http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/category/mental.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080512143356.htm http://tobacco.org/news/265254.html Asthma is associated with higher suicidal thoughts with attempted suicide, but does not seem to be linked with suicidal thoughts without attempts, according to a new report. Cigarette smoking and concurrent mental health conditions may independently account for significant proportions (but not all) of the association between asthma and suicidal thoughts with attempts noted Diana E. Clarke, MSc, PhD, The Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, Baltimore, and colleagues. There is growing evidence of relationships between respiratory diseases and suicidal behaviors, but investigators say this is the first study to examine the association between asthma and suicidal thinking with and without attempts using a nationally representative sample of adults. They also note it is the first study to investigate the potential role of cigarette use and nicotine dependence in the association of asthma and suicidal behavior. . . . Journal reference: * Clarke DE, Goodwin RD, Messias E, Eaton WW. Asthma and suicidal ideation with and without suicide attempts among adults in the United States: What is the role of cigarette smoking and mental disorders? Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 2008;100:439-446. ScienceDaily Magazine editor@sciencedaily.com Tue, 13 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-05/ra-qsm051108.php http://tobacco.org/news/265174.html People with mental illness are not receiving the support they need to stop smoking, despite high rates of nicotine dependence and deaths from cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses. According to Professor Steve Kisely, from Griffith University's School of Medicine, health services are failing to provide appropriate smoking cessation strategies to people with problems including depression, schizophrenia or post-traumatic stress disorder. He said smoking rates in people with mental illness were twice the rates in the general population. EurekAlert Australia Sun, 11 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/08/AR2008050803004.html http://tobacco.org/news/265025.html Teenagers who smoke marijuana put themselves at risk for future mental illness and higher rates of depression, according to a report to be released today by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. Although fewer teens overall are smoking marijuana, the report said, there is growing concern that those who do, particularly those who view the drug as a way to cope with depression, do not understand its consequences. It also is not clear whether their parents, who might have indulged when they were younger, understand the risks, experts say. The report, whose release coincides with the start of Mental Health Awareness Month, said studies show links between marijuana use and risk of mental illness later in life, and that use could increase the risk by as much as 40 percent. The Washington Post Fri, 09 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601124&sid=aWpo.ILOIWi8&refer=home http://tobacco.org/news/264887.html People who slept less than six hours a night were more likely than well-rested people to smoke, drink heavily and avoid exercise, a U.S. government study found. About 31 percent of adults who got that little sleep smoked cigarettes, compared with 18 percent who slept seven to eight hours, according to the survey by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency couldn't tell whether the unhealthy habits caused a sleep deficit or was the result. About 50 million to 70 million people in the U.S. suffer from chronic sleep loss and sleep disorders, which studies by the CDC have associated with obesity and depression. Bloomberg News trandall6@bloomberg.net (Tom Randall) Wed, 07 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/hestats/sleep04-06/sleep04-06.htm http://tobacco.org/news/264872.html Conclusions The findings in this report, based on a survey of a representative sample of U.S. adults, offer a national perspective on the association between sleep practices and other health-related behaviors in the U.S. adult population. The findings presented here suggest that U.S. adults who usually slept less than 6 hours were more likely than adults who slept 7 to 8 hours to engage in certain health risk behaviors (i.e., cigarette smoking, having five or more drinks in a day, engaging in no leisure-time physical activity, and being obese). In many cases, adults who usually slept 9 hours or more were also at increased risk of engaging in these unhealthy behaviors. The associations between sleep and other behaviors are complex, and the directions of causality cannot be determined with the cross-sectional data used in this analysis. Additional analyses are needed to identify the causal directions of these relationships, as well as to identify factors, such as poverty or educational attainment, that may influence sleep and its associated factors. Despite these limitations, the findings presented here provide important information about the potential relevance of discussing health risk behaviors such as smoking, alcohol use, physical inactivity, and obesity with patients who seek medical advice for sleep concerns. National Center for Health Statistics nchsquery@cdc.gov ( Charlotte A. Schoenborn, M.P.H., and Patricia F. Adams, Division of Health Interview Statistics) Wed, 07 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/health/bal-obesity0507,0,6803087.story?track=rss http://tobacco.org/news/264871.html People who sleep fewer