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Lung Cancer Becomes an Epidemic in Greece  

In spite of stricter laws banning smoking in public places, including cafes, bars and nightclubs, that have been enforced since 2010, deaths due to lung cancer in Greece show no sign of abating, and actually rose in 2011, scientists reported.

The figures showed that there were still 7,000 deaths related to lung cancer every year in Greece, with scientists noting that the disease has become a public health problem of epidemic proportions.

The number of incidents treated by cancer clinics in public hospitals has increased over the last year - an increase attributed to both a rise in the number of incidents and the economic crisis that sends people that would have otherwise sought private health care to the public health system.

Cases at the 'Sotiria' Hospital cancer clinic have increased by 24-30 percent as a result, while lung cancer remains the top cause of death among both men and women, surpassing breast cancer for the latter.

The figures were presented during a press conference to announce the 2nd International Conference on Lung Cancer "From the Laboratory to Clinical Practice" that will be held in Athens on February 3-4.

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• Varenicline as a smoking cessation aid in a Greek population: a subanalysis of an observational study 

Background

Greece has the highest proportion of smokers in the European Union with 42% of Greeks admitting that they smoke, based on a 2009 survey. This post-hoc analysis of a prospective, observational study evaluated the effectiveness and safety profile of the smoking cessation aid varenicline, as well as potential predictors of quit success in a Greek population. . . .

Conclusions

In this 'real-world' observational study, 70.4% of Greek smokers successfully quit smoking after 12 weeks of varenicline therapy, providing support that varenicline is an effective smoking cessation medication. Further studies with longer follow-up are warranted.

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• Greece seizes 20 million contraband cigarettes from Malaysia  

Greek authorities said Monday they have seized some 20 million contraband cigarettes from containers coming from Malaysia at the port of Piraeus.

The seizure took place on Friday thanks to information from British authorities, and a probe was underway to determine the recipient as the name on the transport documents was false, Greek authorities said in a statement. . . .

Greece is often the entry point for contraband cigarettes to Europe

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Acute pulmonary effects of using an e-cigarette: impact on respiratory flow resistance, impedance and exhaled nitric oxide 

Background: Debate exists as to the scientific evidence for their claims that e-cigarettes have no health related ramifications. Our aim was to assess whether using an e-cigarette for five minutes has an impact on pulmonary function tests and exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) among healthy adult smokers.

Methods: 30 healthy non smokers (ages 19-56, 14 male) participated in this laboratory based experimental vs. control group study. Ab lib use of an e-cigarette for 5 minutes with the cartridge included (experimental group n=30) or removed from the device (control group n=10) was assessed.

Results: Using an e-cigarette for 5 minutes was found to lead to an immediate decrease in exhaled FeNO within the experimental group by 2.14ppb, (p=0.005) while not in the control group (p=0.859). Total impedance (Z5Hz) in the experimental group was found to also increase by 0.033kPa/(L/s) (p<0.001) while flow resistance at R5Hz, R10Hz and R20Hz also statistically increased.). Regression analyses controlling for baseline measurements indicated statistically significant decrease in FeNO and an increase in impedance by 0.04kPa/(L/s), (p=0.003), resistance at R5Hz by 0.04kPa/(L/s), (p=0.003),at R10Hz by 0.034kPa/(L/s), (p=0.008), at R20Hz by 0.043kPa/(L/s), (p=0.007), and overall peripheral airway resistance (beta: 0.042 kPa/(L/s), (p=0.024), after using an e-cigarette.

Conclusions: E-cigarettes assessed in the context of this study were found to have immediate adverse physiologic effects after short term use that are similar to some of the effects seen with tobacco smoking, however the long term health effects of e-cigarette use are unknown but potentially adverse and worthy of further investigation.

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• Study finds e-cigarettes affect airways, and quickly  

The electronic cigarettes marketed as a safer alternative to the real thing produce immediate changes in users' airways, a small study suggests.

Researchers in Greece saw changes in the lung function of healthy smokers who puffed on an e-cigarette for just five minutes -- although it's not clear what the long-term result of those responses might be in regular e-cigarette users, the team reports in the journal Chest.

