Chyke Doubeni and colleagues Read the rest of this entry »

A Candidate for F.D.A. Commissioner?
A physician who has criticized the pharmaceutical industry’s marketing practices could be the incoming administration’s pick for head of the Food and Drug Administration,
. Baltimore health commissioner Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, 39, pushed the F.D.A. to bar the sale of cough and cold medicines to children last year. Another critic who’s a candidate for the job is Dr. Steven Nissen, head of cardiovascular medicine Read the rest of this entry »

The symposium will feature health and policy experts, including Eduardo Sanchez, MD Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas; State Senator Rodney Ellis via a pre-recorded taped message; Representative – Elect Carol Alvarado; Mr. Leon Leach Executive Vice President of Business and Regulatory Affairs, M. D. Anderson; Alex Prokhorov, MD, PhD Professor, Department of Behavioral Science, M. D. Anderson; Christopher Read the rest of this entry »

TUESDAY, Dec. 16 (HealthDay News) — Adding to the long list of cancers caused by smoking, Italian researchers report that the risk of getting colorectal cancer is higher in smokers, as is the risk of dying from that disease.
Smoking increases the risk of developing colorectal cancer by about 18 percent and the risk of dying from the malignancy by about 25 percent, according to the study, which was published in the Dec. 17 issue of the
.
“Smoking Read the rest of this entry »