Research

Smoking doubles breast cancer risk
An Australian study of women with the faulty genes BRCA-1 and BRCA-2 that put women at a higher risk for cancer showed that women with these genes who smoked five years or more double their already heightened risk of breast cancer.  The longer a woman smoked, the greater her chances were of developing breast cancer.  Thus, a woman with these genes could potentially lower her breast cancer risk by quitting. Learn more about the study here.

From Smoking Boom, a Major Killer of Women
While it was previously considered a man’s disease, the number of deaths due to COPD has tripled among women from 1980 to 2000.  Smoking is the cause for 85% of cases of COPD, a disease which consists of both emphysema and chronic bronchitis.  While COPD is not curable, it is treatable. The disease is commonly misdiagnosed or undertreated, to the detriment of patients’ quality of life and healthcare costs.  To get more information about COPD and its treatment, click here.

Smoking costs over 6.5% of national income to nations
The top ten smokers’ countries, identified by Forbes magazine, lose 6.5% of their gross national income to smoking.  Developing countries generally have no national healthcare programs to take care of the chronically ill, so healthcare costs are difficult to calculate and compare.  However, with smoking prevalence in many developing nations over 40%, and at an estimated cost of 10 minutes of life per cigarette, the economic cost of smoking to these developing nations is high.  Click here to read more.

New Lancet Study: Tobacco Control Measures Are Effective and Affordable Strategies to Reduce Chronic Disease Deaths Globally
A study examined the potential effects in 23 countries of two population-based health improvement strategies:  decreasing salt intake by 15%, and implementing the main elements of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).  According to the researchers, these programs could be implemented for less than a dollar per person, and could prevent a total of 5.5 million deaths from chronic diseases over ten years.  Click here to read a summary of the article, or read the article’s abstract in The Lancet.

Study suggests nicotine addiction might be controlled by influencing brain mechanisms
A recent study has linked the brain chemical GABA to the biological process of nicotine addiction.  While the pleasurable effects of smoking are linked to a rise in the chemical dopamine in the brains of smokers, GABA inhibits the activity of dopamine and ceases the gratification from smoking.  With better knowledge of this mechanism and its genetic links, those who have a genetic susceptibility to smoking could be identified and be taught prevention strategies.  Read more about the study here.

Prenatal and Adolescent Exposure to Tobacco Smoke Modulates the Development of White Matter Microstructure
It has long been known that smoking during pregnancy has deleterious cognitive effects on the unborn child.  A recent study examined the development of white matter (which conducts signals through the brain) among adolescent smokers and nonsmokers, some whose mothers smoked, and others who had no prenatal exposure to cigarette smoke.  Both prenatal exposure and adolescent exposure to smoke were linked to defects in the white matter that are plausible causes of cognitive and auditory deficiencies.  Read click here to read the abstract in the Journal of Neuroscience.

Smoking 'raises risk of diabetes'
 A study analyzing the results of 25 diabetes studies involving 1.2 million patients was published in the latest issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).  The study found that smokers who smoke 20 or more cigarettes per day are at a 61% increased risk of type 2 diabetes, while former smokers are still at a 23% increased risk compared to nonsmokers.  The researchers state that while science has shown a definitive association between smoking and type 2 diabetes, a causal link has not been proven; unhealthy lifestyles or particular genetic factors may also be especially common among smokers. Click here to read a summary of the findings, or here to read the abstract of the article in JAMA, “Active Smoking and the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes.”  Smoking and type 2 diabetes: Underrecognized risks and disease burden A related editorial encouraging more screening to diagnose diabetes among smokers is also available at JAMA website.

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