Tag: smoking

cigarette smoking ashtray

Smoking and COVID

Does smoking worsen COVID infections? Or is it protective? As more evidence emerges, the smoke is starting to clear.

/ May 14, 2020

A miracle cancer prevention and treatment? Not necessarily as the analysis of 26 articles by legendary Hans Eysenck shows.

A recent investigation at King's College London has revealed major problems in the scientific career of one of psychology's most published scientists, Hans Eysenck.

/ January 31, 2020

Smoking Cessation

Smoking is the leading cause of preventable disease and death. There are effective pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods to help people stop smoking.

/ August 28, 2018

Five steps to add ten years to your life expectancy

A new study identifies five lifestyle decisions that can add over a decade to your life expectancy.

/ May 3, 2018

Medical science policy in the U.S. under Donald Trump

The election of Donald Trump was unexpected. Given Trump's history of antivaccine beliefs and conspiracy theories, coupled with a fervor for deregulation (a fervor shared by the Republican Congress), it is reasonable to fear what will happen to medical science policy during the next four years.

/ November 14, 2016

Smoking Cessation and the Affordable Care Act

Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death. Each year it kills more than 5 million people around the world, 480,000 in the US alone. And for every person who dies, about 30 more have serious illnesses caused by smoking. On average, smokers die 10 years earlier than nonsmokers. Anyone who is concerned about preventive medicine must consider smoking cessation a priority....

/ January 13, 2015

Smoking: The Good News and the Bad News

The principles we espouse on Science-Based Medicine are vitally important, but some of the subjects we address are not so important in the big scheme of things. Homeopathy and electrodermal diagnostic devices don’t actually harm very many people. For today’s post, I’m going to follow the Willie Sutton rule and go where the money is, so to speak. Smoking is the leading preventable...

/ March 12, 2013

e-Cigarette Safety

Ever since news of the harmful effects of tobacco smoke hit the public consciousess around the middle of the 20th century the tobacco industry and others have been looking for a “healthy” alternative. Are e-cigarettes just latest in a list of failed attempts to make smoking safe? In case you are a new visitor to our planet (welcome) using tobacco products has...

/ January 20, 2010

Hyping Health Risks

Three kids on the same block were diagnosed with leukemia last year. That couldn’t happen just by chance, could it? There MUST be something in the environment that caused it (power lines, the chemical plant down the street, asbestos in their school, iPods, Twinkies?). Quick, let’s measure everything we can think of and compare exposures to other blocks and find an explanation....

/ March 31, 2009