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Pennsylvania Department of Health Offers Resources to Help Smokers Quit During 

The Department of Health is offering support to help Pennsylvania smokers give up tobacco for good during the 34th annual Great American Smokeout on Nov. 19.

"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just reported cigarette smoking among adults increased for the first time in 15 years. Approximately 46 million adults still smoke and about two million are Pennsylvanians," said Health Secretary Everette James. "While quitting can be difficult, we are asking smokers to use the Smokeout on Nov. 19 as an opportunity to take the first step toward a healthier lifestyle."

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Smoker ready to extinguish habit  

Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series of stories about Melanie Birge’s battle with nicotine addiction. . . .

Teary-eyed Melanie Birge, 42, of Lawrence, knows her nicotine addiction has affected her family, and that’s one of the reasons she plans to participate in the American Cancer’s Society Great American Smokeout on Thursday.

“I have three kids still at home. They are concerned about me dying early because they hear it from the schools, ‘Don’t do drugs, don’t smoke.’ They are always upset when I do go out and smoke,” she said.

Birge began smoking when she was Katie’s age and was a habitual smoker by 13, giving in to peer pressure from her older cousins and siblings who smoked.

“It was just cool in the ’70s to smoke, and I wanted to fit in. Everyone I knew, including my parents, smoked,” she said.

Today, she is disgusted by it.

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• With aid, Mass. poor cut smoking  

Lower income Massachusetts smokers have dramatically abandoned their habit amid a major state campaign that vigorously promotes and pays for tobacco addiction treatment, according to a report scheduled to be released this morning.

Smoking rates among the poor plummeted 26 percent in the first two years of the ongoing state program, a striking result that is already drawing national attention to the effort. Officials targeted a population that historically had the highest smoking rates in Massachusetts.

The study, issued by the Department of Public Health, found early indications that the tobacco cessation efforts - aimed at patients enrolled in the state’s medical insurance for the poor, MassHealth - are reaping immediate health benefits.

Once patients began receiving counseling and medications to help snuff out their habits, they made fewer trips to emergency rooms because of wheezing bouts of asthma, and there was a trend toward fewer life-threatening heart attacks.

The stop-smoking initiative, which covers virtually all the costs of cessation counseling and drugs, was ordered by the Legislature as part of the landmark health care overhaul in 2006 with a dual purpose: saving lives and money. National health leaders plan to point to the Massachusetts experiment to bolster efforts to expand tobacco cessation services as part of federal health care legislation.

“These findings are extraordinary - they have major public health implications as Congress is debating health care reform,’’ said Matthew Myers . . .

The expectation, based on the experience of other states and health plans, was that 5 to 10 percent of MassHealth patients who smoked might seek help in the first couple of years, Keithly said.

Instead, from July 2006 to May of this year, about 75,000 patients had used the services - two of every five MassHealth smokers.

“We wondered if this population would be interested in cessation,’’ said Dr. Nancy Rigotti, director of the Tobacco Research and Treatment Center at Massachusetts General Hospital. “It turns out they were interested - they just couldn’t afford it.’’

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Great American Smokeout says keep trying to stop smoking 

On Thursday, please join the brave people across the state in a death-defying act -- quit smoking, even for just one day. Nov. 19 is the Great American Smoke-Out.

Tobacco use continues to be the leading cause of preventable death. It kills in so many ways -- preventable deaths due to diseases like lung cancer, heart disease, asthma and chronic lung disease, pancreatic cancer and accidental deaths from fires. The list goes on and on.

I am a registered nurse, and I have seen the pain and suffering firsthand during my entire professional life.

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LETTER: 'Lets quit together'  

Here's what needs to be done here in the United States: President Obama made a statement that on Nov. 19 -- The Great American Smoke-out date -- he is going to quit smoking, and he said, "America, please join me in quitting one of the most disgusting addictions the world has ever known. Let's all quit together and spend our money and time helping ourselves to become better citizens of the world. With addiction, we lose our ability to freely make choices. I long for my former freedom and I'm sure you do too. Nov. 19th is the date. Let's regain our original freedom from tobacco. Please join me in quitting smoking. Sincerely, President Obama."

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Search of: "secondhand smoke" | Open Studies  

• Dose-dependent Effects of Second-hand Smoke on Vascular Function  

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to determine the vascular effects of brief second-hand smoke exposure on normal healthy individuals. . . .

Despite evidence to suggest that secondhand smoke contributes to adverse cardiovascular outcomes, little is known about the dose-dependent vascular effects of brief secondhand smoke exposure at low doses commonly encountered in the community. This study will investigate the acute vascular effects and dose-dependent biological mechanisms of secondhand smoke on endothelial function and oxidative stress.

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Smokers 'could soon get jab to halt their addiction'  

Smokers could soon break their habit with a jab that stops nicotine from being addictive by preventing it from entering the brain, scientists claimed.

As a result the vaccine stops the smoker from deriving any pleasure from inhaling a cigarette. In human trials the vaccine proved successful in 50 per cent of cases.

Help: Smokers could quit using the vaccine that stops nicotine entering the brain

This would help relieve the NHS of the heavy burden of tobacco-related diseases. . . .

The product, called NicVAX is likely to open a new front in the tobacco wars.

They are many products currently on the market to help people quit smoking such as nicotine patches, and gum.

But many of the existing smoking cessation products are failing to prevent many people from returning to their tobacco habits.

NicVAX is the first product that prevents smokers from returning to their habit with others just stopping their immediate tobacco use.

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Vaccine for smokers draws closer as GSK agrees US biotech deal 

Smokers may soon be able to break their habit with an injectable vaccine that prevents nicotine in tobacco entering the brain, where it creates a highly addictive sensation of pleasure.

