Posts Tagged ‘nicotine’

Make no mistake about it, public health is a righteous cause. Overwhelmingly, people choose careers in public health because they believe in the mission and they want to make a difference in the world. But righteous causes can bring a loss of objectivity. It happens because strong, human feelings come into play. When we hear […]

Dialing up emotions about health can be very unhelpful. Especially if the goal is to make good decisions and good policy. But today, we have many examples of strong emotions getting in the way of clear thinking about public health. Face masks and vaccination come to mind. Nicotine, tobacco, and obesity are also subjects that […]

What’s been on your mind this year? One way to answer that question is to look at what grabbed your attention here on ConscienHealth. It’s been a year of keen interest in what we’re writing about. Almost half a million of you have taken time to read what we’ve written so far this year – […]

In the early reports of patients in the hospital for COVID-19, careful observers noticed an odd pattern. COVID-19 is primarily a respiratory syndrome and smoking badly damages lungs. But hospitalization was not more likely for smokers. In fact, it was less likely. This correlation kept appearing in sample after sample  – though with substantial uncertainty. […]

Risk-benefit ratio is a term of art that most anyone in healthcare will know. It answers a very basic question. Does this thing offer more benefits than risks? The thing might be a drug, it might be a device, or it might be an operation. But what about some of the beliefs that drive health […]

As Conscienhealth recently wrote, we need more curiosity in the fields of nutrition and obesity. That includes a willingness to challenge our pre-existing beliefs. I submit that this is true in nicotine research, too, even among our most capable researchers. Risk Perceptions Last week, JAMA published a report on trends in relative risk perceptions between […]

A new study in the New England Journal of Medicine is stirring up a complex mixture of feelings with some objective data about vaping. The study shows that e-cigarettes are 83 percent more effective than nicotine replacement products for helping people quit smoking. In the U.K., the reaction is positive. In the U.S., the reaction is […]

The puritanism within us is alive and well, says Matthew Hutson. That much is clear from a new, white-hot debate published in the Annual Review of Public Health. That debate is all about nicotine. But our ongoing obsession with the perils of sugar echoes many of the same themes – along with some important differences. Nicotine: […]

At the end of July, FDA Commissioner, Scott Gottlieb, and his Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) Director, Mitch Zeller, announced a commitment and vision to dramatically change the impact of tobacco in the US. To understand how far-reaching this plan is, consider the following basics on the state of nicotine policy and science. 1. As a result of […]

Recently in JAMA, Bill Dietz and colleagues outline a three-part recommendation to address the long-term consequences of preventable chronic health conditions. They focus, rightly, on smoking and tobacco, physical activity, and nutrition as components of the two leading causes of preventable suffering and premature death. These are important recommendations for healthier generations. We see strengths in […]