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New Guidance Says Doctors Should Discuss Vaping as One Option to Help Adults Quit Smoking

Quitting smoking is one of the best things a person can do for their health—but it's also one of the hardest habits to break. Many smokers make several attempts before they successfully quit, even when using medications or nicotine replacement products. Now, a panel of tobacco treatment experts is encouraging healthcare providers to expand the conversation about smoking cessation by discussing nicotine e-cigarettes as one possible option for adults who smoke cigarettes. The recommendations, published in JAMA , were developed by the Harm Reduction Work Group of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco’s Treatment Research Network. Rather than promoting vaping, the group says clinicians should focus on helping patients choose the quit-smoking method that best fits their individual circumstances. A Personalized Approach to Quitting Smoking cessation isn't the same for everyone. What works well for one person may not work for another, which is why the authors recommend mo...

Increased Thyroid Hormone and Weight Gain


According to a new study, small increases in thyroid stimulating hormone can lead to weight gain. The news comes as the result of a large, community-based study, reported in the March 24 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Thyroid function is measureable by testing TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) levels in the bloodstream. When thyroid hormone levels are out of balance, high or low, we know it can lead to weight gain or weight loss respectively.

"Our findings raise the possibility that modest increases in serum TSH concentrations within the reference range may be associated with weight gain", according to Caroline S. Fox, MD, MPH, from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's Framingham Heart Study in Framingham, Massachusetts, and colleagues.

Further studies are needed to define how much these modest increases are a contribution to weight gain and obesity. In this particular study, very modest increases in TSH concentrations resulted in weight gain in both women and men.

Arch Intern Med. 2008;168:568-569, 587-592.


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