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Ammonia and rocket fuel make cigarettes more addictive

Ammonia is purposely added in to the cigarette tobacco mixture because it increases the speed at which the nicotine reaches your brain. Remember, the faster the nicotine can reach your brain, the more addicting it is. Another added ingredient is the same chemical found in rocket fuel. It’s there to keep your cigarettes burning hot enough to turn the nicotine into a vapor so that, you guessed it, it can reach your brain quicker.

READ MORE AT newsolio.com

Smoking: Major Risk Factor for Stroke

Smokers are twice as likely to have strokes caused by brain clots and to have them at an earlier age than non-smokers, according

to a study presented last fall at the Canadian Stroke Congress.

They have four times the risk of stroke caused by a ruptured blood vessel than non-smokers, those researchers found.

READ MORE AT www.theledger.com

Smoker driven to quit after 46 years

After 46 years of smoking and several attempts to quit, Barb Sims has butted out for the last time.

Sims registered for the provincial Driven to Quit Challenge after attending a STOP (Smoking Treatment for Ontario Patients) smoking seminar in January in Exeter, sponsored by the Huron County Health Unit, the Grand Bend Area Community Health Centre and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.

READ MORE AT huron.bulletnewscanada.ca

Warnings on Cigarette Packs May Keep Ex-Smokers From Relapse

Warnings on cigarette packages about the health hazards of smoking can help deter many ex-smokers from lighting up again, a new international study finds.

The findings may be especially timely for policymakers in the United States, since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is poised to mandate graphic anti-smoking images on cigarette packaging in September.

READ MORE AT health.usnews.com

Tobacco industry gearing up to take down California cigarette tax initiative

In what is quickly turning into another high-stakes policy battle to be decided by California voters, tobacco giants Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds are forking over tens of millions of dollars to defeat a new tobacco tax on the June ballot.

Proposition 29, which would boost taxes by $1 a pack of cigarettes to $1.87, would raise about $735 million annually, most of which would go toward cancer research.

READ MORE AT www.mercurynews.com

Tobacco packaging 'deliberately designed to attract teenagers and children'

Cancer Research UK said its study reviewed industry documents from the last 50 years and claimed that some described how packaging had been developed to appeal to new smokers, notably teenagers, through its size, colour and design.

The Packaging of Tobacco Products report will be considered as part of a UK-wide consultation on whether cigarettes should be stripped of their branding and sold in plain, standardised packets.

READ MORE AT news.stv.tv

Study suggests possible link between smoking, high-functioning autism

Women who smoke during pregnancy may be more likely to have a child with high-functioning autism such as Asperger's disorder, according to preliminary findings of a study by researchers involved in the U.S. autism surveillance program of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The study, published Wednesday in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, did not conclusively find a link between maternal smoking and high-functioning autism. It suggested the possible link warrants further study.

READ MORE AT www.jsonline.com

New Zealand considers hiking cost of cigarettes to $100 a pack

Getting Americans to give up smoking can be difficult but what if a pack of cigarettes cost $100! Would smokers quit then?

That’s the hope in New Zealand. Right now cigarettes cost $14.00 a pack. The Daily Mail reports that the ministry of health wants to hike that to $100.00 within eight years. It’s just one idea being discussed and officials even admit it's probably unrealistic.

READ MORE AT www.myfoxorlando.com

smokers who light up early in day face higher risk of some cancers

People who smoke right after getting out of bed may face a greater risk of cancer than those who wait at least an hour before lighting up.

A study conducted by the Penn State College of Medicine, concluded having a cigarette first thing in the morning may increase the risk of lung, head and neck cancers.

READ MORE AT www.timesdaily.com

Ft. Worth Weighs Hiring Ban on Smokers

In the bad old days, discriminatory employers posted signs saying: “Irish [or fill in the blank] Need Not Apply.” Now the city of Ft. Worth is considering saying that same thing to smokers.

Though 29 states have enacted legal protections for smokers, Texas isn’t one of them, reports the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram. State and city governments looking to fill jobs can legally tell smokers to get lost.

READ MORE AT abcnews.go.com