Text 1: E-Cigarettes, the solution or another risk factor? This excerpt is from Medpage Today 'HypeWatch: E-Cigs Best Cessation Tool Ever, Really?' Published: May 20, 2014 A retrospective analysis comparing smoking cessation initiatives found that the e-cigarette was an effective cessation aid - more effective than use of over-the-counter nicotine replacement aids, but the study design casts doubt on that conclusion. In the analysis, smokers who used e-cigarettes during a quit attempt in the past year were 63% more likely to quit than smokers using an OTC nicotine replacement therapy, and 61% more likely to quit than those using no cessation aids, reported Jamie Brown, SSA Research Fellow at the Cancer Research UK Health Behaviour Research Centre, University College London. Brown and colleagues analyzed data from a U.K. national surveillance program, known as the Smoking Toolkit Study. That study collected information from 5,863 smokers ages 16 or older using in-person interviews and computer-assisted surveys. All participants had made at least one quit attempt in the past year, and the data were gathered from 2009 through 2014. Among those surveyed, 464 made a quit attempt using e-cigarettes only, 1,922 made a quit attempt with the use of OTC nicotine replacement only, and 3,477 tried to quit cold turkey. The authors wrote that e-cigarette users reported higher rates of abstinence compared with OTC nicotine gum or patch users (odds ratio 2.23, 95% CI 1.70-2.93) and quitters who used no aid (OR 1.38, 95% CI 1.08-1.76). Media outlets, one of which broke the embargo this morning, have been accurately reporting the study's findings; however, very few consulted outside sources or discussed flaws in the study's design before aggrandising the benefits of e-cigarettes for smoking cessation. "The clue that something's wrong or inconsistent is the idea that only 10% were able to quit smoking using the patch. That's on the low side. And that people who used nothing did better than those who used the patch is inconsistent with prior studies," Leone said. E-cigarettes may be fabulous for smoking cessation, or they may be the next scourge of unhealthy lifestyle risk factors, but without consistent research powered by quality study designs, it's speculative.
1 Vocab: Find expressions in text A which mean the same as: stop smoking bought at a shop without a prescription use instead of something else try to give up smoking speak face-to-face stop taking a drug without any help stay away from something e.g. drugs or alcohol ban (noun) something which is wrong or broken exaggerate, make seem more important than it is variance threat not based on facts
2. What are the different forms of these terms? Noun Verb Adjective cessation ceasing analysis effective compare replacement participant survey abstinence aggrandise speculative Text 2: E-cigarettes' case goes up in smoke following landmark ruling in WA court Sydney Morning Herald April 20, 2014 http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/ecigarettes-case-goes-up-in-smoke-following-landmarkruling-in-wa-court-20140419-36xih.html#ixzz32drjbm1o ''E-cigarettes'', or vaporisers, are battery-powered devices that simulate the effects of smoking by heating a nicotine liquid into vapour, which the user then inhales and exhales. It has always been illegal to sell e-cigarette liquids that contain nicotine under Australian law but in a big development last week, the Supreme Court of Western Australia effectively banned e-cigarettes outright in the state, prosecuting a company, called HeavenlyVapours, which had been selling the dispensers and nicotine-free ''e-juice'' through a website. The ruling means that anyone over 18 in WA can legally smoke a cigarette containing multiple chemicals and carcinogens, but cannot buy the electronic version which many claim has assisted thousands of smokers to quit worldwide. What are the main points of Text 2?
1. 2. 3. Text 3: Electronic cigarettes: the truth behind the smoke and mirrors April 27, 2014: http://www.smh.com.au/national/health/electronic-cigarettes-the-truthbehind-the-smoke-and-mirrors-20140426-37aum.html#ixzz32dq0fdkm E-cigarettes may not contain the same lethal chemicals and carcinogens as cigarettes, but health experts warn there is still no comprehensive research into the risks of frequently inhaled vapour. Earlier this month, a US study on the effects of e-cigarette vapour on human lung cells found it could potentially change gene expression in a similar way to tobacco. It found that cells grown under medium exposure to e-cigarette vapour changed in a similar fashion to those exposed to tobacco smoke. However, researchers acknowledge the work is only at a preliminary stage. In the meantime, most research points to e-cigarettes being a safer alternative to the oldfashioned gasper. Last year, a US study of 12 e-cigarette brands found that while certain toxicants were present, levels were between nine and 450 times lower than smoke created from combusted tobacco. Another study, led by Chris Bullen at the University of Auckland, recruited 657 smokers who wanted to quit smoking. Two groups were given a 13-week supply of either patches or e- cigarettes that delivered nicotine vapour. Another 73 were given e-cigarettes without nicotine. The success rate among the nicotine e-cigarettes was 7.3 per cent, compared with 5.8 per cent in the patch group and 4.1 per cent in the non-nicotine e-cigarette group. While no e-cigarette users fell ill from using the product, researchers said its long-term safety was unclear. ''E-cigarettes, with or without nicotine, were modestly effective at helping smokers to quit, with similar achievement of abstinence as with nicotine patches, and few adverse events,'' said the study, published in The Lancet. But, it adds: ''Uncertainty
exists about the place of e-cigarettes in tobacco control, and more research is urgently needed to clearly establish their overall benefits and harms.'' 3. Complete the table. Pros of e-cigs Cons of e-cigs http://clincancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/20/2_supplement/b16.abstract