All cigarettes are not created equal, and those in America do more harm than their foreign counterparts. American-blend cigarettes—as opposed to bright tobacco used overseas— have been found to have triple the tobacco-specific nitrosamines than brands found in Australia, Canada, or the United Kingdom

Original post:
Cigarettes: Americans Getting the Short End of the [Cancer] Stick

We childproof our kitchen cabinets, place cough syrup and aspirin out of harm’s way and keep cleaning products on a high shelf in the garage, but some items, like nicotine gum and tobacco mints are left out on a dresser, stuck in the corner of our purses, or in the console of the family minivan.

Read more from the original source:
Smokeless Tobacco Products: A New Danger for Children

High levels of vitamin D in the blood appear to be linked to lower risks of  colorectal cancer, although it’s not clear if higher intake of the vitamin actually prevents the disease, researchers say.

Still, the findings are food for thought: Scientists found that those with the highest levels of vitamin D in their blood had as much as a 40 percent lower risk for developing colorectal cancer than those with the lowest levels.

The research, published online Jan. 21 in BMJ, is based on a study of more than 520,000 people from 10 countries in Western Europe. The study participants gave blood samples and filled out diet and lifestyle questionnaires between 1992 and 1998. They were then tracked for several more years to see what happened to them.

During the follow-up period, 1,248 were diagnosed with colorectal cancer. These participants were compared with a similar group of 1,248 people who were not diagnosed with the disease.

The researchers cautioned that it’s not clear if there are risks from consuming high levels of vitamin D, which is available in supplements. It’s also not known whether supplements are necessary if people reach certain levels through a healthy diet, exercise and moderate exposure to sunlight.

The study authors noted that current recommendations for preventing colorectal cancer include exercising, not smoking, reducing obesity and abdominal fat, and limiting consumption of alcohol and red and processed meats.

LONDON – People with early lung cancer who quit smoking could double their chances of surviving, a new study says.

Until now, there has been little proof that quitting smoking after developing lung cancer makes any difference to survival.

British researchers analyzed previous data from 10 studies examining how long smokers survived after being diagnosed with lung cancer.

People with lung cancer who continued smoking had a 29 to 33 percent chance of surviving five years. But those who kicked the habit had a 63 to 70 percent chance of being alive after five years. The research was published Friday in the BMJ, formerly known as theBritish Medical Journal.

Lung cancer is the top cancer worldwide, and the prognosis is usually poor. Only about 7 percent of patients make it to five years, though about 20 percent of patients are diagnosed early enough to be treated.

“The message is you should never give up on giving up (smoking),” said Amanda Parsons, of the U.K. Centre for Tobacco Control Studies at the University of Birmingham, who led the study. “Even at the stage where you have been diagnosed with early stage lung cancer … if you give up smoking, your body can still partially recover and your risk is reduced,” she said.

While some doctors recommend lung cancer patients quit smoking, not all do. Some doctors and nurses “think it is inhuman to dwell on the matter — that it adds to feelings of guilt and takes away a lifelong comfort from the dying patient,” wrote Tom Treasure of University College London and Janet Treasure of King’s College London in an accompanying editorial in the BMJ.

They said patients and their families should now be told about the study results, “because the potential benefit is great.”

The research might also provide some clues on how smoking causes cancer. Scientists aren’t sure if tobacco smoke or nicotine affect lung cancer once it has developed, though there is some evidence they may speed up the disease. Knowing how cigarettes impact cancer could potentially lead to new treatments, Parsons and colleagues wrote.

The study was paid for by the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research U.K. and other governmental bodies.