PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Half of smokers using Liverpool Stop Smoking Services used e-cigs

2014-11-04
(Press-News.org) Over half the smokers using the Liverpool Stop Smoking Service have tried electronic cigarettes (51.3 per cent). Of these, nearly half had used them within the past month and are considered current users (45.5 per cent). The data* – presented at the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Cancer Conference in Liverpool today (Tuesday) – also highlights that smokers are more likely to try e-cigarettes if they feel more confident that the products are safer than tobacco smoking. Researchers from the University of Liverpool quizzed more than 320 smokers from the Roy Castle FagEnds study to understand the number of people who used e-cigarettes and what smokers thought about the products. Smokers appear undecided towards e-cigarettes, possibly due to the widely documented uncertainties about safety and effectiveness in helping smokers to successfully break their addiction. Some also viewed using e-cigarettes as an extension of smoking and perceived them as an inferior tool for helping to quit smoking. Generally e-cigarettes were viewed indifferently. Twenty of the smokers were then interviewed by phone and some of these viewed e-cigarettes negatively. Additionally, some participants were misinformed of or misunderstood the risks associated with e-cigarettes. Frances Sherratt, lead author from the University of Liverpool, said: "Our results show that electronic cigarettes are commonly used by smokers wanting to quit and seek help through the Stop Smoking Services. Many smokers also viewed e-cigarettes negatively or indifferently as a way to stop smoking. This study highlights the need for better education regarding e-cigarettes, to enable smokers to make balanced, informed smoking cessation treatment decisions to help them quit." Paula Chadwick, chief executive of Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation who helped fund the research, said: "While the research suggests that a high proportion of smokers try e-cigarettes as an aid to quitting, it also shows that many recognise their effectiveness is limited compared to more conventional, proven techniques. "Lingering issues around their safety and long-term health impact also continue to affect public opinion. People are more likely to be successful with the tailored, one-to-one support of a quit smoking professional and this seems to have been understood by the majority of those surveyed." Dr Karen Kennedy, Director of the NCRI, said: "This research provides an interesting insight into how many, and why, smokers use e-cigarettes. Tobacco is the single biggest cause of preventable cancer deaths, so understanding how smokers can be better helped in breaking the addiction is extremely valuable in reducing cancer deaths."

INFORMATION:

For media enquiries please contact the press officer on 0151 707 4642/3/4/5 or, out of hours, the duty press officer on 07050 264 059. Notes Sherratt F. et al, Examining electronic cigarette use within a UK Stop Smoking Service Conference abstract: http://conference.ncri.org.uk/abstracts/2014/abstracts/A146.html The researchers would like to acknowledge Liverpool Primary Care Trust / Liverpool Clinical Commissioning Group and the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation for their support with this study. About the NCRI The National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) is a UK-wide partnership between the government, charity and industry. Its role is to promote cooperation in cancer research. NCRI Partners are: the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI); Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council; Breakthrough Breast Cancer; Breast Cancer Campaign; Cancer Research UK; Children with Cancer UK; Department of Health; Economic and Social Research Council; Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research; Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research; Macmillan Cancer Support; Marie Curie Cancer Care; Medical Research Council; Northern Ireland Health and Social Care (Research & Development Office); Prostate Cancer UK; Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation; Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorates (Chief Scientist Office); Tenovus; Welsh Government (National Institute for Social Care and Health Research); Worldwide Cancer Research (formerly the Association for International Cancer Research); Wellcome Trust; and Yorkshire Cancer Research. For more information visit http://www.ncri.org.uk

About the NCRI Cancer Conference The National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Cancer Conference is the UK's major forum for showcasing the best British and international cancer research. The Conference offers unique opportunities for networking and sharing knowledge by bringing together world-leading experts from all cancer research disciplines. The tenth NCRI Cancer Conference is taking place from 2–5 November 2014 at the BT Convention Centre in Liverpool. For more information visit conference.ncri.org.uk.



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Swallowing a sponge on a string could replace endoscopy as pre-cancer test

2014-11-04
Swallowing a sponge on a string could replace traditional endoscopy as an equally effective but less invasive way of diagnosing a condition that can be a forerunner of oesophageal cancer. The results of a Cancer Research UK trial involving more than 1,000 people are being presented today (Tuesday) at the National Cancer Research Institute's annual conference in Liverpool. The trial invited more than 600 patients with Barrett's Oesophagus – a condition that can sometimes lead to oesophageal cancer – to swallow the Cytosponge and to undergo an endoscopy. ...

Long term shift work linked to impaired brain power

2014-11-04
Shift work, like chronic jet lag, is known to disrupt the body's internal clock (circadian rhythms), and it has been linked to a range of health problems, such as ulcers, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, and some cancers. But little is known about its potential impact on brain function, such as memory and processing speed. The researchers therefore tracked the cognitive abilities of more than 3000 people who were either working in a wide range of sectors or who had retired, at three time points: 1996; 2001; and 2006. Just under half (1484) of the sample, ...

Almost three-quarters of patients with no coronary heart disease have persistent symptoms

2014-11-04
Around one in five patients with chest pain will have no obvious signs of coronary artery disease after investigation, and their symptoms are unlikely to have a physical cause. But it is not always clear who these patients are, and they often undergo extensive and expensive tests to find out that nothing is wrong with their hearts. The German authors therefore wanted to test the prevalence of physical and mental symptoms in 253 patients who had been investigated for chest pain/shortness of breath/palpitations and found to have no coronary artery disease. The type ...

