If you smoke during pregnancy or as a new mother, be advised that the nicotine being passed through to that infant in the form of breast milk (if you choose that route) may be hindering the sleep patterns of your child.

There's more -- a recent study also indicated that nicotine in breast milk may also be causing naps to be shortened by a third -- which you'll probably see as your child is up more instead of sleeping more at that precious nap time.

The findings form this study lend even more support to giving up smoking during pregnancy or during the breastfeeding years. Lung cancer is not the only 'side effect' -- the health of your child is also in the mix now if you breast feed.

Research published in the international medical journal Addiction showed that moderate exercise, such as walking, significantly reduced the intensity of smokers' nicotine withdrawal symptoms. Just five minutes of exercise can get the smokers past that need for a nicotine fix.

Nearly anything that distracts people from smoking is thought to help, but scientists have long suspected that exercise might have a more potent effect. Exercise could produce a mood-enhancing hormone dopamine, which could, in turn, reduce the smokers' nicotine dependence.

When you're dying for a cigarette, try some exercises or a walk to get past the craving. Remember, if you are trying to quit, a craving will only last about three minutes!

Beginning January 1st, an additional $1 dollar cigarette tax will be added to each pack of cigarettes purchased in Texas. CBS 11 News is reporting that this will raise the price of a pack of cigarettes to $4 dollars, or ten more dollars a carton, and smokers are stocking up on cartons of cigarettes before the tax hike goes into effect.

In the past, states that have increased taxing of cigarettes have seen a positive effect on the number of people who quit smoking, for no other reason than purchasing cigarettes becomes too cost prohibitive. The American Cancer Society (ACS) is looking forward to this happening, as they predict it will keep 300,000 people from starting up and cause 100,000 current smokers in Texas to quit.

Smoking has indeed become an expensive habit since the days when the government gave away cartons of cigarettes to World War II soldiers in the belief it calmed their nerves.

Meanwhile, back in Texas, CBS 11 News quoted Discount Cigarettes manager Patrick Ingram as saying, "Every state has their own tax, so you're not supposed to take large quantities across the border. So, people will go buy truck loads and bring across the border, or just steal."

That's probably true, to a lesser extent, but the ACS is right, the increased overall price for a pack of cigarettes when the new tax is implemented will prompt more people to quit smoking and deter even more from starting a habit that is not only increasingly expensive but just plain bad for your health.

Smoking is not an easy habit to break, and of the many methods tried, only a handful seem to work. Of the methods that do seem to work -- nicotine-replacement products; bupropion drugs; counseling; classes; calling a helpline or talking to a health professional -- younger smokers between the ages of 16 and 24 years who smoke and try to quit only use one of the recommended methods of help by talking to a professional. Because of this, younger smokers are less likely to be successful in quitting, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

During the 2003 National Youth Smoking Cessation Survey, the CDC found that younger smokers most often tried to quit smoking by cutting back on the number of cigarettes they smoked each day; not buying cigarettes; exercising; using the buddy system and trying to quit with a friend; telling others they were quitting and changing to a lighter brand of cigarette, switching to chewing tobacco, snuff, or other tobacco products. None of these methods are recommended by the US Public Health Service.

According to the National Youth Smoking Cessation Survey, 77 percent of younger smokers have tried to quit at least once without success. Over a third have tried to quit smoking numerous times without success. Researchers suggest that many younger smokers may need help with other high-risk behaviors such as binge drinking; depression or ADD/ADHD.

If you are a younger smoker who is trying to quit, the CDC encourages you to call 1-800-QUIT-NOW or talk to your physician about methods that might lead to more success. The 2-page summary of the National Youth Smoking Cessation Survey is available as a pdf document.

This past summer, a man in the business of helping smokers quit, was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. Just months later, anti-smoking guru Allen Carr lost his battle with cancer. On November 29th, Carr died at his home in Malaga, Spain.

A heavy smoker for 33 years before quitting 23 years ago, Carr claimed to have found an easy way to quit smoking. From that discovery, he founded The Easy Way to Stop Smoking Program, which would eventually grow into 70 clinics in 30 countries. In addition, his company publishes how-to quit smoking books, CDs, tapes and DVDs.

