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Harm Reduction
Vaping raises heart failure risk – US study
Vaping may cause a “substantial” increase in the risk of heart failure, research has suggested, with scientists saying that more studies are linking the...
Vapes not safer than tobacco, says expert
Vaping is not without risk, even though studies may show that it is less harmless than smoking and should be regulated the same way...
New Zealand to ban disposable vapes
New Zealand is to ban the sale of disposable e-cigarettes, increase fines on retailers that sell to under-18s, and improve retailer regulations – this...
Few women know of booze and breast cancer link – WHO
Only one in five women in Europe – just 21% – know that alcohol is a risk factor for developing breast cancer, the World...
Frequent cannabis use bumps up heart attack risk – US study
American researchers have suggested that people who frequently smoke weed have a greater risk of heart attack and stroke, after their analysis of several...
New Zealand dumps stringent world-first tobacco ban
New Zealand has repealed what would have been a world-first law banning tobacco sales for future generations, the government said, even while researchers and...
Czech Republic latest state to ban synthetic cannabinoid
Several countries already prohibit or regulate the sale of semi-synthetic hexahydrocannabinol (HHC), with the Czech Republic becoming the latest to restrict its sale after...
Smoking damage to immune system lasts for years – French study
Scientists say that smoking tobacco is so toxic for the body that it changes the immune system, leaving people vulnerable to more disease and...
Why science no longer supports drinking alcohol in moderation
In 1991, the host of the news programme 60 Minutes in the United States went to France in search of an answer: why were the French,...
Tobacco firms aggressively targeting youth – SAMRC
Tobacco companies are aggressively honing in on youngsters, with a recent report showing a quarter of the students interviewed at tertiary institutions used e-cigarettes,...
Call for 'watershed' Surgeon-General's report on vaping
Public health experts say a US Surgeon-General report – similar to one issued 60 years ago that settled a longstanding public debate about cigarettes...
Tobacco use slowly drops ‘despite industry efforts’
According to the latest estimates, 150 countries have recorded a continued decline in tobacco rates, with about one in five users worldwide compared with...
Smokers more likely to quit with natural cytisine: Argentinian review
A pill that dampens nicotine cravings could play a major role in helping people kick the smoking habit, say scientists, who found that potential...
Tobacco industry appeals for 'harm reduction' approach
Industry experts and tobacco harm reduction advocates have appealed to government to review the newly tabled Tobacco Bill – which will push up the...
US delays menthol cigarette ban
The US Government has delayed a decision on whether to ban menthol cigarettes, amid intense lobbying from tobacco companies, shops and industry-backed groups that...
Australia bans disposable vape imports
In efforts to clamp down on nicotine addiction in children, Australia plans to ban the import of disposable vapes from January, while new laws...
FDA a step closer to banning menthol cigarettes
The US Food and Drug Administration has taken a “momentous” step toward banning menthol in cigarettes and flavoured cigars, proposing a rule that public...
Cutting back, quitting alcohol, may reverse brain shrinkage: US study
A study by American researchers has suggested that quitting or cutting back on drinking can improve brain health, and that people who reduced their...
Why alcohol-free days are important
Even drinking in moderation – one or two drinks each day over the week – is risky, and with drinkers now becoming more aware...
SA study suggests limiting pub hours will save lives, reduce harm
Restricting trading times for on-site alcohol consumption could reduce the many harmful consequences associated with drinking by South Africans, who are among the world’s...
Nuanced UCT findings on e-cigs as gateway to regular smoking
As MPs deliberate on the Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill, a study released this week by the University of Cape Town...
Policy shift call as global drug use and deaths highest ever
Fifty years into the world “war on drugs”, the drugs are winning. Global levels of drug use and production, as well as drug-related deaths...
UK pushes vapes in world first 'swop-to-stop' campaign
British authorities will go all out to encourage about 1m smokers to swop cigarettes for vapes, with pregnant women offered financial incentives to make...
No alcohol is good for your health – Canadian analysis
Contrary to decades of studies suggesting moderate drinking is better than not drinking at all – and could even promote longevity – recent analysis of...
Nicotine vapes help smokers quit, but long-term effects still unclear – Cochrane Review
A Cochrane Review of more than 78 studies and 22 000 participants found the strongest evidence yet that e-cigarettes (vapes) work better than traditional...
Higher lung damage risk for marijuana smokers than tobacco smokers – Canadian study
Scans of the lungs of marijuana users have turned up an alarming surprise: regular smokers appear to be at greater risk of lung damage,...
Dual use of cigarettes and vaping devices worse than single use – two US studies
Two related studies show that the combination of smoking and vaping might cause even more damage – a potential red flag for those using...
Nigeria opens first needle exchange in efforts to slash infections
Nigeria’s first needle and syringe exchange programme has been launched in Oyo state, which the country hopes will reduce its mushrooming addict population’s risk...
Vaping among teens at SA’s affluent schools ‘a significant problem’
More than a quarter of matric pupils at wealthy South African high schools are vaping, and almost a quarter of those who use the...
SA now among world's top meth markets – harm reduction report
While harm reduction interventions have increased globally, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, the latest Global State of Harm Reduction report shows that South Africa is...
What is the evidence on e-cigarettes helping you quit smoking?
Are e-cigarettes (vapes) actually useful for quitting smoking cigarettes? The jury appears out on this controversial question, with some schools of thought punting the...
Substance abuse higher in socially active, less supervised groups – 28-year analysis
While general substance abuse among American adolescents is dropping, there is an upward spiral in cannabis and vaping use, a Columbia University Mailman School...
Harm reduction research on tobacco/nicotine products is being ignored
While an intense battle continues globally – led by anti-smoking NGOs, some national governments, and the World Health Organization (WHO) – an increasing amount...
US health warnings on EVALI outbreak incorrectly blamed e-cigarettes
A 2019 outbreak of “e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury” (EVALI) was followed by official health warnings against use of the products, according...
Major independent evidence review: vaping ‘a small fraction’ of the risk of smoking
The UK government’s final independent evidence review on the health harms of vaping concludes that vaping poses a small fraction of the risks of...
Survey shows that Australian teenagers have ready access to illegal vaping products
Teen vaping is a topical issue, with parents and schools struggling to manage this amid fears that children are becoming addicted and harming their...
Smokers’ misconceptions regarding e-cigarettes deter harm reduction behaviours
The concept that some nicotine-delivering products – such as vapes over cigarette smoking are less harmful than others, is broadly acknowledged by the literature,...
Prenatal cannabis exposure linked to adolescent mental health issues
Cannabis exposure during pregnancy was associated with an increased risk of psychopathology into adolescence, especially if exposure continued later into the pregnancy, according to...
Chronic e-cigarette users may risk pulmonary damage: small US study
E-cigarette users may incur small airway–centred fibrosis, including constrictive bronchiolitis, found a four-patient study published in the New England Journal of Medicine Evidence. The...
Vaping could save 104,000 Australian lives – modelling study
Relaxing Australia’s regulations on vaping could save the lives of 70,000 to 104,000 people by 2080, according to a modelling study published in Nicotine...