Triple the price of cigarettes: the solution to fight against smoking

If a net increase in tobacco taxes allowed, smokers to reduce by one third in number by 2025? This is what two researchers who published a study on this subject.

"A higher tax on tobacco is the most effective measure to reduce smoking and reduce future smokers" and a few days before the rising price of tobacco 20 cent next January 13 in France, the researcher Prabhat Jha ​​says his recent study published in the journal The New England Journal of Medicine . In collaboration with Dr. Richard Peto, suggests that triple the taxes on tobacco would prevent 200 million deaths and reduce by one third the number of smokers.  

According to figures from the World Health Organization (WHO), tobacco kills nearly 6 million people every year and if no action is taken urgently, the annual number of deaths could reach more than 8 million by 2030. The two researchers have set the same goal as the WHO and the UN: to reduce by one third the prevalence of smoking in the world by 2025.  

An incredibly powerful tool  

Triple cigarette taxes would be the solution, according to them, which would reduce the price differences between different brands and prevent the temptation to turn to cheapest cigarette Brands instead of stopping or limit its consumption. Other arguments are, such an increase should also discourage young people who want to start and would be particularly effective in countries with low and middle income groups, where smoking is more prevalent.  

"In the world, about half a million children and adults under 35 years already - or soon will be - smoking and according to the current trend, few of them stop" worries Dr. Peto . "This study demonstrates that tobacco taxes are an incredibly powerful tool, and potentially a triple wTax: reducing the number of people who smoke and die from their addiction, reduce premature deaths related to tobacco and, at the same time increase State revenue, "he says.

Smoking alters genes associated with cancer

Adverse effects associated with smoking are printed in the genes that are passed from generation to generation, according to a Swedish study.

We know that smoking increases the risk of cancer, diabetes and low sperm concentration. Researchers at the Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University and Uppsala Center for Clinical Research in Sweden now have evidence that these misdeeds affect genes inherited by future generations.

In the journal Human Molecular Genetics, scientists have found that these genetic changes were visible only in smokers. No genetic changes were observed in nonsmokers.

Genetic material changes with age as a result of chemical changes in DNA that alter gene activity. These genetic changes are normally caused by aging. But environmental factors and lifestyle may also influence the genetic material. For example, British researchers at the University of Surrey found that the lack of sleep can disrupt the activity of hundreds of genes.

This new Swedish study provides a further illustration of the impact of lifestyle on genes. It demonstrates that exposure to chemical substances in tobacco disrupts the normal functioning of genes and increases the risk of tobacco-related diseases such as cancer.

"When you smoke, you are exposed to certain toxic chemicals that alter the behavior of DNA, confirms the author of the study, Asa Johansson, a researcher at the University of Uppsala. Our results indicate that the increased risk of smoking-related diseases is partly caused by epigenetic changes. "

The relationship between genetic endowment and tobacco is complex. Recently, French researchers at the Pasteur Institute, CNRS and Pierre and Marie Curie University showed that genetic mutations may explain the differences in addiction to smoking among smokers.

Abnormal brain structure for heavy smokers of marijuana

Abnormal brain structure for heavy smokers of marijuana

Adolescents who smoked marijuana every day for three years had, years later, abnormal brain structure on working memory and offered poor performance on tests of memory, say researchers at the American University Northwestern.

Brain abnormalities and memory problems have been observed in patients two years after they have stopped smoking marijuana, which could indicate that chronic use causes long-term problems. Brain structures associated with memory seemed to shrink and implode, which may reflect a decline in the number of neurons.

The study also shows that brain abnormalities are associated with poor working memory and they resemble anomalies in patients with schizophrenia. Working memory to retrieve and use instantly necessary information, and the need to transfer to long-term memory.

Most subjects were young when they started smoking marijuana, more brain abnormalities were pronounced. The researchers believe that brain regions associated with memory are potentially more vulnerable to long-term effects of the drug if the excess start early.

The researchers now want to hold further studies to clarify the exact nature of the link between marijuana use and the changes detected in the brain.

The findings of this study are published in the journal Schizophrenia Bulletin.