The NicVAX vaccine moved closer to the market yesterday after a deal between GlaxoSmithKline and the US biotech company Nabi Pharmaceuticals, which developed the product.

GSK will pay $40m (£24m) up front and as much as $500m in the future to Nabiat a time of growing concern over the heavy burden of tobacco-related diseases as one of the leading preventable causes of death worldwide.

The product potentially opens a new front in the tobacco wars, with most existing so-called smoking cessation products and methods failing to prevent many people from returning to their tobacco habits.

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Smoking cessation program offers childhood cancer survivors help to quit the habit 

As health advocates gear up for this year's Great American Smokeout, childhood cancer survivors who need help with smoking cessation can receive free counseling and nicotine replacement therapy from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

As smokers nationwide struggle to quit the habit, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is offering assistance to those childhood cancer survivors who need help with smoking cessation.

Despite the known health risks of tobacco use, about 18 percent of adults who survived childhood cancer are smokers--an average almost equal to that of the general population. Childhood cancer survivors are more likely to develop second cancers and other conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Smoking adds to their health risks.

"The increase in survival rates for childhood cancer has been one of the most significant successes in cancer during the past three decades," said Robert Klesges, Ph.D., of the St. Jude Epidemiology and Cancer Control department. "However, few researchers have addressed the issue of smoking in cancer survivors. Because the population of childhood cancer survivors is growing each year, St. Jude sought an effective way to help these individuals."

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American Cancer Society Marks 34th Great American Smokeout  

As the official sponsor of birthdays, the American Cancer Society marks the 34th Great American Smokeout on November 19 by encouraging smokers to use the date to make a plan to quit, or to plan in advance and quit smoking that day. By doing so, smokers will be taking an important step towards a healthier life one that can lead to reducing cancer risk and creating more birthdays.

Researchers say that quitting smoking can increase life expectancy smokers who quit at age 35 gain an average of eight years of life expectancy; those who quit at age 55 gain about five years; and even long term smokers who quit at 65 gain three years . Smokers who want to quit can call the Hawaii Tobacco Quitline at 1-800-784-8669 for tobacco cessation and coaching services that can help increase their chances of quitting for good. . . .

OAHU

American Cancer Society GASO Events

Information and displays will be available for tobacco users who want to learn more information about quitting. Sites are available around the island including the following locations:

- Hawaii Medical Center East: Tuesday, November 17, 10 a.m. 2 p.m. . . .

Smoking prevalence by County

- Kauai, 13.1 percent

- Honolulu, 14.8 percent

- Maui, 16.5 percent

- Hawaii, 18.9 percent

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• P.M. UPDATE: Cherokee Nation sponsoring tobacco cessation events  

TAHLEQUAH -- In an effort to keep area residents healthy, Thursday, has been designated as Great American Smoke-out Day in the Cherokee Nation. In honor of the event, the tribe is offering classes and incentives to help smokers and tobacco users stop for at least one day.

Cherokee Nation Healthy Nation will be celebrating the day by offering free cessation kits and prizes to all who commit to stop smoking and using tobacco for at least one day. Resources

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• 'Light' cigarette case going back to court 

The application for certification was filed by Ches Crosbie on behalf of Victor Todd Sparkes - the class action's representative plaintiff - against Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd., Imperial Tobacco Company Ltd. and the Attorney General of Canada.

Sparkes' lawyers claimed the tobacco companies descriptions of "light" and "mild" as well as other descriptive terms were part of a deliberate misinformation campaign by the tobacco manufacturer to mislead and deceive the public into thinking the use of such products would have less harmful effects than smoking "regular" cigarettes.

But Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador Justice James Adams said in 2008 the plaintiff failed to establish a cause of action under the federal Trade Practices Act. Adams denied the certification on the basis consumer Victor Sparkes did not buy the cigarettes directly from Imperial Tobacco. But the matter is being heard again by the Court of Appeal Wednesday and Thursday.

Crosbie argues people can't buy cigarettes directly from the supplier.

Lewis originally joined the class action because it sounded like his life story.

"We were blindsided. We were misled and taken advantage of. ... At the end of the day, I wanted to quit. I thought the switch to light cigarettes was going to help me take that edge off from smoking regular cigarettes," Lewis said.

"So they had me. I couldn't win."

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Internet bridges gap for rural residents who need anti-smoking programs 

The Internet may soon join nicotine chewing gum, the patch and behavioral counseling as a remedy for tobacco addiction, says a University of Florida researcher who participated in a study of rural residents using their computers to kick the habit.

Remote residents were chosen as subjects because they live far from clinical services that have helped many of their urban counterparts to quit smoking, said Jesse Dallery, a UF psychologist and one of the study’s authors.

“People who live away from cities face special challenges in kicking the habit because they are served by fewer clinics offering smoking cessation programs and they usually lack public transportation,” he said. “Capitalizing on the reach of the Internet is one way to help these otherwise inaccessible smokers.”

People who tried the virtual program were able to refrain from smoking at more than twice the rate of another group who did not use it

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VIDEO: Smoking Vouchers 

FOR SOME, QUITTING SMOKING TAKES MORE THAN WILL POWER. NOW A UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA STUDY SHOWS THAT COLD HARD CASH CAN HELP. RESEARCHERS START BY SENDING SMOKERS A SMALL CARBON MONOXIDE MONITOR THEY MUST USE TWICE A DAY FOR SIX WEEKS.

Jesse Dallery/UF psychology researcher: “Basically what they’re doing is leaving a carbon monoxide sample and we can see them leaving it through a web camera, and based on whether they’re positive or negative, they have to meet a cut point for abstinence, they receive immediate feedback, immediate positive feedback, and some also receive a tangible monetary incentive for meeting their goals.”

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