"E-cigarettes" are battery-powered devices that allow users to inhale a vaporized liquid nicotine solution instead of tobacco smoke. They were designed as a way for smokers to get their nicotine fix without exposing themselves, or other people, to the toxins in tobacco smoke.

But some scientists, including officials at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), warn that too many questions remain about the safety of these products.

"This is the first evidence that just one (e-cigarette) use can have acute physiologic effects," said lead researcher Constantine I. Vardavas, of the Center for Global Tobacco Control at the Harvard School of Public Health.

For the new study, Vardavas and colleagues in Athens had 30 healthy smokers puff on an e-cigarette to see how it affected their airways.

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New e-cigarettes affect users' airways 

E-cigarettes, or electronic cigarettes, are promoted as a safer alternative to smoking. However, a new study published in the journal Chest, shows that these e-cigarettes cause immediate changes in the airways and may not be a as safe as they are promoted to be. . . .

This small new study was conducted by researchers in Greece and led by Constantine I. Vardavas from the Center for Global Tobacco Control at the Harvard School of Public Health.

The study had 30 participants, all healthy smokers. Some of the smokers were asked to puff on the e-cigarettes for five minutes while others were given the same e-cigarettes but with the nicotine cartridge removed. The researchers discovered that after only five minutes of exposure, the users smoking the cartridge-filled e-cigarettes showed signs of airway constriction and inflammation.

If this airway change is possible after only five minutes of use, the question then becomes what are the possible long-term complications? While this is not known yet, it definitely shows the need for more long-term studies on the product and its risk of leading to conditions such as various lung diseases like emphysema.

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Design and study protocol of the Maternal Smoking Cessation during Pregnancy study, (M-SCOPE). 

The Maternal Smoking Cessation during Pregnancy Study (M-SCOPE), is a Randomized Control Trial (RCT) that aims to test whether offering Greek pregnant smokers a high intensity intervention increases smoking cessation during the third trimester of pregnancy, when compared to a low intensity intervention. Prospective participants will be pregnant smokers of more than 5 cigarettes per week, recruited up to the second trimester of pregnancy. Urine samples for biomarker analysis of cotinine will be collected at three time points: at baseline, at around the 32nd week of gestation and at six months post partum. The control group/low intensity intervention will include: brief advice for 5 minutes and a short leaflet, while the experimental group/intensive intervention will include: 30 minutes of individualized cognitive-behavioural intervention provided by a trained health professional and a self-help manual especially tailored for smoking cessation during pregnancy, while counselling will be based on the ''5 As.'' After childbirth, the infants' birth weight, gestational age and any other health related complications during pregnancy will be recorded. A six months post-partum a follow up will be performed in order to re-assess the quitters smoking status.

Discussion

If offering pregnant smokers a high intensity intervention for smoking cessation increases the rate of smoking cessation in comparison to a usual care low intensity intervention in Greek pregnant smokers, such a scheme if beneficial could be implemented successfully within clinical practice in Greece.

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• E-smokes next in line for ban 

As electronic cigarettes are embraced by smokers trying to kick the habit or to abide by a ban on smoking in public places, the Health Ministry is reportedly planning to forbid the trade and use of the electrical device, noting that it contains nicotine and remains a health risk.

The ministry’s general secretary, Antonis Dimopoulos, said on Thursday that the e-cigarette continues to be sold in pharmacies even though it lacks the approval of the National Organization for Medicines (EOF).

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• Experts suggest cigarette price increase in Greece's new anti-tobacco campaign 

Experts on Thursday suggested cigarette price increase in Greece's new national anti-tobacco campaign to save thousands of lives and enormous costs for public coffers.

A price increase of two euros (2.67 U.S. dollars) for a package of cigarettes could reduce the number of smokers by 460,000 in the country, Professor Panagiotis Behrakis, director of the Greek Health Ministry's National Steering Committee for Tobacco Control, said at a forum organized by the Greek Cancer Society and the Harvard University Public Health School.

