Thinking about quitting smoking? There are three top ways to help you stop, a new review finds. According to the study, folks wanting to quit should turn to: Varenicline, a prescription nicotine-blocking drug sold under the brand names Chantix and Champix Cytisine, a plant-based compound sold as an over-the-counter supplement in Canada and Europe Nicotine…  read on >  read on >

In news that should reassure folks glued to their cellphones all day, a new international review finds no link between cellphone use and brain cancer. Commissioned by the World Health Organization (WHO), the review included 11 experts from 10 countries who sifted through decades of research — 5,000 studies published between 1994 and 2022 to…  read on >  read on >

People who can cope with challenges as they grow older are more likely to live longer, a new study shows. Seniors with higher levels of mental resilience are 53% less likely to die within the next 10 years than those with the lowest levels, researchers found. Even with chronic health problems or an unhealthy lifestyle,…  read on >  read on >

Your cellphone might be harming your heart, a new study warns. People who regularly use a cellphone have a higher risk of heart disease, researchers found in a large-scale study. And the more time someone spends on their phone, the greater their risk for heart problems, researchers report. Risk of heart disease was about 21%…  read on >  read on >

A survey of Australian adolescents finds those who are experiencing depressive symptoms have double the risk of taking up vaping. “In the short term, nicotine may reduce feelings of anxiety and stress, and young people may be reaching for vapes as a coping mechanism,” said study co-author Emily Stockings. “Regardless of whether mental ill health…  read on >  read on >

Teaching schoolkids to practice mindfulness can boost their mental health — and, maybe, even their grades. That’s the takeaway from a new review of more than three dozen research studies on school-based mindfulness interventions, such as seated or slow-walking meditation.  In a nutshell, these programs teach kids to pay attention to the present moment and…  read on >  read on >

Rural hospitals – and their patients — are particularly vulnerable to the aftershocks caused by ransomware attacks, a new study reports. “Ransomware attacks are bad news for hospitals and patients no matter where they happen, but they’re especially harmful to rural hospitals and patients,” lead researcher Hannah Neprash, an associate professor at the University of…  read on >  read on >