¹ú¼ÊÃ×À¼¶ÔÕó¿ÆĪ researchers have found that women who smoke during pregnancy are 2.6 times more likely to give birth prematurely compared to non-smokers – more than double the previous estimate.
Scientists in ¹ú¼ÊÃ×À¼¶ÔÕó¿ÆĪ and London have developed a catalogue of DNA mutation ‘fingerprints’ that could help doctors pinpoint the environmental culprit responsible for a patient’s tumour – including showing some of the fingerprints left in lung tumours by specific chemicals found in tobacco smoke.
Low levels of oxygen in the womb – which can be caused by smoking or conditions such as pre-eclampsia – may cause problems with fertility later in life, a study carried out in rats suggests.
Exposure to advertisements for e-cigarettes may decrease the perceived health risks of occasional tobacco smoking, suggests new research from the ¹ú¼ÊÃ×À¼¶ÔÕó¿ÆĪ, prompting concern that this may lead more young people to experiment with smoking.
Smoking increases an individual’s risk of developing tuberculosis (TB) – and makes the infection worse – because it causes vital immune cells to become clogged up, slowing their movement and impeding their ability to fight infection, according to new research published in the journal Cell.
Genetic tests that provide an estimate of an individual’s risk of developing diseases such as lung cancer and heart disease do not appear to motivate a change in behaviour to reduce the risk, according to a study led by the ¹ú¼ÊÃ×À¼¶ÔÕó¿ÆĪ and published in The BMJ today.
The process of ageing begins even before we are born, according to an international team of researchers led by the ¹ú¼ÊÃ×À¼¶ÔÕó¿ÆĪ. In a study using rats to model pregnancy and fetal development, the researchers also found that providing mothers with antioxidants during pregnancy meant that their offspring aged more slowly in adulthood.
Advertisements featuring e-cigarettes with flavours such as chocolate and bubble gum are more likely to attract school children to buy and try e-cigarettes than those featuring non-flavoured e-cigarettes, according to new research published in the journal Tobacco Control.
Financial incentives could help one in five women quit smoking during pregnancy, according to new research published today in the journal Addiction. The study, led by researchers at the ¹ú¼ÊÃ×À¼¶ÔÕó¿ÆĪ and King’s College London, found that only a small number of women ‘gamed’ the system to receive the incentives whilst continuing to smoke.
New research unit to focus on how to change behaviours responsible for the majority of premature deaths worldwide.
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