Tobacco

Bioengineering Breakthrough: Tobacco Plants Synthesize Vaccine Powerhouse QS-21

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A novel method for producing the key vaccine ingredient QS-21 in tobacco plants has been developed, offering a sustainable alternative to traditional extraction from the soapbark tree and enhancing vaccine manufacturing. Credit: SciTechDaily.com

Soap bark discovery offers a sustainability booster for the global vaccine market, opening unprecedented opportunities for bioengineering vaccine adjuvants.

A valuable molecule sourced from the soapbark tree and used as a key ingredient in vaccines, has been replicated in an alternative plant host for the first time, opening unprecedented opportunities for the vaccine industry.

A research collaboration led by the John Innes Centre used the recently published genome sequence of the Chilean soapbark tree (Quillaja saponaria) to track down and map the elusive genes and enzymes in the complicated sequence of steps needed to produce the molecule QS-21.

By utilizing the soapbark tree’s genome, the researchers have opened up new possibilities for bioengineering vaccine adjuvants, potentially improving vaccine efficacy and reducing environmental impact.

Advancing Vaccine Development

Using transient expression techniques developed at the John Innes Centre, the team reconstituted the chemical pathway in a tobacco plant, demonstrating for the first time ‘free-from ‘tree’ production of this highly valued compound.

Professor Anne Osbourn FRS, group leader at the John Innes Centre said: “Our study opens unprecedented opportunities for bioengineering vaccine adjuvants. We can now investigate and improve these compounds to promote the human immune response to vaccines and produce QS-21 in a way that does not depend on extraction from the soapbark tree.”

Vaccine adjuvants are immunostimulants that prime the body’s response to the vaccine – and are a key ingredient of human vaccines for shingles, malaria, and others under development.

Sustainable Solutions for Vaccine Ingredients

QS-21, a potent adjuvant, is sourced directly from the bark of the soapbark tree, raising concerns about the environmental sustainability of its supply.

For many years researchers and industrial partners have been looking for ways to produce the molecule in an alternative expression system such as yeast or tobacco plants. However, the complex structure of the molecule and lack of knowledge about its biochemical pathway in the tree have so far prevented this.

Previously researchers in the group of Professor Osbourn had assembled the early part of the pathway that makes up the scaffold structure for QS-21. However, the search for the longer full pathway, the acyl chain which forms one crucial part of the molecule that stimulates immune cells, remained unfinished.

In a new study that will be published today (January 26) in Nature Chemical Biology, researchers at the John Innes Centre used a range of gene discovery approaches to identify around 70 candidate genes and transferred them to tobacco plants.

By analyzing gene expression patterns and products, supported by the Metabolomic and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) platforms at the John Innes Centre, they were able to narrow the search down to the final 20 genes and enzymes that make up the QS-21 pathway.

First author Dr Laetitia Martin said: “This is the first time QS-21 has been produced in a heterologous expression system. This means we can better understand how this molecule works and how we might address issues of scale and toxicity.

“What is so rewarding is that this molecule is used in vaccines and by being able to make it more sustainably my project has an impact on people’s lives. It’s amazing to think that something so scientifically rewarding can bring such good to society.”

“On a personal level, this research was scientifically extremely rewarding. I am not a chemist so I could not have done this without the support of the John Innes Centre metabolomics platform and chemistry platform.”

The team has partnered with Plant Bioscience Limited PBL (Plant Bioscience Limited) Norwich Limited who are leading the commercialization of this project.

New York Declares Social Media As ‘Public Health Hazard’, Same As Tobacco And Guns

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New york declares social media as ‘public health hazard’, same as tobacco and guns© Provided by Times Now

New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday officially declared social media as an ‘environmental toxin’ and ‘public health hazard’, putting it in the same category as tobacco and guns. With this, the Big Apple becomes the first city to issue an advisory against social media.

Adams further criticized TikTok, YouTube and Facebook, blaming the three platforms for mental health issues in children. His observation is based on latest surveys saying that teen depression levels have hit their highest levels in a decade. In the advisory, the New York mayor added that parents should impose ‘tech-free times’ for children. The Democrat also urged teens to consider turning off their notifications and tracking their emotions while online.

The city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene also identified unrestricted access to and use of social media as a public health hazard

“Today, Dr. Ashwin Vasan is issuing a Health Commissioner’s Advisory, officially designating social media as a public health hazard in New York City,” Adams announced during his State of the City address. The advisory cited a 2021 survey stating that on weekdays 77% of New York City high schoolers spent three or more hours per day in front of screens, not including homework.

New York City mayor declares social media a public health threatUnmute

Adams added that the platforms are “fueling a mental health crisis by designing their platforms with addictive and dangerous features.”

“We are the first major American city to take this step and call out the danger of social media like this. Just as the surgeon general did with tobacco and guns, we are treating social media like other public health hazards and ensuring that tech companies take responsibility for their products,” Adams said.

Why People Start Smoking and Why It’s Hard to Stop

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Why do people start smoking?

Most people who smoke started smoking when they were teenagers. Those who have friends and/or parents who smoke are more likely to start smoking than those who don’t. Some teenagers say that they “just wanted to try it,” or they thought it was “cool” to smoke.

