Smoking

Australian researchers have released the first-ever report on worldwide addiction statistics. They found about 240 million people around the world are dependent on alcohol, more than a billion people smoke, and about 15 million people use injection drugs, such as heroin.

Graphic photographs on cigarette warning labels appear to be more effective than text warnings in convincing smokers to try to quit, a new study suggests.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, May 22- Thursday, May 28, 2015.

The rate of cigarette smoking declined significantly in about half of states between 2011 and 2013, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There was relatively little change in the rate of smokeless tobacco use, the report found.

More than 20 percent of the world’s adult population—one billion people—smoke, while almost 5 percent—240 million—have an alcohol use disorder, according to a new report.

More than a dozen states are offering incentives to Medicaid beneficiaries to quit smoking, lose weight and make other healthy lifestyle changes, according to USA Today. These state programs are taking a cue from workplace wellness programs in the private sector.

E-cigarette use among teens tripled from 2013 to 2014, a new government report finds. An estimated 13 percent of high school students used e-cigarettes last year—compared with 9 percent who smoked traditional cigarettes.

A $5 million anti-smoking campaign, funded by the National Institutes of Health, targets hipsters, The Washington Post reports. The campaign is designed to reach young adults “focused on the alternative music scene, local artists and designers, and eclectic self expression.”

A new fund to help low- and middle-income countries fight legal challenges to their smoking laws by the tobacco industry has been created by Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

If every state were to immediately ban tobacco sales to those under 21, the smoking rate would fall 12 percent, according to a new report by the Institute of Medicine. The decrease would prevent 249,000 premature deaths among the generation born between 2000 and 2019, the report concludes.

Increasing the minimum age to purchase cigarettes to 21 would prevent teens from starting to smoke, and would ultimately save lives, according to a new report. The minimum age to buy cigarettes in most parts of the country is 18.

Forty percent of tobacco consumers use more than one product, according to a new study. Half of all combinations include e-cigarettes, Reuters reports.

A large government study on tobacco use, scheduled to be released Thursday, is unlikely to provide many details about e-cigarette use, experts say. The lack of data will make it more difficult to set policies about e-cigarettes, they note.

The number of Americans who die from smoking-related diseases is significantly higher than previously estimated, according to a new study. The researchers say 60,000 additional deaths annually should be added to the almost half a million already attributed to smoking.

A survey of college freshmen finds many fewer of them report drinking and smoking in high school, compared with first-year college students in previous years.

Public health groups say they are concerned that some state measures that appear to keep e-cigarettes out of the hands of young people may do more harm than good, according to USA Today.

Lung cancer, long the leading cause of cancer deaths among men in developed nations, is now also the top cause of cancer deaths in developed countries among women, according to a new report.

A new study finds financial incentives can be an effective way to help pregnant women quit smoking.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, January 16, 2015- Thursday, January 22, 2015.

Smokers burn through an average of $1.4 million in personal costs, a new study concludes. The figure includes spending on cigarettes, medical costs and lower wages brought on by smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke, CBS News reports.

Cigarette smoking causes about three in 10 cancer deaths in the United States, according to a new study by researchers at the American Cancer Society. The estimate does not include deaths from secondhand smoke.

Smoking in federal prisons, which has been banned in practice since 2006, has been officially outlawed, according to U.S. News & World Report. Prison guards will still be allowed to possess tobacco.

New antismoking campaigns aimed at American Indian and Native Alaskan communities feature personal stories, instead of statistics or fear-inducing images, The New York Times reports.

Fewer American adults are smoking than ever before, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The dip in the smoking rate is due to higher cigarette prices, smoke-free policies and campaigns to combat smoking, the CDC said.

A new study suggests e-cigarettes may significantly reduce tobacco cravings in smokers. The small study, which included 48 smokers who were not trying to quit, indicates e-cigarettes may help smokers reduce the number of cigarettes they smoke, or help them stop altogether, the researchers say.