ACP releases new recommendations to prevent recurrent kidney stones

2014-11-04
Philadelphia, November 4, 2014 -- In a new evidence-based clinical practice guideline published today in Annals of Internal Medicine, the American College of Physicians (ACP) recommends that people who have had a kidney stone increase their fluid intake to achieve at least two liters of urine per day to prevent another kidney stone from forming. If increased fluid intake fails to reduce the formation of stones, ACP recommends adding medication with a thiazide diuretic, citrate, or allopurinol. "Increased fluid intake spread throughout the day can decrease stone recurrence ...

News from Nov. 4, 2014 Annals of Internal Medicine

2014-11-04
1. ACP kidney stone guidelines offer another reason to drink more water, less soda Dietary changes including increased fluid intake are among recommendations in ACP's new evidence-based guideline People who have had a kidney stone should increase their fluid intake to achieve at least two liters of urine per day to prevent a recurrence, according to a new evidence-based clinical practice guideline from the American College of Physicians (ACP) being published in Annals of Internal Medicine. A kidney stone occurs when tiny crystals in urine stick together to form a stone. ...

How bile acids could fight diabetes

2014-11-04
The growing epidemic of obesity across the world is associated with an equivalent increase in type-2 diabetes, which results from the body's ineffective use of insulin. Obese people often develop inflammation in their fat tissue, which, in turn, can reduce the sensitivity of fat cells to insulin, resulting in type-2 diabetes. EPFL scientists, working with researchers from Italy and the Netherlands, have shown that bile acids activate a little-known receptor to overcome the loss of insulin sensitivity, forming the basis for a new class of drug against type-2 diabetes. The ...

Food allergy development linked to skin exposure

2014-11-04
Food allergies are on the rise in the U.S. and other developed countries. In patients, food allergies appear as a variety of symptoms, ranging from mild skin inflammation to severe asthma. Recent studies suggest that contact between inflamed skin and food proteins may trigger food allergy development. A new study in the Journal of Clinical Investigation provides a link between skin sensitization, gastrointestinal inflammation, and food allergy. Using a mouse model, Steven Ziegler and colleagues at the Benaroya Research Institute found that skin exposure to a combination ...

Improving memory deficits following anesthesia

2014-11-04
General anesthesia results in expended cognitive decline for many individuals following surgical procedure. Memory deficits can last for months and affect patient outcome and quality of life. Patient age, duration of surgery, and surgical trauma are all risk factors for postoperative cognitive impairment. A new study in the Journal of Clinical Investigation demonstrates that general anesthesia results in sustained activation of receptors that inhibit brain function. Beverly Orser and colleagues at the University of Toronto found that a single dose of anesthetic impaired ...

University of Toronto researchers discover why anesthetics cause prolonged memory loss

2014-11-04
Researchers at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Medicine have shown why anesthetics can cause long-term memory loss, a discovery that can have serious implications for post-operative patients. Until now, scientists haven't understood why about a third of patients who undergo anesthesia and surgery experience some kind of cognitive impairment—such as memory loss—at hospital discharge. One-tenth of patients still suffer cognitive impairments three months later. Anesthetics activate memory-loss receptors in the brain, ensuring that patients don't remember ...

Compared with apes, people's gut bacteria lack diversity, study finds

Compared with apes, peoples gut bacteria lack diversity, study finds
2014-11-04
The microbes living in people's guts are much less diverse than those in humans' closest relatives, the African apes, an apparently long evolutionary trend that appears to be speeding up in more modern societies, with possible implications for human health, according to a new study. Based on an analysis of how humans and three lineages of ape diverged from common ancestors, researchers determined that within the lineage that gave rise to modern humans, microbial diversity changed slowly and steadily for millions of years, but that rate of change has accelerated lately ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Critical raw materials are a vital new currency; Europe’s e-waste is the vault

Anesthesiologist-led care helps hip-fracture patients get to surgery faster, with fewer complications

Two-dose recombinant shingles vaccine is effective even accounting for prior receipt of live shingles vaccine

Excessive daytime sleepiness may raise risk of cognitive problems after surgery

Flipping the switch on sperm motility offers new hope for male infertility

Twisting sound: Scientists discover a new way to control mechanical vibrations in metamaterial

Drip by drip: The hidden blueprint for stalagmite growth

mRNA therapy restores sperm production and fertility in mice

New way to weaken cancer cells could supercharge prostate cancer treatment

How sound—but not touch—shapes rhythm in the brain

Exploring the therapeutic potential of hypothermia

Research alert: Bioengineering breathes new life into failed cancer treatment

AI, health, and health care today and tomorrow – the JAMA Summit Report on artificial intelligence

Large genetic study links cannabis use to psychiatric, cognitive and physical health

Social media use trajectories and cognitive performance in adolescents

Music for the brain: Study tests the effect of slow-tempo relaxing music to address delirium in critically ill older adults 

AI models predict sepsis in children, allow preemptive care

Liraglutide vs semaglutide vs dulaglutide in veterans with type 2 diabetes

Antenatal corticosteroids and infectious diseases throughout childhood

New lab-grown human embryo model produces blood cells

Life after near death: Research reveals how to improve support for near-death experiencers

Illinois Chat is launched for campus community

FAU receives $3M federal grant to prevent substance use in at-risk youth

New report shows action to improve gender equity linked to career gains and better business performance

Kiwis could help manage chronic constipation

Breast, lung, and bladder cancer phase 3 trials led by Dana-Farber presented at ESMO Congress 2025

New open-source software allows for efficient 3D printing with multiple materials

Decoding the secrets of ‘chemo brain’

‘Far from negligible’: New Australian fossil fuel site will have major impact on people and the planet

UK heatwaves overwhelm natural ecological safeguards to increase wildfire risk

[Press-News.org] Half of smokers using Liverpool Stop Smoking Services used e-cigs