Among other side effects, smoking does cause blood vessels to constrict. This can lead to sometimes life-threatening events like a heart attack or stroke. Smoking is linked to a wide range of negative health effects, including heart disease. The chemicals in cigarette smoke irritate blood vessels, causing inflammation and swelling. Quitting smoking allows your heart…
Former smokers and people who smoke relatively few cigarettes per day may experience a faster decline in lung function than people who have never smoked, although they still have a slower decline in lung function than current smokers, a new study suggests. The study, “Lung function decline in former smokers and low-intensity current smokers: a…
Parents who smoke cigarettes put their children and others around them at risk for bronchitis, pneumonia and a variety of other ailments. But a new study offers another method to help them quit lighting up. Researchers tested a smoking cessation program in five states in the South and the Midwest, finding it had success in…
New study says e-cigarettes are twice as effective as nicotine gum and patches — the strongest evidence yet that vaping can help smokers quit cigarettes. A major new study provides the strongest evidence yet that vaping can help smokers quit cigarettes, with e-cigarettes proving nearly twice as effective as nicotine gums and patches. The British…
Smokers can no longer light up in or near public housing facilities in the U.S. due to a new rule that went into effect July 31. The nationwide ban on smoking in public housing was implemented nearly two years after the rule was passed by the Obama administration in 2016. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)…
With New Year’s resolutions kicking into high gear in the month of January, why not help your patients truly stop smoking in this New Year. Especially with your pregnant patients, it is even more important to support a high quality smoking cessation program in our daily practices. Women who smoke during pregnancy may be more…
Many people believe electronic cigarettes (also called e-cigarettes or vapes) are a safe alternative to traditional cigarettes. But with a new report from the U.S. surgeon general calling e-cigarette use “a major public health concern,” this may not be the case. The FDA reports an alarming 900% rise in e-cigarette use among high school students…
Cigarette smokers who are HIV positive appear to have a higher chance of dying from smoking-related complications than from HIV, according to research published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases. Numerous health problems are associated with smoking. Smokers have a high chance of developing heart disease, cancer, serious lung diseases, and other infections, such as…