cigarettes – Page 7 – Oral Cancer News

FDA to examine cigarette ingredients

Source: Health.com Author: Amanda Gardner MONDAY, JUNE 7 (Health.com) — If you want to know what’s in your TV dinner or Twinkies—a big if—all you need to do is look on the package. But if you smoke cigarettes and want to know what you’re inhaling, you’re out of luck. For years, tobacco companies have been lacing cigarettes with hundreds of chemicals and additives ranging from ammonia to cocoa, reportedly to heighten the kick of nicotine, improve flavor, and mask the harshness of smoke. Very little is known about the health effects of these ingredients, however, since the tobacco industry isn’t required to disclose them publicly or explain their purpose. The mystery may soon come to an end. On Tuesday, a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel will meet to investigate what “harmful or potentially harmful” ingredients are in the more than 300 billion cigarettes smoked in the U.S. each year. After a second meeting this summer, the panel will provide a list of ingredients and recommendations to the FDA, which was granted the authority by Congress to regulate tobacco products in 2009. “Maybe with a new FDA ruling, companies will have to tell us what they put in these products and why,” says Norman Edelman, MD, the chief medical officer of the American Lung Association. “The concern is that these [ingredients] have health risks and we don’t really know what they are.” Sixty years ago cigarettes contained few additives. But as tobacco companies sought to reduce the levels of nicotine [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-06-09T12:38:21-07:00June, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

U.S. cigarette brands tops in cancer causing chemicals

Source: CNN Author: Miriam Falco Smokers of U.S. brand cigarettes may get more bang for their buck in the worst way according to a small study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Researchers found U.S. made cigarettes contain more cancer-causing chemicals than some cigarettes brands made elsewhere around the world. “Not all cigarettes are made alike” says Dr. Jim Pirkle, deputy director for science at the CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health. He says this is the first study to show that “U.S. cigarettes have more of the major carcinogen [TSNAs] than foreign made cigarettes." TSNAs are “tobacco-specific nitrosamines,” the major cancer-causing substance in tobacco. 126 smokers in five cities – Waterloo, Ontario; Melbourne, Victoria (Australia); London, England, Buffalo, New York, and Minneapolis, Minnesota – were recruited for this study. They were between the ages of 18 and 55 and smoked at least 10 cigarettes a day for the past year and had been brand loyal for at least three months. The cigarettes smoked by the study recruits represented some of the more popular brands for each country including: Players light and DuMaurier in Canada; Marlboro, Newport Light, Camel Light in the U.S.; Peter Jackson and Peter Stuyvesant in Australia; and Benson & Hedges and Silk Cut Purple in the United Kingdom. Scientists analyzed more than 2,000 cigarette butts to get the data they are reporting today, says Pirkle. When researchers compared cigarette brands in the U.S. to those in Canada and Australia, they found three times higher [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-06-04T13:06:10-07:00June, 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 consumption among youngsters a concern

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com Author: Tausif Alam The rise of tobacco consumption among children and young adults between 10 to 17 years has become a major cause of concern in the city. In the wake of it, cases of oral cancer among children are also on rise, say experts. According to the data released by the World Health Organisation (WHO), prevalence of smoking among children in India, between the age group of 13-15 years, is 5.8 per cent and 2.4 per cent in male and female respectively. The consumption of tobacco in different forms by children varies between 16.2 per cent and 7.2 per cent in male and female respectively. "Children between the age group of 10-17 years have been consuming tobacco mostly in the form mawa, pan masala and gutkha. The major cause of addiction among children is cheap availability of tobacco products. Though our law restricts selling of tobacco products to minors, the rule is not observed stringently, and minors have easy access to these products," said Kalyan Gangwal, founder member of the Sarva Jeev Mangal Pratishthan. He added that prevalence of tobacco consumption is mostly seen among slum children. The uses of mawa, pan masala and gutkha can cause oral submucous fibrosis, a pre-cancerous lesion which can lead to cancer. The symptoms are the difficulty in opening mouth and inability to tolerate hot, spicy food. Now, a large number of cases of oral submucous fibrosis have been found among youngsters who consume tobacco, said Gangwal. "The children mostly inherit [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-05-31T06:09:38-07:00May, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

