Cigarettes ‘still being tested on lab animals’

Mice and rats were forced to breathe smoke to examine the safety of new ingredients, the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection claimed.

The studies were held by Marlboro-maker Philip Morris and Camel manufacturer RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company, the group said.

‘It is outrageous that, in this day and age, tobacco companies continue to subject animals to these horrific tests when we all know how harmful smoking is to our health,’ said BUAV boss Michelle Thew. ‘Smoking is a lifestyle choice and it’s unacceptable animals should suffer and die for companies to modify their products.’

Tests on animals involving tobacco have been banned in Britain since 1997 but the organisation said studies continued in Europe and the US.
.Philip Morris research groups from the US, Belgium and Germany had recently held experiments in which rats were forced to inhale smoke for six hours a day for 90 days, the BUAV said. In a US study by RJ Reynolds, more than 1,000 mice and rats were used, it was alleged. The information was obtained, the BUAV said, from papers published in science journals. A Philip Morris spokesman said the company’s rare use of animal tests was focused on developing lower-risk tobacco products or making sure major modifications did not add to the toxicity of its cigarettes.

‘This research was not to confirm the quality of the cigarette or to see if it was safe,’ he added. ‘There is no such thing as a safe cigarette.’

No one from RJ Reynolds was available for comment.

Source: Metro, 11 March 2010
Link: http://bit.ly/aDdAyA

New insight on how fast nicotine peaks in the brain

Nicotine takes much longer than previously thought to reach peak levels in the brains of cigarette smokers, according to new research conducted at Duke University Medical Center.

Traditionally, scientists thought nicotine inhaled in a puff of cigarette smoke took a mere seven seconds to be taken up by the brain, and that each puff produced a spike of nicotine. Using PET imaging, Duke investigators illustrate, for the first time, that cigarette smokers actually experience a steady rise of brain nicotine levels during the course of smoking a whole cigarette.

The findings, scheduled to appear online in the Early Edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) the week of March 8, could lead to more effective treatments for smoking addiction.

"Previously it was thought that the puff-by-puff spikes of nicotine reaching the brain explained why cigarettes are so much more addictive than other forms of nicotine delivery, like the patch or gum," says Jed Rose, Ph.D., director of the Duke Center for Nicotine and Smoking Cessation Research. "Our work now calls into question whether addiction has to do with the puff-by-puff delivery of nicotine. It may actually depend in part on the overall rate at which nicotine reaches and accumulates in the brain, as well as the unique habit and sensory cues associated with smoking."

Yet, when the researchers compared 13 dependent smokers to 10 non-dependent smokers, they were surprised to find the dependent smokers had a slower rate of nicotine accumulation in the brain. "This slower rate resulted from nicotine staying longer in the lungs of dependent smokers, which may be a result of the chronic effects of smoke on the lungs," surmises Rose.

The difference in rate of nicotine accumulation in the brain doesn't explain why some people become addicted to cigarettes and others don't. "Even if you correct for the speed of delivery, our study showed the non-dependent smokers eventually experienced the same high levels of nicotine in their brain as dependent smokers, yet they did so without becoming dependent. The real mystery is why."

Rose says the absence of addiction in these smokers could be due to genetic differences, differences in the way they smoke, or differences in the psychological effects they derive. "We're still not able to fully explain why these people are able to smoke without becoming addicted."

Despite the questions raised, the study provides important insights into the role of the speed and level of brain nicotine levels, and which receptors in the brain are at work. "Different receptors respond to nicotine at different levels of sensitivity," says Rose. "Knowing the levels of nicotine that are really getting to the brain gives us clues as to which receptors are more likely to be important for the dependence-producing effects of cigarette smoking."

Source: Eurek Alert, 08 march 2010
Link: http://bit.ly/90lzg9

Pupils offered guidance on smoking

New guidance focussing on school-based methods to prevent children from smoking has been issued by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).

The guidance outlines effective steps that schools, teachers, pupils and their parents can take to help young people stay away from smoking.

Recommendations include encouraging pupils to lead smoking prevention activities, and integrating discussions on the effects of tobacco use across the curriculum.

Professor Mike Kelly, director of the NICE Centre for Public Health Excellence, said: “By the time they are 15-years-old, over 55 per cent of children have tried smoking, and 15 per cent are already regular smokers. This new guidance will help stop children from even starting to smoke, by advising on what action schools can take.”

According to the Institute, one in two long-term smokers will die prematurely as a result of smoking, and half of these deaths will be in middle age.

Research also shows that children who start smoking before the age of 16 find it harder to quit and are twice as likely to continue to smoke as those who begin later in life.

Alasdair Hogarth, a recently retired headteacher and member of the NICE Public Health Interventions Advisory Committee, said: “It’s clear that smoking prevalence in schoolchildren increases as they get older. In developing this guidance, we considered it most effective for smoking prevention activity to begin in primary school and continue throughout the child’s time in school.

“Smoking prevention activities should be interactive, factual and entertaining – schools and colleges can work with local partners such as NHS Stop Smoking Services to deliver engaging interventions that help children and young people fully understand the harm that tobacco use causes.”

Source: SecEd, 11 march 2010
Link: http://bit.ly/a4j8oi

Protesters urge smokers to break free outside Bristol tobacco firm Imperial

Campaigners donned jail uniforms and wrapped themselves in chains as they protested outside the headquarters of a tobacco firm.

The chain gang, made up of South West representatives of anti-tobacco campaign group ASH, made the protest outside the Southville offices of Imperial Tobacco yesterday.

The No Smoking Day protest was an effort to urge smokers to "break free" from the power of nicotine.

Cecilia Farren, from South West ASH and GASP, said: "We call on the people of Britain and particularly Bristol to say 'No' to big tobacco.

"We say 'break free' from an industry that addicts and kills millions of people every year."

South West ASH said it has particular concerns about Bristol-based Imperial Tobacco Group because it is one of the largest companies in the world.

Imperial Tobacco says on its website that it recognises the health risks of smoking.

In a policy statement, the company says: "Imperial Tobacco believes that no cigarette is safe, and operates its business on the basis that smoking may cause human disease."

"The risks associated with smoking are well known, and we believe that adults should be allowed to choose whether or not to smoke."

"We recognise that it is the role of governments to provide the general public with clear and consistent messages about the health risks to smokers that are associated with their smoking. We do not challenge those messages."

Source: thisisbristol, 11 March 2010
Link: http://bit.ly/c7W0ym