Teens’ Brain Structure May Be Altered by Smoking

Early exposure to cigarettes could affect how one responds to and craves nicotine

It’s no surprise that smoking for years can change the way the brain processes nicotine, creating a well-worn pattern of craving and satisfaction that’s difficult to break.



But how soon does this cycle get started? And does nicotine actually alter structures in the brain to make dependence more likely?

In the latest research, published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, Edythe London, a professor of psychiatry and pharmacology at University of California Los Angeles, and her team found that young smokers did have differences in a specific brain region compared with non smokers. Even more concerning, these differences emerged with a relatively light smoking habit of one pack or less of cigarettes a day.

London and her colleagues focused on a brain region called the insula, since previous studies in animal and adults showed that its size and volume were affected by smoking. Of the regions in the cortical, or memory, awareness and language parts of the brain, the insula contains the most receptors for nicotine. The region is responsible for decision-making and helping to establish a person’s conscious awareness of his internal state. In studies of stroke patients, smokers who lost function of the right insula in the stroke quit smoking, and reported feeling no cravings for nicotine. And in earlier studies London’s team conducted, they found a strong relationship between how much smokers who watched videos of people smoking experienced cravings for cigarettes and the activity of the insula, which lit up on PET scans.
When London’s team looked at the brains of the 18 smoking teens and 24 non-smoking adolescents, aged 16 to 21 years, using structural MRI, they found no differences overall in the insula region. But a closer examination revealed that the right insula of the smokers was thinner than those of the nonsmokers.

“The brain is still undergoing development when someone is in their late teens,” she says. “It’s possible that smoking during this period could have effects that could alter tobacco dependence later in life, and that the insult could alter the trajectory of brain development.”

While the study doesn’t establish whether the differences in the insula can lead to smoking, or is the result of smoking, London says it highlights the role that the brain region may play in how people respond to nicotine and cigarettes. “I think this is very exciting because it points to a vulnerability, a potential vulnerability factor either to become nicotine dependent or for the effects of smoking to ultimately alter the trajectory of brain development,” she says. That trajectory could affect not only smoking behavior but decision-making in general, since the insula is important in such assessments.

Astrology gives you a hand in quitting smoking

Kings and princes of many countries all over the world were asking for advice on the most important matters and problems from astrologists. Those people were able to “read” stars show the direction for travelers, which would tell the future, help to determine farming seasons and guide in many other aspects of the life. Today stars might help people to quit smoking.
The author recommends choosing the time when the moon is waving. According to the beliefs of Middle Age people, when the moon diminishes, it benefits to all works that we want to reduce, lower or eliminate. It is also very good when Mars position is included in the election, because it is believed to be the ruling planet over tobacco plant.
Astrologists offer to quit smoking within certain phases of the planets, moon and stars. For example, Christopher Warnock speaks about electional astrology being a  good solution for quitting smoking. In this case astrological charts are used to pick or elect the best time to start working on the problem, to stop smoking forever, because “by aligning of ourselves with the cycles of the Heavens we increase our ability to control our lives here on Earth”.
He says that the important thing is to be ready to quit. There can be many methods, but none of them will be good if the person is not ready to quit smoking psychologically. The smoker should understand very well how nicotine impacts health and how quickly the body can become healed without harmful chemicals inhaled with the smoke.
By putting together these factors and learning some personal information such as birth date, time and place, the astrologist gives the exact time (up to the minutes and hours), when the quit-smoking process should start
There is recommended to watch for the waning moon phase which comes after full moon. It is also necessary for the moon to be at an angle to Saturn which provides easy flow of energy.
If the smoker wants to build a personal diagram, taking into consideration not only moon and Saturn, but birth data as well there is a possibility to do this also. For this method is needed a lot of patience, good information and real person to help you.

Why Is Tobacco Still The Leading Preventable Cause Of Death?