Using cognitive therapy, Carr told smokers interested in quitting that they could do it without willpower, without suffering withdrawal and without gaining weight. The celebrity endorsements for his program include Sir Anthony Hopkins, Sean Bean, Marie Helvin, Johnny Cash, George Harrison, Lisa Stansfield, Sir Richard Branson, Britney Spears, Susannah York, Bruce Oldfield, Stefano Gabbana and Julie Christie.

Carr is credited with helping over 25 million people to quit smoking.

An Easy Way to Stop Smoking Program clinic spokesperson was quoted as saying, "Allen spent many years in smoke-filled rooms after he quit, while treating smokers for addiction. He is certain that had he not quit, he would have died 20 years ago." Near the time of his death, Carr wrote a letter to Tony Blair urging his government and NHS to accept the easy method program. Carr was 72.

The local chapter of the New York City American Cancer Society is asking that candy-flavored cigarettes be banned from sale because they feel it is a tobacco industry marketing ploy to appeal to teens. During a City Council meeting, the bill introduced would prohibit the sale of cigarettes with fruity flavors, like Twista Lime, and Midnight Berry; candy flavors like Warm Winter Toffee; and any cigarettes with flavors resembling chocolate, vanilla, honey, candy, mint, cocoa, dessert, or an alcoholic beverage.

But is this the way to go? According to the Epoch Times, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, an anti-smoking advocate, who has not shown support of the ban, is concerned that banning fruit and candy-flavored cigarettes will make them more popular with kids they are trying to protect, and end up having a reverse effect of what the bill intends. Bloomberg has raised taxes on cigarettes, banned smoking in restaurants and bars, and donated $125 million of his own money in campaigns and programs to stop smoking. We have not contacted Bloomberg for a direct comment on the ban and are merely sharing what the Epoch Times has published about his position.

Forty states have addressed the issue of candy and fruit-flavored cigarettes after frustration that the federal government has not take a stand against R.J. Reynolds marketing of cigarettes to young people. R.J. Reynolds has agreed to a settlement with the attorney generals of 40 states to stop selling candy, fruit and alcohol-flavored cigarettes in the United States.

Along with the ban on Camel Exotic Blends including Mandarin Mint, Dark Mint, Crema, Izmir Stinger, Twist, Cinnzabar, Mandalay Lime, Aegean Spice, Bayou Blast, Beach Breezer, Margarita Mixer, Midnight Madness, Back Alley Blend, Kauai Kolada, Twista Lime, Winter MochaMint, Warm Winter Toffee, Blackjack Gin, Screwdriver Slots and SnakeEyes Scotch; Salem Silver including Dark Currents, Fire & Ice, Deep Freeze and Cool Myst; and Kool Smooth Fusions including Mintrigue, Mocha Taboo, Midnight Berry and Caribbean Chill, the tobacco company agreed to stop promotional materials that suggest candy, fruit or alcoholic beverages.

What do you think the best solution is to the problem of cigarettes that appear to be marketed to appeal to our youth? A ban? Increased taxing on cigarettes? Or do you have a more creative solution?

On October 23, seven-time Tour de France winner and testicular cancer survivor Lance Armstrong, with attend a day-long meeting in Lexington, Kentucky as a member of the President's Cancer Panel to discuss the promotion of healthy lifestyles in reducing cancer risks. The President's Cancer Panel was created by the National Cancer Act over thirty years ago to monitor and evaluate all aspects of the National Cancer Program. The Panel identifies and conducts inquiry into concerns and emerging issues in cancer-related science and cancer care. Members of the Panel include Armstrong; Dr. LaSalle Leffall; Margaret L. Kripke, Ph.D.; and Abby B. Sandler, Ph.D.

Dr. LaSalle Leffall is the Charles R. Drew Professor of Surgery, Howard University College of Medicine in Washington, DC, and Chairman of the Board of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Margaret L. Kripke, Ph.D., is Professor of Immunology and Executive Vice President and Chief Academic Officer of The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Abby B. Sandler, Ph.D., Chief, Institute Review Office (IRO), National Cancer Institute (NCI), became Executive Secretary of the President's Cancer Panel in January of 2005.

The meeting in Kentucky will focus on recommendations related to tobacco and exposure to indoor smoke. Researchers and experts will attend the meeting to join the discussions.

To learn more, Assessing Progress, Advancing Change 2005-2006 Annual Report President's Cancer Panel is a 133-page report available as a PDF document.

