heart disease

Smoking, cancer, heart disease, and the oral-systemic link: Where we are with research

Source: www.dentistryiq.com Author: Richard H. Nagelberg, DDS Dr. Richard Nagelberg examines the links between smoking, lung cancer, and heart disease, as well as the types of research and studies that established the strength of their credibility over time. Likewise, he considers where we are today with the link between oral health and overall health as he evaluates the current state of oral-systemic research. Perhaps the most universally accepted facts in health care are the detrimental effects of tobacco, particularly cigarette smoking, for nearly every part of the body. It is safe to say that no one disputes the direct causal links between cigarette smoking, lung cancer, and heart disease. Listed below are only two statements regarding the state of this knowledge. ✔️The scientific evidence is incontrovertible: inhaling tobacco smoke, particularly from cigarettes, is deadly. Since the first Surgeon General’s Report in 1964, evidence has linked smoking to diseases of nearly all organs of the body. (surgeongeneral.gov. June 21, 2018) ✔️Smoking is by far the biggest preventable cause of cancer. Thanks to years of research, the links between smoking and cancer are now very clear. Smoking accounts for more than 1 in 4 UK cancer deaths, and 3 in 20 cancer cases. (cancerresearchuk.org) There is a boatload of research supporting this link. However, there has never been one large-scale double-blinded interventional study demonstrating that smoking causes lung cancer and heart disease. The fact that this link exists is based on the cumulative results of numerous smaller studies over a long period [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2018-08-18T16:04:12-07:00August, 2018|Oral Cancer News|

50 Years After Landmark Warning, 8 Million Fewer Smoking Deaths

Source: npr.orgPublished: January 7, 2014By: Richard Knox Last Saturday marked an important milestone in public health – the 50th anniversary of the first Surgeon General's Report on Smoking and Health. Few if any documents have had the impact of this one — both on the amount of disease and death prevented, and on the very scope of public health. An analysis in the JAMA, the American Medical Association journal, estimates that 8 million Americans avoided premature death as a result of tobacco control efforts launched by the 1964 report. Those efforts range from cigarette warning labels to escalating taxes on cigarettes to proliferating restrictions on where people can smoke. They were augmented by a series of high-profile surgeon general reports detailing the dangers to smokers, unborn children and bystanders. But the impact of the 1964 report is even broader than that, according to Harvard historian Allan Brandt. "If we look at the history of public health – from the safety of cars and roads, other dangerous products, the environment, clean air, the workplace – all of these issues really have their origins in a moment 50 years ago around the first surgeon general's report," Brandt tells Shots. He's the author of a 2007 history, The Cigarette Century. But all that impact unfolded over decades, and for many years it didn't appear the report would launch such a revolution. In the 1970s, when Joanne Iuliucci of Staten Island, N.Y., started smoking at age 12, she says she had no idea that [...]

Charlotte Parker2014-01-15T17:17:56-07:00January, 2014|Oral Cancer News|

Tobacco use and baseball

Source: www.quitsmokingforyou.com Like cigarettes, smokeless tobacco (snuff and chewing tobacco), cause mouth cancer, gum disease, and heart disease. Yet many think that chewing tobacco is safe or less so than smoking. This is not true! In 1986, the Surgeon normal closed that the use of smokeless tobacco “is not a safe substitute for smoking cigarettes. It can cause cancer and a whole of noncancerous conditions and can lead to nicotine addiction and dependence.” Since 1991, the National Cancer institute (Nci) has officially recommended that the group avoid and desist the use of all tobacco products, including smokeless tobacco. Nci also recognizes that nitrosamines, found in tobacco products, are not safe at any level. Chewing tobacco and baseball have a long tight affiliation, rooted in the cultural confidence among players and fans that baseball players chew tobacco and it is just part of the grand old game. This mystique is slowing changing with campaigns by ballplayers who have had or have seen friends with mouth cancer caused by chewing tobacco use. Jeff Bagwell Jeff Bagwell, retired first baseman with the Houston Astros and Joe Garagiola, a previous baseball player and commentator, campaign against tobacco use among children and addicted adults. In 1993, when Bagwell was 25-years-old, his dentist discovered leukoplakia, a whitish pre-cancerous sore in his mouth where he continually located chewing tobacco. About 5% of leukoplakias institute into cancer. Fortunately this did not happen to Jeff Bagwell due to the early detection by his dentist. Rick Bender, The Man Without [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-06-04T20:47:24-07:00June, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Red Meat Consumption Linked to Increased Risk of Total, Cardiovascular, and Cancer Mortality

