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Quit smoking to reduce stroke risk if you have irregular heartbeat
Scientists have urged people with atrial fibrillation – the most common heart rhythm disorder – to kick the smoking habit and cut their chance...
In-laws’ alcohol use increases own risk of drinking problems
A study of more than 300,000 couples in Sweden has found that marriage to a spouse who grew up exposed to parental alcohol misuse...
Allowing adolescents ‘sips’ may lead to adverse alcohol outcomes
There is no evidence that parents supplying alcohol to adolescents will protect them from later alcohol harms, according to a report by researchers at...
Cannabis still lacks ‘real data’ to clarify its role in rheumatology
While recreational use of medical cannabis is on the rise among patients with rheumatologic diseases, quality studies demonstrating its risks and benefits are lacking,...
Smokers less likely to receive breast, cervical and colorectal screening
Current smokers have lower odds of obtaining screening for breast, cervical and colorectal cancer, according to a study from the universities of Stanford and...
Global deaths due to smokeless tobacco up by a third – UK Study
The number of deaths globally due to smokeless tobacco has gone up by a third in seven years to an estimated 350,000 people, suggests...
Cannabis legalisation a 'significant concern' – American Heart Association
Preliminary studies have found that cannabis use may be linked to an increased risk of heart attacks, atrial fibrillation and heart failure but no cardiovascular...
Pregnancy – Cannabis use linked to autism; alcohol raises miscarriage risk
Research suggests that children in Canada born to mothers who report using cannabis during pregnancy have about a 50% greater risk of developing autism,...
Heavier smoking linked to skyrocketing health risks
Each cigarette smoked a day by heavier smokers increases the risk of contracting some diseases by more than 30%, according to an international study...
COVID-19 concerns cause more than a million Brits to quit smoking
More than one million people in the United Kingdom have given up smoking since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a study by...
Lockdown in UK increased boozing in people with alcohol use disorders
In the United Kingdom, lockdown was a risk factor for increasing alcohol consumption in people with alcohol use disorders and relapse for those who...
Cannabis can raise – or lower – depression risk among adolescents
Research at Johns Hopkins University in America found a complicated and counterintuitive relationship between cannabis use among adolescents and depression, writes Eric W Dolan...
Scientists offer six proposals to limit boozing after alcohol ban is lifted
The SA Medical Research Council (SAMRC) has put forward six proposals to limit the availability of alcohol – and reduce hospital trauma cases –...
Research finds CBD effective at treating cannabis use disorder
Researchers in the United Kingdom have found, perhaps ironically, that cannabidiol (CBD) from cannabis, used in medical marijuana, can help tackle cannabis dependence among...
Adolescent e-cigarette use doubles risk of starting cigarette smoking
In adolescents the use of e-cigarettes doubles the risk of starting to smoke traditional cigarettes, states a position paper from the European Society of...
Alcohol abuse may raise risk of death in patients with arrhythmia
When patients under age 54 were hospitalised with abnormal heart rhythms, those who abused alcohol were 72% more likely to die before being discharged,...
High US death toll from excessive alcohol consumption – CDC study
Excessive alcohol use is responsible for 93,000 deaths and 2.7 million years of potential life lost every year in the United States, according to...
Getting the facts straight – The alcohol ban and COVID-19 beds
It is difficult to accept government meddling in personal lifestyles, even when decisions are based on solid evidence, writes MedicalBrief. The outrage that followed...
Alan Winde on the alcohol ban: South Africa needs to act smarter
In a News24 article Alan Winde, premier of the Western Cape, draws on provincial research that illustrates the heavy burden of alcohol-related trauma on...
Immune system facilitates alcohol addiction – European study
How alcohol produces potent addictive effects is poorly understood, and this likely impedes interventions to limit heavy drinking. A new study provides insights, revealing...
Study challenges belief that lower BMI shields smokers from health risks
Some smokers rationalise continuing to smoke because of lower body weight often associated with the habit. However, Vanderbilt University Medical Center investigators have determined...
Legal marijuana may slow declines in teen marijuana use
The legalisation of marijuana for Washington state adults may be thwarting a steady downward trend in teen marijuana use, according to research from the...
Smoking a factor in increased midlife mental decline risk
People’s thinking skills may be at higher risk of declining in midlife if they smoke or have high blood pressure or diabetes, suggests a...
MRC wants further controls to tackle SA’s alcohol abuse problem
The government’s reimposition of an alcohol sales ban as South Africa’s coronavirus epidemic surges has eased the pressure on hospital staff but cast a...
UCT report calls for end to tobacco ban, substantial excise increase
According to a University of Cape Town research report, 93% of South Africa's smokers are buying illegal cigarettes, up from 91% in May, writes MedicalBrief. The report from...
American Thoracic Society's new guidelines on treatment for tobacco dependence
Quitting tobacco has remained elusive for many smokers, despite smoking cessation initiatives, provocative public health campaigns and clinical guidance. The American Thoracic Society's new...
Happiness levels in SA took a dive after latest alcohol ban – Study
Researchers say happiness levels in South Africa have improved since the beginning of the lockdown, writes Riaan Grobler for News24. But the 12 July...
Does cannabis really affect memory? Here’s what research says
Cannabis use has long been associated with memory loss. But this notion was largely anecdotal. As researchers look into cannabis’ impacts on health, they’re...
Flavoured cigarette ban significantly reduced youth smoking – Study
A study by George Mason University, just published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, has found that the 2009 ban of flavoured cigarettes in...
Global confusion about nicotine hampers efforts to stop smoking
International research published in Drugs and Alcohol Today found that the public struggles to distinguish between the health impacts of nicotine and those of tobacco, complicating...
MRC modelling shows alcohol ban will cut trauma patients by 50,000
A two-month ban on alcohol sales could potentially see 50,000 fewer trauma patients presenting at public hospitals, freeing up desperately needed staff and beds...
Tobacco product ban – Legal rationality is not policy rationality
On 26 June, the North Gauteng High Court dismissed a challenge to the ban on the domestic sale of tobacco and related products. The...
Smoking a factor in young adult vulnerability to severe COVID-19
It has become almost common knowledge that young people are less vulnerable to severe coronavirus infections, writes Aria Bendix for Business Insider US. A...
'Strong science' claimed to be behind FDA decision to permit IQOS marketing
America’s Food and Drug Administration last week made the landmark decision to allow the marketing of the cigarette alternative IQOS Tobacco Heating System, which is...
Anti-tobacco activists now thwart vaping 'health revolution'
Many of the activists who fought against the deceptions of Big Tobacco, are the same ones who have thwarted the nascent health revolution of...
One in five people over 55 feel peer pressured into drinking more
One in five people aged over 55 years of age admit to feeling peer pressured into drinking more alcohol than they otherwise would, according...
Cannabis use in pregnancy boosts risk of child sleep problems
Use cannabis while pregnant, and your child is more likely to suffer sleep problems as much as a decade later, according to a study...
‘Pharming’ tobacco plants to produce vaccine molecules shows potential
We don’t know how long it will take to find a vaccine for COVID-19, but we do know this: if and when we find...
Cannabis use in patients with cardiovascular risk
A review in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology states that more than two million people with an underlying heart condition use...
US Food and Drug Administration authorises IQOS marketing
The US Food and Drug Administration has authorised the marketing of the Philip Morris ‘IQOS Tobacco Heating System’ as a modified risk tobacco product,...