ASH Daily News for 28/09/2006
HEADLINES
ASH, 102 Clifton Street, LONDON, EC2A 4HW.
Tel 020 7739 5902 Fax 020 7613 0531
ASH Daily News
28 September 2006
[View html version: http://www.globalink.org/nbuk]
HEADLINES
Study shows prenatal smoking can damage baby's immune system
Smoking may increase HIV contraction risk, study shows
Big tobacco won't be stubbed out
Study of brain function under nicotine withdrawal
FULL TEXT
Study shows prenatal smoking can damage baby's immune system
Smoking during pregnancy can affect the baby's immune system which may explain why asthma and respiratory problems are more common in children whose mothers smoke, Australian scientists report in a study published today.
Babies of smokers are more likely to suffer from respiratory infections than children of non-smokers but until now it has not been clear why.
The scientists said it may be due to changes to biological receptors in the baby's immune system that are responsible for recognising and fighting infections and bacteria.
"This is the first prospective study to examine the effect of smoking during pregnancy in terms of these aspects of newborn innate immune function," said Paul Noakes of the University of Western Australia in Perth.
The researchers, who reported the findings in the European Respiratory Journal, compared 60 newborn babies whose mothers had smoked during pregnancy and 62 other infants born to non-smokers or women who had quit.
They measured the expression of several signaling compounds in the immune system linked to specific cell receptors known as TLRs in the infants.
In the babies of mothers who smoked, they discovered impaired production of two compounds, interleukin-6 and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-a).
"We were focusing on the innate, or congenital, immune system. This provides protection until the baby develops an acquired immune system, which becomes increasingly powerful through contact with new antigens," said Susan Prescott, who also worked on the study.
The researchers said the findings show that foetal exposure to cigarette smoke is associated with changes that both weaken innate immune defenses and slow the development of the acquired immune system.
Source: Reuters, 28 September 2006
Article link: http://tinyurl.com/hb7ln
Smoking may increase HIV contraction risk, study shows
Researchers have found that smokers may be at higher risk for becoming infected with the virus that causes AIDS.
The study, which appears in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections, says it is not clear why smokers would be more likely to become infected with the virus, HIV, than nonsmokers.
But the authors pointed to growing evidence that smoking increases the risk of all types of infections, perhaps by changing the structure of the lung or weakening the immune system. They also noted that tobacco use tended to be higher among people most likely to get AIDS, like prostitutes.
AIDS and tobacco use, the study said, are the only two major causes of death that are on the rise, with tobacco projected to play a role in perhaps eight million deaths in a little over a decade
Source: Medical News Today, International Herald Tribune, 28 September 2006
Article link: (IHT) http://tinyurl.com/m3on7
Study link, PDF: http://tinyurl.com/r7td3
Big tobacco won't be stubbed out
Ireland, Canada, Cuba, Italy, the Netherlands, Scotland, South Africa, India and Iran, to name a few, have all introduced some kind of smoking ban, from outlawing the advertising of cigarettes to banning smoking in bars, restaurants and other public places.
With regulations tightening in many places, one might assume that the massive tobacco corporations of the developed world have been dealt a huge blow. But the picture is not that straightforward.
David Betteridge, a spokesman for British American Tobacco (BAT), the second largest tobacco company in the world, says the market is expected to grow.
"Fewer people are smoking in percentage terms, but because of huge population growth around the world, we are looking at a market about the same size in ten years' time, and beyond that maybe even bigger," he says.
Adam Spielman, a tobacco industry analyst with Citigroup, says there are other reasons for the tobacco companies' continuing success.
"Volumes in the West are clearly declining," he says. "But profitability is not, because each year the tobacco companies put their prices up and that's more than offsetting the decline."
Of course tobacco companies can't realistically continue putting their prices up forever, and they also know more anti-smoking legislation is on the way.
Last year 168 countries signed the Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (FCTC), a World Health Organization-backed initiative aimed at saving some of the five million lives lost to smoking every year.
With this in mind, tobacco companies are thinking up new strategies.
"All tobacco companies are looking to grow their business outside their home markets in areas where they haven't been before," says Adam Spielman.
"They do a lot of advertising designed to appeal to the young," says Ian Willmore, of ASH.
"They associate tobacco with sport and glamour. They sell single sticks, which was banned here a long time ago and is aimed at low income people. They use techniques that they were caught using here and in the US and banned from doing years ago."
ASH has slammed BAT in particular for aggressively marketing its cigarettes to the youth and female market in countries such as Pakistan and Kenya.
But the developing-world market that all the major companies are watching wide-eyed is China, which has one third of the world's smokers.
Currently, the Chinese government itself is the biggest manufacturer of cigarettes in the world.
"China is the jewel in the crown for British American Tobacco as it is for all tobacco companies," says Jeff Collin, a lecturer in international public health policy at Edinburgh University.
