We recently reported that "Electronic Cigarettes Are Unsafe And Pose Health Risks." These apparently controversial findings sparked emails from our readers questioning the validity of the researchers' results. In a new report that contradicts the concerns raised in the recent BMED Report article as well as by the Food and Drug Administration, a Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) researcher co ...

Children living in apartments are exposed to secondhand smoke even when no one smokes inside their own unit. This study, released online today by the journal Pediatrics, strongly suggests that housing type contributes to children's exposure to tobacco smoke, despite the best intentions of parents. A video interview with the lead researcher is included in this report. ...

Fueled by increases in marijuana use, the rate of eighth-graders saying they have used an illicit drug in the past year jumped to 16 percent, up from last year's 14.5 percent, with daily marijuana use up in all grades surveyed, according to the 2010 Monitoring the Future Survey (MTF). For 12th-graders, declines in cigarette use accompanied by recent increases in marijuana use have put marijuana ahead of cig ...

Exposure to tobacco smoke – even occasional smoking or secondhand smoke – causes immediate damage to your body that can lead to serious illness or death, according to a report released today by U.S. Surgeon General Regina M. Benjamin. The comprehensive scientific report - Benjamin’s first Surgeon General’s report and the 30th tobacco-related Surgeon General’s report issued since 1964 - describes specific pa ...

Quitting smoking is certainly healthy for the body, but doctors and scientists have not been sure whether quitting makes people happier, especially since conventional wisdom says many smokers use cigarettes to ease anxiety and depression. In a new study, researchers tracked the symptoms of depression in people who were trying to quit and found that they were never happier than when they were being successfu ...

Many brain imaging studies have reported that tobacco smoking is associated with large-scale and wide-spread structural brain abnormalities. The cerebral cortex is a specific area of the brain responsible for many important higher-order functions, including language, information processing, and memory. Reduced cortical thickness has been associated with normal aging, reduced intelligence, and impaired cogni ...

Putting tobacco out of sight in shops can change the attitude of young people to smoking, while not hitting retailers in the pocket, researchers at The University of Nottingham have discovered. Academics from the University's UK Centre for Tobacco Control Studies looked at the effect of the removal of tobacco displays in the Republic of Ireland, ahead of similar legislation which is due to come into force i ...

Eating five portions of fruit and vegetables per day is one of the means that experts most frequently recommend for preventing cancer. Now, the European EPIC study carried out by researchers from 10 countries has shown that, in the case of lung cancer, the important thing is not just the quantity but also the variety of fruit consumed, which can reduce the risk by up to 23%. ...

Regular exercise can reduce around two dozen physical and mental health conditions and slow down how quickly the body ages, according to a research review summarising the key findings of 40  papers published between 2006 and 2010. The paper provides an invaluable source for both news and feature editors as it is divided into a number of key sections, ranging from: "Why should I exercise" to "I'm too busy, I ...

Researchers may have pinpointed a reason many smokers struggle to quit. According to new research published in the journal Addiction, smokers with a history of anxiety disorders are less likely to quit smoking. The study, conducted by the University of Wisconsin Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention (UW-CTRI), offered free coaching and medications to smokers in Madison and Milwaukee. ...