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** 25 October 2019
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** International
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** Nasal swab could help gauge smokers' odds for lung cancer (#1)
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** Vaping-related illnesses in US still rising, but more slowly (#2)
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** Parliamentary Activity
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** Parliamentary Question (#3)
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** Link of the Week
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** Health Inequalities and Smoking: Webinar registration now open (#4)
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** International
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** Preliminary findings of a new study have indicated that a person’s risk for lung cancer could be determined with a quick swab of the nose. The experimental nasal swab relies on the fact that most lung cancer patients are current and former smokers. It is intended to be a non-invasive means of separating high-risk patients from low-risk patients, by spotting signs of gene damage produced by long-term exposure to cigarette smoke.
After using the swab to brush across each patient's nasal passage, the collected contents were subjected to rigorous genetic testing. If the test unearthed signs of smoke-induced damage, the patient would be classified as "high-risk." That did not necessarily mean that he or she had lung cancer. But it meant that more invasive testing was warranted, along the lines of tissue excision and analysis. Only invasive follow-up testing—not the swab test alone—could confirm lung cancer. On the other hand, if the test found no signs of damage, then a patient could be deemed "low-risk."
The swab test correctly classified as low-risk more than 40% of the cancer-free patients. Similarly, the swab test also accurately classified as high-risk 40% of those patients who actually had cancer. The team said that the test performed "consistently" across all lung nodule sizes, nodule locations and cancer types and stages. And the results "had a very high specificity," said Lamb, meaning that patients deemed high-risk and sent for further tests were very likely to have lung cancer.
The study findings suggest that "the test developed by these investigators should reduce the uncertainty as to whether an abnormality is benign or malignant in about 40% of people scanned," said Dr Norman Edelman, senior medical adviser for the American Lung Association. "And this may well be useful in the decision-making process," he agreed. But he cautioned that as it stands, "the test is not specific enough to replace all of the other tools doctors now use to determine whether an abnormality is malignant or not."
The findings—which are preliminary and have not yet undergone peer review—were presented this week at the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST) annual meeting, in New Orleans.
Source: Medical XPress, 24 October 2019
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** The rate at which vaping illnesses are being reported is slowing down, but US health officials are unsure why, according to the weekly Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report from Thursday 24th October. The CDC said that 125 additional cases were reported in the last week, bringing the total to 1,604. That includes 34 deaths; one more than last week.
The outbreak is still happening, but the count of new cases has dropped for three straight weeks. A CDC spokeswoman said reporting delays could be one explanation.
The outbreak appears to have started in March. No single ingredient, electronic cigarette or vaping device has yet been linked to all the illnesses. Most people who became ill said that they used products containing THC.
See also:
CDC - Outbreak of Lung Injury Associated with the Use of E-Cigarette, or Vaping, Products: Weekly Update ([link removed])
The Sun - Vaping death toll reaches 35 as epidemic of e-cigarette lung disease spreads affecting more than 1,600 people ([link removed])
Source: Mail Online, 24 October 2019
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Read Article ([link removed])
** Parliamentary Activity
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** Asked by Jim Cunningham MP, Coventry South:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that companies producing and selling tobacco products do not circumvent the Standardised Packaging of Tobacco Products Regulations 2015 through changes to packaging design.
Answered by Jo Churchill MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Health and Social Care:
Tobacco regulations in England are enforced by local authorities through Trading Standards, this includes the Standardised Packaging of Tobacco Products Regulations 2015. The Department keeps track of enforcement and compliance through these regulations.
Source: Hansard, HC Deb, 24 October 2019
Link: [link removed]
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** Link of the Week
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**
Following the re-launch of the ASH’s Health Inequalities Resource Pack, click here ([link removed]) to register for a free webinar on Health Inequalities and Smoking.
The webinar will run from 11:00 – 12:15 on Thursday 27th November 2019.
Speakers will include Sarah Williams, Tobacco Control Programme Manager, Public Health England and Dr Sarah Jackson, Senior Research Associate in Behavioural Science and Health, University College London.
Please e-mail
[email protected] if you have any questions or issues registering for the webinar.
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Register ([link removed])
For more information call 020 7404 0242, email
[email protected] (mailto:
[email protected]) or visit www.ash.org.uk
ASH Daily News is a digest of published news on smoking-related topics. ASH is not responsible for the content of external websites. ASH does not necessarily endorse the material contained in this bulletin.
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