News tagged with 'Lung Disease'

The one year anniversary of the Tobacco Control Act marks an expanded regulatory role of the FDA in overseeing cigarettes short of banning them or reducing nicotine. Candy flavored cigarettes, misleading labeling and menthol in cigarettes are all top priorities for regulation.

When Jill Wilkins' husband died of a mysterious brain tumor within one year after returning from active service in Iraq, the military didn't recognize illnesses from burn pits. Now she's become a one person online force with a Facebook page that helps vets connect the dots over their mysterious illnesses.

Hundreds of veterans have contacted groups reporting illnesses they believe resulted from their exposure to toxic smoke from burn pits, used by military contractors to get rid of all kinds of trash in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hundreds of thousands more may be affected.

Even though tar has been reduced in cigarettes over the years, there’s been an increase in a lung tumor called adenocarcinoma. It makes up 65 to 70 percent of newly diagnosed U.S. lung cancers, leading researchers to question why U.S. companies cure tobacco using propane generated heat and nitogen fertilizers. 

Research shows that gender makes women more vulnerable to the effects of smoking than previously known. Lung damage hits women at an earlier age and after less time smoking, dispelling the myth that smoking a few cigarettes is safer.   

The Florida legislature has agreed to cap the bond tobacco giants would have to set aside in case they lose thousands of upcoming cigarette injury cases.  A bond is required to launch an appeal, which can take years, something many of the injured smokers or their survivors don't have.   

Tuburculosis is spread through the air, so there is an ongoing public health concern since a medical resident showed up positive who had been a three Chicago area hospitals. 

Should the FDA Oversee Big Tobacco?   Is it capable with all that is on the agency's plate?  That move got one step closer Thursday when the House voted overwhelmingly on a bill that would put tobacco products, ingredients and advertising under FDA oversight.

Ozone pollution eminating from fossil fuel plants, chemical solvents, and cars, is linked to an increase in respiratory deaths in this published study. Los Angeles and Riverside California are particularly high in ozone levels.

Alan Landers was the poster-man for Winston cigarettes for decades - strong, sexy, confident, he lured smokers with the image of invincibility into an addictive habit. Later he would become an anti-smoking advocate and filed four lawsuits against Big Tobacco. One was to be heard next month, but Landers has died of throat cancer.

It may be the most significant criminal prosecution ever brought against a corporate polluter. The town of Libby, Montana is finally having its day in court. Town residents claim that the vermiculite mining operation, W.R. Grace, withheld information about the dangers of asbestos that blanketed the entire town with a fine dust.  More than 1,200 died or developed lung disease from asbestos fibers. 

Being offered money helped a large number of General Electric employees quit smoking in this published research. While most people make several attempts to stop smoking, social networking and financial compensation might be tools for business to encourage a healthier workplace, researchers suggest.

Cleaner air translates to a longer life, concludes a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. 51 cities around the country were studied and the life expectancy has increased by nearly five months in the cities with the cleanest air. 

Patients often have difficulty quitting smoking after they've been diagnosed with cancer. This study, out of West Virginia University found that fewer than half of the smokers surveyed – 44 percent – quit during cancer treatment. And only 62 percent of patients diagnosed with cancer had received any advice about stopping smoking. 

Scientists find a new drug may help protect mice exposed to cigarette smoke from developing chronic lung disease, or COPD, raising hope for treatment in humans. COPD is the 4th largest killer, affecting as many as 210 million people worldwide.