Tobacco.org

Smoking riskier to women's hearts than men's  

Women typically get heart disease much later than men, but not if they smoke, researchers said Tuesday.

In fact, women who smoke have heart attacks more than a dozen years earlier than women who don't smoke, Norwegian doctors reported in a study presented to the European Society of Cardiology. For men, the gap is not so dramatic; male smokers have heart attacks about six years earlier than men who don't smoke.

"This is not a minor difference," said Dr. Silvia Priori, a cardiologist at the Scientific Institute in Pavia, Italy. "Women need to realize they are losing much more than men when they smoke," she said. Priori was not connected to the research.

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• Patients with high risk of stroke and heart attack 'ignoring doctors' advice' 

Britons at high risk of heart attack and stroke are ignoring doctors' advice to change their lifestyle, says a new survey.

More than three-quarters are obese or overweight, with dangerously big stomachs, and most smokers have refused to give up.

More than half have out-of-control blood pressure and 40 per cent have high cholesterol levels. . . .

The findings from a major European survey were released today at the European Society for Cardiology congress in Munich. . . .

The new survey of 12 countries looked in detail at 381 patients in the UK, who had been diagnosed as 'high risk' at least six months earlier by their GPs. . . .

Almost 80 per cent of those who were smokers at the time had not given up

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• Smoking riskier to women's hearts than men's 

Women typically get heart disease much later than men, but not if they smoke, researchers said Tuesday.

In fact, women who smoke have heart attacks nearly 14 years earlier than women who don't smoke, Norwegian doctors reported in a study presented to the European Society of Cardiology. For men, the gap is not so dramatic; male smokers have heart attacks about six years earlier than men who don't smoke.

"This is not a minor difference," said Dr. Silvia Priori, a cardiologist at the Scientific Institute in Pavia, Italy. "Women need to realize they are losing much more than men when they smoke," she said. Priori was not connected to the research.

Dr. Morten Grundtvig and colleagues from the Innlandet Hospital Trust in Lillehammer, Norway, based their study on data from 1,784 patients admitted for a first heart attack at a hospital in Lillehammer.

Their study found that the men on average had their first heart attack at age 72 if they didn't smoke, and at 64 if they did.

Women in the study had their first heart attack at age 81 if they didn't smoke, and at age 66 if they did.

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• Coronary Heart Disease Deaths And Decreased Smoking Prevalence in Massachusetts, 1993-2003 

A greater than 30% observed decline in CHD mortality rates in Massachusetts over a 10-year period is indeed a healthy trend. Studies have consistently indicated that more than half of such declines can be attributed to improvements in the 3 major cardiovascular risk factors: cholesterol, smoking, and blood pressure.3,5,9

Empirical evidence suggests that 15% to 45% of acute myocardial infarctions are associated with active smoking alone.6,10,11 In addition, recent evidence suggests that comprehensive smoking bans reduce hospitalization rates for acute myocardial infarction.12-14 Other contributors to declining CHD mortality includes improved case- fatality rates for acute myocardial infarction and overall survival rates for postmyocardial infarction patients over the years,15,16 but contributions from such effects can be minimal at the population level.17

Our estimate of approximately 14% fewer CHD deaths in Massachusetts attributable to reductions in smoking prevalence is consistent with similar estimates done for the entire US population.5,18 Our results also showed that an excess of approximately 100 CHD deaths might occur over a 5-year period (2005- 2010) if timely and urgent interventions in the form of more- aggressive antismoking campaigns are not enforced across the state of Massachusetts. This coincides with the gross budgetary cuts of the MTCP in 2002,19 which stalled the program until recently.

In conclusion, smoking plays an important role in health outcomes, and thousands of extra life-years can be gained through prevention of major tobacco-related disease deaths such as CHD. A comprehensive tobacco control program similar to the Massachusetts Tobacco Control Program that was introduced in 1993 will prevent more CHD deaths if sustained and expanded to other US states and countries.

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• Electric cigarettes in killer shock - doctors 

Using electronic cigarettes to quit smoking is hazardous to your health and nervous system. They cram too much nicotine into your blood, a study reveals.

Mahidol University dental school researcher Dr Varanant Buejeap says electronic cigarettes contain nicotine and 28 carcinogenic substances, such as alkaloida, which releases substances that have amphetaminelike effects.

What could happen

This increases blood pressure and lipids in blood vessels. This makes the heart work harder and can lead to heart failure and sexual dysfunction.

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• Smokers More Likely to Bleed After Throat Surgery  

Patients who smoke are more likely to develop bleeding after throat surgery, a U.S. study finds.

This increased risk was noted in patients who had uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) -- a procedure in which excess tissue is removed from the throat -- with tonsillectomy, but not in patients who had tonsillectomy alone.

The study authors analyzed post-operative bleeding rates among more than 1,000 tonsillectomy patients between 2000 and 2005. The overall rate of bleeding was 6.7 percent, but that number was 10.2 percent for smokers and 5.4 percent for nonsmokers.

The large difference between the two groups was due to the high rate of post-operative bleeding among smokers who underwent UPPP -- 10.9 percent vs. 3.3 percent in nonsmokers.

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The Effects of Smoking on the Rate of Postoperative Hemorrhage After Tonsillectomy and Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty 

Conclusions

Smoking does appear to increase the rate of posttonsillectomy hemorrhage in patients who undergo uvulopalatopharyngoplasty with tonsillectomy, but not in those who undergo tonsillectomy alone. This modifiable risk factor may help clinicians further counsel their patients before surgery, but further study is needed to ascertain that these findings apply to a broader patient base.