In a recent study, researchers found that the opiate blocking drug naltrexone, used to treat alcoholics and heroin addicts, was effective in helping some women kick the smoking habit. In addition, the researchers reported that naltrexone prevented the weight gain that often follows when women quit smoking.

Participants in the study were divided into two groups. One group was given a combination of drug therapy, behavioral counseling sessions, and nicotine patches. The other group was given a placebo, behavioral counseling sessions, and nicotine patches. For women receiving naltrexone, 58 percent were still not smoking eight weeks later. Six months later, some had taken up the smoking habit again, but some had remained free of the habit.

Naltrexone did not appear to provide a benefit for men trying to quit smoking.

"Women have historically had less success than men in giving up cigarettes," said study author Andrea King, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Chicago. "In this small study, naltrexone seems to have closed that gap."

The study, Efficacy of Naltrexone in Women's Smoking Cessation, is currently ongoing and recruiting new patients.

While public and private groups, along with researchers and a few drug companies, have been making serious efforts to help smokers quit smoking cigarettes, the tobacco industry has been spiking the level of nicotine in cigarettes, according to a study by the Department of Public Health. Between the years 1998 to 2004, the amount of nicotine in cigarettes has risen by ten percent.

According to Lois Keithly , director of the Massachusetts Tobacco Control Program, "We in public health have tried to spend a lot of time figuring out why people don't stop smoking."

Full withdrawal will be felt after the first day of not smoking. But symptoms from nicotine withdrawal are felt within the first 30 minutes after the last cigarette, with smokers reporting cravings within the first hour after the last cigarette. In one hour, smokers reported anger. In three hours of smoking cessation, smokers reported heightened levels of anxiety, sadness and difficulty concentrating. Nicotine is what makes cigarettes so addictive.

The Boston Globe reports when contacted, representatives of the three major tobacco makers in the US declined to comment on the study and would not answer questions about the nicotine content of their products.

ABC World News Tonight partnered with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Cancer Institute and the North American Quitline Consortium to present a special series Quit to Live. According to statistics, approximately 440,000 Americans will die from smoking-related illnesses this year. A more encouraging statistic is while there are 46 million smokers, for the first time, there are more ex-smokers than smokers.

The Quit to Live series is a comprehensive resource for the 70 percent of smokers who have indicated they are interested in quitting. At Quit to Live, you can watch the complete special series coverage in video broadcast reports; watch broadcast plus exclusive web-only content; view the videoblogs of Tracy, Jose, Meg and Alyce; how to quit thinking about quitting and compare different methods and find groups that can help.

You can read ABC medical editor Dr. Tim Johnson and experts from the nation's leading cancer centers answers to questions about smoking at Ask Tim. In addition to original reports and reviewed resources, they offer community to connect with others. This week, ABC News revisited the Quit to Live special series on the anniversary of Peter Jennings death to lung cancer. Any smoker interested in quitting will find this special series of great value -- you might want to start by watching the video Expert Interview on How to Quit.

On the anniversary of ABC News anchor Peter Jennings lung cancer death, Diane Sawyer spoke with medical editor Dr. Timothy Johnson about the impact Jennings death had for smokers. He indicated that while they do not have exact numbers, ABC was overwhelmed with telephone calls and emails from smokers asking for help or saying they were going to quit smoking as a result of the loss of Jennings.

There are 48 million smokers in the US, and 40 percent have tried to quit smoking. According to Dr. Johnson, only 20 percent of smokers who try to quit make use of aids available to help them -- patches, gum, antidepressants -- and only 5 percent of smokers are able to quit long term.

When Sawyer asked what message Dr. Johnson felt Jennings would want to convey to smokers, he said that Jennings would say, "keep trying, no matter how many times you try and fail to quit, keep trying -- each time you do is one more chance to become successful at quitting for good."

Dr. Johnson said Jennings, who admitted he was a heavy smoker for years before quitting, was a fighter. Dr. Johnson said Jennings would tell everyone who smokes to keep fighting to quit. ABC News has made the video of the interview, One Year Later: The Impact of Peter Jennings' Death, available online.

Pfizer announced that Chantix (varenicline), a drug designed to help smokers quit smoking, is now available in US pharmacies. This is the first new prescription drug for smoking cessation treatment approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in a decade. When prescribed Chantix, smokers will be offered a chance to participate in a behavioral modification program called GETQUIT Support Plan at no extra cost.