Source: Harvard School of Public Health Boston, MA -- A new study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers has found that red meat consumption is associated with an increased risk of total, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality. The results also showed that substituting other healthy protein sources, such as fish, poultry, nuts, and legumes, was associated with a lower risk of mortality. The study will be published online in Archives of Internal Medicine on March 12, 2012. “Our study adds more evidence to the health risks of eating high amounts of red meat, which has been associated with type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, and certain cancers in other studies,” said lead author An Pan, research fellow in the Department of Nutrition at HSPH. The researchers, including senior author Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at HSPH, and colleagues, prospectively observed 37,698 men from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study for up to 22 years and 83,644 women in the Nurses’ Health Study for up to 28 years who were free of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer at baseline. Diets were assessed through questionnaires every four years. A combined 23,926 deaths were documented in the two studies, of which 5,910 were from CVD and 9,464 from cancer. Regular consumption of red meat, particularly processed red meat, was associated with increased mortality risk. One daily serving of unprocessed red meat (about the size of a deck of cards) was associated with a 13% increased risk of mortality, and one daily [...]

Charlotte Parker2012-03-15T10:09:22-07:00March, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Possible Link Between HPV and Heart Disease

Source: CVTNews.ca We already know HPV, or human papillomavirus, can cause cervical cancer. It's also known to cause some kinds of oral cancer. But could HPV also cause heart disease? An intriguing new study is drawing a link. The study found that women who are known to be infected with cancer-causing strains of the virus may be at increased risk for cardiovascular disease and stroke -- even when they have none of the usual heart disease risk factors. The study authors say their research is one of the first to investigate a potential link between heart disease and HPV, which is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections. The Public Health Agency of Canada estimates that more than 70 per cent of sexually-active Canadian men and women will have a sexually transmitted HPV infection at some point in their lives. They say they began the study because they wanted to know why some people have heart attacks even though they have none of the usual risk factors, like high cholesterol or high blood pressure. About 20 per cent of patients with heart disease lack risk factors, which has left open the possibility that underlying "nontraditional" causes might be involved in the disease. If there is indeed a link between the virus and heart disease, it could have a number of implications. It would mean that doctors would have to monitor patients with HPV to help prevent heart attack and stroke. As well, there is the possibility that the HPV vaccine [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-10-26T10:59:28-07:00October, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Multivitamins Don’t Lower Cancer and Cardiovascular Risk

Source: MedScape Today By: Leigh Krietsch Boerner Will taking multivitamins protect you from dying of cancer or cardiovascular disease? The answer is no, according to new research published online February 22 in the American Journal of Epidemiology. In a study of more than 180,000 people, researchers saw the same number of deaths from cancer and heart disease among multivitamin-takers and those who didn't take the supplements. "People need to understand that just taking these multivitamins is not sufficient to prevent disease," said Dr. Jennifer Hsiang-Ling Lin, of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, who didn't work on the study. Multiple past studies have shown no link between multivitamins and reduced risk of cancer or heart disease. Other recent research couldn't prove that multivitamins protect against diabetes, either. Some small studies in the past have shown that specific vitamins, not multivitamins, may be protective against heart disease or cancer later in life. However these studies looked at undernourished people, not generally healthy adults like the U.S. population, said co-author Dr. Song-Yi Park of the University of Hawaii Cancer Center in Honolulu. On its web site, the U.S. National Institutes of Health advises that doctors should prescribe multivitamins only "for patients who need extra vitamins, who cannot eat enough food to obtain the required vitamins, or who cannot receive the full benefit of the vitamins contained in the food they eat." But more than half of U.S. adults choose to take multivitamins, according to Dr. Lin. Altogether, Dr. Park's team looked at [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-04-06T13:46:55-07:00April, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Smokeless tobacco may be on its way out of Major League Baseball parks

Source: www.latimes.com Author: Karen Kaplan, Los Angeles Times Major League Baseball begins the 2011 season in two days, and if public heath officials have their way it will be the last season during which players will be able to chew and spit smokeless tobacco on the field. The leaders of 15 public health departments in cities with professional baseball teams sent a letter Monday to MLB Commissioner Bud Selig and Michael Weiner, executive director of the union representing major league players, urging them to forbid the use of smokeless tobacco products. Tobacco has been banned in baseball’s minor leagues since 1993. “The use of smokeless tobacco endangers the health of Major League ballplayers and sets a terrible example for the millions of young people who watch baseball at the ballparks and on TV,” the health chiefs wrote. The letter continues: Tobacco use is the number one cause of preventable death in the United States, killing more than400,000 people each year. As cigarette smoking has declined, the tobacco industry has increased its marketing of smokeless products and is spending record sums to promote them. But smokeless tobacco use is itself very dangerous, causing serious diseases of the mouth, including oral cancer. In addition, there is reason to worry that smokeless tobacco use by young persons may serve as a gateway to cigarette smoking, this nation’s leading preventable cause of premature death and disease. As officials in Major League cities around the country, we know that baseball is important to civic life [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-03-30T10:26:31-07:00March, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Smoking cessation funding slashed

