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. (AP) -- No more "light" cigarettes or candy-flavored smokes. Bigger, scarier warning labels. Fewer ads featuring sexy young smokers. http://phys.org/news164081069.html Medicine & Health Sat, 13 Jun 2009 06:10:01 EST news164081069 (AP) -- A tobacco control bill set to win Senate approval would give the federal government broad new powers to monitor and change a toxic substance that contributes to some 400,000 deaths every year. http://phys.org/news163929622.html Medicine & Health Thu, 11 Jun 2009 09:01:28 EST news163929622 (PhysOrg.com) -- After nearly a decade of waiting, the U.S. Senate is expected Monday to pass a bill giving the Food and Drug Administration the authority to regulate tobacco, and despite controversies over the involvement of the tobacco industry in authoring the bill, it will be a great tool in advancing anti-smoking efforts in the country, a Georgia State University tobacco control expert said. http://phys.org/news163685098.html Medicine & Health Mon, 08 Jun 2009 13:05:56 EST news163685098 While tobacco use is an ongoing health hazard for the entire population, its consequences for people with developmental or intellectual disabilities can be especially severe. And the medical community often tends to overlook the tobacco-related burdens these people face. An extensive review of published research on this topic appears in the June edition of the journal Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. http://phys.org/news163504386.html Medicine & Health Sat, 06 Jun 2009 10:53:23 EST news163504386 Despite increasingly frequent references to global health from media, scholars and students, the term is rarely defined. And when it is defined, it is often merely a rephrased definition of public health or an updated definition of international health. What, then, is global health? http://phys.org/news163432849.html Medicine & Health Fri, 05 Jun 2009 15:01:16 EST news163432849 More than a decade after Harvard researchers first revealed that life and health insurance companies were major investors in tobacco stocks - prompting calls upon them to divest - the insurance industry has yet to kick the habit, they say. http://phys.org/news163270429.html Medicine & Health Wed, 03 Jun 2009 17:54:33 EST news163270429 Long-running US cartoon show "The Simpsons" may inadvertently promote smoking with its frequent depictions of the habit and references to cigarettes, Australian research has found. http://phys.org/news163056342.html Medicine & Health Mon, 01 Jun 2009 06:26:09 EST news163056342 (AP) -- Cigarette packages should include images of sickness and suffering caused by tobacco, along with written warnings, the World Health Organization said Friday. http://phys.org/news162806072.html Medicine & Health Fri, 29 May 2009 08:57:07 EST news162806072 (PhysOrg.com) -- Smoking bans have not negatively affected revenues of restaurants and bars, but the impact is less clear at gambling institutions, a new University of Michigan report indicates. http://phys.org/news162748262.html Other Sciences Thu, 28 May 2009 16:51:40 EST news162748262 Chronic exposure to tobacco smoke in childhood may contribute to early emphysema later in life, according to new research. Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) is known to be associated with a variety of serious health problems, but it had not previously been associated with the development of emphysema over the life course. The data will be presented on Tuesday, May 19, at the 105th International Conference of the American Thoracic Society in San Diego. http://phys.org/news161954540.html Medicine & Health Tue, 19 May 2009 12:22:57 EST news161954540 (AP) -- It may be riskier on the lungs to smoke cigarettes today than it was a few decades ago - at least in the U.S., says new research that blames changes in cigarette design for fueling a certain type of lung cancer. http://phys.org/news161845870.html Medicine & Health Mon, 18 May 2009 06:11:35 EST news161845870 Promoting the health of young children, before five years of age, could save society up to $65 billion in future health care costs, according to an examination of childhood health conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The results are published in the May 15, 2009, issue of Academic Pediatrics. http://phys.org/news161607693.html Medicine & Health Fri, 15 May 2009 12:02:01 EST news161607693 Dental implants are frequently used as a replacement for missing teeth in order to restore the patient's tooth function and appearance. Previous research demonstrates that the placement of a dental implant disrupts the host tissue in the area of the implant, so practitioners often focus their treatment planning to carefully maintain the patient's bone and gum tissue surrounding the implant. http://phys.org/news161349539.html Medicine & Health Tue, 12 May 2009 12:19:24 EST news161349539 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 Children exposed to cigarette smoke have lower levels of antioxidants, which help the body defend itself against many biological stresses. http://phys.org/news160668987.html Medicine & Health Mon, 04 May 2009 15:16:51 EST news160668987 Women may be more vulnerable than men to the cancer-causing effects of smoking tobacco, according to new results reported this week at the European Multidisciplinary Conference in Thoracic Oncology (EMCTO), Lugano, Switzerland. http://phys.org/news160593165.html Medicine & Health Sun, 03 May 2009 18:13:17 EST news160593165 Children and teenagers are frequently exposed to potentially damaging noise levels in schools, at home, and in sports, but there has been little