Smokers underestimate nicotine cravings

September 17, 2008

Nicotine cravings hit harder than people imagine

The nicotine in cigarettes is just as addictive as hard drugs. Unsurprisingly, when many smokers try to wean themselves off cigarettes, their dependency on nicotine manifests in the form of cravings. For most smokers, the pressure of nicotine cravings is all too familiar – they’re like a psychological bungee cord that yanks those who try to quit back towards their lighters.

Now, a simple study published in Psychological Science suggests that while smokers are familiar with cravings, they drastically underestimate their impact if they aren’t actually experiencing them at the time.

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Can healthy living really slow the ageing process?

September 17, 2008

Most of us are aware that a healthy lifestyle is good for us – it can reduce our risk of developing cancer and other diseases and even help us live longer.

There are several reasons for this. For a start, healthy living reduces our exposure to damaging chemicals such as those in tobacco smoke. But an interesting article published this week in the prestigious journal The Lancet Oncology suggests another route – our lifestyle choices could directly affect a key protein that controls the ageing process. Let’s take a closer look…

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