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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...
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Pollution and Asthma Risk in Children Starts in the Womb


New research finds that childhood asthma, before age five, begins in the womb during fetal development. Cincinnati researchers have discovered that maternal exposure to pollution can alter gene expression during fetal development, increasing the risk of asthma in children.

The new study from the University of Cincinnati (UC) and Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health appears Feb. 16 2009 in PLoS ONE. Alteration in the gene ACSL3, from maternal exposure to pollution, is now found to occur in the womb during fetal development, perhaps in response to PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon) exposure. PAH is a a byproduct of incomplete combustion.

Researchers analyzed blood taken from the umbilical cords of 56 infants born in areas of high traffic. Both mother and child were residents in Northern Manhattan and the South Bronx. During pregnancy, the mothers were outfitted with backpacks to measure exposure to PAH that might lead to childhood asthma during fetal development in the womb.

The scientists evaluated the incidence of reported childhood asthma, comparing blood analysis with changes in the ACSL3 gene. They found a significant association between changes in ACSL3 methylation abd maternal exposure to pollution. ACSL3 is a gene associated with lung development.

Rachel Miller, MD, director of the asthma study says, “Understanding early predictors of asthma is an important area of investigation because they represent potential clinical targets for intervention.”

The study was launched by the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health in 1998, as part of an effort to measure the effect of common pollutants and maternal and child health.

The study is the first to show that pollution increases the risk of childhood asthma during fetal development in the womb.

http://healthnews.uc.edu/news/?/8103/
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