Jewish World Review June 10, 2003 / 10 Sivan, 5763




Movies, Teenagers & Smoking

By Robert A. Wascher, M.D., F.A.C.S.

http://www.NewsAndOpinion.com | The major tobacco companies have long paid hefty fees to movie production companies in order to have their brands conspicuously "placed" within popular films. It is no coincidence when the hero of your favorite film pulls out a cigarette from a Marlboro box and lights up onscreen.

Tobacco companies would have you believe that the millions of dollars they spend each year on product placement in films directed at teens and young adults have no direct impact on teen smoking rates.

Likewise, the heavy targeting of magazines that appeal to teens and young adults by tobacco companies represents annual investments of tens of millions of dollars. One would intuitively presume that these huge ongoing investments in advertising by Big Tobacco must serve some useful capitalist purpose....

A new study published in the current issue of the journal Lancet took a prospective look at the correlation between exposure to smoking in movies and the new onset of smoking in adolescents. A total of 3,547 adolescents, aged 10 to 14 years, enrolled in the study.

All of these students were non-smokers at the time of their entry into the study. The teenagers were assigned to watch 50 randomly selected movies from a larger movie library, each featuring varying levels of smoking behaviors onscreen. The teenagers were re-contacted 13 to 26 months later to determine the interval incidence of smoking. Overall, 10% of the students had initiated smoking during the course of the study.

Among the group of students who watched movies depicting the greatest frequency of smoking behaviors onscreen, 17% had, themselves, become smokers. Among the students who viewed a collection of 50 movies with the least amount of smoking activity onscreen, only 3% had taken up smoking themselves.

After controlling for other possible factors that might have contributed to the initiation of smoking behaviors, the study determined that exposure to the highest levels of onscreen smoking activity in popular films was associated with a nearly three-fold increase in the likelihood of initiation of adolescent smoking.

Interestingly, the pro-smoking effect of onscreen smoking activity was most potent among teens whose parents were non-smokers. In this group of students, fully 52.2% initiated smoking following exposure to 50 films with the greatest amount of smoking activity onscreen. These results were statistically significant, and only confirm what the advertising departments of tobacco companies have known for decades.

SPINAL MANIPULATION FOR LOW BACK PAIN

Many people seek therapies that do not involve the use of drugs or surgery for various illnesses. One of the most common ailments among adults is chronic low back pain. Spinal manipulation, as performed by massage therapists, chiropractors and osteopaths, is a popular approach to treating chronic musculoskeletal back pain. Unfortunately, there have been very few scientific studies that have objectively evaluated these non-traditional therapies in comparison to orthodox allopathic remedies.

A new study in the Annals of Internal Medicine looked at 39 previously published randomized clinical trials of spinal manipulative therapy, and performed an exhaustive comparative analysis of these studies using a technique called meta-analysis. Meta-analysis is a complex statistical process that "equalizes" the conditions of multiple studies so that their results can be directly compared with each other.

The 39 studies included in this analysis compared spinal manipulative therapy with traditional allopathic therapies, including physical therapy, analgesics, back exercises and general physician care. In a case where the cup may be either half-full or half-empty, depending upon your perspective, the analysis revealed that spinal manipulative therapy was no better than traditional allopathic remedies in terms of relief of symptoms.

If you are a fan of manipulation, then you might be inclined to view this study as confirming that manipulation is as good as other modes of therapy, including medications that you might wish to avoid taking. If you are not predisposed to having your back torqued and kneaded, then you could interpret this study as confirming that spinal manipulation does not offer anything that a hot shower and a couple of ibuprofen tablets can't take care of.

Either way, this is an interesting study that puts a little science behind the spinal manipulation vs. allopathic therapy debate.

YOUR PERSONALITY & THE RISK OF CANCER

Some healthcare providers will swear to you that patients with certain diseases seem to have distinctive personality traits. So it is with many types of cancers. This has raised the question as to whether or not a person's baseline personality type might predispose them to developing certain types of cancer. High levels of anxiety, neurosis and depression have often, at least anecdotally, been linked to an increased incidence of certain cancers. However, there has never been a well-designed scientific study to look at possible associations between personality types and the risk of developing cancer. A new study in the current issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute sheds some scientific light on this controversial issue.

