News by Subject Social & Behavior

Behavioral and nicotine replacement therapies offered together can help people who are incarcerated quit smoking, according to Rutgers researchers.

Modifying 12 risk factors over the lifecourse could delay or prevent 40% of dementia cases, according to an update to The Lancet Commission on dementia prevention, intervention, and care, which is being presented at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC 2020).

Smokers who have thoracic surgery are much more likely to stop using tobacco if they also complete a quitline intervention, a new UC Davis Health study shows.

A new study, which analyzed 40 years of Framingham Heart Study data, found an association between lowered rates of hip fractures and decreases in smoking and heavy drinking. These results indicate that modifiable lifestyle factors, along with treatments, may be beneficial to bone health.

TTUHSC's Luca Cucullo, Ph.D., has for years studied the effects smoking and vaping have on the cerebrovascular and neurological systems. He recently led an effort to review the effect smoking and vaping may have on the cerebrovascular and neurological systems of COVID-19 patients. The study, "Cerebrovascular and Neurological Dysfunction under the Threat of COVID-19: Is There a Comorbid Role for Smoking and Vaping?" was published May 30 by the International Journal of Molecular Sciences.

Requirements for consumers to wear masks at public places like retail stores and restaurants are very similar to smoking bans, according to three university experts. In a paper published today (July 16, 2020) in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, the professors say mask requirements to stop the spread of COVID-19 should be considered "fundamental occupational health protections" for workers at stores, restaurants and other public places.

Dr. Matthew Rossheim, assistant professor of global and community health in George Mason University's College of Health and Human Services, analyzed National Survey on Drug Use and Health data to test the effect of the 2009 U.S. flavored cigarette ban. The study found the ban reduced underage smoking by 43% and smoking among young adults by 27%. Researchers call for more comprehensive bans of flavored tobacco products to reduce youth use of these dangerous products.

Smoking cessation initiatives notwithstanding, along with provocative public health campaigns and clinical guidance, quitting tobacco has remained elusive for many smokers. The American Thoracic Society's new clinical practice guideline on treatment for tobacco dependence in adults addresses how clinicians may deal with patients' reluctance to quit, one of a number of issues not previously assessed in the older guidelines.