The tobacco industry’s ads, price breaks, and other promotions for its products are a big influence in our society. The tobacco industry spends billions of dollars each year to create and market ads that show smoking as exciting, glamorous, and safe. Tobacco use is also shown in video games, online, and on TV. And movies showing people smoking are another big influence. Studies show that young people who see smoking in movies are more likely to start smoking.

A newer influence on tobacco use is the e-cigarette and other high-tech, fashionable electronic “vaping” devices. Often wrongly seen as harmless, and easier to get and use than traditional tobacco products, these devices are a way for new users to learn how to inhale and become addicted to nicotine, which can prepare them for smoking.

Who is most likely to become addicted?

Anyone who starts using tobacco can become addicted to nicotine. Studies show that smoking is most likely to become a habit during the teen years. The younger you are when you begin to smoke, the more likely you are to become addicted to nicotine.

According to the 2014 Surgeon General’s Report (SGR), nearly 9 out of 10 adults who smoke started before age 18, and nearly all started by age 26. The report estimates that about 3 out of 4 high school students who smoke will become adults who smoke – even if they intend to quit in a few years.

Is smoking tobacco really addictive?

Addiction is marked by the repeated, compulsive seeking or use of a substance despite its harmful effects and unwanted consequences. Addiction is mental or emotional dependence on a substance. Nicotine is the known addictive substance in tobacco. Regular use of tobacco products leads to addiction in many users. Nicotine is a drug that occurs naturally in tobacco and it’s thought to be as addictive as heroin or cocaine.

How nicotine affects you

  • Nicotine and other chemicals in tobacco smoke are easily absorbed into the blood through the lungs. From there, nicotine quickly spreads throughout the body.
  • When taken in small amounts, nicotine causes pleasant feelings and distracts the user from unpleasant feelings. This makes the tobacco user want to use more. It acts on the chemistry of the brain and central nervous system, affecting mood. Nicotine works very much like other addicting drugs, by flooding the brain’s reward circuits with a chemical called dopamine. Nicotine also gives a little bit of an adrenaline rush – not enough to notice, but enough to speed up the heart and raise blood pressure.
  • Nicotine reaches the brain within seconds after taking a puff, and its effects start to wear off within a few minutes. The user may start to feel irritated and edgy. Usually it doesn’t reach the point of serious withdrawal symptoms, but the person using the product gets more uncomfortable over time. This is what most often leads the person to light up again. At some point, the person uses tobacco, the unpleasant feelings go away, and the cycle continues. If the person doesn’t smoke again soon, withdrawal symptoms get worse over time.
  • As the body adapts to nicotine, people who use it tend to increase the amount of tobacco they use. This raises the amount of nicotine in their blood, and more tobacco is needed to get the same effect. This is called tolerance. Over time, a certain nicotine level is reached and the person will need to keep up the usage to keep the level of nicotine within a comfortable range.
  • People who smoke can quickly become dependent on nicotine and suffer physical and emotional (mental or psychological) withdrawal symptoms when they stop smoking. These symptoms include irritability, nervousness, headaches, and trouble sleeping. The true mark of addiction, though, is that people still smoke even though they know smoking is bad for them – affecting their lives, their health, and their families in unhealthy ways. In fact, most people who smoke want to quit.

Researchers are also looking at other chemicals in tobacco that make it hard to quit. In the brains of animals, tobacco smoke causes chemical changes that are not fully explained by the effects of nicotine.

The average amount of nicotine in one regular cigarette is about 1 to 2 milligrams (mg). The amount you actually take in depends on how you smoke, how many puffs you take, how deeply you inhale, and other factors.

How powerful is nicotine addiction?

About 2 out of 3 of people who smoke say they want to quit and about half try to quit each year, but few succeed without help. This is because they not only become physically dependent on nicotine. There’s also a strong emotional (psychological) dependence. Nicotine affects behavior, mood, and emotions. If a person uses tobacco to help manage unpleasant feelings and emotions, it can become a problem for some when they try to quit. Someone who smokes may link smoking with social activities and many other activities, too. All of these factors make smoking a hard habit to break.

In fact, it may be harder to quit smoking than to stop using cocaine or opiates like heroin. In 2012, researchers reviewed 28 different studies of people who were trying to quit using the substance they were addicted to. They found that about 18% were able to quit drinking, and more than 40% were able to quit opiates or cocaine, but only 8% were able to quit smoking.

What about nicotine in other tobacco products?

Nicotine in cigars

People who inhale cigar smoke absorb nicotine through their lungs as quickly as people who smoke cigarettes. For those who don’t inhale, the nicotine is absorbed more slowly through the lining of the mouth. This means people who smoke cigars can get the desired dose of nicotine without inhaling the smoke directly into their lungs.

Most full-size cigars have as much nicotine as several cigarettes. Cigarettes contain an average of about 8 milligrams (mg) of nicotine, but only deliver about 1 to 2 mg of nicotine. Many popular brands of larger cigars have between 100 and 200 mg, or even as many as 444 mg of nicotine. The amount of nicotine a cigar delivers to a person who smokes can vary a great deal, even among people smoking the same type of cigar. How much nicotine is taken in depends on things like:

  • How long the person smokes the cigar
  • How many puffs are taken
  • Whether the smoke is inhaled

Given these factors and the large range of cigar sizes, it’s almost impossible to make good estimates of the amounts of nicotine larger cigars deliver.