A total of 30,277 Japanese volunteers entered this study, and underwent extensive personality assessments using standardized and previously validated questionnaires.

All volunteers were followed for an average of 7 years to assess for the development of cancer. Potentially confounding factors, such as sex, age, educational level, tobacco use, alcohol use, body mass index and family history of cancer, were also taken into consideration and adjusted for. Fortunately, no association between personality features and the risk of developing cancer were identified in this large-scale study. The study's authors surmise that the apparent increased incidence of neurotic personality subtypes among cancer patients is more likely to be secondary to their diagnosis of cancer, and not the other way around.

WORKING THE NIGHT SHIFT & YOUR RISK OF CANCER

Most people who regularly work night shifts will tell you that they never really become fully accustomed to their nocturnal lifestyles. Try as we might, the human species, as with the majority of other earthly life forms, is designed to sleep by the silvery light of the moon.

Melatonin is an interesting hormone that is secreted by a tiny pea-sized gland deep in the brain, the pineal gland, and is now known to play an important role in our daily sleep-wake circadian cycle. It is primarily secreted at night, but its release by the pineal gland is inhibited by exposure of the eyes' retinas to light.

Melatonin, in addition to its role in sleep regulation, is a powerful anti-oxidant, and has previously been shown to have anti-cancer effects, particularly against colorectal cancer cells grown in the laboratory. Previous studies have also suggested an increased risk of breast cancer among women who frequently work night shifts.

A new study, also published in the current Journal of the National Cancer Institute, examines rotating night shift employment and the risk of developing colorectal cancer. The study evaluated the incidence of colorectal cancer among 78,586 nurses who participated in the landmark Nurses' Health Study from 1988 through 1998.

Altogether, 602 cases of colorectal cancer were diagnosed during the course of this study. For the purposes of this study, the women volunteers were divided into three groups for analysis: women who never worked rotating night shifts, women who had worked rotating night shifts for 1 to 14 years, and women who had worked such rotating shifts for 15 or more years.

The study found that the women in the 1 to 14-year night shift group experienced the same colorectal cancer risk as women who never worked night shifts.

However, the nurses who spent 15 or more years working rotating night shifts experienced a 35% increase in the relative risk of developing colorectal cancer.

Whether this observation is directly related to chronic suppression of melatonin production, or to other factors, is not clear as the study did not actually measure melatonin levels. Such a study would be the next logical step in order to ascertain what, if any, linkage there is between chronic melatonin suppression and colorectal cancer risk.

One arm of such a study should also include melatonin supplementation in women who chronically work rotating night shifts. In any case, it does appear that working the night shift for 15 or more years may increase your risk of developing colorectal cancer.

JWR contributor Dr. Robert A. Wascher is a senior research fellow in molecular & surgical oncology at the John Wayne Cancer Institute in Santa Monica, CA. Comment by clicking here.

Up

06/02/03: Vindication for Dr. Atkins…?; Hospital Volume & Colostomy Rates for Rectal Cancer Surgery; Hormone Replacement Therapy: Another Nail in the Coffin

05/19/03: Internet & e-mail use for health care purposes; more news on physical inactivity & cancer risks; reversal of systemic lupus erythematosus; autologous bone marrow cells improve chronic heart failure

05/13/03: Vaccinations & Multiple Sclerosis; Emergency treatment of Bleeding Esophageal Varices; the deconstruction of the hormone replacement therapy myth continues

05/05/03: Vitamins & Colorectal Cancer; Unnecessary Prescribing of Antibiotics in Hospitals; Relationships between Bullying & Violent Behavior among Students; Pneumococcal Vaccine Update; Long Chain Fatty Acids in Infant Formula & Blood Pressure; Physical Activity & the Risk of Breast Cancer in Asian-American Women

04/28/03: Body Weight & the Risk of Cancer; Bone Protection Following Discontinuation of Hormone Replacement Therapy; C-reactive Protein & Stroke