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
It's MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep.
RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:
And I'm Renee Montagne.
Fifty years after the landmark surgeon general's report that smoking causes cancer, former U.S. surgeons general are emphasizing that the key in the fight against tobacco is kids. They gathered for a youth tobacco summit in New Orleans yesterday.
NPR's Debbie Elliott reports.
DEBBIE ELLIOTT, BYLINE: Former Surgeon General Regina Benjamin says no one wanted to believe Dr. Luther Terry back in 1964 when he said smoking led to disease and premature death.
REGINA BENJAMIN: Just like today, it was a lot of controversy. They released it on a Saturday, because they didn't want it to affect the stock market.
ELLIOTT: Still, it was big news.
(SOUNDBITE OF NBC NEWS BROADCAST)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Here is NBC News correspondent Frank McGee.
FRANK MCGEE: This book containing 387 carefully worded pages is a federal government report. It's title: "Smoking and Health."
ELLIOTT: Every surgeon general since has issued a report detailing tobacco's toll on society, and much has changed. Cigarette packs have warnings. You can't smoke in most public spaces, and there are restrictions on the way tobacco products are made and sold. Smoking rates have dropped from nearly half the American public to just about 18 percent of adults. There's no dispute that nicotine is addictive and tobacco is deadly.
So why is tobacco still the leading preventable cause of death, killing 1,200 people a day? Benjamin says it's because for every smoker who dies, there are two so-called replacement smokers trying a cigarette for the first time and getting hooked.
BENJAMIN: Ninety percent of all smokers start before age of 18, 99 percent before the age of 26. So if can just get our next generation to not take that first cigarette before the age of 26, they have less than 1 percent chance of every starting. And we can make that generation tobacco-free.
ELLIOTT: So, the key, she says, is stopping the next generation from ever taking that first puff. Dr. Benjamin is now an endowed chair of public health sciences at Xavier University in New Orleans. She invited all the living surgeons general to join her on campus to focus on youth smoking.
Dr. Anonia Novello was surgeon general in the early '90s.
ANONIA NOVELLO: It's the only legal product that utilized, as it says, it will cause you death. So we have to get that message into their heads.
ELLIOTT: Experts say the best messenger is their peers.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: (Rapping) Too many youth and young adults be dying. I don't mess with that tobacco. Oh, no. It ain't cool. Did you know three million students smoke in high school?
ELLIOTT: This anti-tobacco video by Florida middle-schools is the winner of a contest sponsored by Benjamin, when she was surgeon general. For the Xavier summit, she recruited teen advocates to sign what she calls TobaccNO pledge, inspired the video.
DESHANDA SMARR: I pledge to be tobacco-free for those who passed away, because they wasn't strong enough to fight against tobacco.
ELLIOTT: Deshanda Smarr is a 16-year old high school student from Atlanta. She says smoking is a problem for kids her age.
SMARR: A lot of youth say it's because of stress, but they're too young to stress. I don't think that's the reason. I actually believe it's because they see other people do it, especially adults.
ELLIOTT: College freshman Darrien Skinner of San Marcos, Texas thinks the nation's policy needs to change.
DARRIEN SKINNER: We all know that tobacco is bad. So why does it still exist in society? Why is it still here today? Why isn't the government stepping in and changing it?
DAVID SATCHER: Well, ultimately, I think that's the direction we're moving in.
ELLIOTT: Dr. David Satcher was the 16th U.S. surgeon general.
SATCHER: You could argue that we shouldn't have to do that, that if we do our jobs in public health, that people will just stop smoking.
ELLIOTT: The former surgeons general have mixed opinions on whether tobacco should ever be outlawed, a controversial topic in a society that values personal choice.
Debbie Elliott, NPR News, New Orleans. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Will Altria Be Able to Offset Declines in Tobacco Sales?

Cigarette consumption has been declining at a 4% rate in the U.S. market, with recent health regulations, litigation towards tobacco companies and increased medical awareness exacerbating this trend even more. With the Food and Drug Administration now in charge of regulating tobacco consumerism and imposing taxation, which has seen 113 increases since the year 2000, industry players are struggling to maintain their earnings growth.
However, Altria Group Inc. (MO) doesn’t seem to be part of the struggles. In fact, while the company’s revenue has been almost flat year-over-year, it has managed to continue growing into a worthwhile investment. Thus, investment gurus like Sarah Ketterer (Trades, Portfolio) and Ray Dalio (Trades, Portfolio) have bought Altria’s shares last quarter, hoping to gain solid profits looking forward.
Can a Strong Brand Portfolio Fight Sales Declines?
As the largest tobacco company in the U.S., with over 50% market share, Altria has successfully built a wide moat business, with the greatest economy of scale in the industry and very high customer loyalty. In fact, 90% of Marlboro smokers purchase that brand 100% of the time and while it controls over 40% of the domestic market, it’s certainly not the company’s sole revenue stream. After shedding its international segments and all non-tobacco assets – except for a 27.1% stake in the world’s second largest brewer SABMiller – Altria now operates exclusively in the tobacco industry. It’s most popular brands include Phillip Morris USA, Smokeless Tobacco Company, John Middleton and MarkTen eCigs.
While the smokeless tobacco market, where the firm operates via its Copenhagen and Skoal brands, has shown volume increases (expected to continue over the next decade), tax bumps and regulations should stall cigarette consumption. Nonetheless, Altria’s pricing power should compensate volume declines looking forward, and management’s commitment to shareholders is impressive, with nearly 80% of net income dedicated to dividend payments, which sported a yield of 5.09% in 2013. Furthermore, the firm’s new focus on electronic cigarettes via the MarkTen eCig brand is bound to offset declines in tobacco sales, as well as CVS Caremark Corporation (CVS)’s recent announcement to retreat from tobacco product sales by October 2014.

Hite Wants 320 Million to Start, Smoking Ban at NJ Beaches, Philly Ranks 2nd in Taxation

Philadelphia Superintendent William R. Hite has put a price tag on his plan to fix the city school system. $320 million. And that's just to start on his ambitious blueprint. The full plan could cost twice that amount. Hite's request for the 2014-15 school year is above and beyond the $120 million the system is hoping for from the extra 1 percent city sales tax.

