Research

Nicotine withdrawal and agitation in ventilated critically ill patients
A new study evaluating the impact of nicotine withdrawal on patients in Intensive Care Units (ICU) has found that patients undergoing withdrawal were more likely to experience agitation and the need for medical intervention. ICU patients were assessed for smoking status and observed twice daily during the stay to assess agitation, delirium, complications, and outcomes. The incidence of agitation increased significantly in those that were smokers, as did the incidence of self-removal of tubes and catheters and the need for additional sedatives, painkillers, psychiatric medication, and physical restraints. Assessing nicotine dependency among ICU patients may assist clinicians in identifying at-risk patients, and may lead to earlier interventions to prevent and treat agitation. Click here to read the study abstract, published in Critical Care.

Tobacco dangers in pregnancy
A new Australian study indicates that daughters born to mothers that smoked during pregnancy on average have a uterus 20% smaller than nonsmokers’ babies. The researchers used ultrasound to measure the volume of the ovaries and uterus of 230 adolescent girls, 115 of which had also been followed in utero to determine fetal growth. They found that daughters of women who smoked had a significantly smaller uterus compared to those born to nonsmokers, but there was no relationship between maternal smoking and ovarian volume. Prior research has shown that smaller uterine size is associated with increased risk of miscarriage and failed implantation of the embryo. Read more here, or read the abstract of the study, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

Smoking in pregnancy may up risk of "cross-eyed" baby
Researchers in Denmark have found that children of women who smoke during pregnancy are at an elevated risk of strabismus (“cross-eyes”), and that the risk increases with the number of cigarettes smoked per day. The team identified 1,321 cases of strabismus from the Danish National Birth Cohort, containing children born between 1996 and 2003. The mothers were interviewed twice during and twice after their pregnancy about factors such as social class, coffee and tea consumption, and smoking history. The data showed that maternal smoking was associated with increased risk of strabismus, with a 38% increased risk if she smoked five to nine cigarettes per day and a 90% increased risk if she smoked ten or more cigarettes per day. Click here to read more, or click here to read the study abstract, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

Flavored tobacco pellets are denounced as a lure to young users
New research published in Pediatrics shows that dissolvable nicotine products (such as strips, sticks, or pellets), along with other smokeless tobacco products, are the second most common source of accidental tobacco ingestion in children less than six years old. Since the new dissolvable tobacco products hit test markets last year, health advocates have raised concerns that the colorful packaging and candy-like tablets were designed to appeal to children. The study analyzed 13,705 tobacco-related accidental ingestion cases from 2006-2008 national poison control center reports, finding that almost 1,800 of the reported poisonings were among children that had consumed smokeless tobacco products. While cigarettes and filters comprise a much larger proportion of poisonings, researchers are worried about the new dissolvable products, as they contain enough nicotine to make a small child ill, and because of their potential attractiveness to children. Click here to read more, or click here to read the abstract article.

Association of passive and active smoking with incident type 2 diabetes mellitus in the elderly population: the KORA S4/F4 cohort study
A new study published in the European Journal of Epidemiology indicates that secondhand smoke exposure and smoking are both associated with type 2 diabetes. The study used data from the KORA S4/F4 cohort, a study of 1,223 Southern German subjects aged 55-74 at baseline. The results showed that nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke had a 2.5 times higher risk of developing diabetes. Those with pre-diabetes at baseline were 4.4 times more likely to develop diabetes during the follow-up period. Active smokers were 2.8 times more likely to develop diabetes, and those with pre-diabetes at baseline had nearly an eight-fold increase in the likelihood of developing diabetes. Read the abstract of the study here.

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