than six hours a night -- or more than nine -- are more likely to be obese, according to a new government study that is one of the largest to show a link between irregular sleep and big bellies. The study also linked light sleepers to higher smoking rates, less physical activity and more alcohol use. . . . Such surveys can't prove cause-effect relationships, so -- for example -- it's not clear if smoking causes sleeplessness or if sleeplessness prompts smoking, said Charlotte Schoenborn, the study's lead author. It also did not account for the influence of other factors, such as depression, which can contribute to heavy eating, smoking, sleeplessness and other problems. Smoking was highest for people who got under six hours of sleep, with 31 percent saying they were current smokers. Those who got nine or more hours also were big puffers, with 26 percent smoking. The overall U.S. smoking rate is about 21 percent. For those in the study who sleep seven to eight hours, the rate was lower, at 18 percent. AP Wed, 07 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/frontpage/2008/0505/1209924240372.html?via=me http://tobacco.org/news/264848.html THE GOVERNMENT intends to phase out smoking in psychiatric hospitals under new "best practice" guidelines for the sector supported by the Minister of State for mental health. JOHN DOWNES reports While these institutions are currently exempt from a ban on smoking in the workplace, it is understood that consideration will be given to removing this exemption should this prove necessary. The revelation of the plan to phase out smoking in psychiatric hospitals comes as recent industrial action by over 8,000 psychiatric nurses seems set to escalate in the coming days. Irish Times jdownes@irish-times.ie Ireland Mon, 05 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/a-smoking-gun-in-the-drugs-debate/2008/05/07/1210131061922.html http://tobacco.org/news/264840.html Dr Alex Wodak's plan to have the Government sell cannabis in little packets at the post office wasn't just a throwaway line to a bunch of senile hippies at the Mardi-Grass festival in Nimbin last weekend. . . . But just because there are Australians who smoke cannabis is not a sound reason to legalise the drug, particularly at a time of mounting scientific evidence of its long-term devastating health effects, in particular its link to schizophrenia. It is exactly the wrong time to legalise cannabis, just as its popularity among young people is diminishing, as shown by the latest Australian Secondary School Students' Use of Alcohol and Drug Survey. . . . It is irresponsible for a doctor in his position to play down serious research showing the link between marijuana and schizophrenia, and not just for those who are already psychotic. What he is doing is no different from the tobacco industry denying the links between smoking and lung cancer. Medical opinion is moving against him, with the journal The Lancet, on July 28 last year, recanting its 1995 editorial which claimed smoking cannabis was not harmful to health, and citing studies which showed "an increase in risk of psychosis of about 40 per cent in participants who had ever used cannabis". Sydney Morning Herald devinemiranda@hotmail.com (Miranda Devine) Australia Thu, 08 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/pressparliament/pressreleases2008/pr3.aspx http://tobacco.org/news/264724.html A survey at Mersey Care NHS Trust (a mental health trust) was published in the May 2008 issue of the Psychiatric Bulletin. It set out to explore the attitudes of in-patients across the General Adult and Old Age Directorates of the Trust towards hospital and government smoking policies, and towards the perceived effects of smoking on health and well-being. . . . This study reinforces previous findings that smoking is more prevalent among psychiatric patients than in the general population. As the majority of in-patients, both smokers and non-smokers, felt that there should be smoking areas within psychiatric units, can any appropriate compromise be reached in view of the current legislation, ask the researchers? It would be interesting to know, they say, whether these results are mirrored elsewhere in the country, and whether patients' views are changing following implementation of tighter smoking policies within NHS trusts. It would also be worth evaluating the level of compliance with such policies. Royal College of Psychiatrists dhart@rcpsych.ac.uk UK Thu, 01 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.huffingtonpost.com/doug-bremner/is-your-birth-control-pil_b_99675.html http://tobacco.org/news/264636.html A collective howl is going up amongst women over at medications.com over the birth control pill, Yasmin. These women are complaining of depression, anxiety, loss of sex drive, headaches, and dizziness, and most of them didn't feel like they were adequately informed about these potential side effects. In fact, Yasmin is the most bitched about drug on medications.com, with over 4,000 women logging in to report problems with it. It looks like Yasmin needs to join the blogroll of medications that if they don't kill you they will drive you crazy. . . . How can this be? Birth control pills (or oral contraceptive pills, or OCPs) are combinations of sex hormones related to estrogen and progesterone. . . . For smokers there is an increased risk with OCPs that gets worse with age. For instance, the risk of death is 1 in 200,000 per year in non-smoking women under the age of 35. However risk increases with age and smoking to 1 in 700 per year for smokers over age 35. The risk of cancer with OCPs overall isn't great. Some cancers, like cervical