What does the body of evidence say about smoking cessation? Does counselling make a difference and, if so, what kind? Is vaping effective as a way to quit smoking? And did you know there are drugs that have been shown to help give up the habit? Chris attempts to pronounce their names and is left with one question: is his veranda clean?

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Assistant researcher: Aigul Zaripova, MD

Theme music: “Fall of the Ocean Queen“ by Joseph Hackl

Rod of Asclepius designed by Kamil J. Przybos

Chris’ book, Does Coffee Cause Cancer?: https://ecwpress.com/products/does-coffee-cause-cancer

Obviously, Chris is not your doctor (probably). This podcast is not medical advice for you; it is what we call information.

References:

Reducing vs. quitting smoking

1) Gerber Y, Myers V, Goldbourt U. Smoking reduction at midlife and lifetime mortality risk in men: a prospective cohort study. Am J Epidemiol. 2012 May 15;175(10):1006-12. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwr466. Epub 2012 Feb 3. PMID: 22306566.

2) Nina S. Godtfredsen, Claus Holst, Eva Prescott, Jørgen Vestbo, Merete Osler, Smoking Reduction, Smoking Cessation, and Mortality: A 16-year Follow-up of 19,732 Men and Women from the Copenhagen Centre for Prospective Population Studies, American Journal of Epidemiology, Volume 156, Issue 11, 1 December 2002, Pages 994–1001, https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwf150

Behavioural interventions for smoking cessation

3) Cahill K, Lancaster T, Green N. Stage-based interventions for smoking cessation. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2010 Nov 10;(11):CD004492. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD004492.pub4. PMID: 21069681.

4) Stead LF, Koilpillai P, Fanshawe TR, Lancaster T. Combined pharmacotherapy and behavioural interventions for smoking cessation. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016 Mar 24;3(3):CD008286. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD008286.pub3. PMID: 27009521; PMCID: PMC10042551.

5) Hartmann-Boyce J, Hong B, Livingstone-Banks J, Wheat H, Fanshawe TR. Additional behavioural support as an adjunct to pharmacotherapy for smoking cessation. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2019 Jun 5;6(6):CD009670. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD009670.pub4. PMID: 31166007; PMCID: PMC6549450.

6) Hartmann-Boyce J, Livingstone-Banks J, Ordóñez-Mena JM, Fanshawe TR, Lindson N, Freeman SC, Sutton AJ, Theodoulou A, Aveyard P. Behavioural interventions for smoking cessation: an overview and network meta-analysis. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2021 Jan 4;1(1):CD013229. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD013229.pub2. PMID: 33411338; PMCID: PMC11354481.

7) Anthenelli RM, Benowitz NL, West R, St Aubin L, McRae T, Lawrence D, Ascher J, Russ C, Krishen A, Evins AE. Neuropsychiatric safety and efficacy of varenicline, bupropion, and nicotine patch in smokers with and without psychiatric disorders (EAGLES): a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Lancet. 2016 Jun 18;387(10037):2507-20. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(16)30272-0. Epub 2016 Apr 22. PMID: 27116918.

Network meta-analysis of medications and e-cigarettes

8) Lindson N, Theodoulou A, Ordóñez-Mena JM, Fanshawe TR, Sutton AJ, Livingstone-Banks J, Hajizadeh A, Zhu S, Aveyard P, Freeman SC, Agrawal S, Hartmann-Boyce J. Pharmacological and electronic cigarette interventions for smoking cessation in adults: component network meta‐analyses. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2023, Issue 9. Art. No.: CD015226. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD015226.pub2. Accessed 04 November 2024.

On a special live recording of The Body of Evidence, Jonathan sits down in conversation with Lewis, a reformed conspiracy theorist from Liverpool who tumbled down the rabbit hole during the COVID-19 pandemic. How should you talk to the conspiracy theorist in your life if you want to make progress? There’s no better person to answer this question than someone who was at the other end of this.

The two discuss the strange alignment between gym bros and yoga moms—and the “cosmic Scousers” in Liverpool—that fed into the protests against public health measures, and they talk about how fast you can get a “diploma” on Telegram.

And how critical thinking really is an aspiration.

* Theme music: “Fall of the Ocean Queen“ by Joseph Hackl.

To contribute to The Body of Evidence, go to our Patreon page at: http://www.patreon.com/thebodyofevidence/.

Patrons get a bonus show on Patreon called “Digressions”! Check it out!

A new editorial calls pesticides “the new smoking.” This is based on a recent study comparing pesticide use in U.S. counties and cancer incidence. But do counties get cancer? We investigate the issue to see if we should worry about pesticides and if young adults are really getting more cancer than they used to.

Become a supporter of our show today either on Patreon or through PayPal! Thank you!

http://www.patreon.com/thebodyofevidence/

https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=9QZET78JZWCZE

Email us your questions at thebodyofevidence@gmail.com.

Assistant researcher: Aigul Zaripova, MD

Theme music: “Fall of the Ocean Queen“ by Joseph Hackl

Rod of Asclepius designed by Kamil J. Przybos

Chris’ book, Does Coffee Cause Cancer?: https://ecwpress.com/products/does-coffee-cause-cancer

Obviously, Chris is not your doctor (probably). This podcast is not medical advice for you; it is what we call information.

References:

1) The Medscape article: https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/cancer-risk-are-pesticides-new-smoking-2024a1000h2n?form=fpf

2) The new study: https://doi.org/10.3389/fcacs.2024.1368086