Tag Archives: cigarette smoking

Seven a day keeps the reaper at bay

Eating seven or more portions of fruit and vegetables a day reduces your risk of death at any point in time by 42% compared to eating less than one portion, reports a new UCL study.

Researchers used the Health Survey for England to study the eating habits of 65,226 people representative of the English population between 2001 and 2013, and found that the more fruit and vegetables they ate, the less likely they were to die at any age. Eating seven or more portions reduces the specific risks of death by cancer and heart disease by 25% and 31% respectively. The research also showed that vegetables have significantly higher health benefits than fruit. (more…)

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Smokers with Mental Disorders, Drug and Alcohol Problems Need Doctors’ Help to Quit

Smokers who also have alcohol, drug and mental disorders would benefit greatly from smoking-cessation counseling from their primary care physicians and would be five times more successful at kicking the habit, a study by researchers at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center has found.

Smokers with these co-morbid conditions make up about 40 percent of the smoking population, have a more difficult time quitting and represent a significant burden on the health care system. If their primary care physicians could help them to quit smoking, it would not only improve their health of patients but would reduce tobacco-related health care costs, said Dr. Michael Ong, an assistant professor of general internal medicine and health services research at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and a researcher with UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. (more…)

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Climate Change: Cultural Shift Needed Similar to Smoking, Slavery

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Despite scientific evidence of climate change, it will take a significant cultural shift in attitudes to address the situation, says a University of Michigan researcher.

The shift would be much like what has happened with recent cigarette smoking bans and even similar to the abolition of slavery in the 19th century.

“The present reality is that we tend to overlook the social dimensions of environmental issues and focus strictly on their technological and economic aspects,” said Andy Hoffman, the Holcim (U.S.) Professor of Sustainable Enterprise at the Ross School of Business and School of Natural Resources and Environment. “To properly address climate change, we must change the way we structure our organizations and the way we think as individuals. (more…)

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