Small cigars that are the size and shape of cigarettes have about the same amount of nicotine as a cigarette. If these are smoked like cigarettes (inhaled), they would be expected to deliver a similar amount of nicotine – 1 to 2 mg.

Nicotine in smokeless tobacco

Smokeless tobacco delivers a high dose of nicotine. Nicotine enters the bloodstream from the mouth or nose and is carried to every part of your body.

Nicotine in smokeless tobacco is measured in milligrams (mg) of nicotine per gram (g) of tobacco. It’s been found to vary greatly, for instance as much as 4 to 25 mg/g for moist snuff, 11 to 25 mg/g for dry snuff, and 3 to 40 mg/g for chew tobacco. Other factors that affect the amount of nicotine a person gets include things like:

  • Brand of tobacco
  • Product pH level (how acidic it is)
  • Amount chewed
  • Cut of tobacco

Still, blood levels of nicotine have been shown to be much the same when comparing people who smoke cigarettes to those who use smokeless tobacco.

Nicotine in non-combusted products

Non-combusted tobacco products come in various forms and are used in different ways. Non-combusted products contain nicotine and can lead to nicotine addiction.

  • Non-combusted (heat-not-burn) cigarettes have a heating source and tobacco. The tobacco is heated to a lower temperature than a regular (combustible) cigarette. The heat creates an aerosol that is inhaled by the user.
  • Dissolvable tobacco products are edible. They can be lozenges, strips, gummies, or sticks. They can be easily hidden and can look like candy.
  • Nicotine gels are tobacco products that are rubbed on, and absorbed by, the skin.

Nicotine in e-cigarettes

The e-liquid in most e-cigarettes (vapes) contains nicotine. However, nicotine levels are not the same in all types of e-cigarettes, and sometimes product labels do not list the true nicotine content.

There are some e-cigarette brands that claim to be nicotine-free but have been found to contain nicotine.

Why is it so hard to quit tobacco?

Stopping or cutting back on tobacco causes symptoms of nicotine withdrawal. Withdrawal is both physical and mental. Physically, your body is reacting to the absence of nicotine. Mentally, you are faced with giving up a habit, which calls for a major change in behavior. Emotionally, you might feel like as if you’ve lost your best friend. Studies have shown that smokeless tobacco users have as much trouble giving up tobacco as people who want to quit smoking cigarettes.

People who have used tobacco regularly for a few weeks or longer will have withdrawal symptoms if they suddenly stop or greatly reduce the amount they use. There’s no danger in nicotine withdrawal, but the symptoms can be uncomfortable. They usually start within a few hours and peak about 2 to 3 days later when most of the nicotine and its by-products are out of the body. Withdrawal symptoms can last a few days to up to several weeks. They get better every day that a person stays tobacco-free.

Nicotine withdrawal symptoms can include any of the following:

  • Dizziness (which may last a day or 2 after quitting)
  • Depression
  • Feelings of frustration, impatience, and anger
  • Anxiety
  • Irritability
  • Trouble sleeping, including trouble falling asleep and staying asleep, and having bad dreams or even nightmares
  • Trouble concentrating
  • Restlessness or boredom
  • Headaches
  • Tiredness
  • Increased appetite
  • Weight gain
  • Slower heart rate
  • Constipation and gas
  • Cough, dry mouth, sore throat, and nasal drip
  • Chest tightness

These symptoms can lead a person to start using tobacco again to boost blood levels of nicotine and stop symptoms.

Health Benefits of Quitting Smoking Over Time

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It’s never too late to quit using tobacco. The sooner you quit, the more you can reduce your chances of getting cancer and other diseases.

Within minutes of smoking your last cigarette, your body begins to recover:

15 years after quittingYour risk of coronary heart disease is close to that of a non-smoker.

These are just a few of the health benefits of quitting smoking for good, but there are others, too.

Quitting smoking lowers your risk of other cancers over time as well, including cancers of the stomach, pancreas, liver, cervix, and colon and rectum, as well as acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

Quitting also lowers your risk of diabetes, helps your blood vessels work better, and helps your heart and lungs.

Quitting smoking can also add as much as 10 years to your life, compared to if you continued to smoke. Quitting while you’re younger can reduce your health risks more (for example, quitting before the age of 40 reduces the risk of dying from smoking-related disease by about 90%), but quitting at any age can give back years of life that would be lost by continuing to smoke.

Are there other benefits of quitting that I’ll notice right away?

Kicking the tobacco habit offers some other rewards that you’ll notice right away and some that will show up over time.

Right away you’ll save the money you spent on tobacco. And here are just a few other benefits you may notice:

  • Food tastes better.
  • Your sense of smell returns to normal.
  • Your breath, hair, and clothes smell better.
  • Your teeth and fingernails stop yellowing.
  • Ordinary activities (for example, climbing stairs or light housework) leave you less out of breath.
  • You can be in smoke-free buildings without having to go outside to smoke.

