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ASH Daily news for 05 May 2011

HEADLINES

  • Forty firefighters at blaze caused by one cigarette

    Forty firefighters had to tackle a fire which ripped through a flat after a woman fell asleep while smoking in bed.

    A man and a woman who were inside managed to free themselves from the property before firefighters arrived.

    An investigation into the fire, found the blaze started in the bedroom.

    John Illingworth, fire investigation officer, said: “This reinforces how dangerous it is to smoke in bed and to not discard cigarettes safely. It also highlights how important it is for people to have working fire alarms fitted in their homes.”

     

    Source: Cambridge News, 05 May 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/ioVF1P

  • Quitting smoking significantly reduces microalbuminuria in Type 2 diabetics

    Findings from a new study, published in the journal Metabolism: Clinical and Experimental suggest that quitting smoking significantly reduces symptoms of microalbuminuria within 1 year in patients with newly diagnosed Type 2 diabetes.

    The study also found that smoking cessation was associated with noticeable improvements in metabolic health and blood pressure.

    Similarly, the prevalence of peripheral vascular disease and neuropathy were significantly reduced only in those men and women who stopped smoking.

    According to the authors, "Although extended follow-up would be necessary to estimate the relationship between smoking cessation and amelioration of future micro vascular as well as macro vascular disease events, our results underline the importance of an early smoking cessation education upon diagnosis of diabetes to possibly decrease the rate of the clinical and economical burden of diabetic complications."

    Source: MedWire News, 03 May 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/mqkdkt

  • BAT eyes Sudan as cigarette sales in Kenya stagnate

    British American Tobacco Kenya (BAT) is set to venture into Southern Sudan to expand its export business as the local market comes under increasing regulatory pressures.

    BAT said it is engaged in final talks with the Southern Sudan government  to begin supplying that market by the end of the year.

    Gary Fagan, the BAT Kenya managing director said, “Consumption in Kenya has been flat for about six years now. “We want to increase our production efficiencies to meet the growing demand from the export market.”

    BAT Kenya supplies 16 markets in the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) region and plans to increase exports to protect its sales from unpredictable tax regimes and increased regulation by health agencies in Kenya.

    Mr Fagan said that since August last year, the firm has exported 1,000 tonnes of semi-processed tobacco products to Egypt, with plans to increase volumes to the country by up to 8,000 tonnes by the end of the year.

    Source: Business Daily, 05 May 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/jXafvJ

  • Smoke-Exposed children with flu more likely to need ICU care

    Children who are exposed to secondhand smoke are more likely to need intensive care and incubation when hospitalized with influenza, according to new research by the University of Rochester Medical Center.

    Karen Wilson, M.D., M.P.H., assistant professor of Pediatrics at URMC and author of the abstract said, "We know secondhand smoke contributes to chronic illnesses like asthma, but we haven't quantified the extent of what it can do to children with the flu. This study indicates that secondhand smoke makes the condition much more severe in children hospitalized with the flu."

    The children's length of stay in the hospital was significantly associated with smoke exposure and chronic conditions. For children with no chronic conditions, exposure lengthened their stay from two to three days. For children with chronic conditions, exposure lengthened their stay from four days to more than 10. Wilson said these results indicate a larger burden on hospitals - and on the families of these children.

    Source: Medical News Today, 03 May 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/lmJSdG

  • Nicotine and cocaine leave similar mark on brain after first contact

    According to new neuroscience research, the effects of nicotine upon brain regions involved in addiction mirror those of cocaine.

    The study which is published in The Journal of Neuroscience, found that a single 15-minute exposure to nicotine caused a long-term increase in the excitability of neurons involved in reward. The results suggest that nicotine and cocaine hijack similar mechanisms of memory on first contact to create long-lasting changes in a person's brain.

    Danyan Mao, PhD, postdoctoral researcher at the University of Chicago Medical Center said, "Smoking is a very long-term behavioural change, but everything starts from the first exposure. That's what we're trying to tackle here: when a person first is exposed to a cigarette, what happens in the brain that might lead to a second cigarette?"
     

    Source: Medical News Today, 04 May 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/ifHjDn

  • Scotland: Lothian backs move to stop teen smoking

    A survey by ASH Scotland found overwhelming support in the Lothians to stop teenagers smoking.

    Sheila Duffy, the organisation's chief executive, said: "I believe that people understand the damage that smoking can cause and know it's when people are young that they are most likely to start smoking and become addicted to tobacco. Prevention is key to reducing young people smoking and we need to communicate to young people just how deadly this product is, and how manipulative and destructive tobacco companies are."

    Source: Scotsman, 04 May 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/khfhsI