Herbal Cigarettes No Safer Than Regular Cigarettes
Cigarettes made with a blend of medicinal herbs and tobacco are no healthier than regular cigarettes, a new study finds. Increasingly popular throughout the world, herbal cigarettes are marketed as safer and less addictive than regular cigarettes.
For the study, researchers compared 135 people who smoked herbal cigarettes with 143 people who smoked regular cigarettes. Analyzing the participants’ urine samples, they found no significant difference in four key markers that indicate delivery of nicotine and carcinogens.
Sizing up study members’ responses to a questionnaire about their cigarette choices, the researchers also found that 24 percent of participants switched to herbal cigarettes because they believed the products to be a healthier alternative. What’s more, most people who switched to herbal cigarettes reported an increase in the number of the cigarettes they smoked daily.
There are a number of natural remedies that may be helpful to those attempting to quit smoking. These include acupuncture, St. John’s wort, ginseng, and hypnotherapyhypnosis/g/hypnosis.htm”>hypnotherapy.
Herbal Cigarettes No Safer Than Regular Cigarettes originally appeared on About.com Alternative Medicine on Friday, December 18th, 2009 at 06:00:33.
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Green Tea for Oral Cancer Prevention?
Green tea may help guard against oral cancer, according to recent research.
For the study, researchers focused on 41 people with oral leukoplakia, a precancerous sore that develops on the tongue or the inside of the cheek in response to chronic irritation. For three months, study members took either green tea extract at one of three doses – 500 mg per meter squared of body mass (mg/m2), 750 mg/m2, or 1,000 mg/m2 – or a placebo daily. Of those taking the two highest doses of the extract, 58.8 percent had a clinical response, compared with 36.4 percent in the lowest-extract dose and 18.2 percent in the placebo group.
The green tea extract also led to an improvement in a number of biomarkers that may play a crucial role in predicting cancer development. What’s more, the green tea extract was well tolerated, although it did produce some side effects (including insomnia and nervousness) in the high-dose group.
Green Tea for Oral Cancer Prevention? originally appeared on About.com Alternative Medicine on Friday, November 27th, 2009 at 06:00:59.
