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News - Anson Community Hospital, Wadesboro North Carolina USA |
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| Anson Community Hospital |
| Light Cigarette Nicotine Brain Activation Almost as Strong as Regular Cigarettes, Study Says |
| Date : - 28/09/2008 |
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Apparently, just about only thing "light" about cigarettes who are advertised that way is the wording in the ad itself.
According to a news release from the University of California at Los Angeles, the latest research indicates that so-called light cigarettes deliver nearly as much nicotine to the brain as regular cigarettes.
UCLA psychiatry professor Dr. Arthur L. Brody and his colleagues found that even the smallest amount of nicotine in a person's system will activate a significant percentage of the brain's nicotine receptors. It is the receptors in the brain that lead to nicotine addiction.
Brody and his colleagues looked at the effect on the brain of a type of cigarette called a de-nicotized cigarette, which contains only a fraction of nicotine (0.05 milligrams) in both light and regular cigarettes.
They found that even that low a nicotine level is enough to occupy a sizable percentage of receptors. "The two take-home messages are that very little nicotine is needed to occupy a substantial portion of brain nicotine receptors," Brody said in the news release, "and cigarettes with less nicotine than regular cigarettes, such as 'light' cigarettes, still occupy most brain nicotine receptors."
And even though de-nicotinized cigarettes activate about 66 percent fewer receptors in the brain than light cigarettes, it's still enough to "light up" almost 25 percent of them, Brody says. "Researchers, clinicians and smokers themselves should consider that fact when trying to quit," he concludes.
The UCLA study is in the current online edition of the International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology.
** 28-09-2008 **
** Melamine Contamination From China Found in Some Snack Foods **
China's melamine contamination problem may be spreading to the snack world.
In the wake of recalls late last week of a vanilla-flavored snack known as white Rabbit from stores in Britain, Singapore, New Zealand and Australia, the Associated Press reports that the product was also removed from store shelves in Hong Kong. Government officials say the snack contained more than five times the allowable amount of melamine, the wire service reports.
The problem is that melamine, an industrial chemical, has long been in China as an additive to milk powder. Almost 55,000 Chinese infants have been sickened from the milk powder, according to government estimates, including four who died.
But the milk powder has also been used in making creamy snacks, the A.P. reports, and health officials are only now beginning to determine how widespread the problem may be.
Food company and health officials also have to be aware of how rapidly a rumor can spread. Last week, the wire service reports, the Internet was crackling with reports the middle of the Oreo cookie contained melamine. This promoted a quick and intense response from Kraft Foods, emphasizing that Oreos' middles are not made with milk.
Meanwhile seven "Mr. Brown"-brand instant coffee and tea products, produced in China, are being recalled because they may be contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday.
According to a statement posted on the FDA Web site, the recalled adult coffee products, made by China's Shandong Duqing Inc., are:
* Mr. Brown Mandheling Blend Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
* Mr. Brown Arabica Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
* Mr. Brown Blue Mountain Blend Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
* Mr. Brown Caramel Macchiato Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
* Mr. Brown French Vanilla Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
* Mr. Brown Mandhling Blend instant Coffee (2-in-1)
* Mr. Brown Milk Tea (3-in-1)
No illnesses related to the candy, coffee, or tea products have been reported in the United States, Bloomberg News cited the FDA as saying.
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| Reference : - www.carolinashealthcare.org |
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