Nutritional Choices, New Health Approaches and Anti-speciesist Thinking

Nutritional choices are affected by culture, tradition and above all by the narrative we adopt for human history. The article gives an overview of the (pseudo)scientific beliefs, psychological factors and ethical orientations that affect nutritional choices. Among the various food theories today, great importance is given, for example, to the so-called Paleolithic diet, which consists of proposing a dietary model based on blood groups, which are assumed to have developed throughout different periods of the natural evolution of Homo sapiens, which were characterized by peculiar alimentary regimes. Moreover, psychological determinant drivers affect food choices and could lead to pathological eating behaviors (e.g., anorexia, overeating, binge eating). Finally, the ethical aspects of nutrition are closely correlated to vegetarianism, which in turn embraces an anti-speciesist thinking and recognizes the need for humans not to inflict unnecessary suffering on animals. Vegetarianism, anti-speciesism and ecologism often represent different aspects of the same issue: a lifestyle that testifies the need for a change in traditional paradigms, in the interest of humankind and the future of life on our planet

Why universities and scientific world should stay away from the tobacco industry. Journey in Big Tobacco deception

Universities are institutions dedicated to improving life through the research and dissemination of knowledge. They facilitates the "peer to peer" communication among young people; the acquisition of knowledge and skills to improve personal and community health; the propagation of healthy lifestyles through the emulation of behavior. Tobacco industry, through commercial policies, enlist young people and transform them, through dependence, into "loyal customers" for many years. The recent introduction of the "reduced risk" products, (the so-called "cold smoke" for example), are a threat for young people who might underestimate the dangers, not even completely known by the experts. Universities and Scientific world that turn a blind eye to tobacco market, accepting the advantages offered by grants and donations from tobacco industry, become accomplices in spreading the "tobacco epidemic" because the funding comes directly from the sale of tobacco products. This "dirty" money causes illness, suffering and death. Universities are invested with an important ethical responsibility to help the world reduce and eliminate the tobacco epidemic, with research, training and information. Universities should have a policy statement that specifically prohibits academic bodies from accepting tobacco industry funding including grant funding. In the U.S.A. several scientific journals no longer publish tobacco industry- supported researches

Il trattamento integrato del paziente fumatore

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Factors associated with a change in smoking habit during the first COVID-19 lockdown: an Italian cross-sectional study among ever-smokers

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown period lasted from March to May 2020, resulted in a highly stressful situation yielding different negative health consequences, including the worsening of smoking habit. Methods: A web-based cross-sectional study on a convenient sample of 1013 Italian ever smokers aged 18 years or more was conducted. Data were derived from surveys compiled by three different groups of people: subjects belonging to Smoking Cessation Services, Healthcare Providers and Nursing Sciences' students. All institutions were from Northern Italy. The primary outcome self-reported worsening (relapse or increase) or improvement (quit or reduce) of smoking habit during lockdown period. Multiple unconditional (for worsening) and multinomial (for improving) logistic regressions were carried out. Results: Among 962 participants, 56.0% were ex-smokers. Overall, 13.2% of ex-smokers before lockdown reported relapsing and 32.7% of current smokers increasing cigarette intake. Among current smokers before lockdown, 10.1% quit smoking and 13.5% decreased cigarette intake. Out of 7 selected stressors related to COVID-19, four were significantly related to relapse (OR for the highest vs. the lowest tertile ranging between 2.24 and 3.62): fear of being infected and getting sick; fear of dying due to the virus; anxiety in listening to news of the epidemic; sense of powerlessness in protecting oneself from contagion. In addition to these stressors, even the other 3 stressors were related with increasing cigarette intensity (OR ranging between 1.90 and 4.18): sense of powerlessness in protecting loved ones from contagion; fear of losing loved ones due to virus; fear of infecting other. Conclusion: The lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with both self-reported relapse or increase smoking habit and also quitting or reduction of it

The Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown on Gambling Habit: A Cross-Sectional Study from Italy

Few preliminary studies have shown an impact of COVID-19 confinement on gambling habits. We aim to evaluate short-term effects of lockdown restrictions on gambling behaviors in Italy

Osservatorio territoriale droga e tossicodipendenze. Il Fenomeno delle dipendenze sul territorio della ASL MI 3. Anno 2007.

