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...

Tobacco Tests Deal With The Chronic Dise...

The Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants (JAAPA) has put out an article on tobacco dependency, which they write is now considered a “chronic disease.”  This is a great advance in that it tells the world to get serious about quitting smoking – it is a disease and addiction like any other, no matter how legal it may be.  Their article is a guide to intervening in tobacco addiction, especially interesting to the average person because it is from a clinician’s perspective.  And believe me, they are very tough about quitting! Their...