"You could say the single biggest marketing opportunity in the world is to sell cigarettes to Chinese women," says Mr Collin.
Mr Collin has published papers claiming that smuggling has played a role in the company's Asian marketing strategies.
BAT denies this and says it can't be blamed for inventing smoking in Asia.
Tobacco corporations have other plans for shoring up their profits against more anti-smoking legislation.
Philip Morris in particular is focusing on developing a "safer" cigarette, while others are promoting so-called "smokeless" products such as "snus", a kind of snuff that is placed beneath the lip.
The difficulty with these, however, is that in many countries they would not be allowed to market them.
Opponents say the development of such smokeless tobacco products has everything to do with the companies' image, and little to do with health concerns.
While tobacco companies do all they can to survive in the face of tightening legislation, health experts are hoping the World Health Organization convention on tobacco control will bear results and save millions of lives.
Source: BBC, 28 September 2006
Article link: http://tinyurl.com/lqpjk
Study of brain function under nicotine withdrawal
A study on the effects of nicotine withdrawal on the brains of rats, with particular focus in the activation of brain corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) and its role in the reward centres of the brain, appears in the journal Nature.
"The aim of our experiments was to investigate the role of brain CRF systems in the deficit in brain reward function associated with the cessation of nicotine administration in rats.
Nicotine dependence is a chronic mental illness that is characterized by loss of control over tobacco smoking, the appearance of withdrawal symptoms upon the cessation of tobacco smoking, and relapse after periods of abstinence. Cessation of tobacco smoking in humans is typically associated with negative affective symptoms such as depressed mood, anxiety, irritability, and difficulty concentrating. It has been hypothesized that the negative affective aspects of drug withdrawal provide a powerful motivational force for the continuation of drug use.
Nicotine withdrawal is associated with a deficit in brain reward function and somatic withdrawal signs in rats. The administration of nicotine after the discontinuation of chronic nicotine administration has been shown to mitigate somatic nicotine withdrawal signs. Experimental evidence suggests that treatments that elevate brain serotonin levels may partially reverse the elevations in brain reward thresholds associated with spontaneous nicotine withdrawal."
Source: Nature, 28 September 2006
Study link (Abstract) http://tinyurl.com/o22ul
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Michael Fredman
Web Manager
ASH
102 Clifton St
EC2A 4HW
020 7739 5902
Tel 020 7739 5902 Fax 020 7613 0531
ASH Daily News
28 September 2006
[View html version: http://www.globalink.org/nbuk]
HEADLINES
Study shows prenatal smoking can damage baby's immune system
Smoking may increase HIV contraction risk, study shows
Big tobacco won't be stubbed out
Study of brain function under nicotine withdrawal
FULL TEXT
Study shows prenatal smoking can damage baby's immune system
Smoking during pregnancy can affect the baby's immune system which may explain why asthma and respiratory problems are more common in children whose mothers smoke, Australian scientists report in a study published today.
Babies of smokers are more likely to suffer from respiratory infections than children of non-smokers but until now it has not been clear why.
The scientists said it may be due to changes to biological receptors in the baby's immune system that are responsible for recognising and fighting infections and bacteria.
"This is the first prospective study to examine the effect of smoking during pregnancy in terms of these aspects of newborn innate immune function," said Paul Noakes of the University of Western Australia in Perth.
The researchers, who reported the findings in the European Respiratory Journal, compared 60 newborn babies whose mothers had smoked during pregnancy and 62 other infants born to non-smokers or women who had quit.
They measured the expression of several signaling compounds in the immune system linked to specific cell receptors known as TLRs in the infants.
In the babies of mothers who smoked, they discovered impaired production of two compounds, interleukin-6 and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-a).
"We were focusing on the innate, or congenital, immune system. This provides protection until the baby develops an acquired immune system, which becomes increasingly powerful through contact with new antigens," said Susan Prescott, who also worked on the study.
The researchers said the findings show that foetal exposure to cigarette smoke is associated with changes that both weaken innate immune defenses and slow the development of the acquired immune system.
Source: Reuters, 28 September 2006
Article link: http://tinyurl.com/hb7ln
Smoking may increase HIV contraction risk, study shows
Researchers have found that smokers may be at higher risk for becoming infected with the virus that causes AIDS.
The study, which appears in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections, says it is not clear why smokers would be more likely to become infected with the virus, HIV, than nonsmokers.
But the authors pointed to growing evidence that smoking increases the risk of all types of infections, perhaps by changing the structure of the lung or weakening the immune system. They also noted that tobacco use tended to be higher among people most likely to get AIDS, like prostitutes.