reported on their risk for noise-induced hearing loss. In fact, three million children under the age of 18 have some hearing loss, and one factor is external noises. http://phys.org/news160311444.html Medicine & Health Thu, 30 Apr 2009 12:00:45 EST news160311444 Researchers at the University of Minnesota and Massachusetts General Hospital have used a genome engineering tool they developed to make a model crop plant herbicide-resistant without significant changes to its DNA. http://phys.org/news160229922.html Chemistry Wed, 29 Apr 2009 13:19:03 EST news160229922 Pharmacy researchers at Oregon State University today announced the discovery of a genetic regulator that is expressed at higher levels in the most aggressive types of head and neck cancers, in work that may help to identify them earlier or even offer a new therapy at some point in the future. http://phys.org/news160152592.html Medicine & Health Tue, 28 Apr 2009 15:50:44 EST news160152592 Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) of the legs, in which the arteries become blocked with plaque and blood supply to the legs is reduced, affects eight million people in the U.S. Early detection of PAD is important because it can limit the ability to walk and exercise, it may place patients at greater risk for limb loss and it increases the chance of having a heart attack or stroke. Coronary artery disease (CAD) is prevalent in patients with PAD and it is known that PAD is under diagnosed in the primary care setting, but a new study found that it is often overlooked even in patients with known heart disease who are under a cardiologist's care. The study was published in the May issue of Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions, the official journal of The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI). http://phys.org/news160141605.html Medicine & Health Tue, 28 Apr 2009 12:47:45 EST news160141605 Current research suggests that smoking increases the production of osteopontin in the lungs, which contributes to the development of smoking-related lung disease. The related report by Prasse et al, "Essential role of osteopontin in smoking-related interstitial lung diseases," appears in the May 2009 issue of The American Journal of Pathology. http://phys.org/news159776774.html Medicine & Health Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:26:49 EST news159776774 There is now enough scientific evidence to link both active smoking and second-hand smoke to breast cancer, according to an international panel convened by the Ontario Tobacco Research Unit, an affiliate of the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, with support from the Public Health Agency of Canada. http://phys.org/news159719608.html Medicine & Health Thu, 23 Apr 2009 15:37:12 EST news159719608 During the past several years, significant progress has been made in identifying susceptibility genes for nicotine dependence through genetic linkage and association analyses. Although a large number of genes have been associated with tobacco smoking, only a very limited number of genetic variants are considered to be causative. How to find these functional variants and then characterize them remains challenging in the field of human genetics. http://phys.org/news159699716.html Medicine & Health Thu, 23 Apr 2009 10:02:21 EST news159699716 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 Smoking both tobacco and marijuana increases the risk of respiratory symptoms and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), found a study in CMAJ http://www.cmaj.ca/press/pg814.pdf. Smoking only marijuana, however, was not associated with increased risks. http://phys.org/news158861123.html Medicine & Health Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:06:07 EST news158861123 More than half of non-smoking New Yorkers have elevated levels of cotinine in their blood - meaning that they were recently exposed to toxic second-hand smoke in concentrations high enough to leave residues in the body. Cotinine, a by-product of nicotine breakdown, is not harmful itself but signals exposure to environmental tobacco smoke. A Health Department study, published online this week in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research, shows that 57% of adult New Yorkers (2.5 million) have elevated cotinine levels, compared to 45% of adults nationwide - a finding that may reflect the city's dense, urban character. Second-hand smoke contains many harmful chemicals. It is known to cause cancer and heart disease in adults, as well as serious health problems for children. http://phys.org/news158409547.html Medicine & Health Wed, 08 Apr 2009 11:39:44 EST news158409547 A new study published in the journal Contemporary Economic Policy assesses the impact of state attributes on the likelihood that a state adopts policies to limit youth access to tobacco. Across nine different measures of youth access restrictions, results find key political, economic, and demographic factors influence the likelihood that such measures are adopted. http://phys.org/news158405455.html Other Sciences Wed, 08 Apr 2009 10:31:27 EST news158405455 (AP) -- Smoking takes years off your life and adds dollars to the cost of health care. Yet nonsmokers cost society money, too - by living longer. http://phys.org/news158395954.html Medicine & Health Wed, 08 Apr 2009 07:53:08 EST news158395954 (AP) -- The federal government would for the first time have regulatory powers over the tobacco industry under a bill the House approved Thursday after years of campaigning by anti-smoking forces. http://phys.org/news157887776.html Medicine & Health Thu, 02 Apr 2009 15:44:51 EST news157887776