Tweet Electronic cigarettes are becoming increasingly popular among people who want to quit smoking, but an opinion piece released Monday in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine highlights the potential hazards of e-cigarettes, suggesting they may not be as benign as they may seem. E-cigarettes are battery-powered devices that allow users to inhale a vapor that contains nicotine and supposedly fewer toxins than real cigarettes. In studies, hea ... Jump to full article >>

Tweet In April, the Federal Government sprung a surprise 25 per cent tax rise, which has been credited with 30 per cent more people trying to quit smoking. Two months after the tax increase, a Galaxy survey of 1258 smokers found 38 per cent had tried to give up, compared with 29 per cent in the three months before the price rise. A further 29 per cent had cut down and 9 per cent had stopped. Flinders University smoking cessation expert Associate ... Jump to full article >>

Tweet Not only does smoking not make people thinner, it is linked to weight gain, researchers in Spain said. Lead author Francisco Javier Basterra-Gortari of the University of Navarra said nicotine poisoning was linked to weight gain. The study, published in Revista Espanola de Cardiologia, found after tracking smokers, non-smokers and those who quit, those who had never smoked put on the least amount of weight over a 4-year period. The researche ... Jump to full article >>

Tweet Facebook and iPhone applications can help you stub out your smoking habit Are you one of the more than 2 million smokers ready to quit on No Smoking Day? Then today is your day! Don’t worry, you won’t be alone as there is an app for it – well, several. And this is how you can call it a day: First of all, you install the WeQuit Facebook app to let everybody know what your are up to. It’s best to grab one of your chain-sm ... Jump to full article >>

Tweet The results of President Obama’s latest trip to the doctor revealed last week that he has been unable to completely kick his smoking habit. But if he relies on the advice of his doctors, as well as his own Food and Drug Administration (FDA), he’s likely to remain frustrated and vulnerable to illness. The FDA’s current recommendations for helping smokers quit are woefully ineffective. Cigarettes are uniquely addictive, and ... Jump to full article >>

Tweet The news that Labour is to champion Lambeth as its new vision of how local government can work, as an alternative to the Conservatives’ “easyCouncil”, illustrates the increasing national interest in localism. We need new ideas about how public services at all levels can better serve the public, and especially how we can save money while improving standards. The trend now is towards engaging the public as a source of soluti ... Jump to full article >>

Tweet Individual counseling can be a big help for smokers who are trying to quit. Just under 11% of smokers are able to quit without some type of therapy, according to the latest U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) guidelines. But one-on-one counseling increases the average success rate to nearly 17%. “Sure, medication is effective at curbing withdrawal symptoms,” says Bruce Christiansen, PhD, lead researcher at the University of Wisco ... Jump to full article >>

Tweet It looks like fat camp worked! Kerry Katona debuted her new slim figure yesterday, in a black tracksuit, green T-shirt and grey baseball cap. However, despite clearly being on the way to losing the three stone she was aiming to shed, there is one habit Kerry hasn’t managed to kick – smoking. The 29-year-old happily puffed away on a cigarette as she arrived home in Wilmslow, Cheshire, to see her four children and husband Mark Cro ... Jump to full article >>

Tweet Introduction It’s not easy to quit smoking. The nicotine in cigarettes is addicting. Your body craves it because it makes you feel good. So when you try to stop smoking, you go through nicotine withdrawal. You feel awful, and you may worry about gaining weight. You get cranky and anxious. It can be hard to sleep. You’re not the only one. Most people feel bad when they try to quit. The hardest part is not reaching for a smoke to ... Jump to full article >>

Tweet If you’re reading this, you may be thinking about quitting smoking or making a plan to quit. Or maybe you have already tried to quit a few times. You may also already know that smoking is bad for your health and that quitting will reduce your risk of getting a disease related to smoking, such as heart or lung disease. Here are the facts about smoking and your health. Tobacco use, especially smoking, is the number one preventable cause ... Jump to full article >>