Source: Atlantic Drugs By: Susan Ray Smoking cessation funding has been cut to its lowest level since 1999. Despite 20% of the population smoking, the same percentage that were in 2006, the current economic climate and other factors have caused states to reduce funding for stop smoking initiatives. Around $517 million has been allocated in the fiscal year 2011, which is down 9.2% from the previous year, and 28% less than in 2009. Alarm Public health groups are alarmed that people who are looking to quit smoking may now not get the help that they need. There are around 46 million smokers across America, all at an increased risk of developing serious health problems like lung and mouth cancer, and heart disease. Smoking is the biggest cause of preventable death in the US and is responsible for one in five deaths. About 8.6 million people suffer from smoking-related lung and heart disease. Smokers are twice as likely to die from heart attacks in comparison with non-smokers. Most important step The US Surgeon General has said, "Smoking cessation (stopping smoking) represents the single most important step that smokers can take to enhance the length and quality of their lives." Quitting smoking can be difficult. Some smokers find that the nicotine addictions make it too hard to give up. For others, the mental cravings to smoke are a greater problem. Research has shown that quitting smoking is more ‘mind over matter’ for many people, and that overcoming psychological desires to smoke cigarettes [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-11-10T09:27:15-07:00November, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Big Tobacco Files Lawsuit Over Anti-Smoking Ads

Source: Gothamist Author: John Del Signore A Board of Health directive could soon require any retailers selling cigarettes to display graphic warning signs (like the sample here) about the dangers of smoking, plus information on where to seek help quitting. But that would violate their First Amendment rights by focring them to "undertake graphic advocacy on behalf of the city," according to a lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court today by cigarette manufacturers' R.J. Reynolds, Philip Morris and Lorillard, along with two Queens convenience stores and two retail groups. The signs, which vividly depict the insalubrious effects of smoking on various parts of the human body (think mouth cancer and heart disease), "do not describe the risks of smoking in purely factual terms," the lawsuit claims.Furthermore, "The mandated signs crowd out other advertisements and otherwise dominate the point of sale in many smaller establishments, to the exclusion of merchandise or other messages chosen by the store owners. The signs thus deprive retailers of the limited space available for communicating with their customers and thereby restrict their speech." Say, it's nice to see Big Tobacco sticking up for the little guy, innit? In a statement, the Health Department says: Tobacco is an addictive drug that kills some 7,500 New Yorkers every year. It disables many more. Yet studies show that many smokers are still unaware of the full risks that smoking poses. By requiring cigarette vendors to post warning signs at the point of sale in retail outlets, New York City is trying to alert [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-06-03T15:40:35-07:00June, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Tobacco ‘mints’ tied to kids’ poisoning

Source: msnbc.com Author: JoNel Aleccia Smokeless, flavored tobacco products that look like candy and come in packages shaped like cell phones may be contributing to accidental poisonings in very young children, new research suggests. Nicotine-laced pellets, strips and sticks that dissolve completely in the user’s mouth — dubbed “tobacco candy” by critics — have joined chewing tobacco and snuff to become the second-most common cause of unintentional tobacco ingestion in kids younger than 6. Between 2006 and 2008, nearly 1,800 U.S. youngsters — almost 600 a year —accidentally consumed smokeless tobacco products, according to an analysis of 13,705 tobacco-related reports to the nation’s poison control centers. That’s a fraction of the nearly 3,600 poisonings a year that involved cigarettes and filter tips, but it worries authors of the new study published in the journal Pediatrics. "Novel smokeless tobacco products, including dissolvable, compressed tobacco products ... are now of major concern, with their discreet form, candy-like appearance and added flavorings that may be attractive to children," the authors write. Potential poisonings add to the growing list of worries from those who fear that tobacco makers thwarted by anti-smoking laws are trying to peddle their addictive products to a new generation of users. Tasty flavors and packaging that resembles Tic Tac mints could be a powerful draw to young users, critics say. “Our response has been one of dismay,” said Cathryn Cushing, a spokeswoman for the Oregon Tobacco Prevention & Education Program. Oregon is one of three states, along with Ohio and [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-04-19T11:31:12-07:00April, 2010|Oral Cancer News|