04/14/03: Echinacacea & Quality Control; Obesity Update; Aortic Valve Stenosis, Arteriograms & Strokes; Preventing Recurrent Blood Clots

03/31/03: Breast Fibroadenomas & the Risk of Breast Cancer; Inflammatory Markers & Risk of Heart Failure; Update on Smallpox Vaccine; SARS Update

03/10/03: More Data on Hormone Replacement Therapy & the Risk of Breast Cancer; Oral Health & the Risk of Cardiovascular Disease; More Bad News about C-reactive Protein; Update: Daily Multivitamin & Minerals Supplements; Baby Aspirin & the Risk of Colorectal Adenomas; Aspirin & the Risk of Colorectal Polyps

03/03/03: Management of enlarging thyroid nodules; Long-term anticoagulation reduces the risk of recurrent blood clots in the veins; colon polyp recurrence after colonoscopic polyp removal; Vitamins C & E and Atherosclerotic Disease: The Debate Continues

02/24/03: Tamoxifen & Benign Breast Disease; New Recommendation on Digitalis Dosing; Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease & the Nose; Radiologist Experience & Accuracy of Mammogram Interpretation; More Data on the Incidence of GI Side Effects with Selective COX-2 NSAIDs; Regular Rest Breaks & the Risk of Industrial Accidents

02/18/03: Update on Alzheimer's Disease; Very Low Birth-weight Babies & Cognitive Development; The Great Blood Pressure Medication Debate

02/03/03: Update on C-reactive Protein; COX-2 Inhibitors & Arterial Function; COX-2 Inhibitors and Gastrointestinal Complications; Telomere Shortening & Risk of Death

01/24/03: Bo-tox that BO Away!; The Super-sizing of America; Marijuana: A Gateway Drug?

01/21/03: Dietary Soy & Prostate Cancer Risks; Retention of Surgical Foreign Bodies after Surgery; Diet & hormone levels in adolescent girls

01/10/03: Can Aspirin Prevent Esophageal Cancer?; A Drink to Your Health!; Hormones & Breast Cancer; The Impact of Obesity on Lifespan

01/06/03:"The Pill" for Males?; Obesity & Diabetes Trends in the United States; Binge Drinking in the United States; One Less Reason to be Depressed; Liver Failure: Trends

12/20/02: Citrus Pectin & Cancer; Echinacea & the Common Cold; Update on High Blood Pressure Treatment

12/06/02: Calcium Intake & Prostate Cancer Risk; Alcohol Consumption & Risk of Breast Cancer; Reducing Blood Transfusions in Critically Ill Patients

12/06/02: Alcohol, Tamoxifen & Carotid Artery Wall Thickness; Coffee & Gallstones?; Irritable Bowel Syndrome Update; Statins: More Good News

11/22/02:Alcohol, HRT & the risk of breast cancer; hormone replacement therapy: more bad news; new vaccines may eliminate cervical cancer; more

11/15/02: The Effects of Diet & Exercise on Blood Pressure & Health; Growth Hormone & Sex Steroid Supplements & the Elderly; C-Reactive Protein & Cardiovascular Disease Risk

11/08/02: More Good News About Statin Drugs; Hormone replacement Therapy (HRT) & Alzheimer's Disease; A Role for Antibiotics in the Treatment of Vascular Disease?; more

11/01/02: Digoxin & gender; driving & degenerative disc disease; Coenzyme Q10 & Parkinson's Disease; Ginseng & erections; Viagra & stroke

10/25/02: Aspirin & coronary artery bypass surgery; glucosamine sulfate & progression of knee arthritis; hospital nurse staffing & patient mortality

10/18/02: Motor Vehicle Exhaust Pollution & Mortality; CT Scans, C-Reactive Protein & Heart Disease; Antiperspirant Use & the Risk of Breast Cancer; Atomic Bomb Radiation Exposure Update; more

10/04/02: Antioxidants & the Risk of Stomach Cancer; Best Way to Diagnose Appendicitis?; Coronary Artery Disease: Stent or Surgery?

