Between 1989 and 1997 the use of drugs to start labor (induce) or increase the strength or frequency of contractions (augment) doubled. Induction of labor is associated with an increase in cesarean sections.






Smoking News From MedicineNet.com

  • MRI Shows Lung Damage In Passive Smokers
    posted on 11/27/07
    A special type of MRI scan that uses colours to show damaged and undamaged areas of the lung has been used to show that non smokers suffer injury to their lungs from being exposed to second hand cigarette smoke for a long period of time. [click link for full article]

  • Your Family Doctor May Be The Key To Quitting Smoking, As Shown By New Research Review
    posted on 11/27/07
    Scientists at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) are defining the most effective ways to treat tobacco dependence, and in an article released in the November issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) they highlight the surprisingly significant role that the health practitioner can play in helping people quit smoking. Many people's attempts to quit are unsuccessful, so effective interventions are critical for the 4.5 million smokers in Canada alone. [click link for f

  • Secondhand Smoke Damages Lungs: Novel MRI Technique Offers Proof
    posted on 11/27/07
    For the first time, researchers have identified structural damage to the lungs caused by secondhand cigarette smoke.The results of the study, conducted by researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine in Charlottesville and The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, were presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). [click link for full article]

  • Attention And Working Memory In Recovering Alcoholics May Be Enhanced By Nicotine
    posted on 11/27/07
    * Alcoholics in early recovery tend to have impaired cognitive functioning. * Nicotine is known to have beneficial effects under certain circumstances. * New findings show that nicotine patches may enhance cognitive functioning among newly recovering alcoholics with a history of smoking. Detoxified alcoholics in the early stages of recovery tend to have impaired cognitive functioning. [click link for full article]

  • Health Dept Airs New Anti-Tobacco Ad Campaign
    posted on 11/27/07
    Most smokers can list the many health effects of cigarettes - lung cancer, throat cancer, emphysema, heart disease - but few fully appreciate the challenges faced by those who struggle with the addiction. For more than a year, the Health Department has conducted focus groups and in-depth interviews to learn more about issues smokers are concerned about and what motivates them to quit. [click link for full article]

  • Vietnam: 30,000-40,000 Die From Smoking Annually
    posted on 11/27/07
    According to new reports, thirty to forty thousand people die of smoking related disease each year in Vietnam. Some 56 percent of local men aged 15 upwards are cigarette smokers, the Vietnam Tobacco Control Program reported. In recent years, smokers in Vietnam have spent over 8.2 trillion Vietnamese dong (512.5 million U.S. dollars) on smoking, said the programmes secretary, Phan Thi Hai. [click link for full article]

  • Ex Smoker: "Look At What Has Happened To Me And Tell Me Smoking Is Worth It"
    posted on 11/27/07
    Isaac keery, 62, who had a lung removed after being told he had just a year left to live is urging smokers to think twice about lighting up. Mr Keery, was diagnosed with cancer last April and told he could expect to live just 12 months if he didn't have his left lung taken out. [click link for full article]

  • MRIs Show Evidence Of Lung Damage From Secondhand Smoke
    posted on 11/27/07
    It's not a smoking gun, but it's smoking-related, and it's there in black-and-white images: evidence of microscopic structural damage deep in the lungs, caused by secondhand cigarette smoke. For the first time, researchers have identified lung injury to nonsmokers that was long suspected, but not previously detectable with medical imaging tools. The researchers suggest that their findings may strengthen public health efforts to restrict secondhand smoke. [click link for full article]

  • BJOG Release: Smoking Obscures Tests For Down Syndrome, UK
    posted on 11/26/07
    New research published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology shows that women smoking during the first stage of pregnancy affects the levels of chemicals in the blood that are used for Down syndrome screening, and this could lead to misleading results. Researchers from Saudi Arabia carried out tests on 2, 337 fit and healthy first-time mothers in the first trimester of pregnancy, from 2001 - 04. [click link for full article]

  • South Africa: Drive To Stub Out Smoking Among The Youth
    posted on 11/26/07
    A new study has found that two approaches to reduce teenage smoking rates and prevent others from starting appear twice as effective as the government's curriculum for teaching life skills.Research by the Medical Research Council (MRC) is being studied by the education department with the view to improving tobacco prevention programmes in schools, as most smokers start when they are teenagers. [click link for full article]

  • Heart Attacks Down Following Countywide Smoking Ban
    posted on 11/23/07
    Heart attacks among non smokers in Monroe County, Indiana, US, fell by more than two thirds following a smoking ban in the county.These are the findings of a study published in the present issue of the Journal of Drug Education by researchers at Indiana University (IU), based in the state capital, Bloomington. [click link for full article]

  • London's Cancer Hot Spots
    posted on 11/23/07
    A new study has found that Kingston is London's hot spot for skin, breast and prostate cancer. It is one of the boroughs in the capital with the highest rates of all three types of cancer. The Cancer Inequalities in London report by the Thames Cancer Registry reveals stark differences in cancer levels in different areas. It shows the highest rates for skin cancer are in Kingston, Richmond & Twickenham, Sutton & Merton, Croydon and Havering. [click link for full article]

