Toxic waste: cigarette butts harm the environment twice

Chemicals released from cigarette butts damage 'beneficial parasites'

22-Nov-2024 - Cigarette butts do not belong in the environment. Yet they often end up there, especially near water bodies. A survey by the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) has shown that many of Berlin's waters contain considerable amounts of nicotine, which is also toxic to ...

Presence of nicotine and antidepressants detected in Antarctic waters

A study with the participation of IDAEA and IGME locates organic contaminants derived from human activity in inland and coastal waters of the frozen continent

30-May-2023 - Human activity is negatively impacting Antarctic water quality. This is the conclusion of a study carried out by the Institute of Environmental Diagnosis and Water Studies (IDAEA-CSIC) and the Geological and Mining Institute of Spain (IGME-CSIC), in collaboration with the University of Granada ...

High-strength cannabis linked to addiction and mental health problems

After alcohol and nicotine, cannabis is the most widely used drug globally

27-Jul-2022 - As the strength or potency of cannabis products has increased internationally over the years, so have rates of people being treated for cannabis addiction, say the authors of a new study. Researchers from the Addiction and Mental Health Group at the University of Bath (UK) systematically ...

Genetic risks for nicotine dependence span a range of traits and diseases

Psychologists develop a holistic approach to genetic risks for substance use disorders

05-Jul-2021 - Some people casually smoke cigarettes for a while and then stop without a problem, while others develop long-term, several packs-per-day habits. A complex mix of environmental, behavioral and genetic factors appear to raise this risk for nicotine dependence. Studies of groups of twins suggest ...

Humans transport dangerous smoke residues indoors

People carry hazardous compounds from cigarette smoke into non-smoking environments

09-Mar-2020 - Decades of research have demonstrated the adverse effects of fine particulate matter and volatile organic compounds (VOC) such as nicotine or acetonitrile from tobacco smoke on human health, with no “safe” level of exposure. Smoking restrictions have decreased non-smokers’ exposure to secondhand ...

Study finds electronic cigarettes damage brain stem cells

04-Jul-2019 - A research team at the University of California, Riverside, has found that electronic cigarettes, often targeted to youth and pregnant women, produce a stress response in neural stem cells, which are critical cells in the brain. Present throughout life, stem cells become specialized cells with ...

Breakthrough in mapping nicotine addiction could help researchers improve treatment

04-Oct-2016 - A scientific blueprint to end tobacco cravings may be on the way after researchers crystallized a protein that holds answers to how nicotine addiction occurs in the brain. The breakthrough at the Peter O'Donnell Jr. Brain Institute comes after decades of failed attempts to crystallize and ...

A coffee to keep New Year fitness resolutions

15-Jan-2016 - For anyone struggling to keep the New Year Resolution to 'Do More Exercise' science shows a solution could be found in a simple cup of coffee. Professor Samuele Marcora, a University of Kent endurance expert, suggests the use of caffeine could help people stick to their fitness plans. Responding ...

Small changes in DNA can affect nicotine consumption

11-Jan-2016 - Nicotine is an addictive substance and genetic factors are known to play a role in smoking behaviors. Recently, a team of researchers at Penn State and the University of Colorado determined how small differences in a particular region of the mouse genome can alter nicotine consumption. Nicotine ...

Study reveals new mechanism in nicotine addiction

02-Dec-2015 - Part of the reason people find smoking difficult to quit is that each time they have a cigarette, feelings of craving, irritability and anxiety melt away. This component of addiction is known as negative reward and is controlled in part by a region of the brain called the habenula. The ...