Quitting also helps stop the damaging effects of tobacco on how you look, including premature wrinkling of your skin, gum disease, and tooth loss.

Improving Smoking Cessation Support for Patients With Cancer

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Providing tobacco cessation treatment to patients with cancer is critically important for improving a broad range of cancer-relevant outcomes, including surgical wound healing, treatment morbidity, efficacy of radiation and chemotherapy, time to cancer recurrence, disease progression, development of second primary cancers, and, ultimately, mortality.1,2 Although most patients with cancer who smoke want to quit, notably limited availability and markedly low rates of engagement with smoking cessation treatment are pressing concerns.2,3 Numerous scientific and professional organizations, including ASCO, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, the American Association for Cancer Research, and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), have recognized these issues as high priority and supported practice guidelines and initiatives to develop new and enhanced infrastructures for addressing tobacco use among patients with cancer who smoke.

In the article that accompanies this editorial, Ostroff et al4 examined baseline survey responses reported by members of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Cancer Programs (ie, Commission on Cancer [CoC] and National Accreditation Program for Breast Cancer [NAPBC]) who chose to participate in Just ASK, a national Quality Improvement (QI) initiative designed to improve smoking status assessment in community-based cancer care settings. Findings are important because they represent a systematic, organization-wide effort to engage a large, diverse, and nationally representative sample of cancer care facilities in an initiative to improve the quality of smoking assessment (and, ultimately, treatment delivery) among individuals diagnosed with cancer. The 2,000 programs invited to participate collectively provide treatment to approximately 70% of all newly diagnosed patients with cancer in the United States. With a 40% response rate (n = 762 accredited programs), this survey represents the largest study ever conducted examining tobacco use assessment, practice patterns, and barriers in clinical oncology settings.

The baseline data reported in the article were collected before implementation of the Just ASK QI initiative to allow for a comparison of future practice changes after implementation. After baseline completion, Just ASK participants received a practice change package that included a variety of resources to support the systematic assessment and documentation of tobacco use among patients with cancer who smoke, including webinars, virtual peer-to-peer support, and technical assistance. Once available, the postimplementation results will be useful for elucidating which approaches performed optimally in various settings. Importantly, it is highly likely that long-term sustainability will necessitate ongoing educational efforts, such as providing booster trainings. Sustained educational efforts are needed for maintaining the prioritization of smoking cessation, which becomes especially important because of the regular staff turnover rates in cancer care settings.5

It is notable that the reported baseline rates of routine initial smoking status assessment (90%) and documentation of smoking status (86%) were quite high. These results are consistent with findings from NCI cancer centers.6 However, most programs (54%) were unable to extract data from their electronic health records to report smoking prevalence among their patients. This discrepancy highlights that work is clearly needed to improve the accuracy of smoking status assessment and documentation. Furthermore, rates of repeat smoking status assessments were substantially lower (56%), which draws attention to an important target for improvement.

More than 3 decades ago, Fiore7 advocated that smoking status be conceptualized as the fifth vital sign and incorporated as a part of every clinical patient encounter. Given that the experience of being diagnosed with cancer and initiating treatment frequently motivates smoking cessation attempts, smoking status may change frequently during this period and should be conceptualized as dynamic, necessitating repeated assessment. This practice should help ensure that patients who smoke are accurately identified and offered tobacco cessation treatment at points in time when they are likely to engage in treatment. Initiatives such as Just Ask offer tremendous potential to ensure that patients with cancer who smoke are systematically identified and efficiently offered treatment in a standardized and sustainable way.

A related area that warrants careful attention is the degree to which patients may be underreporting their smoking in cancer care settings.8,9 As elucidated in another recent study by Warner et al,10 patients with cancer endure significant feelings of shame and stigma associated with smoking, and this psychological burden may be intensified when seeking cancer care. Thus, improving both the quality and accuracy of smoking status assessment should be an important target for initiatives such as Just Ask.

The Just ASK initiative represents an essential first step in addressing smoking among patients with cancer. Progress in the careful, accurate, and systematic assessment and documentation of smoking will lay the groundwork for effectively and efficiently treating tobacco use among patients with cancer. Yet, the baseline survey results revealed that less than half of respondents reported assisting patients with quitting. This represents an important and persistent gap in the quality of cancer care, and resources and infrastructure will be needed to effectively close this gap. There is also a need to better understand potential inequities in access to, and engagement with, smoking cessation resources. Individuals with cancer who come from disadvantaged backgrounds may have greater challenges in accessing cessation resources because of various social determinants of health (eg, poverty, education level, housing). In addition, cultural or language barriers can result in disparities in communication between the health care team and patients, thus affecting the delivery of cessation services.

The breadth of the Just Ask QI initiative reported in this study highlights multiple important considerations. First, although the focus of Just ASK is on providing centralized tools and guidance to enhance the routine and systematic assessment and documentation of smoking status among patients in a variety of community cancer care settings, programs reported substantial difficulty related to assisting patients with quitting smoking and connecting them with tobacco cessation treatment resources. Key barriers cited included a lack of staff training in how to assist patients with tobacco cessation, inadequate resources, and perceived patient resistance. These barriers are challenging and will require substantial resources and planning to effectively address.

