Tobacco use major cause of most chronic diseases
A report from the World Health Organization shows that worldwide, the majority of chronic diseases are preventable and that smoking is the principal preventable risk factor for most of these debilitating diseases. Click to view the report.

Breast cancer risk among young female smokers
A study of postmenopausal women cited in the November issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings supports the hypothesis that women who smoke cigarettes before their first full-term pregnancy have a 20% increased risk of breast cancer in their later years, compared with women who began smoking after the birth of their first child or who never smoked. Click for more information.

Nicotine may impair bone healing
The U.S. Department of Defense has provided funding for research to study ways in which nicotine from cigarette smoke may interact with stem cells and consequently slow the healing of bone injuries. This impairment includes a reduction in soldiers’ readiness to fight by weakening the immune system and lengthening healing time. A total of 34% of military personnel smoke, compared to 25% of the general population. About 65% of the injuries endured by the more than14,000 soldiers who were injured in Iraq since 2003 have orthopedic damage to extremities. Click for more information.

Canadian experts warn about health effects of hookah smoking
Even though hookah tobacco has no added tar or nicotine, research by Canada’s International Development Research Center found that the carbon monoxide delivered in a single 45-minute water pipe session is twice that consumed by a single cigarette, and the nicotine is three times that of smoking a single cigarette. The agency is sponsoring research in countries where hookah smoking is prevalent. Click for more information.

Hookah use shown to cause periodontal disease
Research has found that smoking a hookah can be damaging to oral health. Only 8% of non-smokers in the study developed periodontal disease, compared to 24% of cigarette smokers and 30% of hookah smokers. The research is published in the November issue of the Journal of Periodontology. Click for more information.

Nicotine damaging to sperm
Researchers from the State University at Buffalo School of Medicine have found that nicotine affects sperm motility and strength, making fertilization more difficult. Click for more information.

Smoking related to lower IQ
Although many smokers report feeling more alert immediately after smoking a cigarette, research shows that chronic smoking actually lowers IQ and thinking ability. Researchers at the University of Michigan examined the association between cigarette smoking and cognitive deficits among alcoholics. Almost 7% of alcoholics smoke cigarettes, compared to less than 30% of the general population in the U.S. The researchers found that men who reported a higher number of pack-years of smoking (i.e. packs of cigarettes smoked per day times number of years) had lower IQ scores and lower scores on a test of global proficiency. Click for more information.

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