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Smoking - Highlights

Description

An in-depth report on the health risks of smoking and how to quit.

Highlights:

New Research

A new study published in July 2008 found a definite connection between smoking in the first trimester of pregnancy and an increased risk of having a baby with cleft lip (a split lip that has not closed during development).
A 2008 analysis of 106 past studies found that smoking clearly increases the risk of colorectal cancer. The connection was stronger for rectal cancer than for colon cancer.
Research published in February 2008 found that smokers were more at risk of developing aggressive colon polyps, which are considered precursors to colon cancer.

Medication Warning

Chantix is a pill designed to help people stop smoking. In February 2008 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) required that a new warning to be added to the Chantix prescribing information. The warning concerns serious mental health problems that may occur with this medication, including thoughts of suicide or actual suicide attempts.

Risk Factors

Neglected children, or children with absentee parents, are four times as likely to abuse drugs, drink, and smoke as children living with parents who were regularly present and who offered a structured lifestyle.
People who have not graduated from high school or received their General Education Development (GED) certificate tend to have higher smoking rates than those who attended college.
Men and women with mental disorders are 50% more likely to smoke than those without such illness.
The rate of smoking is highest in the Midwest and South and lowest in the Northeast and West.

Resources

www.cancer.org -- American Cancer Society
www.lungusa.org -- The American Lung Association

References

Alati R, Al Mamun A, O'Callaghan M, et al. In utero and postnatal maternal smoking and asthma in adolescence. Epidemiology. 2006;17(2):138-144.

Boffetta P, Hecht S, Gray N, et al. Smokeless tobacco and cancer. Lancet Oncol. 2008;9(7):667-675.

Botteri E, Iodice S, Raimondi S, et al. Cigarette smoking and adenomatous polyps: a meta-analysis. Gastroenterology. 2008;134(2):388-395.

Botteri E, Iodice S, Bagnardi V, et al. Smoking and colorectal cancer: a meta-analysis. JAMA. 2008;300(23):2765-2778.

Burke MV, Ebbert JO, Hays JT. Treatment of tobacco dependence. Mayo Clin Proc. 2008;83(4):479-483.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Cigarette Smoking Among Adults -- United States, 2007. MMWR. 2008;57(45):1221-1226.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Annual smoking-attributable mortality, years of potential life lost, and productivity losses -- United States, 1997-2001. MMWR. 2005;54:625-628.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). State Smoking Restrictions for Private-Sector Worksites, Restaurants, and Bars -- United States, 2004 and 2007. MMWR. 2008;57(20);549-552.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). National Health Interview Survey -- 2007: Early Release. 6/2008. Available online.

Eisenberg MJ, Filion KB, Yavin D, et al. Pharmacotherapies for smoking cessation: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. CMAJ. 2008;179(2):135-144. Erratum in: CMAJ. 2008;179(8):802.

Li YF, Langholz B, Salam MT, Gilliland FD. Maternal and grandmaternal smoking patterns are associated with early childhood asthma. Chest. 2005;127(4):1232-1241.

Mennella JA, Yourshaw LM, Morgan LK. Breastfeeding and smoking: short-term effects on infant feeding and sleep. Pediatrics. 2007;120(3):497-502.

Nides M, Oncken C, Gonzales D, et al. Smoking cessation with varenicline, a selective alpha4beta2 nicotinic receptor partial agonist: results from a 7-week, randomized, placebo- and bupropion-controlled trial with 1-year follow-up. Arch Intern Med. 2006;166(15):1561-1568.

Oncken C, Gonzales D, Nides M, Rennard S, Watsky E, Billing CB, Anziano R, Reeves K. Efficacy and safety of the novel selective nicotinic acetylcholine receptor partial agonist, varenicline, for smoking cessation. Arch Intern Med. 2006;166(15):1571-1577.

Ritz B, Ascherio A, Checkoway H, et al. Pooled analysis of tobacco use and risk of Parkinson disease. Arch Neurol. 2007;64(7):990-997.

Sargent JD, Stoolmiller M, Worth KA, et al. Exposure to smoking depictions in movies: its association with established adolescent smoking. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2007;161(9):849-56.

Wagena EJ, Knipschild P, Zeegers MP. Should nortriptyline be used as a first-line aid to help smokers quit? Results from a systematic review and meta-analysis. Addiction. 2005;100:317-326.

Reviewed last on: 2/3/2009
Reviewed by: Harvey Simon, MD, Editor-in-Chief, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

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