One potential solution to addressing barriers could involve providing a standardized set of tobacco cessation resources to community cancer care practices through a virtual, centralized resource. State quitlines offer one such resource, but utilization rates are poor, and the efficacy of Quitline-delivered treatment among patients with cancer is unknown. The NCI has provided support to NCI-designated cancer centers to integrate tobacco treatment within the cancer care experience through its Cancer Center Cessation Initiative (C3I). Recently published data from 28 NCI-designated cancer centers participating in the C3I reflect limited reach and effectiveness, and characteristics associated with greater reach included having a higher smoking prevalence at the center, the availability of a center-wide tobacco treatment program, and a lower patient-to-tobacco treatment specialist ratio. In addition, centers that had a higher prevalence of smoking and reported use of a closed-loop electronic health record tobacco treatment referral system reported higher effectiveness.6 Given that a lack of dedicated resources and not having a tobacco treatment specialist (72%) were endorsed as important barriers to assisting patients with quitting in the study by Ostroff,4 virtually delivered, centralized tobacco cessation treatment resources may have tremendous potential to extend reach and improve the efficacy of tobacco treatment in community cancer practices. However, such a resource would likely need to incorporate some flexibility as approaches that work in one setting may not work in others, and some degree of personalization is likely needed.

A related issue that is of paramount clinical importance is the efficacy of existing tobacco cessation interventions among patients with cancer. A 2019 meta-analysis examining 21 randomized clinical trials published between 1993 and 2018 evaluated the efficacy of smoking cessation interventions for cancer survivors. The results indicated that these interventions have failed to demonstrate efficacy and that high-quality, effective interventions are critically needed, particularly for subpopulations at elevated risk. Specific recommendations included increasing the length and intensity of interventions and ensuring that nicotine replacement therapy is provided.11 As new interventions are developed, it will be critical for researchers to carefully consider how to address implementation barriers in cancer care settings. A fundamental challenge is that available treatments may be perceived by patients as burdensome or unappealing, leading to a lack of engagement. Digital health interventions may hold great promise for improving reach and efficacy, yet, to date, supporting data—particularly among patients with cancer—are limited.

Taken together, this study identifies important barriers to facilitating smoking cessation among patients with cancer at the patient, provider, and system levels within real-world community practices. Participation in Just ASK fulfills accreditation standards for CoC or NAPBC, which represents a step in the right direction. Formal policies that dedicate resources to support the efficient delivery of evidence-based tobacco cessation treatments could also lead to meaningful improvement. Providing smoking cessation treatment for patients with cancer is a crucial component of cancer care. Meaningful change will only be possible through a multi-level, sustained commitment to addressing the problem.

What happens after you quit smoking?

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When a person stops smoking, their body begins to heal almost instantly. Quitting smoking can lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of lung and heart cancer.

The timeline for seeing the benefits of quitting smoking is faster than most people realize. Health benefits begin in as little as an hour after the last cigarette and continue to improve.

This article gives some fast facts on quitting smoking and goes over the timeline of the benefits of stopping smoking. Finally, it discusses the benefits of quitting and talks about withdrawal symptoms.

Fast facts on quitting smoking

Ali Roshanzamir/EyeEm/Getty Images

Here are some key points about smoking cessation. More detail and supporting information is in the main article.

  • Quitting smoking means breaking the cycle of addiction and essentially rewiring the brain to stop craving nicotine.
  • To be successful, people who smoke and want to quit need to have a plan in place to overcome cravings and triggers.
  • The benefits of quitting smoking begin within 20 minutes after the last cigarette.
  • The sooner a person quits, the faster they reduce their risk of cancer, heart and lung disease, and other smoking-related conditions.

Timeline of quitting smoking

The benefits are almost instant. As soon as a person stops smoking, their body begins to recover.

After 1 hour

In as little as 20 minutes after a person smokes the last cigarette, the heart rate drops and begins to return to normal. Blood pressure begins to drop, and circulation may start to improve.

After 12 hours

Cigarettes contain more than 7,000 chemicalsTrusted Source, 250 of which are known to be harmful. These include carbon monoxide, a gas present in cigarette smoke.

This gas can be harmful or fatal in high doses and prevents oxygen from entering the lungs and blood. When inhaled in large doses in a short time, suffocation can occur from lack of oxygen.

After just 12 hours without a cigarette, the body cleanses itself of the excess carbon monoxide from the cigarettes. The carbon monoxide level returns to normal, increasing the body’s oxygen levels.

After 1 day

Just 1 day after quitting smoking, the risk of heart attack begins to decrease.

Smoking raises the risk of developing coronary heart disease by lowering good cholesterol, which makesTrusted Source heart-healthy exercise harder to do. Smoking also raises blood pressure and increases blood clots, increasing the risk of stroke.

In as little as 1 day after quitting smoking, a person’s blood pressure begins to drop, decreasing the risk of heart disease from smoking-induced high blood pressure. In this short time, a person’s oxygen levels will have risen, making physical activity and exercise easier to do, promoting heart-healthy habits.

After 2 days

Smoking damages the nerve endings responsible for the senses of smell and taste. In as little as 2 days after quitting, a person may notice a heightened sense of smell and more vivid tastes as these nerves heal.

