HEADLINES

• Smoking 'speeds up mental decline' in middle-aged men
• Alps Tour is first to ban smoking
• Low dopamine levels during withdrawal promote relapse to smoking
• Northern Ireland: Smuggled cigarettes seized in Larne
• USA: Quitting smoking may halve risk of oral health problems

• Smoking 'speeds up mental decline' in middle-aged men

  A new study suggests that middle-aged men who smoke will experience faster mental decline which accelerates the more they smoke.

  The researchers found that smoking can age the brain by up to 10 years. But they did not find a similar relationship among women.

  Source: GP Online, 06 February 2012
  Link: http://bit.ly/wtISef

• Alps Tour is first to ban smoking

  The first smoking ban imposed on any professional or amateur golf circuit in the world has been enforced on the third-tier Alps Tour.

  The Alps Tour committee announced it has banned smoking or chewing tobacco by players and caddies during any kind of play in its tournaments

  Dedicated smoking areas have been created near practice areas to avoid seeing players with cigarettes on the practice greens or driving range.

  Source: Scotsman, 09 February 2012
  Link: http://bit.ly/zz3hei

• Low dopamine levels during withdrawal promote relapse to smoking

  A new study published in Biological Psychiatry suggests that low dopamine levels that occur as a result of withdrawal from smoking promotes relapse among quitters.

  Dopamine is a brain chemical messenger that is critically important in reward and motivation.

  According to the authors, these findings indicate that medications, which could help elevate tonic dopamine levels during withdrawal, may be successful treatment strategies for nicotine-dependent individuals attempting to quit smoking.

  Source: MedicalXpress, 08 February 2012
  Link: http://bit.ly/ynjg5B

• Northern Ireland: Smuggled cigarettes seized in Larne

  Over 1.2 million smuggled cigarettes have been seized in Larne, County Antrim.

  Two men were arrested following the discovery of the cigarettes in a lorry at an industrial unit in the town.

  Officers from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and the PSNI made the discovery, and seized computers at three houses during follow-up searches in Antrim and Ballymena.

  The cigarettes are estimated to be worth nearly £200,000 in unpaid excise duty and VAT.

  Source: BBC News, 08 February 2012
  Link: http://bbc.in/xFPjKk

• USA: Quitting smoking may halve risk of oral health problems

  Researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have found that adult smokers are twice as likely to develop oral health problems as those who have given up.

  Compared to people who never smoked, current smokers are four times more likely to develop oral conditions, such as mouth cancers, gum disease and cavities.

  The CDC investigators also found that smokers between the ages of 18 and 64 are nearly 1.5 times as likely as former smokers and more than twice as likely as people who never smoked to have three or more oral health problems.

  Source: U.S News, 07 February 2012
  Link: http://bit.ly/xudzJv