cancer, increase after ten years of use, the overall risk from breast cancer is not increased. OCPs reduce the risks of ovarian and uterine (endometrial) cancers. OCPs reduce the risk of anemia, pelvic inflammatory disease, and osteoporosis. Huffington Post Fri, 02 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.ajhb.org/2008/3/03MayJun0708Stickney.pdf http://tobacco.org/news/264515.html Objective: To examine the relationship of physical self-perceptions, body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), and smoking status among college-age women. . . . Results: BDD items, including fear of weight gain, social avoidance and comparison, along with perceptions of physical health and medical use, predicted smoking behavior. Conclusions: Negative perceptions of physical health and 3 diagnostic components associated with BDD may moderate smoking cessation attempts and maintain smoking behavior among collegeage women. American Journal of Health Behavior Fri, 02 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.politics.co.uk/opinion-formers/press-releases/opinion-former-index/health/rcp-should-non-smoking-policy-psychiatric-in-patients-be-more-lenient--$1221009$366233.htm http://tobacco.org/news/264509.html Attitudes towards non-smoking policies among in-patients in psychiatric units differ considerably from those of the general population, raising the question whether some compromise should be introduced when mental health trusts are required to adopt the policy later this year. Whilst 89.6% of the public believe that smoking should be banned in public places, only 54.1% of psychiatric in-patients agree with the idea. 71.1% of in-patients support a general non-smoking policy in hospital with designated smoking areas. On 1st July 2007 all enclosed or substantially enclosed public places and work places became smoke free, as required by The Health Act 2006. A temporary exemption for mental health units ends on 1st July 2008. Until then, they may have a designated smoking room meeting specified requirements. . . . This study reinforces previous findings that smoking is more prevalent among psychiatric patients than in the general population. As the majority of in-patients, both smokers and non-smokers, felt that there should be smoking areas within psychiatric units, can any appropriate compromise be reached in view of the current legislation, ask the researchers? It would be interesting to know, they say, whether these results are mirrored elsewhere in the country, and whether patients' views are changing following implementation of tighter smoking policies within NHS trusts. It would also be worth evaluating the level of compliance with such policies. Politics.co.uk jsmith30@nhs.net UK Thu, 01 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-04/ef-sha042408.php http://tobacco.org/news/264491.html The risk of suffering depression increases 41% in smokers, in comparison with non-smokers. This was the conclusion of a study undertaken with 8,556 participants by scientists of the University of Navarra, in collaboration with the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and the Harvard School of Public Health (USA), and which demonstrates in a pioneering way the direct relationship between tobacco use and this disease. The article, whose first author is Prof. Almudena Sánchez-Villegas, is based on research undertaken over the course of 6 years on university graduates with an average age of 42. EurekAlert garazi@elhuyar.com Thu, 24 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080424103225.htm http://tobacco.org/news/264050.html The risk of suffering depression increases 41% in smokers, in comparison with non-smokers. This was the conclusion of a study undertaken with 8,556 participants by scientists of the University of Navarra, in collaboration with the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and the Harvard School of Public Health (USA), and which demonstrates in a pioneering way the direct relationship between tobacco use and this disease. The article, whose first author is Prof. Almudena Sánchez-Villegas, is based on research undertaken over the course of 6 years on university graduates with an average age of 42. ScienceDaily Magazine editor@sciencedaily.com Spain Fri, 25 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Super-Pills.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=tobacco&st=nyt&oref=slogin http://tobacco.org/news/263962.html Two years ago, scientists had high hopes for new pills that would help people quit smoking, lose weight and maybe kick other tough addictions like alcohol and cocaine. . . . The makers of the new drugs insist they are safe, although perhaps not for everyone, such as people with a history of depression. Having to restrict the drugs' use would be a big setback because it would deprive the very people who need help the most, since addictions and depression often go hand-in-hand, doctors say. A bigger fear is that the whole approach may be in trouble. Researchers say blocking pleasure, especially the way the obesity drugs do, might take the fun out of many things, not just the harmful substances and behaviors these drugs target. It may be possible to improve the drugs so they act more precisely. Chantix targets a different pathway -- nicotine pleasure switches -- and in a different way than the obesity drugs, which aim at the same pathway that gives pot smokers the munchies. That is one reason many doctors are optimistic that any risks about Chantix will prove manageable. But doctors are no longer talking about so-called ''super pills'' for a host of addictions. AP Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT