Tag Archives: nicotine studies

60 Research Papers on Toxicity of Smoking Destroyed in 1992 by Imperial Tobacco Company

Report from Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Earlier this month it was reported in an abstract paper by Canadian Medical Association Journal that British American Tobacco had its affiliate, the Imperial Tobacco company destroy over sixty research documents dating back to 1992.

With this action now surfacing the embarrassment for big tobacco could also lead to future litigation due to the implications of the information discovered in the studies.

Studies on Carcinogenics in Cigarettes and Nicotine Addiction

The documents were internal research studies to better understand the effects of smoking cigarettes and offered evidence on the negative and addictive effects of smoking and nicotine addiction.

Specifically the sixty documents focused on cigarette carcinogenics and their addictive nature.

At the time, worries about this information becoming public provoked the destruction of the documents for fear that if the people became less attracted to nicotine the loss of revenue could greatly effect the British American Tobacco giants profits. Also, if the evidence found in the research made its way to government regulators it would most likely lead to regulatory implications and actions that could effect the growth and profits of the industry.

By visiting the CMAJ website you can read the original abstract.

Abstract by David Hammond, Michael Chaiton, Alex Lee, and Neil Collishaw

View the CMAJ PDF files containing a summary of the studies:

Denying Your Rights to Know

Smoking ResponsibilityIf you are a smoker and think that you haven’t been manipulated into smoking think again.

The proof of the dangers of smoking cigarettes has been known for a long time and it should make you as mad as hell that you weren’t made aware by those dispensing them before you started the habit.

Had you known the facts of these studies you could have made a real choice. Rather than protect the consumer, it is our opinion that Big Tobacco was and still is more interested in creating profits than protecting anyone’s health, or the health of those breathing a smoker’s second hand smoke.

Research Focus on Two Important Points

We need to also mention that two points in the sixty studies revealed that second-hand smoke, especially from low-delivery cigarettes was more toxic than directly smoking, and smoking filtered cigarettes lead to greater smoke inhalation for about the same amount of nicotine intake.

Hopefully uncovering the science in these documents will lead to positive steps for creating greater awareness on the dangers of tobacco addiction as the science behind this news is uncovered and shared with others.

Credit & Copyright: David Hammond, Michael Chaiton, Alex Lee, and Neil Collishaw
Can. Med. Assoc. J. 0: cmaj.080566v1.

Critical Genetic Link Found Between Human Taste Differences and Nicotine Dependence












Source:  University of Virginia Health System

Big Tobacco Companies Covered Up Radiation Dangers From Smoking
















Source: William Birnbauer, Theage.com.au

Smoking and SIDS: The Connection Explained

Like we need one more reason not to smoke, especially during pregnancy.

For the men in the house who create second-hand smoke read about this study.

New science is telling us that the increased risk for SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) among people exposed to nicotine is very real. And very explainable.

Sleep Review magazine is reporting a fascinating study that just came out, detailing why an infant’s ability to respond to oxygen deprivation after birth is dramatically compromised by exposure to nicotine in the womb–even when that exposure is light to moderate.

Picture a baby lying face down in bed. A normal, healthy baby would sense it’s being deprived of vital oxygen, and thus move its head. This is similar to the “flight or flight” response we get when we’re in a dire situation and have to move fast to survive (our body moves without us really thinking about it).

But when a baby has been exposed to the chemical nicotine in the womb, apparently this instinctual arousal mechanism doesn’t work so well. So the baby isn’t quick enough to respond and save his life.SIDS is rare, but it’s one of the most common causes of death in babies between 1 and 12 months of age. Most babies who die of SIDS are between the ages of 2 and 4 months. It can be devastating for a family–what seems like a totally healthy baby suddenly dies during sleep.

We don’t know what causes SIDS, but clearly there are risk factors for it, and smoking is one of them (no, not the baby smoking, but the mother and anyone else in the vicinity). Current studies are looking at possibly a problem in the brain that controls breathing during the first few months of life. But this new study plainly shows how nicotine can kill a much-needed survival mechanism in the early stages of life.

Baby in a CribWhen a baby is born, it’s exposed to low oxygen, which signals the adrenal glands to release chemicals called catecholamines. These catecholamines contain the famous fight or flight hormone adrenaline that tell the baby’s lungs to reabsorb fluid, and to take its first breath. The heart also begins to beat more efficiently. This response mechanism remains in place for a few months after birth (so it’s the adrenal glands that act as the baby’s oxygen sensor).

But under the influence of nicotine, it appears this mechanism becomes dysfunctional. Granted, a baby would normally lose this mechanism in time as the central nervous systems takes over the controls of this critical response, but unfortunately when a baby loses this ability too early in the game of life, the door to SIDS opens.

Yet another reason to blow out the smoke. I know it’s no easy task. But neither is grieving for a lost child.

Source: Dr. Michael J. Breus

This article is cross-posted at Dr. Breus’s Blog, The Insomnia Blog.

Smoking Bans Help People Quit, Research Shows

Nationwide, smoking bans are on the rise in workplaces, restaurants and bars.

Research shows that bans decrease the overall number of cigarettes people smoke and in some cases, actually result in people quitting.

One reason bans help people quit is simple biology. Inhaling tobacco actually increases the number of receptors in the brain that crave nicotine.

“If you had a smoker compared to a nonsmoker and were able to do imaging study of the brain, the smoker would have billions more of the receptors in areas of the brain that have to do with pleasure and reward,” says Richard Hurt, an internist who heads the Mayo Clinic’s Nicotine Dependence Center.

So, removing the triggers that turn on those receptors is a good thing.

“If you’re in a place where smoking is allowed, your outside world is hooked to the receptors in your brain through your senses: your sight, smell, the smoke from someone else’s tobacco smoke or cigarette. That reminds the receptors about the pleasure of smoking to that individual, and that’s what produces the cravings and urges to smoke,” Hurt explains.

Hurt adds that bans help decrease the urge to smoke in another way: They de-normalize it. For example, where smoking is considered the “norm” – as it was in so many countries in Europe for so long – more people smoke. In places where smoking is no longer the “norm” – in California, for example – there are fewer smokers.

Smoking Ban SignResearch shows that nicotine replacement medications – like nicotine gum, patches or inhalers – double a smoker’s chances of quitting. So do counseling and therapy. Add a smoking ban, and Hurt says the chance of successful quitting is even better.

Click to learn more about > smoking bans.

Source: NPR

Maternal Smoking Increases Risk of Stillbirths

If all pregnant women in the United States stopped smoking, stillbirths would be reduced by 11 percent and newborn deaths would be reduced by 5 percent.

This smoking statistic is according to the U.S. Public Health Service.

Cigarette smoking not only passes nicotine on to the growing fetus, it also prevents up to 25 percent of the oxygen from reaching the placenta.

With less oxygen, the baby may grow more slowly than normal, resulting in low birth weight.

~Genesee County Health Department, Michigan

Click to learn more about > Stillbirths