After 3 days

3 days after stopping smoking the bronchial tubes begin to relax. A person may notice it feels easier to breathe. They may also feel that their energy levels increase.

After 2 weeks

After around 2 weeksTrusted Source, circulation begins to improve. Blood can pump through the heart and muscles more easily. A person’s lung function also begins to improve.

After 1 month

In as little as 1 monthTrusted Source, coughing and shortness of breath decrease. Hair-like structures called cilia which move mucus out of the lungs regain typical function. This increases their ability to handle mucus, clear the lungs, and reduce a person’s risk of infection.

After 3-9 months

Between 3-9 months after quitting smoking, a person’s lung function increases by 10%. This improves any coughing, wheezing, or breathing problems.

After 1 year

After 1 year of not smoking, a person’s risk of a heart attack and coronary heart disease becomes half of that of a person who smokes.

After 5 years

After 5 yearsTrusted Source, a person’s risk of certain cancers is reduced by half. These include:

A person’s risk for cervical cancer and stroke returns to that of someone who does not smoke.

After 10 years

After 10 years, a person’s risk of developing and dying from lung cancer is reduced to around half of a person who smokes.

An individual’s risk of developing larynx and pancreatic cancer also decreases.

After 15 years

After 15 yearsTrusted Source of quitting smoking, a person’s risk of coronary heart disease becomes close to that of someone who does not smoke.

Resources for quitting smoking

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Benefits of quitting smoking

Smoking can lead to severe health complications and death. When a person quits smoking, the body starts to naturally heal and regain the vitality of a nonsmoker over time.

Some effects, such as lowered blood pressure, are seen almost immediately. Other effects, such as the risks of developing lung cancer, heart disease, and lung disease, take years to drop down to the levels of a person who does not smoke.

However, each year of not smoking decreases risks and improves overall health.

Nicotine withdrawal

Most peopleTrusted Source who quit smoking will experience some symptoms of nicotine withdrawal. While these symptoms are generally uncomfortable, they are not usually harmful.

Symptoms of nicotine withdrawal include:

  • having urges or cravings to smoke
  • feeling irritated, upset, or grouchy
  • feeling restless or jumpy
  • having difficulty concentrating
  • having difficulty sleeping
  • feeling hungrier than usual and weight gain
  • feeling sad, depressed, or anxious

These symptoms will fade over time as a person remains smoke-free.

Frequently asked questions

Below are frequently asked questions relating to smoking cessation.

What are the 4 stages to quit smoking?

No two people will quit smoking in the same way. However, smoking cessation typically follows four stages:

  • Contemplation: This is when a person begins to think about quitting smoking.
  • Preparation: Once a person decides they want to quit, they can research and prepare methods for doing so.
  • Action: During the first six months of quitting, a person may experience withdrawal symptoms and must focus on avoiding a relapse.
  • Maintenance: After being smoke-free for 6 months or more, a person can focus on maintaining their new lifestyle.

How do I quit smoking immediately?

In theory, anyone can choose to stop smoking at any time. However, taking time to prepare for smoking cessation, planning a method of quitting, and seeking outside support can help a person manage the process of quitting.

How do I quit smoking most successfully?

Different people may find different methods of smoking cessation more effective than others. Nicotine replacement therapy, e-cigarette use, and counseling can all effectively help a person quit smoking.

What happens to your body when you quit smoking?

Once a person smokes their last cigarette, their heart rate drops to a normal level within 20 minutes. By the end of their first day without cigarettes, a person’s body will eliminate excess carbon monoxide, and blood pressure will lower to a regular level.

In as little as 1 monthTrusted Source, coughing and shortness of breath decrease, and within 9 months, a person’s lung function increases by 10%. After around 1 year of not smoking, a person’s risk of a heart attack and coronary heart disease becomes is half of that of a person who smokes.

What is the hardest period of quitting smoking?

While the health benefits of quitting smoking are immediate, nicotine withdrawals can be challenging. Once a person decides to quit, the first few months will likely be the hardest.

What happens 1 week after quitting smoking?

After one week, the bronchial tubes begin to relax, and it may feel easier to breathe. A person can also have increased energy levels.

Summary

When a person stops smoking, their body begins to feel the benefits quickly. Within less than an hour, their heart rate and blood pressure decrease.

As time passes, they will notice increased lung function and a decrease in coughing and wheezing. The longer a person remains smoke-free, the more their body benefits. Their risk of heart disease, stroke, and cancer decreases with each year that passes.

A person who wishes to stop smoking can contact a helpline or speak with a healthcare professional for resources.

Alcohol, tobacco and time spent outdoors linked to brain connections

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Alcohol, tobacco and time spent outdoors linked to brain connections

Exciting early results from analysing the brain imaging data, alongside thousands of measures of lifestyle, physical fitness, cognitive health and physical measures such as body-mass-index (BMI) and bone density have been published in Nature Neuroscience.

 The high quality of the imaging data and very large number of subjects allowed researchers to identify more than 30,000 significant associations between the many different brain imaging measures and the non-imaging measures. The findings have now been made available for use by researchers worldwide.