Furthermore, the measure could keep 150,000 minors away from the bad habit and boost state revenue by 1 billion euros (1.33 billion dollars) per year, Behrakis said when talking about the epidemic affecting 50,000 Greek children every year.

The key in the campaign is the education of children, experts noted.

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Design and study protocol of the Maternal Smoking Cessation during Pregnancy study, (M-SCOPE). 

Maternal smoking is the most significant cause of preventable complications during pregnancy, with smoking cessation during pregnancy shown to increase birth weight and reduce preterm birth among pregnant women who quit smoking. Taking into account the fact that the number of women who smoke in Greece has increased steadily throughout the previous decade and that the prevalence of smoking among Greek females is one of the highest in the world, smoking cessation should be a top priority among Greek health care professionals.

Methods: The Maternal Smoking Cessation during Pregnancy Study (M-SCOPE), is a Randomized Control Trial (RCT) that aims to test whether offering Greek pregnant smokers a high intensity intervention increases smoking cessation during the third trimester of pregnancy, when compared to a low intensity intervention.

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Bommidala selected for buying stake in Greek tobacco co - 

Tobacco products maker Bommidala Enterprises has been selected by Agricultural Bank of Greece (ATE) as preferred candidate for further negotiations to acquire 50.4 per cent stake in Sekap SA.

In the context of the public tender procedure for the sale of ATE bank''s participation in SEKAP S.A. and after the evaluation of the submitted binding offers, ATEbank announced that Bommidala Enterprises has qualified as the "First Preferred Candidate", the Greek lender said in a regulatory filing to Athens'' stock exchange.

Sekap, S.A. is a Greek cooperative cigarette manufacturing company.

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DARDAMIS: Athens-based Australian journalist Amanda Dardanis watches the death of her idyllic Greek lifestyle  

Over the next three hours, we trekked the length of the airport several times. I was eight months pregnant and intensely irritated that every last one of those customs officials smoked outlawed cigarettes at their desk. When finally we reached the cashier - long after all will to live had gone - there was one person to collect and file our receipt, and another to take our money. . . .

And it's true that there appears little in the way of a collective community conscience. You can see it in the near-total whitewash of the EU smoking ban, and in the jockeying that goes on everywhere from the local supermarket to the bank counter where you will be giving private details to a teller, only to have someone elbow you out of the way to ask a few pressing questions.

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• Teens picking up bad habits 

The number of adolescents smoking, drinking alcohol and experimenting with drugs increased steadily between 2006 and 2010, according to a new study by the Athens-based University Research Institute for Mental Health.

The study found that two in five Greeks aged under 15 claim to have smoked cigarettes at least once, with one in three admitting to drinking alcohol at least once a week and 7.2 percent saying they have tried cannabis. The survey, conducted on 4,944 adolescents at the end of last year, showed that 42 percent had smoked at least once in their lives, with one in 10 admitting to smoking an average of six cigarettes daily.

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• Greeks Quit Smoking Due to Financial Crisis 

The fear over their health and the financial crisis are two main parameters forcing Greeks to quit smoking. More and more smokers have been asking for professional help in order to give up this money-consuming and dangerous habit.

The basic motivation for any Greek to quit smoking is the extreme costs the habit includes, especially after recent taxation skyrocketing tobacco and cigarettes.

“If one considers the monthly expenses on smoking, which varies from 150 to 300 Euros (3600 Euros per year) and the expensive therapeutic procedures that do not always save the lives of longtime smokers, then it is quite obvious how helping and refreshing quitting smoking can be” said Professor Konstantinos Gourgoulianis, President of the Hellenic Thoracic Society during the press conference on the occasion of the 29th Classic Athenian Marathon on the 13th of November.

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Stricter checks on smoking ban’s enforcement 

The Health Ministry sent a circular on Monday to state health inspectors asking for an intensification of checks on school and hospitals as well as restaurants, bars and nightclubs.

A blanket ban on smoking in public places was introduced in September 2010, in a bid to align Greek law with European Union legislation, but enforcement of the restrictions has been lax.

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