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Study examines association of smoking with hemorrhage after throat surgery 

Smoking appears to be associated with an increased rate of hemorrhage (bleeding) in patients who undergo uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP, a surgical procedure used to remove excess tissue from the throat) with tonsillectomy (a surgical procedure in which the tonsils are removed), but not in those who undergo tonsillectomy alone, according to a report in the August issue of Archives of Otolaryngology−Head & Neck Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Although indications for tonsillectomy have changed over the years, it remains a common surgical procedure with a substantial risk for complications, the greatest of which is post-operative hemorrhage, according to background information in the article. . . .

Awareness of the association between smoking and post-operative hemorrhage "may help clinicians further counsel their patients before surgery," the authors conclude. "Further investigation of this relationship is needed, with stratification of patients by the number of cigarettes smoked and attention to the length of time before and/or after surgery that patients refrain from smoking."

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Smoke-free Legislation and Hospitalizations for Acute Coronary Syndrome 

The number of admissions for acute coronary syndrome decreased after the implementation of smoke-free legislation. A total of 67% of the decrease involved nonsmokers. However, fewer admissions among smokers also contributed to the overall reduction.

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Blood-Thinner Plavix Works Harder in Smokers  

The widely used anti-clotting drug Plavix appears to have a stronger effect in people who smoke, a study indicates.

Plavix (clopidogrel) is often given to heart attack patients after the attack. It inhibits formation of clots by blood cells called platelets.

The study of 259 people given Plavix because of coronary conditions found that those who smoked had significantly less clot formation than nonsmokers.

But it's still too early to say that doctors should include smoking among the factors that affect whether Plavix should be prescribed or how large the dose should be, said study lead author Dr. Paul A. Gurbel, associate professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University and director of the Sinai Center for Thrombosis Research, Baltimore.

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SULLUM: Smoking Ban Increases Heart Attacks  

Anti-smoking activists claim smoking bans in Scotland and Wales led to immediate, sizable reductions in heart attacks. In both cases, Michael Siegel shows on his tobacco policy blog, these assertions are unfounded.

An article in the July 31 New England Journal of Medicine cites a 17 percent decline in hospital admissions for acute coronary syndrome during the first 10 months after the Scottish ban took effect at the end of March 2006. Siegel notes that the comparison was based on data from only nine hospitals. Based on data for all Scottish hospitals, he reports, the post-ban drop in heart attacks looks similar to declines seen in previous years . . .

As I've said before, many of the jurisdictions that adopt smoking bans inevitably will see declines in heart attacks in the year or two after the bans take effect. If you focus only on those jurisdictions while ignoring random variation and pre-existing trends, it's not hard to create the illusion of an effect, especially if everyone forgets how biologically implausible it is for heart attacks to fall so quickly in response to a smoking ban (whether because of less smoking, less secondhand smoke exposure, or some combination of the two). Given the vast potential for cherry-picking data, the remarkable thing is what a bad job the ban boosters are doing.

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The Association of Cigarette Smoking With Enhanced Platelet Inhibition by Clopidogrel 

Conclusions: Cigarette smoking is associated with increased platelet inhibition during clopidogrel treatment.

Perspective: Clopidogrel is a prodrug that requires conversion to an active metabolite by P450 isoenzymes for its platelet inhibitory effect. Cigarette smoking induces one of the P450 isoenzymes (CYP1A2) and could therefore increase the conversion of clopidogrel to its active form. The current findings are consistent with this hypothesis and could explain results of some clinical studies such as CREDO, in which smokers seemed to respond particularly well to clopidogrel in terms of event reduction. Smoking could be another factor contributing to variation in response to clopidogrel. Further studies are necessary

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How long will it take Kate Moss's heart to recover from this cigarette? 

QUESTION 7: If you quit smoking tomorrow, how long will it take to reduce your risk of a heart attack to the level it was before you took up the habit?

a) You can't reduce the risk as the damage has already been done;

b) Two years;

c) Ten years, but it is always greater than if you had never smoked;

d) 15 years.

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Public Smoking Bans Work Across the Board  

After a ban on smoking in all enclosed public places was introduced in Scotland in March 2006, there was a 17 percent reduction in hospital admissions for acute coronary syndrome, says a new study that provides further proof that smoke-free laws provide health benefits.

Researchers found the number of admissions in the 10 months after the ban was 2,684, compared with 3,235 in the 10 months before the ban. Nonsmokers accounted for 67 percent of the decrease. There was a 14 percent reduction in admissions among smokers, a 19 percent reduction among former smokers, and a 21 percent reduction among people who'd never smoked.

The study also found that people who'd never smoked reported a decrease in their weekly amount of exposure to secondhand smoke.

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Scottish study shows smoking ban reduces hospital admissions for heart attacks 

NHS Health Scotland, the national health improvement agency, has found a 17% fall in admissions for heart attacks just one year after a national smoking ban[1] came into force.

Undertaken by the University of Glasgow, this study is one of the most robust of its kind, and was commissioned as part of a national evaluation of the impact of Scotland's smoke-free legislation. Published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine, the results from a study of nine Scottish hospitals[2[ demonstrate the positive impact going smoke-free can have on the health of the population.

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