Report on the state of legal and illegal substances use in the territory of the Local Healthcare Service-Mi 3, Province of Milan.Il report analizza il fenomeno delle dipendenze nel territorio della ASL Milano 2. La descrizione del fenomeno si sviluppa intorno all\u27analisi degli indicatori individuati dall\u27Osservatorio Europeo delle Dipendenze di Lisbona (OEDT): 1-uso di sostanze nella popolazione generale (questo indicatore va a rilevare i comportamenti nei confronti di alcol e sostanze psicoattive da parte della popolazione generale); 2-prevalenza d\u27uso problematico delle sostanze psicoattive; 3-domanda di trattamento degli utilizzatori di sostanze; 4-mortalit? degli utilizzatori di sostanze; 5-malattie infettive. Altri due importanti indicatori che si stanno sviluppando, e che vengono qui illustrati, sono l\u27analisi delle Schede di Dimissione Ospedaliera (SDO) e gli indicatori relativi alle conseguenza sociali dell\u27uso di droghe (criminalit? droga correlata). Inoltre sono state applicate diverse metodologie standard di stima sia per quantificare la quota parte sconosciuta di utilizzatori di sostanze che non afferiscono ai servizi, sia per identificarne alcune caratteristiche

Covid-19 and the role of smoking: the protocol of the multicentric prospective study COSMO-IT (COvid19 and SMOking in ITaly).

The emergency caused by Covid-19 pandemic raised interest in studying lifestyles and comorbidities as important determinants of poor Covid-19 prognosis. Data on tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption and obesity are still limited, while no data are available on the role of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products (HTP). To clarify the role of tobacco smoking and other lifestyle habits on COVID-19 severity and progression, we designed a longitudinal observational study titled COvid19 and SMOking in ITaly (COSMO-IT). About 30 Italian hospitals in North, Centre and South of Italy joined the study. Its main aims are: 1) to quantify the role of tobacco smoking and smoking cessation on the severity and progression of COVID-19 in hospitalized patients; 2) to compare smoking prevalence and severity of the disease in relation to smoking in hospitalized COVID-19 patients versus patients treated at home; 3) to quantify the association between other lifestyle factors, such as e-cigarette and HTP use, alcohol and obesity and the risk of unfavourable COVID-19 outcomes. Socio-demographic, lifestyle and medical history information will be gathered for around 3000 hospitalized and 700-1000 home-isolated, laboratory-confirmed, COVID-19 patients. Given the current absence of a vaccine against SARS-COV-2 and the lack of a specific treatment for -COVID-19, prevention strategies are of extreme importance. This project, designed to highly contribute to the international scientific debate on the role of avoidable lifestyle habits on COVID-19 severity, will provide valuable epidemiological data in order to support important recommendations to prevent COVID-19 incidence, progression and mortality

La citisina nel trattamento del tabagismo

Cytisine is a chemical known ever since the sixties as a treatment for tobacco smoke cessation. It is an alcaloid present in a plant, Cytisus laburnum, which acts as a partial agonist of the \u3b14\u3b22 nicotinic receptors of acetylcholine (nAChRs). The first studies were conducted in the Eastern European countries and showed a good efficacy profile, but even then the marketing of the drug in the Western countries was limited by European norms. Pharmacological studies show a brief half-life of the product, which is eliminated by the kidneys at 90-95%. Recently, many clinical trials brought attention to cytisine, which showed a better efficacy for tobacco smoking cessation higher than placebo and than nicotine, between 8% (12 months) and 22% (6 months) depending on the studies. The adverse effects mainly reported were disorders of the digestive tract (nausea, dyspepsia, dry mouth, insomnia, or headaches). An important factor is the fairly low cost of the drug. In 2014, NHS produced a document which evaluates the cost efficacy rate of pharmacological therapies for smoke cessation, concluding that cytisine has a favorable profile with respect to other considered drugs

The 40-day cytisine treatment for smoking cessation: the Italian experience

Introduction In Eastern Europe, cytisine has been used a lot in smoking cessation while in Italy, it has only recently been introduced, however using a longer treatment schedule consisting of 40 days instead of 25 and a different posology. This work gathered the retrospective observational data collected by some Italian smoking cessation centers that used the 40 day cytisine treatment (40-DCT) and focused on short-term results and possible adverse events. Material and Methods In Italy, cytisine (1.5 mg per tablet) was prescribed as galenical formulation because is not licensed with a specific brand. The dosing regimen was: induction (2 to 6 tablets/ day for the first 7 days), maintenance (6 tablets/day for 7 days), and gradual reduction for 26 days. The 40-DCT was integrated with a behavioral support (5-7 meetings/patient). Demographic and clinical variables of patients were collected at the beginning and at the end of treatment. Results A total of 162 patients (43.2% male) were treated with the 40-DCT, their mean-age was 51.1 years. They smoked 22.6 cigarettes/day and had a mean respiratory CO of 22 ppm at start. The quitting rate at end of treatment was 61%, while 26.0% dropped- out. Among those who continued to smoke (13%), about half of them (6%) halved the number of cigarettes. Nobody interrupted the treatment and only few patients had minor side effects. Conclusions The 40-DCT was effective in tobacco addiction treatment and well tolerated. The vegetal origin and the low cost of cytisine may increase its acceptability and help smokers to quit