09/27/02: Breast Feeding & the Risk of Asthma; HMOs & Quality of Care Scores; Red Wine & Vascular Disease

09/20/02: Dietary Folate & the Risk of Colorectal Cancer; Risks Associated with Smoking after Heart Attacks; BRCA1 Gene Mutation & the Risk of Breast & Non-breast Cancers; Breast Tissue Density & Inheritance

09/13/02: Dairy Products, Calcium, Vitamin D & the Risk of Breast Cancer; Efficacy of Nonprescription Smoking Cessation Aids; A Nutty Approach to Heart Disease Prevention; Update on Prostate Cancer

09/06/02: C-Reactive Protein & Estrogen Replacement Therapy; Walking Women & Cardiovascular Disease; Physical Activity Among Teenaged Girls

08/30/02: Babbling babies & brain function; homocysteine levels, vitamins & coronary artery disease; St. John's Wort & chemotherapy

08/16/02: A New Weapon Against Anthrax?; cataracts & motor vehicle accidents; gingko biloba takes a hit; air pollution & heart function during exercise; breast cancer genes & the estimated risk of breast cancer

08/09/02: Botulinum Toxin & Post-Stroke Spasticity; Intestinal Hormone Kills Appetite; Bone Marrow Cells Improve Blood Flow in Vascular Disease; Effectiveness of Restraining Orders on Domestic Violence

08/02/02: Mammography Saves Lives!; Obesity & the Risk of Heart Failure; High Sugar Diets & the Risk of Colon Cancer; Abuse During Childhood & Possible Effects of Genes on Antisocial Behaviors

07/26/02: Cancer: Nature vs. Nurture; Cardiorespiratory Fitness & Inflammation; Kidney Transplants from Cadaver Donors; Aircraft Cabin Air Recirculation & the Common Cold

07/19/02: PCBs & the Gender of Babies; Breastfeeding & the Risk of Breast Cancer; More Bad News About Hormone replacement Therapy

07/12/02: A cancer surgeon's perspective on hormone replacement therapy

07/08/02: Hormone replacement therapy & the risk of disease; more good news about statins; antioxidant vitamins & disease prevention; more

06/28/02: Antioxidants & the Risk of Alzheimer's Disease; Effects of Exercise on the Hearts of Patients with Mild Hypertension; Statins reduce cardiac events following angioplasty; more

06/21/02: Sex & violence and Advertising: Do Advertisers Get What they Pay For?; Don't Drink the Water (or the Salsa Either!); Vasectomy & Prostate Cancer Risk; Update on Smoking & Disease

06/14/02: Young Men, Obesity & Heart Disease; Breastfeeding & Obesity; Irritable Bowel Syndrome & rectal pain threshold; more data on cox-2 inhibitors & cancer; more

06/07/02: New coronary artery stent reduces risk of restenosis; possible cause of Parkinson's Disease identified; more

05/31/02: New biological insights into obesity & weight loss; broccoli kills cancer-causing stomach bug; anti-inflammatory drugs and the risk of heart attack

05/24/02: Molecular detection of tumor cells in the blood & prognosis; Cox-2 & breast/lung cancers; BRCA2 gene mutations & the risk of breast cancer; breast density & the risk of breast cancer

05/19/02: Moderate alcohol intake and blood sugar levels; more good news for tea drinkers; blood potassium levels & the risk of cardiovascular disease; ethnic differences in diabetic complications

05/10/02: Tea drinkers and the risk of death following heart attack; duration of breastfeeding & adult intelligence; abdominal aortic aneurysms: surgery or observation?

