http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Smokers have fewer and flatter taste buds. A study of the tongues of 62 Greek soldiers, published in the open access journal BMC Ear, Nose and Throat Disorders, has demonstrated how cigarettes deaden the ability to taste. http://phys.org/news169928831.html Medicine & Health Wed, 19 Aug 2009 19:50:01 EST news169928831 People who smoke and have multiple sclerosis (MS) may be at increased risk of brain shrinkage and increased brain lesions related to the disease, according to a study published in the August 18, 2009, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Smoking has already been linked to an increased risk of developing MS. http://phys.org/news169751811.html Medicine & Health Mon, 17 Aug 2009 19:00:02 EST news169751811 Smokeless tobacco products, as used in Europe and North America, do not appear to increase cancer risk. A large meta-analysis, published in the open access journal BMC Medicine, has shown that snuff as used in Scandinavia has no discernible effect on the risk of various cancers. Products used in the past in the USA may have increased the risk, but any effect that exists now seems likely to be quite small. http://phys.org/news168030060.html Medicine & Health Tue, 28 Jul 2009 22:10:01 EST news168030060 New research suggests that current regulations have failed to remove misleading information from cigarette packaging, revealing that a substantial majority of consumers believe cigarettes are less hazardous when the packs display words such as "silver" or "smooth," lower numbers incorporated into the brand name, lighter colours or pictures of filters. http://phys.org/news167988818.html Medicine & Health Tue, 28 Jul 2009 09:20:02 EST news167988818 Coal dust exposure is directly linked to severity of emphysema in smokers and nonsmokers alike, according to new research from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). http://phys.org/news167589643.html Medicine & Health Fri, 24 Jul 2009 04:40:02 EST news167589643 A survey of staff at Addenbrooke's hospital has shown that those who break the smoke-free policy are generally more addicted than those who respect it. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Public Health also investigated staff's attitude to the smoke-free policy and found that smokers were less likely to believe that the policy would protect people from second hand smoke. http://phys.org/news166866718.html Medicine & Health Wed, 15 Jul 2009 08:52:14 EST news166866718 Patients with multiple sclerosis who smoke appear to experience a more rapid progression of their disease, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of Neurology. http://phys.org/news166721417.html Medicine & Health Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:30:01 EST news166721417 Participating in team sports is associated with a reduced likelihood of youths becoming established smokers, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. However, exposure to movie smoking appears to be associated with an increased risk of established smoking in both team sport participants and nonparticipants. http://phys.org/news166117952.html Medicine & Health Tue, 07 Jul 2009 02:00:01 EST news166117952 As scientists continue to decode the human genome and the information becomes publicly available, private companies that offer online genetic testing are multiplying. Scientists at the National Institutes of Health were concerned that perhaps these tests posed a risk. http://phys.org/news165589045.html Medicine & Health Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:57:39 EST news165589045 (AP) -- When it comes to health care spending, an ounce of prevention is seldom worth a pound of cure. Take Mrs. Jones, a hypothetical 55-year-old obese woman at risk for diabetes. It costs $900 a year to hire a personal lifestyle coach to help her lose weight and prevent diabetes. Suppose that the coaching works for Mrs. Jones, and she is spared diabetes and all the resulting health bills. http://phys.org/news165080196.html Medicine & Health Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:37:11 EST news165080196 Despite recent declines in cigarette use in the U.S., nicotine dependence has remained steady among adults and has actually increased among some groups. The finding by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health suggests that public health initiatives have been far more successful in preventing Americans from taking up smoking than in persuading hard-core smokers to stop. The study is available online in the American Journal of Public Health and will be published in the August 2009 issue. http://phys.org/news165064403.html Medicine & Health Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:13:43 EST news165064403 Tobacco acts as a precipitating factor for headaches, specifically migraines. This is indicated in a study which shows that smokers have more migraine attacks and that smoking more than five cigarettes a day triggers this headache. The work has appeared in the Journal of Headache and Pain. http://phys.org/news165057802.html Medicine & Health Wed, 24 Jun 2009 10:24:03 EST news165057802 The tobacco industry knows exactly what makes social smokers tick. Now, researchers want to use that once-secret information to help them quit. http://phys.org/news164352289.html Medicine & Health Tue, 16 Jun 2009 06:25:02 EST news164352289 Not everyone declines in cognitive function with age. Elderly people who exercise at least once a week, have at least a high school education and a ninth grade literacy level, are not smokers and are more socially active are more likely to maintain their cognitive skills through their 70s and 80s, according to research published in the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. http://phys.org/news163697563.html Medicine & Health Mon, 08 Jun 2009 16:33:35 EST news163697563 Cigarette smoking induced COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, is a disease that results in severe breathing difficulty. According to World Health Organization (WHO) it is the fourth leading killer worldwide. However the mechanisms responsible for some smokers developing COPD and others evading the disease have not been well understood. http://phys.org/news163335346.html Medicine & Health Thu, 04 Jun 2009 11:56:08 EST news163335346 (AP) -- Laid off from her job in Massachusetts, Danielle Marks thought immediately about losing her health insurance. How could she afford the medication and physical therapy she needed to heal after shoulder surgery? http://phys.org/news162738504.html Medicine & Health Thu, 28 May 2009 14:08:56 EST news162738504 Some cities and states around the country have completely banned smoking in public places. Others have instituted partial bans to avoid negative economic consequences, such as loss of employment in restaurants and bars due to reduced patronage by smokers. But a new study from Minnesota finds that there is no significant difference between partial bans, complete bans and even no bans, in terms of their impact on number of employees in restaurants and bars. http://phys.org/news161862784.html Medicine & Health Mon, 18 May 2009 10:53:55 EST news161862784 Everyone knows that smoking can kill you, but did you know that it may help with your allergies? A new study shows that cigarette smoke can prevent allergies by decreasing the reaction of immune cells to allergens. http://phys.org/news161520042.html Medicine & Health Thu, 14 May 2009 11:41:23 EST news161520042 Scientists in the USA have discovered why smokers may be more prone to chronic gum disease (periodontitis). One of the bacteria responsible for this infection responds to cigarette smoke - changing its properties and the way it infects a smokers mouth. http://phys.org/news161256746.html Biology Mon, 11 May 2009 10:33:32 EST news161256746 Higher concentrations of melanin -- the color pigment in skin and hair -- may be placing darker pigmented smokers at increased susceptibility to nicotine dependence and tobacco-related carcinogens than lighter skinned smokers, according to scientists. http://phys.org/news161026957.html Medicine & Health Fri, 08 May 2009 18:43:08 EST news161026957 A new study by UCSF researchers concludes that media campaigns that portray the tobacco industry in a negative light and that appeal to young adults may be a powerful intervention to decrease young adult smoking. http://phys.org/news160848677.html Medicine & Health Wed, 06 May 2009 17:11:46 EST news160848677 A new study finds that enforcing federal and state laws against tobacco sales to minors dramatically decreases underage smoking rates. The results show that laws prohibiting sales of cigarettes to minors and stepped up enforcement of those laws in the United States have led to a 20.8 percent drop in the odds of 10th graders becoming daily smokers. http://phys.org/news159174279.html Medicine & Health Fri, 17 Apr 2009 08:06:22 EST news159174279 The US Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed cigarette giant Philip Morris's appeal of a multi-million dollar punitive damage verdict awarded to the widow of a longtime smoker who died of lung cancer. http://phys.org/news157744064.html Medicine & Health Tue, 31 Mar 2009 18:48:15 EST news157744064 (AP) -- Calling your state stop-smoking hot line for help kicking the habit? Expect a wait: Smokers are flooding the lines in a panic over an increase in the tobacco tax. http://phys.org/news157743305.html Medicine & Health Tue, 31 Mar 2009 18:37:48 EST news157743305 It's well known that puffing on cigarettes can eventually leave you out of puff. But why do a quarter of long-term smokers develop serious breathing problems, when others do not? New research published BioMed Central's open access journal Respiratory Research has found that the answers may lie in a smoker's genetics, which affect their chances of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in later life. http://phys.org/news156018737.html Medicine & Health Wed, 11 Mar 2009 19:32:56 EST news156018737 (PhysOrg.com) -- Go ahead. Nag, nag, nag. It might do some good after all. http://phys.org/news155317602.html Medicine & Health Tue, 03 Mar 2009 15:47:14 EST news155317602 People who start smoking before age 17 may increase their risk for developing multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 61st Annual Meeting in Seattle, April 25 to May 2, 2009. http://phys.org/news154618005.html Medicine & Health Mon, 23 Feb 2009 13:27:17 EST news154618005 A well-off professional who smokes has a much lower survival rate than a non-smoking low-paid worker of the same sex concludes new research published today on bmj.com. http://phys.org/news154122231.html Medicine & Health Tue, 17 Feb 2009 19:44:24 EST news154122231 Very few women follow the nutritional and lifestyle recommendations before they become pregnant, even when pregnancy is in some sense planned, finds a study published on bmj.com today. http://phys.org/news153736890.html Medicine & Health Fri, 13 Feb 2009 08:42:10 EST news153736890 Research from the University of Exeter reveals for the first time, that changes in brain activity, triggered by physical exercise, may help reduce cigarette cravings. Published in the journal Psychopharmacology, the study shows how exercise changes the way the brain processes information among smokers, thereby reducing their cravings for nicotine. For the first time, researchers used functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to investigate how the brain processes images of cigarettes after exercise. http://phys.org/news153482201.html Medicine & Health Tue, 10 Feb 2009 09:57:05 EST news153482201