Welcome to the Spring 2011 issue of The TAPE Project News! This e-newsletter is published four times a year, offering information and resources focused on tobacco issues in substance use treatment programs.
You can subscribe to the TAPE Project Newsletter by sending an e-mail to subscribetape@healthrecovery.org
Massachusetts tobacco NEWS
Smoking Ban in Parks Proposed
Two Boston city councilors have proposed a measure that would ban smoking in public parks and beaches, but would still allow smoking on sidewalks. Hundreds of communities nationwide have already adopted similar prohibitions, including Braintree, Mass. Mayor Menino has not taken a public position on the councilors’ proposal yet. His position will prove crucial to the passage of the proposed ban. Any action on the measure is still weeks or months away. If passed, this measure would carry the decades-long campaign to reduce tobacco use to some of the last remaining public spaces where smoking is still allowed.
For more on this go to:
Boston.com
SMOKE ALARM!
Roll-Your-Own Cigarettes May be More Addictive
A recent New Zealand study shows that roll-your-own cigarettes may be more addictive than factory-made cigarettes. A number of factors are thought to contribute to this, including a significantly higher ratio of tar to nicotine in loose leaf tobacco as compared to manufactured cigarettes. The term “tar” describes the toxic chemicals in tobacco. This study found that tar also contains a number of addictive elements. Additionally, the process of rolling your own cigarettes may increase the level of addiction. This includes the size of the cigarette rolled, not using filters, and drawing more intensely because the cigarette doesn’t burn as steadily as factory-made brands. Significantly less expensive, roll-your-own cigarettes have become increasingly popular as the price of manufactured cigarettes has sky-rocketed.
For more on this go to:
Physorg.com
SPECIAL FEATURES
World Health Organization Report on Secondhand Smoke
In the first global study of its kind, the World Health Organization (WHO) has determined that one out of a hundred deaths each year worldwide is caused by secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure. This amounts to about 600,000 deaths a year. Women suffer more from the impacts of SHS as they are 50% more likely to be non-smokers than men. In terms of years of life lost, children are significantly more affected by SHS and most of their SHS-related deaths occur from respiratory infections during the first few years of life.
For more on this go to:
WHO.int
In This Issue
Treatment News
Health News
Teens and Tobacco
Special Topic
Resources and Announcements
Treatment News
Research Reveals New Understanding of Nicotine Addiction
Scientists from the Scripps Research Institute and the University of Colorado have identified a pathway in the brain that regulates an individual’s vulnerability to the addictive properties of nicotine. Scientists believe their findings “establish a new framework for understanding the motivational drives in nicotine consumption and the brain pathways that regulate vulnerability to tobacco addiction.” The findings also suggest a promising target for the development of anti-smoking therapies.
For more on this go to:
Scripps.edu
Two Studies Shed New Light on How Chantix and Zyban Work
New research indicates that varenicline (Chantix) and buproprion (Zyban or Wellbutrin), prescription medications commonly used to help people quit smoking, may reduce cravings by changing the way our brains react to seeing others smoke. In two separate studies, researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia, analyzed brain scans of more than 50 smokers exposed to both neutral cues and smoking cues through brief videos. In both studies, those who received either buproprion or varenicline reported less craving and showed less activity in the brain area associated with craving than those who received placebo medication.
For more on this go to:
Consumer.HealthDay.com
Health News
Tobacco Toxins Remain in Home Long after Smoker is Gone
Researchers from San Diego State University in California have found tobacco smoke toxins lodged in dust and on surfaces even after the homes have been vacant for two months, cleaned, and repainted. The study concludes that homes of smokers become “reservoirs” of tobacco smoke toxins and when new nonsmoking tenants come in contact with polluted surfaces and inhale suspended microscopic dust, they are unknowingly exposed to these toxins. The health consequences of this exposure have not been assessed at this time. Researchers are concerned that such exposure could pose special risks to babies and toddlers who tend to crawl on floors and put their mouths on everything.
To read the complete study go to:
TobaccoControl.bmj.com
Study Finds Smoking Cessation Does Not Cause Depression and Anxiety
Researchers from the University of Bristol, United Kingdom, completed the largest ever longitudinal study on the impact of smoking cessation on symptoms of depression and anxiety. Participants in the study had no prior history of depression or anxiety when they began smoking and no symptoms upon quitting. Participants were followed for 9 months after quitting smoking. The researchers concluded that stopping smoking does not appear to increase the risk of developing depression or anxiety.
For more on the study go to:
NTR.OxfordJournals.org
Teens and Tobacco
Strong Connection between Tobacco Marketing and Teen Smoking
New research published in the online Journal of Pediatrics corroborates that teens exposed to tobacco advertising are more likely to begin smoking, and not because they are more susceptible to any kind advertising, as previously assumed. In the study, teens were exposed to both tobacco and unrelated advertising. Exposure to the tobacco ads clearly influenced teen smoking initiation while exposure to ads for other products did not seem to have a similar effect. Researchers noted that tobacco advertising exploits themes that are meaningful to teens, including social acceptance, sex appeal, and masculinity for boys and thinness for girls. The study was co-authored by a professor at Dartmouth Medical Center in New Hampshire and researchers in Germany.
For more on this go to:
Consumer.HealthDay.com
Widespread Smoking Found in Youth with Diabetes, Raising Risk of Heart Disease
According to a new study, cigarette smoking is widespread across the United States among youth aged 10–22 years with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Researchers found early signs of heart disease in youth who were past and current smokers and living with diabetes. The study, which was published in the online Journal of Pediatrics, looked at a racially and ethnically diverse group of nearly 3,500 youth across the country. Less than half the youth reported that they had been counseled by their health care providers to not smoke or to stop smoking. Because of the already increased risk of cardiovascular disease in those with diabetes, the American Diabetes Association emphasizes the importance of smoking cessation.
For more on this go to:
ScienceDaily.com
Special Topic
Let Us Hear from You!
Please give us your feedback about the TAPE Project e-newsletter:
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Send your comments to louisekatz@healthrecovery.org
Resources
Tobacco Dependence Treatment Toolkit
By the American College of Chest Physicians
This is available online at no charge!
Go to:
TobaccoDependence.Chestnet.org
How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease: What it Means to You
This easy-to-read, 20-page consumer booklet summarizes the Surgeon General’s report released in December 2010. It provides practical information about the dangers of tobacco use and what people can do to quit tobacco use and protect themselves and their families from secondhand smoke exposure.
Order a single copy or up to 200 copies, free of charge! Go to:
CDC.gov
www.actiontoquit.org – Action to Quit is a tobacco cessation initiative sponsored by Partnership for Prevention. The website focuses on new research findings and offers an informative monthly newsletter.
www.treatobacco.org – Run by the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. The website has both clinical summaries and recent updates about how to quit using tobacco.
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