05/03/02: Risk of adverse drug reactions from newly released medications; preoperative beta-blockers may reduce heart bypass deaths; shape-shifting plastics may alter surgical practice; weight loss supplement may cause liver damage
04/26/02: Angry young men & risk of premature cardiovascular disease; stay-at-home dads & risk of cardiovascular disease; more on the effects of statins; dairy consumption and the risk of pre-diabetes; smallpox vaccine: good to the last drop?
04/19/02: Change your sex by drinking water?; Anti-inflammatory RXs may reduce growth of breast cancer cells; radiation treatment reduces repeat narrowing of bypass grafts
04/05/02: Fish & Omega-3 fatty acid consumption and cardiac health; news briefs
04/05/02: Can coffee reduce your risk of tooth decay?; exercise & blood pressure; a single high-fat meal reduces coronary artery function
04/01/02: Pre-diabetes: a newly defined category of health risk; teen television viewing and subsequent aggressive behavior; the benefits of strength training in the elderly; more ...
03/22/02: Bacteria, antibiotics & heart disease; mammograms: the debate continues; calcium & the risk of colon cancer ... and more
03/15/02: Mammography debate continues; statins & fracture risk; physical fitness & the risk of death; other intriguing findings
03/08/02: Blows to the chest & sudden cardiac death; air quality & the risk of lung cancer; tomatoes and your prostate
03/01/02: Diet & the risk of ovarian cancer; lifetime risk of developing high blood pressure; Osteoporosis prevention with a once-a-year injection?
02/26/02: The continuing controversy regarding screening mammography
02/22/02: Lowering body temperature after heart attack improves outcome; A silver lining for the chronically sleep-deprived?
02/15/02: Hormone replacement therapy & the risk of breast cancer; use it or lose it: Alzheimer's disease & cognitive stimulation; stress, divorce & death; child daycare, infections & parental guilt
02/08/02: Possible breakthrough in early cancer diagnosis; mammography: the controversy continues; CPR techniques revisited
02/01/02: Antibiotics in livestock feed & human disease; genetic detection of early colon cancer in the stool; genetic analysis of breast cancers may help decide treatment
01/25/02: Drug increases lifespan (if you're a fly...); workplace attitudes and smoking cessation; effects of inadequate sleep on surgeons
01/18/02: Lifelong effects of premature birth; smokers under the knife; aspirin and cardiovascular health
01/11/02: Estrogen levels in the blood & breast cancer risk; Heart attack: sex and survival; dangerous lettuce invaders
01/09/02: Cancer & aging: Two sides of the same coin?
01/04/02: Vitamin a & the risk of hip fracture in postmenopausal women; ovarian cancer risk and oral contraceptives
12/28/01: Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) detects coronary artery disease; new development in obesity research; adverse childhood experiences & the risk of suicide attempts
12/21/01: Vaccination of children controls hepatitis a in the community; a possible cure for sickle cell disease; leptin and the risk of heart attacks
12/14/01: Chernobyl and the Risk of Thyroid Cancer in hildren; children & obesity; gastroesophageal reflux disease update
12/07/01: Update on school shootings; new implantable heart-assist device approved for further evaluation; prevention of fungal infections in pre-term babies
11/30/01: Flu vaccination in asthmatics; low-tar cigarettes are not less harmful; beans and your heart
11/21/01: Modified smallpox vaccine may reduce risk of cervical cancer; New approach to breast cancer diagnosis; New non-invasive prenatal diagnostic test for down's syndrome
11/16/01: Cholesterol-lowering drugs reduce risk of heart attack; supplemental radiation therapy reduces risk of breast cancer recurrence; brains of women may answer age-old questions
11/09/01: Bio-warfare (redux); my gray matter is bigger than yours; mad elk disease?
11/02/01: Making sense of bio-warfare
10/26/01: The impact of mammography on deaths due to breast cancer; diet & exercise may slow cancer cell growth; antidepressants and the risk of heart disease
10/19/01: New insights into autism; the wiley appendix
10/12/01: More bad news about obesity links to other diseases…Hey dad, can I borrow the car keys?
10/05/01: California leads nation in reduction of tobacco-related disease; exercise as an antidepressant?
09/25/01: Advances in the detection of breast cancer; primary care physician awareness of peripheral arterial disease; arsenic in the water
09/17/01: In perspective
09/12/01: Genes may hold secret to long life; men and women: cognitive function in the elderly; physical activity, obesity and the risk of pancreatic cancer
09/05/01: English milk cows prefer Beethoven and Simon & Garfunkel over Bananarama; new prostate cancer prevention study: looking for a few good men; exercise & diet can help prevent diabetes
08/28/01: Arthritis drugs may be linked with increased risk of heart disease; errors in blood clotting tests can be fatal; infant soy formula not associated with reproductive side effects

© 2002, Dr. Robert A. Wascher