Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | Patients who stop smoking at least four weeks before an operation significantly reduce the risk of having postsurgical complications because their blood flow improves, according to a study published Monday. The World Health Organisation (WHO) study argued that minor or non-essential operations on regular smokers …
Read More »E-cigarettes raise lung disease risks, but less than smoking: study
Washington, United States | AFP | E-cigarette use significantly increases the risk of developing chronic lung diseases like asthma, bronchitis, emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, according to a long term study published Monday that also found vaping was less harmful than smoking. The results of the research, published in the …
Read More »Desperate for next fix — heroin-based ‘nyaope’ grips S.Africa
Soweto, South Africa | AFP | After helping an elderly woman load her bags into a mini-bus taxi at a busy intersection in Soweto, a scrawny and strung-out young man is rewarded with a few coins for his efforts. High on nyaope, a street drug whose main ingredient is heroin, …
Read More »A journalist’s exhausting battle with tobacco addiction
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Tobacco products like cigarettes, cigars, pipes, and smokeless tobacco contain nicotine, a heavily addictive substance that exposes people to the extremely harmful effects of tobacco dependency. Medical experts say that nicotine causes the release of dopamine, a chemical that affects emotions, movements, sensations of pleasure …
Read More »Hawaii considers raising legal smoking age — to 100
Los Angeles, United States | AFP | Would-be cigarette smokers in the US state of Hawaii might have to wait a very long time for their first legal drag, after a lawmaker introduced a bill that would bar sales to anyone under the age of 100. The proposed law, introduced …
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