How Do Alcohol & Tobacco Interact?

Anyone who has gone to parties and social gatherings will be aware of people who smoke only socially. Social smoking or smoking only atparties seems like a concept that is generally accepted by many. Research supports the fact that those who consume large amounts of alcohol are also likely to be those who smoke a lot too. It is probably not known that the combined effects of alcohol and tobacco can be relatively more devastating. Almost all alcoholics (80 to 95 percent) smoke cigarettes. This is a rate that is three times higher than the normal population. Out of this...

How To Stop Smoking

Smoking is a habit that frequently becomes an integral part of the life of a smoker. It becomes ingrained in one’s routine – there is one cigarette that you have in the morning and then after breakfast and one needs to be lighted on the way to work and the schedule goes on even when one is not consciously aware of it. The idea of giving up smoking is something that almost all smokers consider at some point in time. It might actually be difficult to find a smoker that does not know the harm that smoking can cause. The battle therefore is more than just one of...

What Do Caffeine and Nicotine Have in Co...

(Ever thought while enjoying your morning coffee that you were sipping a giant ashtray? Well, don’t worry, you’re not! But caffeine and nicotine do have a lot in common). What do caffeine and nicotine have in common?  The science stuff:  Both are alkaloids and derived from plants and natural anti-herbivore chemicals. Both readily cross the blood brain barrier that separates the blood stream from the interior of the brain. The basics:  Both caffeine and nicotine are stimulants.  Both increase alertness and concentration and are addictive…but you knew...

Nicotine And Women

Smoking is a habit that does no one good. Even a single cigarette is harmful for the system. Women suffer from all the negative effects of smoking as men do. These include a higher risk of cancer including cancers of the lung, mouth, larynx, pharynx, esophagus, kidney, pancreas, kidney and bladder. Other smoking risks associated with the habit include all kinds of respiratory diseases. Women smokers are at a 12 times higher risk of dying from lung cancer and 10 times more likely to meet their death from bronchitis and emphysema. Some of the specific risks that women face...

Cigarette Companies – Still Not Pl...

The NY Times today covers an interesting advertising campaign on the part of Camel that is raising eyebrows.  Roni Caryn Rabin writes: Though R.J. Reynolds, the company that makes the cigarettes, pulled the ads in 2008, a new study says they had a big effect on teenage girls. The ads bore a striking resemblance to fashion spreads and ran in women’s magazines like Glamour and US Weekly, which are popular among teenagers. They offered promotional giveaway items like berry lip balm – and cellphone jewelry. and While the ad campaign was going on in 2007 and 2008, 44...

How Long Does Nicotine Stay In Your Syst...

The effects of nicotine on the body vary from short to long-lasting.  We are familiar with many of these – lung damage, high cholesterol, etc.  But the question is, how long is nicotine actually in your body for?  What is the detection period for a nicotine test (using urine)? When your body takes in nicotine, it starts to break it down.  HowStuffWorks.com walks us through the process. The liver breaks down nicotine into cotinine, the amount of which is proportionate to the amount of nicotine in your body (even nicotine that entered through second hand smoke)....