The 52-year-old music mogul is seeking help at a top facility in London, giving in to the urging of friends and family to stop smoking. Cowell had admitted that he started smoking at the age of eight. He was also quoted as saying that he loved to smoke, and that he equated smoking with “having a good time.”

Max Clifford, spokesman for Simon Cowell, gave the following statement: “Simon is a very healthy guy who looks after himself diet-wise very well. But he has made a New Year’s resolution to give up, or at least significantly cut back, on his smoking.”

A report on The People revealed that Cowell has a family history of lung cancer. His mother, 87-year-old Julie, had shared: “My father Robert was a heavy smoker like Simon and he died of lung cancer at the age of 62.”

A source had shared with the paper that the Britain’s Got Talent judge felt that is was time to quit his habit. The source said: “He’s been smoking since a very young age and feels the time is now right to try to stop. He has no major health issues at the moment, but, as always, he is under a lot of pressure with his work schedule. Simon’s mother and some of his closest friends have been nagging him for some time to stop smoking. His grandfather Robert was a heavy smoker who died of lung cancer. His father suffered a heart attack. It made Simon think long and hard about his own health now.”

The research done at the Harvard University School of Public Health was released Monday which showed that people who quit smoking with or without the aid of NRTs still go into relapse after some time.

Lead researcher Hillel Alpert from Harvard confirmed the results of their work. “This study shows that using NRT is no more effective in helping people stop smoking cigarettes in the long term than trying to quit on one’s own.”

Another disturbing finding that the group shared is one pertaining to heavy smokers who enlisted the aid of NRTs to quit. Without any professional help and guidance in the use of nicotine replacement, these heavy smokers were twice more likely to relapse compared to those who did not use any nicotine therapy.

Authors of the study attributed the failure of nicotine replacement therapy methods to become effective by the fact that smokers who use them do not follow instructions carefully with the majority not being able to sustain their use of NRT for eight consecutive weeks to become successful in quitting and instead are quick to make short cuts.

The industry that caters to those who want to quit smoking could be just as big as the tobacco industry itself. In 1996, over-the-counter sale of NRTs boosted sales of up to $800 million per year while those medications prescribed by doctors to help quit garnered an astounding $841 million in sales in 2007.

In a feature from the AFP, director for Harvard’s Center for Global Tobacco Control Gregory Connolly shares his opinion with what the results of the study might indicate. “What this study shows is the need for the Food and Drug Administration to approve only medications that have been proven to be effective in helping smokers quit in the long-term and to lower nicotine in order to reduce the addictiveness of cigarettes.”

A study conducted at the University of Buffalo Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RCPI) showed that participants who took the medication varenicline, also known as Chantix, four weeks before they actually quit smoking had more successful attempts to quit compared to those who took the medication just a week before their quit date.

Lead researcher and author of the study Larry W. Hawk Jr., PhD said that the medication is best taken a few weeks before quitting which is contrary to the one week prescribed period of taking the drug before completely getting rid of the tobacco habit.

“Varenicline was designed to make smoking less rewarding, and our data suggests that it does that better when people take it for a few extra weeks before quitting.”

While the treatment procedure has not been officially adapted, it could be one that will help smokers to successfully quit. “We saw nearly full compliance, which suggests that this is not only a well-tolerated therapy, but one people can realistically stick with,” says co-author Martin C. Mahoney, MD, PhD from RPCI’s Departments of Medicine and Health Behavior.

Participants reported side effects such as mild nausea in the first few days of treatment but the condition goes away after a few weeks. The extra varenicline in the system affects one’s taste buds and makes a person nauseated but Dr. Mahoney clarified that these side effects are in fact the factors that reduce smoking rates even before smokers try to quit.

Comparing men and women participants of the study, men reduced smoking rates by 26% after four weeks of taking the medication while women registered more than 50% drop in smoking rates on the average after just three weeks of taking varenicline.

Dr. Nora Volkow, who heads the National Institute on Drug Abuse, said that the decline in tobacco use among teens is welcome news. Yet the rate of its decline goes slower and slower over the years, and this could still be a concern for everybody. “This highlights the urgency of maintaining strong prevention efforts against teen smoking and of targeting other tobacco products,” Volkow said.

Survey results also confirmed that marijuana use among high school students has reached 25% in the past year compared to about 21% in 2007. The most troubling reality uncovered by the survey is the fact that daily marijuana use among senior high school students is at 7%. This percentage is by far the highest since 1981.

The rise in marijuana use could be due to the fact that mortality rates linked to marijuana use is by far much lower than reported tobacco fatalities. Smoking marijuana is perceived as much safer than cigarettes therefore more individuals are getting into the habit of pot smoking instead of cigarettes. What teens might be disregarding is that daily marijuana use leads to addiction which in turn could mean more serious conditions.

Alcohol use among teens is also on the decline. Reports regarding fatal cases on driving under the influence, higher risks for addiction and overdose, and violent reactions related to alcohol use have discouraged teens from alcohol abuse.

The study involved 1,504 smokers who quit. After three years of monitoring, the researchers were able to compare their quality of life to those who did not quit, and it was no surprise finding some significant differences from the two groups.

The most significant result that came out from the study was that people who quit smoking displayed a relatively lower decrease in their quality of life during the first and third years of the duration of the study. Those who kept smoking, on the other hand, had greater drops in their quality of life throughout the given time frame. Non-smokers in the third year of the study complained of less complications and problems brought about by their previous nicotine encounters, while smokers reported more stressful situations.

As to marital support with regards to tobacco issues, both groups got the same amount of support from their spouses on the first year, but support increased for the non-smoking side on the third year.

