According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 43% of people over age 20 who suffer with depression are also smokers.

The smoking rates of those with depression are similar to the population as a whole, as reported in 1964 when the United States Surgeon General first reported on the dangers of smoking. Moreover, depressed smokers are less likely to quit smoking than those without depression.

Cigarettes provide a temporary mood boost to those with depression. The effect is similar as an anti-depressant. When the mood boost subsides, a depressed smoker will reach for another cigarette to again boost their mood. The more a person smokes, the more reliant upon the chemical reaction the body becomes. This makes eliminating nicotine (along side the thousands of other chemicals including radiation and cancer causing agents) from the body a more grueling process.

Additionally, smokers often lack confidence in their daily lives without factoring in the continuous adding of bans and snide Continue Reading

Everything is bigger in Texas, or so they say. This seems to include initiatives to knock out the right to smoke. San Marcos plans to stub out cigarettes city-wide with a vote on the November ballot.

Bars, restaurants, billiard halls, and bingo halls are included in the proposed smoking ban. Open forums were held on July 18 and July 21 where residents were allowed to speak openly about their concerns and offer support at the San Marcos Activity Center and the Texas Music Theater.

For those who attended the open forums, support for and against the proposed ban were evenly split. The City Council voted to put a nonbinding referendum on the November ballot allowing them to abandon the idea, even if there are enough votes to pass the ban. The only City Council member opposing the ban is Fred Terry. Mr. Terry stated that the ban removes private property rights of business owners. Continue Reading

Studies conducted across the world are looking at the risks of smoking while pregnant as well as the potential risks of second hand smoke exposure. The findings of various studies are causing health industry practice changes. Those changes could prevent a non-smoking female from receiving in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments if her partner smokes, among others.

It is no secret that smoking while pregnant is harmful to the unborn baby. Common issues stemming from smoking include low birth weights, heart defects, birth defects, miscarriage, still birth, and continued tobacco use following birth increases the risk of SIDS or cot death. Recently, cholesterol and preterm menopause have come into the picture as associated risks. Continue Reading

Ohio employers are taking no-smoking rules to a new level by refusing to hire or fining employees for lighting up.