New Jersey lawmakers are considering a law that would ban smoking at the beach and public parks. The proposal is designed to eliminate exposure to secondhand smoke and to cut down on litter and to improve fire safety. Now, there are trees in the park that are flammable, but not the beach. And interestingly, smoking would still be permitted in parking areas at beaches and parks.

Philadelphia is among cities with the highest tax burden in the country. Philly is number 2 on the list overall behind only Bridgeport, Connecticut. In Philadelphia a family earning $25,000 will owe $4,000 in taxes. Higher income earners making $150,000 will owe Uncle Sam $25,000 in taxes.

Psychological Health Improved By Quitting Smoking

Psychological Health Improved By Quitting Smoking

Justin Bieber's jet filled with pot smoke, source says

Justin Bieber and his father allegedly refused a pilot's warning to stop smoking pot during a flight from Canada to New Jersey on Friday, according to a law enforcement source.

A law enforcement official gave details to CNN about what the flight crew on the chartered jet told federal officials after they ferried Bieber and his entourage from Canada to New Jersey's Teterboro Airport. The official asked not to be identified.

Marijuana smoke was so strong in the jet's cabin that flight crew members put on oxygen masks because they were concerned they might inhale so much it would cause them to test positive for drug use, said the source.
Avalon Full Flavor
The pilots repeatedly asked the pop star, his father, Jeremy Bieber, and other passengers to put away marijuana during the flight, according to the source. The pilot said the singer and his father were verbally abusive to the flight crew. This prompted the pilot to have the flight attendant stay close to the cockpit to avoid contact with Bieber as much as possible, the source said.

Bieber and his entourage of 10 were granted re-entry into the United States after a search of the chartered plane by federal officials, who said they detected an odor of marijuana after it landed at Teterboro Airport, a law enforcement official told CNN.

A number of federal agents from Customs and Border Protection, the Drug Enforcement Administration and Immigration and Customs Enforcement said they detected the odor, which prompted the search by drug-sniffing dogs, the source said.

No sign of drugs were detected and no illegal substances were found, a law enforcement source told CNN last week.

How Brown, Lohan could help Bieber

Bieber, a Canadian citizen living in the United States on a work visa, was detained by border agents for several hours of questioning. The interview is routinely conducted to ensure people entering the country are in compliance with U.S. law, another law enforcement source said.

A Customs and Border Protection spokesman declined comment, citing privacy requirements involving the questioning of people applying to enter the United States.

Bieber rep Matthew Hiltzik declined comment to CNN.

Bieber, 19, was arrested last week in Toronto, accused of assaulting his limousine driver in December.

He also faces charges of drunken driving, resisting arrest and driving on an expired license after being stopped by police in Miami Beach, Florida, last month.

Number of teenage smokers halved

Marlborough has topped a national table of the biggest drop in teenage smokers.
Statistics from the 2013 Census show the number of smokers in Marlborough aged between 15 and 19 has halved since 2006.
The figure has shocked anti-smoking lobbyists in the region.
Cynthia de Jeoux is a cease cigarette (Aukati Kaipaipa) co-ordinator with the Maori health provider Te Hauora o Ngati Rarua and works with children at Marlborough's three colleges. Students are referred to her by schools predominantly after being caught smoking in the school grounds.
She routinely sees between six and 12 children each week. In 2013, she dealt with 170 young people and only five successfully quit. This year alone she has seen more than 40 school-aged children. The youngest referral was aged 11.
"I am surprised by the figures, I am still working with the same number of students each year. There still seems to be a prevalence in the uptake of young smokers but I am always pleased to hear this news.
"I promote quit while you are ahead and don't be coming and seeing me in 40 years. It is about prevention education. I work on the positive message that being smokefree is making a good choice. We do active promotion, making letter box drops and getting in people's faces."
Through one-on-one and group sessions Ms de Jeoux looks at the reasons behind smoking and gives schoolchildren tools to quit the habit. "I deal with a lot of the Maori population which is the hardest socio-economic group. They can afford the least to smoke yet do it the most," she said.
"We have high achievers with smoking problems as a result of anxiety and we have groups of underachievers at an academic level. These are popular kids at school that struggle with the pressure put on them and have a ‘what the heck' attitude. All these kids have an amazing resilience that is not channelled properly.
"Peer pressure is one reason they offer. They see their friends smoke and they want to feel part of a culture and fit in. Boredom is another common word I hear. Kids will also do what they see and many referrals have parents that smoke." Lucky Strike Click&Roll
Ms de Jeoux is seeing the knock-on health effects of lighting up.
"I am starting to see chest infections," she said. "The same kids are aware of the impacts of smoking but have made a positive move towards quitting. Some are not aware of the effects. It is not until they take up the challenge to quit and it is quite empowering for them to discover that can do it."
Smokefree cessation co-ordinator at Marlborough Private Health Organisation Amora Katu agreed the drop in teenage smokers was shocking but there could be an undocumented reason.
"There appears to be a ripple effect. If one person quits it will have a ripple effect on others," she said.
"I have been a smokefree co-ordinator for eight years. I am surprised by the figures and would have anticipated a smaller drop of between 30 and 40 per cent."