AIDS and tobacco use, the study said, are the only two major causes of death that are on the rise, with tobacco projected to play a role in perhaps eight million deaths in a little over a decade
Source: Medical News Today, International Herald Tribune, 28 September 2006
Article link: (IHT) http://tinyurl.com/m3on7
Study link, PDF: http://tinyurl.com/r7td3
Big tobacco won't be stubbed out
Ireland, Canada, Cuba, Italy, the Netherlands, Scotland, South Africa, India and Iran, to name a few, have all introduced some kind of smoking ban, from outlawing the advertising of cigarettes to banning smoking in bars, restaurants and other public places.
With regulations tightening in many places, one might assume that the massive tobacco corporations of the developed world have been dealt a huge blow. But the picture is not that straightforward.
David Betteridge, a spokesman for British American Tobacco (BAT), the second largest tobacco company in the world, says the market is expected to grow.
"Fewer people are smoking in percentage terms, but because of huge population growth around the world, we are looking at a market about the same size in ten years' time, and beyond that maybe even bigger," he says.
Adam Spielman, a tobacco industry analyst with Citigroup, says there are other reasons for the tobacco companies' continuing success.
"Volumes in the West are clearly declining," he says. "But profitability is not, because each year the tobacco companies put their prices up and that's more than offsetting the decline."
Of course tobacco companies can't realistically continue putting their prices up forever, and they also know more anti-smoking legislation is on the way.
Last year 168 countries signed the Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (FCTC), a World Health Organization-backed initiative aimed at saving some of the five million lives lost to smoking every year.
With this in mind, tobacco companies are thinking up new strategies.
"All tobacco companies are looking to grow their business outside their home markets in areas where they haven't been before," says Adam Spielman.
"They do a lot of advertising designed to appeal to the young," says Ian Willmore, of ASH.
"They associate tobacco with sport and glamour. They sell single sticks, which was banned here a long time ago and is aimed at low income people. They use techniques that they were caught using here and in the US and banned from doing years ago."
ASH has slammed BAT in particular for aggressively marketing its cigarettes to the youth and female market in countries such as Pakistan and Kenya.
But the developing-world market that all the major companies are watching wide-eyed is China, which has one third of the world's smokers.
Currently, the Chinese government itself is the biggest manufacturer of cigarettes in the world.
"China is the jewel in the crown for British American Tobacco as it is for all tobacco companies," says Jeff Collin, a lecturer in international public health policy at Edinburgh University.
"You could say the single biggest marketing opportunity in the world is to sell cigarettes to Chinese women," says Mr Collin.
Mr Collin has published papers claiming that smuggling has played a role in the company's Asian marketing strategies.
BAT denies this and says it can't be blamed for inventing smoking in Asia.
Tobacco corporations have other plans for shoring up their profits against more anti-smoking legislation.
Philip Morris in particular is focusing on developing a "safer" cigarette, while others are promoting so-called "smokeless" products such as "snus", a kind of snuff that is placed beneath the lip.
The difficulty with these, however, is that in many countries they would not be allowed to market them.
Opponents say the development of such smokeless tobacco products has everything to do with the companies' image, and little to do with health concerns.
While tobacco companies do all they can to survive in the face of tightening legislation, health experts are hoping the World Health Organization convention on tobacco control will bear results and save millions of lives.
Source: BBC, 28 September 2006
Article link: http://tinyurl.com/lqpjk
Study of brain function under nicotine withdrawal
A study on the effects of nicotine withdrawal on the brains of rats, with particular focus in the activation of brain corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) and its role in the reward centres of the brain, appears in the journal Nature.
"The aim of our experiments was to investigate the role of brain CRF systems in the deficit in brain reward function associated with the cessation of nicotine administration in rats.
Nicotine dependence is a chronic mental illness that is characterized by loss of control over tobacco smoking, the appearance of withdrawal symptoms upon the cessation of tobacco smoking, and relapse after periods of abstinence. Cessation of tobacco smoking in humans is typically associated with negative affective symptoms such as depressed mood, anxiety, irritability, and difficulty concentrating. It has been hypothesized that the negative affective aspects of drug withdrawal provide a powerful motivational force for the continuation of drug use.
Nicotine withdrawal is associated with a deficit in brain reward function and somatic withdrawal signs in rats. The administration of nicotine after the discontinuation of chronic nicotine administration has been shown to mitigate somatic nicotine withdrawal signs. Experimental evidence suggests that treatments that elevate brain serotonin levels may partially reverse the elevations in brain reward thresholds associated with spontaneous nicotine withdrawal."
Source: Nature, 28 September 2006
Study link (Abstract) http://tinyurl.com/o22ul
----------------------------------
Unsubscribe:
Public subscribers: http://www.ash.org.uk/html/about/subscribe.php
Globalink members: http://member.globalink.org
----------------------------------
Michael Fredman
Web Manager
ASH
102 Clifton St
EC2A 4HW
020 7739 5902