  • Australia: Cigarette Pack Displays 'tempt Quitters'
    posted on 11/22/07
    According to new research, displaying cigarette packs behind shop counters do tempt would be quitters.The first study led by Australian researchers found more than a third of smokers who were trying to quit or cut down were tempted to buy cigarettes as a direct result of seeing them on display. 60 per cent of these gave in to the urge, purchasing cigarettes at least once even though they had never intended to buy any. [click link for full article]

  • Smoking Before And After Pregnancy Harms Daughters' Fertility
    posted on 11/22/07
    Researchers have identified the chemical pathway by which a mother's smoking before and after pregnancy might reduce her daughter's fertility by as much as two-thirds. Cigarette smoking during pregnancy has been shown in studies to affect the fertility of a woman's offspring, but this is the first study to offer an explanation of the biology behind the effect, the scientists claim. [click link for full article]

  • FDA Issues Early Communication For Chantix
    posted on 11/22/07
    Background: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an Early Communication about an Ongoing Safety Review of Chantix, a drug approved as an aid to smoking cessation treatment. An Early Communication reflects FDA's current analysis of available data concerning these drugs and does not mean that FDA has concluded that there is a causal relationship between the drug and the emerging safety issue. [click link for full article]

  • Tasmanians Congratulated On Landmark Decision To Phase Out Tobacco Displays, Australia
    posted on 11/22/07
    Tasmanian parliamentarians should be congratulated for leading the nation on the removal of tobacco displays and setting an example for other jurisdictions to follow, The Cancer Council Australia said after a landmark amendment to Tasmanian health legislation was passed by the state's upper house. [click link for full article]

  • Combination Of Cigarette Smoke And Alcohol Increases Damage To Heart
    posted on 11/22/07
    Tobacco smoke-filled air is bad for cardiovascular health, and drinking alcohol at the same time only makes it worse, according to researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).Testing the theory that moderate alcohol consumption provides some heart-protection benefits, the UAB team said it wanted to take the idea further and look at the effects of smoking and breathing second-hand smoke along with drinking. [click link for full article]

  • Cold Laser Stop Smoking And Weight Loss Education Available
    posted on 11/22/07
    A medical training seminar was held in Las Vegas, where Eileen O'Connor from KickButtsUSA an expert experienced in using cold lasers to help people quit smoking and lose weight, demonstrated to medical doctors exactly how she uses cold lasers as part of a program to help patients stop smoking. The seminar included a live cold laser treatment for a patient who wished to stop smoking, so that the doctors in attendance could observe the treatment process and protocol involved. [click link for full

  • Suicidal Thoughts Could Be Linked To Chantix Says FDA
    posted on 11/22/07
    The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued what the agency terms an "early communication" about a potential, but yet to be confirmed, safety issue with Pfizer's smoking cessation drug Chantix, where a number of postmarketing cases have reported patients on Chantix experiencing suicidal thoughts and related erratic behaviour. [click link for full article]

  • Cigarette Smoke And Alcohol Damage Hearts Worse As Combo
    posted on 11/22/07
    Tobacco smoke filled air is bad for cardiovascular health, and drinking alcohol at the same time only makes it worse, according to researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Testing the theory that moderate alcohol consumption provides some heart-protection benefits, the UAB team said it wanted to take the idea further and look at the effects of smoking and breathing second-hand smoke along with drinking. [click link for full article]

  • Canada: Nova Scotia Town Votes Unanimously To Ban Smoking In Cars Carrying Children
    posted on 11/21/07
    The Canadian Cancer Society has applauded a small town in Nova Scotia which dismissed criticism that banning smoking in cars carrying children is too intrusive and instead cited the evolution of anti-smoking laws across the country. The town council of Wolfville voted in favour of the bylaw, the first of its kind in Canada. [click link for full article]

  • Tobacco Licensing - A Vital Step Forward In Tackling Under Age Smoking, Says BMA Scotland
    posted on 11/20/07
    BMA Scotland gave its wholehearted support to Christine Grahame's consultation on a proposed tobacco sales licensing bill for Scotland. The Association believes that tackling the problem of underage smoking requires a wide ranging approach and legislation in this area would represent a significant step towards in tackling teen smoking. The BMA welcomed the recent age increase for tobacco sales. [click link for full article]

  • Chinese Male Smokers More Likely To Lose Their Hair
    posted on 11/20/07
    Chinese men who smoke are more prone to age-related hair loss, according to an article in Archives of Dermatology (JAMA/Archives).The researchers explain "Androgenetic alopecia, a hereditary androgen-dependent disorder, is characterized by progressive thinning of the scalp hair defined by various patterns. It is the most common type of hair loss in men." The condition is mainly genetic. However, some environmental factors also have an impact. Lin-Hui Su, M.D., M. [click link for full

  • Cancer Survivor's Grim Message To Smokers: Quit Now Or You May Die
    posted on 11/19/07
    A Cancer survivor from Derby has warned smokers to look after their lungs or they could die. Janet Tandy is speaking out to mark Lung Cancer Awareness Month and telling people to quit smoking to protect their health. The 62-year-old is currently in remission from lung cancer, after smoking for nearly 40 years. [click link for full article]

  • USA: Study Finds That Heart Attacks In Non-smokers Decreased With Smoking Ban
    posted on 11/19/07
    People with no risk factors for heart disease can still experience heart attacks. An Indiana University study found that after a countywide smoking ban was implemented, hospital admissions for heart attacks dropped 70 percent for non-smokers, but not for smokers. [click link for full article]