FDA tobacco regulator promises firm approach, open mind

Source: The Wall St. Journal Author: David Kesmodel WILLIAMSBURG, Va.—The top tobacco regulator at the Food and Drug Administration signaled to industry executives Monday that he would take a firm approach to overseeing the industry, but pledged to keep an open mind about new products and ideas to reduce tobacco-related illnesses. Dr. Lawrence Deyton, director of the agency's Center for Tobacco Products, said in a speech at an annual tobacco-industry conference here that his job "is to address this enormous toll of confusion, suffering and death caused by the current state of tobacco use in this country." In one of his first speeches to a large group of tobacco executives, Mr. Deyton told members of the Tobacco Merchants Association that he would place strong emphasis on reducing the number of minors who become tobacco users. He said 4,000 kids begin smoking each day, on average, and 1,000 become regular users. He reiterated his concern that new, dissolvable forms of smokeless tobacco produced by companies such as Reynolds American Inc. are candy-like in their appearance. Reynolds is complying with a review of such products by the FDA and has said its dissolvable products, which are being test-marketed in three cities, are made and marketed for adults. Mr. Deyton, a longtime public-health expert, began his job in September, a few months after the agency was given broad powers to regulate the industry under a landmark law signed by President Obama. The agency is still in the early stages of solidifying the framework under [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-05-29T11:00:45-07:00May, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Smokeless tobacco can take you out of the game

Source: www.healthcanal.com Author: staff Another baseball season is under way and fans are heading to the ballpark to watch their favorite players hit home runs, steal bases, and argue over what's fair and foul. Marshall Posner, MD, says that the first step in reducing oral cancer risk is to avoid tobacco use altogether. Unfortunately, they will also see something else that many consider to be "foul" — players chewing tobacco. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Massachusetts Dental Society (MDS) are partnering to spread the word that chewing tobacco, otherwise known as spit, dip, chew, or smokeless tobacco, is not a safe alternative to smoking. In fact, it's very addictive and a serious health risk. According to a Massachusetts survey released earlier this spring, teens may be turning away from cigarettes to other forms of tobacco, including smokeless tobacco. The report was funded by the United States Centers for Disease Control and conducted by state education and health departments. The survey asked middle- and high-school students about their tobacco habits and found that for the first time, students are using smokeless tobacco and cigars more than cigarettes. Of those high-schoolers who were surveyed, 16 percent admitted to smoking cigarettes in the past 30 days, while 17.6 percent admitted to using other tobacco products, such as smokeless tobacco. "Chewing tobacco is the most dangerous form of tobacco because it comes in contact directly with the oral mucosa," states David P. Lustbader, DMD, an MDS Trustee and an oral and maxillofacial surgeon at [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-05-14T14:39:59-07:00May, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Smokeless tobacco risks ‘overblown’?

Source: www.tobacco-news.net Author: staff The Wall Street Journal “Numbers Guy” blog said that while smokeless tobacco products remain far less popular than cigarettes in the United States, a collection of products that deliver nicotine without smoke—including dip, chew, snuff and newer items that look more like chewing gum—have sparked a heated debate about health risks. Opponents of these products have presented numbers that suggest smokeless tobacco is an enormous public-health threat akin to cigarettes, while supporters, including some scientists, suggest smokeless items could offer a solution to smoking’s toll on public health. Both claims are based on misinterpretations of the data, said the report. Critics of smokeless tobacco have spoken out recently about elevated risks of oral cancer and dangers these items pose to children who accidentally ingest them. All of these risks appear to be overblown, said the blog, particularly compared with smoking, which is far more likely to kill than smokeless alternatives. But researchers who recommend these products as alternatives for smokers seeking to quit also are relying on hazy figures, the report added. Much of their evidence comes from Sweden, where use of smokeless products has risen in recent decades as smoking, and lung-cancer rates, have fallen. Many scientists who study tobacco use remain unpersuaded that the drop in cancer rates stemmed from the increase in use of smokeless products. In pressing the case for more stringent regulation of smokeless tobacco, a National Cancer Institute physician last week testified before Congress that smokeless-tobacco products can multiply users’ [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-04-26T19:22:22-07:00April, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Nicotine vaccine shows effectiveness in early tests

