A new report [1] published by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) shows that, on average, smokers in England need care when they are 63, ten years sooner than non-smokers. The analysis, by Landman Economics for ASH, finds that 1.5 million people need help with everyday tasks, such as dressing, walking across a room and…
Researchers at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University (LKSOM) have been awarded a $30,000 CHEST Foundation Research Grant to study racial differences in lung health among smokers, with an emphasis on African Americans. Lung function is an important health indicator and can be compromised by various factors, the most important of which…
Even as COVID-19 was correlated with worse outcomes for people with asthma, the number of people receiving care for asthmatic episodes decreased during the pandemic, according to three studies published in Thorax. Two focused on the United Kingdom, the first a study in England comparing general practitioner (GP) visits and hospital admissions, and the other…
People living with HIV are approximately two-thirds more likely to be current tobacco smokers than HIV-negative individuals, according to the findings of a global meta-analysis published in AIDS. Elevated smoking prevalence was observed in both men and women with HIV and in all world regions except the Western Pacific. “This systematic review and meta-analysis is…
Johnson & Johnson has begun shipping nearly 4 million doses of its newly authorized COVID-19 vaccine across the U.S., officials said Monday, and is expected to further scale up supply in the coming weeks and months. “We think literally within about the next 24 to 48 hours, Americans should start receiving shots in arms,” Alex…
The Global Strategy for the Diagnosis, Management, and Prevention of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Science Committee recently released a report on COVID-19 and COPD. The committee does a great job of providing timely, consensus-based recommendations for all things COPD. The new report is a long, comprehensive document. Our goal here will be to highlight a…
Guessing the emotions behind the masks. In a world of masks, it’s harder than ever to read the faces around us. Only now are scientists learning how we manage without the revealing tells of smiles, sneers, dimples and frowns that signal our state of mind, as masks in public settings become common in more than…
One of the most popular resolutions at the beginning of each year is the desire to quit smoking, with more than 70% of smokers reporting they want to quit. Smoking is a risk factor for severe illness from COVID-19, which makes 2021 an even more opportune time to begin the journey to quitting once and…