The results of the study will hopefully shed some light on the belief that smokers who quit still experience deterioration in the quality of life despite quitting. If smokers who quit remain quit for years, they will see improvements in their overall health condition.

As teens today are attached to their mobile devices, such as their phones, smoking cessation experts will provide a 24/7 free text messaging service that aims to encourage teens to quit smoking. The Smokefree TXT service will also give advice and tips to teens on how to get over smoking through text messages that they can readily receive in their mobile phones.

Teens can avail of the service by signing up, either via online at teen.smokefree.gov or by texting QUIT to iQUIT (47848). As soon as a participant sets his own quit date, he will start to receive the text messages and will continue to receive them for the next six weeks that follow. This is because research has shown that the most critical of the cessation stage is during the first few weeks after quitting.

In the United States alone, 20% of the overall teen population smoke. The government has several initiatives to control the situation, yet more and more teens are failing in their desire to quit simply because they can’t find enough support and resources to help them in their battles. The move to use mobile phones as cessation tools will hopefully give teens the necessary information and encouragement that will help them to successfully quit.

NCI’s Tobacco Control Research Branch behavioral scientist Dr. Erik Augustson agrees to the idea of using technology as effective means to promote healthy living among the youth.  “With 75 percent of youths between the ages of 12 and 17 owning a cell phone, there is immense potential for mobile technologies to affect health awareness and behavior change among teens.”

SmokefreeTXT is a program under the US Department of Health and Human Services.

They recorded that the mice samples exposed to nicotine and then to cocaine had more addiction symptoms compared to the mice that were not given nicotine beforehand. Reversing the order of introducing the two substances did not produce the same significant results.

The findings of the study suggest that smoking, being exposed to secondhand smoke, or even the use of nicotine replacement products could increase a person’s susceptibility to cocaine. It is advisable then to keep nicotine exposure to the minimum or nonexistent, if possible, to avoid the possibility of being addicted to cocaine as well as other addictive substances.

Proponents of the study explained that nicotine affects the histone proteins in the brain which leads to a more exaggerated response to cocaine by an individual.

Authors of the study stated that there is a need to treat nicotine addictions of patients who are currently on cocaine addiction treatment programs to help them overcome their problem. There are cases wherein substance recovery patients are prescribed nicotine-replacement products to help them stop smoking. Yet this new study could prove this method wrong as any nicotine source could readily aggravate the difficulty of getting over their cocaine addictions.

The results of a poll conducted by researchers from the University of Michigan, with parents of teens aged 13 to 17 years old as respondents, revealed that 10 percent of the respondents believe that their children have used alcohol in the last year, while 5 percent believe that their teens used marijuana.

A poll of teens, however, tells a different story. Recent research indicated that 52 percent of 10th graders admitted to drinking alcohol in the last year, while 18 percent admitted to using pot during the same time frame.

Bernard Biermann, the medical director of the Child/Adolescent Inpatient Unit at the University of Michigan, said: “There’s a clear mismatch between what parents are reporting in terms of their children’s possible use of substances and what teenagers report themselves.”

The poll also indicated that, while parents tend to underestimate their own teenaged child’s drug and alcohol use, they tend to overestimate the drug and alcohol use by other teenaged children. They believe that 60 percent of 10th graders drank alcohol in the last year, while at least 40 percent  used pot.

The researchers shared that “in other words, parents are more likely to expect marijuana and alcohol use by teenagers other than their own.”

In order to correct this mismatch, Dr. Biermann called on parents to improve communication with their children.

This is what Oregon City is going for, through the Oregon City Together coalition. A surge in cigarette smoking and drug use among teens has adults worried; they would rather work towards being known as a city of strong families, as opposed to that which has elevated rates of drug and alcohol abuse.

A 2008 state study revealed that 25 percent of 11th graders at Oregon City High School (OCHS) admitted to having smoked a cigarette in the past 30 days; the average for the same grade level across Clackamas County was 18 percent.  OCHS 11th graders were also found to have a 10 percent higher rate of alcohol use, and a 13 percent higher rate in the use of such substances as methamphetamine, prescription drugs, and cocaine.

The goal of the coalition is to bring together the city’s leaders, police, and parents in the fight against drug abuse among its younger generation.

Oregon City Together coalition coordinator Elizabeth Russell shared: “We’re really trying to take an environmental approach… There’s a lot to be taken from (the Cigarettes Cheaper) case, and one thing we could look at are the California laws limiting the number of tobacco retailers and their proximity to schools.”

Cigarettes Cheaper is a store about a mile from OCHS, which was caught selling drugs to minors during a sting operation.

Oregon City Mayor Doug Neeley shared the intention to proclaim September 26 as “Family Day – A A Day to Eat Dinner with Your Children in Oregon City,” in the hope that fostering a loving family atmosphere would deter young teens from giving in to the lure of illicit substances.

1. It is important that kids focus on quitting. Having the reasons to quit might not be enough, so it’s better to put it all in writing. This way, a teen won’t lose his motivation to quit when temptation kicks in.

2. Parents can help kids choose the date when they want to stop smoking. Choosing a date on relaxed, stress-free days will be more effective rather than on days when, for instance, final exams are coming.

3. Kids can’t always avoid situations when they will be pushed to smoke. Peer pressure can be factor why teens find it hard to let go of their habit. Parents can practice with teens on how to say no to peers by simulating real-life situations at their own homes.

4. Enlist the aid of physicians and support groups in getting teens to quit smoking. This is where parents and kids will know what to expect while undergoing the process.

5. Don’t be discouraged by mistakes. Instead, parents and kids should learn how to avoid similar conditions to make quitting more effective. Don’t give up.

6.  Celebrate small success of teens who want to quit. With each development that they achieve, give them something in return, whether it’s their favorite meal or a new shirt.