Healthline Blogs
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Bogus Quit Smoking Programs
There are quite a few of these out there. One in particular advertises a quit smoking shot that's 80% effective. As the saying goes, if it's too good to be true it's probably not true. That definitely applies here.The shot has been advertised in s...
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Cigarette health warnings and bogus buy-ology
Apologies to regular readers for my recent blog down-time. I’ve had a lot on my plate recently and so had a break from blogging. But I’m now back with some catching up to do (including responding to many of your thoughtful comments). There has bee...
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Get rid of all your tobacco
When trying to help smokers to quit, one naturally has to respect each individual’s preferences and beliefs about the best way to do it. But there are a few pieces of advice on which we can be pretty clear. One of them relates to the importance of...
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New Report Shows Teen Smoking Still Falling Slowly
The University of Michigan runs an excellent study of youth substance use called “Monitoring The Future”. Since it began 35 years ago, the researchers have conducted large surveys of U.S. school kids in order to monitor their use of psychoactive s...
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Which nicotine replacement therapy?
Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) is the name given to FDA-approved medicines containing nicotine that are used to reduce nicotine withdrawal symptoms and cravings and to help smokers quit. Currently there are 5 main types: patch, gum, lozenge, n...
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Tobacco surely was designed to poison and destroy mankind
Tobacco surely was designed?To poison and destroy mankindPhilip Freneau (1752–1832)This is the most famous excerpt from a poem by Philip Freneau. I don’t think I’m allowed to copy the whole poem here, but he was clearly ahead of his time in identi...
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Can glucose tablets help you quit smoking?
Professor Robert West, at University College London, has an interesting theory which suggests that glucose tablets can help smokers to quit. It is well known that when smokers quit smoking they put on weight, and that nicotine appears to act like ...
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Do ex-smokers feel happier?
Do ex-smokers feel happier? Although the first month after stopping smoking is characterized by a period of feeling grumpy, anxious and miserable, there is evidence that in the longer run, ex-smokers report feeling less stressed than they did whi...
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New study of Chantix in comparison with NRT
Recently there has been some concern over side-effects experienced by a minority of people using Chantix (varenicline). Although Chantix had a remarkably good safety and efficacy record in the clinical trials conducted prior to its launch, those ...
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WHO adds NRT to “essential medicines’ list
The World Health Organization (WHO) has just added Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT, specifically nicotine gum and nicotine patches) to the 16th revision of its Core List of Essential Medicines. The core list presents a list of minimum medicine n...