Results included:

  • Strong associations between people’s cognitive processing speed and markers of the integrity of the brain’s “wiring” and the size of brain structures. These effects increased in strength as people aged.
  • A negative correlation between during a simple shape-matching task and intelligence, an effect that didn’t relate to participants’ age. This might be because the people who scored more highly on the cognitive tests needed to use less of their brain to carry out the task.
  • A pattern of strong associations between higher blood pressure, greater alcohol consumption, and several measures that could reflect injury to connections in the brain.
  • A separate pattern of correlations, linking intake of alcohol and tobacco and changes in red blood cells and cardiac fitness, to brain imaging signals associated with increased iron deposits in the brain.
  • Researchers also unearthed some more complicated patterns of correlation. For example, one pattern links brain imaging to intelligence, level of education, and a set of lifestyle factors that at first appear unrelated – including amount of time spent outdoors. It is plausible that, taken together, these factors create a profile of socio-economic-status and its relation to the brain.
  • However, because UK Biobank is an “observational” study that characterizes a cross-section of individuals, it’s not always straightforward to establish which factors cause which, but such results should help scientists to define much more precise questions to address in the future search for ways of preventing or treating brain disease.

UK Biobank will be the world’s largest health imaging study. The imaging is funded by the Medical Research Council, Wellcome Trust, and the British Heart Foundation. It was launched in April 2016 after a number of years of planning and consultation with a large number of health and scanning experts. With the ambitious goal of imaging 100,000 existing UK Biobank participants, it is creating the biggest collection of scans of internal organs, to transform the way scientists study a wide range of diseases, including dementia, arthritis, cancer, heart attacks and stroke.

 Today’s paper describes the brain imaging part of UK Biobank, led by Professsors Steve Smith and Karla Miller from the University of Oxford, and Professor Paul Matthews from Imperial College London.

Professor Miller said: “We are using cutting-edge MRI scans and Big Data analysis methods to get the most comprehensive window into the brain that current imaging technology allows.”

“These results are just a first glimpse into this massive, rich dataset will that emerge in the coming years. It is an unparalleled resource that will transform our understanding of many common diseases.”

Professor Matthews, Edmond and Lily Safra Chair and Head of Brain Sciences at Imperial, added: “These results are exciting, but merely provide a first hint of what can be discovered with the UK Biobank. This project also is a landmark because of the way it has been done: 500,000 volunteers across the U.K. are donating their time to be part of it and more than 125 scientists from across the world contributed to the design of the imaging enhancement alone. Imperial College scientists played a major role in its inception and leadership as part of a team recruited by the U.K. biobank from a number of UK universities. This is a wonderful example of “open science”.

The paper reports first results from this remarkable data resource, which includes six different kinds of brain imaging done in the 30 minutes that each volunteer is in the brain scanner.

Professor Smith explained: “We have ‘structural imaging’ – that tells us about brain anatomy – the shapes and sizes of the different parts of the brain. Another kind – ‘functional MRI’ – tells us about complex patterns of brain activity. Yet another kind – ‘diffusion MRI’ – tells us about the brain’s wiring diagram. The rich and diverse information contained in these scans will reveal how the working of the brain can change with aging and disease; different diseases will best be understood through different combinations of information across these different images.”

UK Biobank has already scanned 10,000 participants, including images of the heart, body, bone and blood vessels in addition to brain scans. This will be by far the largest brain imaging study ever conducted; within another 5 years UK Biobank will have completed the scanning of 100,000 participants.

One reason for needing such large numbers of participants is to have enough subjects to allow discovery of early, possibly subtle, markers of future disease risk, both for a range of and for rare neurological disorders like motor neuron disease.

An important objective of the UK Biobank is to provide a resource for discovery of new insights into diseases like Alzheimer’s, which demands scanning healthy subjects years or decades before they develop symptoms. From the UK Biobank data, scientists anywhere can aim to learn much more about brain diseases – and their relationship to a broad range of other diseases or disease risks – to guide the development of earlier targeted treatment (or changes in lifestyle) that could in the future prevent major diseases from ever happening.

Marijuana is less dangerous than sugar, alcohol and tobacco

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Image: Marijuana is less dangerous than sugar, alcohol and tobacco

Three substances far more dangerous than marijuana are readily available at your nearest convenience store. Tobacco, alcohol and sugar are all substances that are more addictive than pot, and they’re more likely to make you sick too.

Polling conducted by NBC News and The Wall Street Journal  in 2014, revealed that more and more people are starting to agree that pot is safer than “everyday” items like beer and cigarettes. Who would have thought? Nearly half of those polled (49 percent) believed that tobacco was the most dangerous substance, while alcohol trailed behind at 24 percent, followed by sugar at 15 percent. Only a mere 8 percent of people polled felt that marijuana was the most dangerous.

Some doctors even agree that alcohol is more dangerous than pot. Dr. Aaron Carroll, a professor of pediatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine, told CBS News that while he feels the first answer should always be that neither is a “safe” option, he does believe that alcohol is worse.

Carroll said, “After going through all the data and looking at which is more dangerous in almost any metric you would pick, pot really looks like it’s safer than alcohol.” He also goes on to note that most of the crimes committed that involve marijuana have to do with illegal distribution, and there are not a lot of violent crimes perpetrated by pot smokers. Conversely, there are a very large number of crimes committed that involve alcohol as a component. Alcohol is known for contributing to violent assaults, in particular. Carroll says, “It’s far worse than what’s going on with pot.”

In addition to causing less crime, pot also appears to be less addictive. Studies show that only 9 percent of people who experiment with pot will become addicted or dependent on it. In contrast, more than 20 percent of people who experiment with booze will become dependent or abuse it. So, in reality, alcohol is far more likely to cause problems later in life.

The only real reason why booze and tobacco are generally more “accepted” by society is because they’ve been part of our culture for longer. Marijuana is being treated the same way alcohol was treated duringprohibition . Prohibition on alcohol ended in 1933; isn’t it time we did the same for marijuana?

Effects Of Secondhand Pot Smoke: Exposure May Be Just As Harmful To Blood Vessels As Tobacco

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A new study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Heart Association suggests that secondhand smoke is dangerous to our cardiovascular system, regardless of whether it comes from marijuana or tobacco.

Laboratory rats who were exposed to secondhand smoke from a marijuana cigarette had a similar problem with their blood vessels’ ability to widen as rats who were exposed to tobacco secondhand smoke. Rats exposed to marijuana smoke for one minute took 90 minutes to recover fully, about three times as long as it took for those exposed to tobacco.

Secondhand smoke

“While the effect is temporary for both cigarette and marijuana smoke, these temporary problems can turn into long-term problems if exposures occur often enough and may increase the chances of developing hardened and clogged arteries,” said senior author Dr. Matthew Springer, professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco’s Division of Cardiology, in a statement.

Springer and his colleagues were motivated to conduct their study after feeling that there was little public attention being paid to the possibility that marijuana smoke can be harmful.

“There is widespread belief that, unlike tobacco smoke, marijuana smoke is benign,” Springer said. “We in public health have been telling the public to avoid secondhand tobacco smoke for years, but we don’t tell them to avoid secondhand marijuana smoke, because until now we haven’t had evidence that it can be harmful.”

The truth is, we’re still not even really sure how harmful directly smoking marijuana is to our hearts. A2014 study found that serious heart problems rarely occur immediately following cannabis use. Anotherfound that a marijuana smoker’s risk of heart attack within a hour was five times greater compared to nonsmokers — a very small risk comparable to an especially strenuous bout of sex or exercise. Yet another study found an increased risk of death among patients who already suffered an earlier heart attack and who regularly smoked pot.

But longer-term studies are lacking, much less those looking only at secondhand smoke. And there’s some evidence to suggest that there might be a sort of “marijuana paradox,” where the inhaling of marijuana can temporarily increase the risk of some cardiovascular problems, but the active cannabinoids contained in it can also slow down the progression of atherosclerosis (the hardening and narrowing of arteries).

That theory lines up well with some of the findings of the current study. When the researchers removed tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) from the marijuana cigarettes they exposed their rats to, the blood vessel disruption could still be seen; the same thing happened when they removed the paper the cigarette was rolled in. The later experiments indicate that the burning smoke itself, rather than the active components of marijuana, may be to blame for the rats’ narrower blood vessels.

Still, while animal studies are an important tool for discovery, we can only glean so much from them. Springer and his colleagues acknowledged that their study is far from the final word on the subject, but they hope their results can motivate other scientists to look more closely at marijuana.

“Increasing legalization of marijuana makes it more important than ever to understand the consequences of exposure to secondhand marijuana smoke,” they concluded. “It is important that the public, medical personnel, and policymakers understand that exposure to secondhand marijuana smoke is not necessarily harmless.”

A study of pyrazines in cigarettes and how additives might be used to enhance tobacco addiction

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Abstract

Background Nicotine is known as the drug that is responsible for the addicted behaviour of tobacco users, but it has poor reinforcing effects when administered alone. Tobacco product design features enhance abuse liability by (A) optimising the dynamic delivery of nicotine to central nervous system receptors, and affecting smokers’ withdrawal symptoms, mood and behaviour; and (B) effecting conditioned learning, through sensory cues, including aroma, touch and visual stimulation, to create perceptions of pending nicotine reward. This study examines the use of additives called ‘pyrazines’, which may enhance abuse potential, their introduction in ‘lights’ and subsequently in the highly market successful Marlboro Lights (Gold) cigarettes and eventually many major brands.

Methods We conducted internal tobacco industry research using online databases in conjunction with published scientific literature research, based on an iterative feedback process.

Results Tobacco manufacturers developed the use of a range of compounds, including pyrazines, in order to enhance ‘light’ cigarette products’ acceptance and sales. Pyrazines with chemosensory and pharmacological effects were incorporated in the first ‘full-flavour, low-tar’ product achieving high market success. Such additives may enhance dependence by helping to optimise nicotine delivery and dosing and through cueing and learned behaviour.

Conclusions Cigarette additives and ingredients with chemosensory effects that promote addiction by acting synergistically with nicotine, increasing product appeal, easing smoking initiation, discouraging cessation or promoting relapse should be regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration. Current models of tobacco abuse liability could be revised to include more explicit roles with regard to non-nicotine constituents that enhance abuse potential.