Research

Surveillance for cancers associated with tobacco use — United States, 1999–2004
About 2.4 million cases of tobacco-related cancers were diagnosed in the United States from 1999 to 2004, with lung and bronchial cancer accounting for almost half of these diagnoses, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The new CDC report on the study provides national- and state-level data on tobacco-related cancers. The data cover 92% of the U.S. population and were obtained from cancer registries affiliated with CDC’s National Program of Cancer Registries and the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program. The data showed that lung and laryngeal cancer rates were highest in areas with the highest prevalence of tobacco use, evidence of the health risks of smoking. Because information on tobacco use was not available in these databases, cases of cancer included in this report may or may not be in persons who used tobacco. However, the cancer types included in this report are those defined as tobacco-related cancer by the U.S. Surgeon General. Click here to read the full CDC report, or click here for a brief summary of the results.

Healthy lifestyle boosts women's longevity
The results of a recent study add to the growing evidence that an overall healthy lifestyle lengthens lives. Scientists studied the outcomes over time of smoking, a poor diet, being overweight, having a sedentary lifestyle, and not partaking in light to moderate alcohol consumption. After following a cohort of women over 24 years, researchers found that avoiding smoking, keeping a healthy weight and diet, and regular physical activity were all factors that led to decreased mortality from any cause. The effects of these four lifestyle factors in decreasing heart disease and cancer were particularly notable; women with all four factors decreased their risk of dying of cancer by 44%, and of dying of heart disease by 72%. When the effects of individual risk factors were assessed, researchers attributed 28% of deaths during the study to smoking. Click here for more information on the study. Click here to access the article, which is published online in the British Medical Journal.

Cadmium exposure tied to lung disease
Scientists have linked cadmium exposure from smoking and secondhand smoke with the development of pulmonary diseases such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Tests of lung function on 96 men showed that men with higher urine levels of cadmium had a reduced ability to exhale. The data also suggests that people with chronic exposure to cadmium have double the risk of developing a lung condition. The next step in strengthening the evidence for the role of cadmium in pulmonary disease will be a larger population-based study that will examine cadmium’s effects over time. Click here to read more, or click here to access the abstract of the research online. The study is published in the September issue of Environmental Health Perspectives.

Cigarettes' power may not be in nicotine itself, new study suggests
A Kansas State University research study suggests that the habits a smoker associates with smoking, rather than nicotine alone, may contribute to addiction. In research on rats, the animals were not particularly interested in nicotine alone, but when nicotine was delivered with a reinforcing stimulus, the rats self-administered more nicotine. While most research on nicotine addiction has focused on nicotine itself, this research attempts to describe the circumstances that lead people to smoke. The research team has begun studies that seem to indicate that nicotine makes pleasurable experiences even more pleasurable. In the future, the research may shift to determining whether nicotine makes unpleasant experiences, such as stressful situations, more tolerable. For more information, click here. Click here to access the research article, which is published in the August issue of Neuropsychopharmacology.

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Reports

Three IITs to help government regulate tobacco industry (India)
Three Indian Institutes of Technology have signed on with India’s Central Health Ministry to perform tobacco product testing. The laboratories will test tobacco products to simulate the effects of smoking and to determine the content of seven toxic substances including nicotine, tar, carbon monoxide, and arsenic. Tobacco companies will be required to list their products’ ingredients on their packaging. The laboratories will report the product test results to the health ministry. The health ministry is expecting to add two more regional tobacco product testing labs and a central testing facility that will increase testing capacity and perform product testing for other South Asian countries. Click here to find out more.

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