Source: CNN Author: Val Willingham (CNN) -- A vaccine that could help people stop smoking is showing promise in early clinical trials, researchers announced this week at a national meeting of addiction specialists. The vaccine is designed to stimulate the immune system to generate antibodies that would latch on to nicotine in a smoker's body and prevent it from ever entering the brain. The vaccine maker, Nabi Biopharmaceuticals, reported that those who responded best to NicVAX in earlier testing had been able to quit smoking for three times longer than those in the placebo group, with data from 19 to 26 weeks, and then for 12 months. These are considered statistically significant results and superior to the testing results of Zyban and Chantix, prescription medications already approved to help smokers over the age of 18 quit, Nabi officials told the National Institute on Drug Abuse conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In addition, those whose bodies responded most effectively to NicVAX cut the number of cigarettes smoked, from a baseline of 20 cigarettes per day to 10 cigarettes per day. Those who took the vaccine experienced few side effects, said Dr. Raafat Fahim, president and CEO of Nabi Biopharmaceuticals. In 2009, Zyban and Chantix were ordered by the Food and Drug Administration to carry "black box" warnings of the risk of depression and suicidal thoughts. Nabi began the first phase III trials for NicVAX last November, enrolling 1,000 people. In March, a second phase III trial began with another 1,000 participants. [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-04-23T07:03:24-07:00April, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Tobacco mints and poisoning: shaped like cell phones

Source: Author: When I was a child I used to have candy cigarettes, people now argue that giving them to children could lead to them smoking when older – well I do not smoke and never intend too. But parents should worry about giving their children smokeless tobacco mints, as there is now research that it could be poisoning them. Do not get me wrong, I am not saying that parents give them to their children, but they need to make certain that they never try these products. They look like cell phones, which is why children love to try them, but as they are laced with nicotine, they are a danger to young children. According to Oral Cancer News almost 600 kids a year accidentally consume smokeless tobacco products, and there are fears that this number will grow as more dissolvable tobacco products are released. It does seem strange how these companies are able to get around tough-new anti-smoking laws. These companies should be forced to not make their tobacco products look like candy, or even cell phones – it is for this reason why they are drawing the attention of young children.

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-04-20T08:24:04-07:00April, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

E-Cigarette company faces legal fights on multiple fronts

Source: www.legalnewsline.com Author: Chris Rizo Officials in California are making a strong push against one of the largest electronic cigarette retailers in the United States. It seems that the manufacturer -- Smoking Everywhere LLC -- is facing attack on at least two fronts in the Golden State: from the attorney general and a leading state lawmaker. State Attorney General Jerry Brown, a Democrat, is suing Smoking Everywhere, alleging that the Sunrise, Fla.-based company is targeting minors in its marketing and making "misleading and irresponsible" claims that its tar-free alternatives to traditional cigarettes are safe. "Smoking Everywhere launched a misleading and irresponsible advertising campaign targeting minors and claiming that electronic cigarettes do not contain harmful chemicals," Brown said. "We are asking the Court to take these cigarettes off the market until the company has proven the products are safe." For its part, Smoking Everywhere claims that their products, which come in a range of flavors including mint, strawberry and chocolate, are designed to replicate smoking without some of the harmful side-effects of a traditional cigarette. The electronic cigarette functions by vaporizing a liquid nicotine mixture that is derived naturally from tobacco plants. The user inhales vapor without the fire, flame, tar, carbon monoxide, ash or smell of traditional cigarettes. In his lawsuit filed in Alameda County Superior Court, Brown is seeking to bar Smoking Everywhere from doing business in California until the company can prove that its products are safe and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. A similar [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-01-23T22:59:56-07:00January, 2010|Oral Cancer News|