Šalje: QuitSmokingSupport.com [bwprice@quitsmokingsupport.com] Poslano: 31. srpanj 2000 11:40 Prima: List Member Predmet: Quit Smoking Support Newsletter - Volume 3 Number 19 QuitSmokingSupport.com - http://www.quitsmokingsupport.com In this issue for Monday July 31, 2000 **ARE YOU READY TO QUIT SMOKING? TRY THIS QUIZ** **Can quitting really help a lifelong smoker?** **Patches, gum and inhalers have increased attempts to quit smoking** **Cigarette smokers have new ally in fighting nicotine addiction.** Welcome to QuitSmokingSupport.com's Newsletter! If you feel that the material in this newsletter may be of benefit to anyone that you know please feel free to pass it on! ```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` TRYING TO QUIT SMOKING? Using the Nicotrol Inhaler? * Harris Interactive invites you to participate in a research study designed to learn more about your experiences using the NicotrolŽ Inhaler. * Participation involves completing up to six short surveys over the next seven months, either by phone or internet. * Qualified participants will receive payment for each interview completed, totaling up to $60. * You must be over the age of 18 and using the NicotrolŽ Inhaler to enroll in this study. * For more Information Call: 1-877-889-8593 OR, go to: http://survey.harrispollonline.com/11662f.htm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Be sure to visit our NEW quitting smoking bulletin board, one of the most popular ones on the Internet dealing with quitting smoking support. The support is superb and the bulletin board requires you to register and is password protected for security! http://anyboard.net/health/anyboard/index.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Are you ready to quit smoking? Take this quiz at: http://www.thriveonline.com/health/wgames/gen/smokequiz.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Make sure you visit QuitSmoking.com Excellent Information and Products to Help Smokers Quit! http://www.quitsmoking.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Patches, gum and inhalers have increased attempts to quit smoking July 28, 2000 ATLANTA (AP) -- Americans are trying to quit smoking four times more often than they did in the years before the introduction of nicotine gum, patches and other products that help people kick the habit, the government reported Thursday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed data from pharmacies and over-the-counter purchases of smoking cessation products to conclude that Americans made more than 8 million attempts to quit smoking in 1997 and 1998, the latest years available. That's up from about 2 million in 1991, the year before the introduction of the nicotine patch. In 1998, the nicotine patch accounted for 49 percent of the drug-assisted attempts to quit, nicotine gum 28 percent and Zyban -- a prescription drug -- 21 percent. The nicotine inhaler and nasal spray accounted for less than 3 percent. The CDC said attempts to quit increased nearly every time a new product was made available. The CDC said the survey may overestimate attempts to quit because the numbers are based on sales data rather than questioning users. It's also impossible to determine if smokers were buying the product to quit or using it as a substitute for smoking in places where it is banned. The CDC, which says about 48 million U.S. adults smoke, did not track how many of the attempts to quit failed. Having a variety of products helps smokers find ways to quit, said Rod Todd of the American Cancer Society. "Smokers are always looking for something that will be helpful and you never know which product might work the best for a particular smoker," he said. About 70 percent of people who smoke want to quit and 35 to 45 percent of them will try to quit in any given year, Todd said. It's common for smokers to go through several cycles of attempting to quit, going back to smoking and then trying to quit again. "We know that all of these work and they've been shown to work," said Saul Shiffman, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh's smoking research group. "The challenge is getting people to use them. Even though these products work and people are so eager to quit smoking, too few people use these treatments." The CDC recommended that smoking-cessation products be included as an insured medical benefit. The report also said decreasing the cost of treatment could increase the number of people who try to quit. "The prevalence of smoking is higher among persons of low socio-economic status and access to these treatments must be assured to these populations," the report said. Smoking statistics from the American Lung Association: ? Smoking-related diseases kill an estimated 430.700 people in the United States each year ? Smoking costs the United States approximately $97.2 billion each year in health-care costs and lost productivity. ? Smoking is directly responsible for 87 percent of lung cancer cases and can also lead to emphysema, bronchitis, heart disease and stroke Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cigarette smokers have new ally in fighting nicotine addiction, researchers say. July 26, 2000 ATLANTA (CNN) -- A medication used in the treatment of a skin disease can help smokers who are trying to end their nicotine addiction, Canadian researchers reported Wednesday. It works by reducing the activity of an enzyme that metabolizes nicotine inside a smoker's body. The research "opens up an exciting new avenue of treatment" for nicotine addiction, said Dr. Alan I. Lesher, director of the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse. After a cigarette, a smoker has nicotine in his bloodstream. As the nicotine slowly metabolizes, its level in the blood drops. At a certain point, the smoker is often chemically triggered to light another cigarette, researchers at the University of Toronto reported. Methoxsalen, a compound used to treat psoriasis, slows the metabolism of nicotine. The delay causes nicotine to last longer in the bloodstream, thus postponing the smoker's urge for another cigarette, they said. Using methoxsalen improves the effectiveness of nicotine-replacement therapy -- often administered by a skin patch or by chewing gum, said the lead researcher, Dr. Edward Sellers of the university. In the study, when methoxsalen was combined with controlled oral nicotine doses, smokers tested had fewer cigarettes, waited longer intervals between cigarettes and took fewer puffs on each cigarette, the researchers reported in the journal Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics. "The primary pharmacologic function of tobacco smoking is to deliver nicotine to the brain," the journal article said. "Tobacco-dependent smokers try to maintain their (blood) plasma nicotine concentration within a relatively narrow range to avoid toxicity or withdrawal." An enzyme, CYP2A6, is the chemical key for removing nicotine from the bloodstream, the researchers said. And methoxsalen inhibits CYP2A6. In earlier studies, researchers found that people with a deficiency in CYP2A6, perhaps because of genetic reasons, are less likely to start smoking and if they do, they smoke less often than people with normal levels of CYP2A6. "CYP2A6 inhibition appears to be a potential component of a potent, novel treatment for tobacco dependence," the report said. "As most of the health risks of tobacco use are consequences of exposure to constituents of the smoke other than nicotine, there are considerable potential health benefits of CYP2A6 inhibition," the researchers said. Lesher of the National Institute on Drug Abuse said a new treatment based on the Canadian research "can help smokers substantially reduce their exposure to the deadly particles of tobacco smoke while they overcome the addiction to nicotine that makes it so hard to quit." Before methoxsalen can be safely employed for long-term use in battling nicotine addiction, additional study is needed, Sellers said. The drug has not been proven safe for long term use in humans. The nicotine study was partly financed by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, and by Nicogen Inc., a Toronto-based private-venture capital company pursuing biopharmaceuticals. Nicogen's board of directors includes two of the study's researchers -- Sellers, M.D. and Ph.D., and Rachel F. Tyndale, Ph.D. Both are vice presidents of Nicogen, and both are on the faculty of the University of Toronto ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Take care and have a great week! 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