Research

Smoking does not keep you slim - study
An Australian study examined the effects of smoking on weight, and found that any weight loss associated with smoking is most likely due to a decrease in lean muscle mass, not a decrease in fat. While mice exposed to tobacco ate 23% less, their body fat was not affected if they were given a high-fat diet. Therefore, while smoking decreases appetite, it does not control weight.  Find out more here.

Are smokers only using cigarettes? Exploring current polytobacco use among an adult population
Conventional tobacco cessation programs focus on cigarette smoking, but quitting may be more difficult if a smoker uses multiple tobacco products (polytobacco use). This study determined the prevalence of polytobacco use among a group of 50,000 adults, and found that 22.4% of the group were cigarette smokers, and 3.4% were polytobacco users. Polytobacco use was more likely among male cigarette smokers, and was associated with younger age, lower socioeconomic status, and “more than moderate” alcohol use. Read the article’s abstract here.

Tobacco deaths to reach 10 million a year by 2030
The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that tobacco-related deaths are currently at 5 million a year worldwide. The WHO predicts that this number could increase to 10 million deaths a year by 2030 because developing nations such as China will have a growing healthcare burden due to smoking. The countries with the highest proportion of male smokers (males make up most of the smoking population) were Yemen, Djibouti, Cambodia and China. Some of these countries are beginning to take up smoking cessation programs from Western countries in an effort to cut tobacco-related deaths.  Click here to read a summary of the report.

Asian Men Who Smoke May Have Increased Risk For Hair Loss
A study in Taiwan attempted to determine whether there is an association between hair loss and smoking. The study found that male smokers were 77% more likely to have moderate to severe androgenetic alopecia, and the effect increased with heavier smoking (20 or more cigarettes/day). Learn more here, or read the abstract in the Archives of Dermatology by clicking here.

Pregnancy smoking fertility link
Smoking during pregnancy may result in lowered fertility for male children. The male fetuses of pregnant women in this study who smoked 10 or more cigarettes per day had half of the normal level of the DHH gene. This gene plays an important role in the normal development of testicles, so smoking during pregnancy could have an adverse effect on the unborn child’s fertility.  Read a summary of the research here. Similarly, a recent animal study identified the chemical pathway that causes maternal smoking to lead to a decrease in daughters’ fertility. Female mice were exposed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are found in cigarettes and other environmental pollutants. Their female offspring had 70% fewer follicles from which to develop eggs. Similar results were found when studying this chemical pathway in human ovarian tissue transplanted into mice. Read the article, Smoking Before, After Pregnancy Harms Daughters' Fertility by clicking here.

Smokers remain unaware of the health effects of smoking, new survey finds
A national survey has found that although smokers are aware of the adverse health effects of tobacco use, they tend to underestimate their health risks. Furthermore, they have misperceptions about the safety of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT). Many smokers are unsure whether the nicotine in NRT is safer than cigarette use, and two thirds wrongly believe that NRT puts them at risk for cancer. Of the survey respondents who had tried to quit with NRT products, 76% had used NRT incorrectly. Smokers’ chances of successfully quitting could be drastically increased with more awareness of the safety, proper use, and effectiveness of NRT. Find out more here.

West Virginia kicks off a prevention campaign aimed at women who smoke while pregnant
The state of West Virginia is targeting pregnant women who smoke in their latest statewide anti-smoking campaign.  Find out more here.

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