Smoking, Study | featured news

Poor smokers in New York spend 25% of their income on cigarettes, a new study finds. The state has the nation's highest cigarette tax and a pack there can cost up to $12 (though many smokers buy cheaper packs online). Wealthier smokers feel the sting less: those earning $60,000 a year or more spend just 2% of their money on cigarettes. Smokers' rights groups say the taxes punish poor smokers but health officials say they help many people quit.

Periodically smoking marijuana doesn't appear to hurt lung capacity, the largest study ever conducted on marijuana smokers has found.

A new study, the most rigorous and long-term to date, finds nicotine gum and patches to be of little benefit in smoking cessation.

"Munchies" aside, pot smokers are actually less likely than no-smokers to put on excess weight, according to a study by a French researcher.

Advanced CT imaging can reduce deaths from lung cancer by 20% among heavy smokers, according to long-awaited results from the first comparison of CT scanning and regular chest X-rays, researchers said Thursday.

There were 1,200 fewer hospital admissions for heart attacks in England in the year after the smoking ban was introduced, a study suggests.