Chantix acts on the areas of the brain affected by nicotine and helps those who smoke cigarettes to quit smoking in two ways: by providing some nicotine effects to ease the withdrawal symptoms and by blocking the effects of nicotine from cigarettes if they start smoking again. There is no magic bullet here, although in clinical trials the drug quadrupled the chances of a smoker quitting and was shown to be twice as effective as the currently prescribed drug Zyban.

Pfizer Helpful Answers has a program available for people without prescription coverage. People with low incomes may even qualify for free medications. For more information about Chantix and the free GETQUIT program, visit the Chantix website.

A man in the business of helping smokers quit, has been diagnosed with lung cancer. Allen Carr, who was a heavy smoker for 33 years, found what he claimed was an easy way to quit smoking after he quit smoking 23 years ago. Using cognitive therapy, Carr told smokers interested in quitting that they could do it without willpower, without suffering withdrawal and without gaining weight. The celebrity endorsements include Sir Anthony Hopkins, Sean Bean, Marie Helvin, Johnny Cash, George Harrison, Lisa Stansfield, Sir Richard Branson, Susannah York, Bruce Oldfield, Stefano Gabbana and Julie Christie.

Carr believes his lung cancer diagnosis might be the result of second-hand smoke after spending the last 23 years in the presence of his clients who signed up for his Easy Way to Stop Smoking program.

On being diagnosed with lung cancer, Carr was quoted as saying, "I have been the happiest man in the world since I stopped smoking 23 years ago and I still feel the same way. This has come as a shock but I remain very upbeat."

In addition to his quit smoking workshops, Carr wrote a book Alan Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking, which has sold more than 10 million copies in more than 45 countries. He claims his Easy Way to Stop Smoking method has a 53 percent success rate after 12 months compared with less than 5 percent for those who go cold turkey. Easy Way maintains a website.

Last month, we posted information about NicVAX -- an experimental nicotine quit smoking vaccine and more recently we posted information about Chantix -- a drug that might quadruple success for smokers who want to quit. So this post is not about information we have already posted, but about a few interesting facts I came across while reading a Washington Post news feature Doctors Test Anti-Smoking Vaccine.

The reporter mentions a study participant in the anti-smoking vaccine trial currently underway, and said that he has smoked nearly half a million cigarettes in half a century. That is an astonding number of cigarettes, and I don't know that many smokers actually stop to do the math. The news story also quotes Dr. J. Taylor Hays, a smoking cessation expert at the Mayo Clinic, who helped test Chantix, as saying, "The typical patient is a 30-year-old woman who says, 'If I gain 5 pounds, I'm going back,'" referring to women who try quit smoking programs and nicotine replacement aids. There might be safer weight-loss programs out there that do not run the risk of cancer outcome. Just a suggestion.

The article goes on the state that of the more than 48 million smokers in the United States, 40 percent each year make a serious attempt to quit, but fewer than five percent succeed long-term. Two-thirds go back to smoking within a month.

Addiction to cigarettes has been compared to the power of heroin addiction, but it is not impossible to stop and if the researchers keep focusing on better ways to help people quit smoking, everybody wins. Well -- except for the tobacco industry -- but who cares about companies in the business of doing harm.

The Washington Post had done a nice feature on the anti-smoking vaccines being tested with Doctors Test Anti-Smoking Vaccine. I recommend the read.

In all of my research on breast cancer -- and all of my attempts to discover what I may have done to invite this disease into my body -- I have learned that there are some behavioral risk factors related to cancer. Some risk factors are loosely linked and perhaps need further study. And some are definites. Like smoking. And consistent use of alcohol. Now a new study done on rats now shows that nicotine can reduce blood alcohol concentrations and can lead to heavier drinking. Smoking and drinking -- at the same time -- may be even more dangerous than originally thought.

Only two previous studies have examined the interactions between nicotine and alcohol. So there is very little research about how nicotine assists in the metabolizing of alcohol. Until now -- said Wei-Jung Chen, associate professor of neuroscience and experimental therapies at the Texas A&M Health Science Center in College Station, Texas. Chen said it was clear in her study that the presence of nicotine significantly reduced peak blood alcohol content. This was observed only when alcohol entered through the stomach -- and not when injected into the abdomen. For humans, this means that people smoking while drinking will have to drink even more to reach the effect they desire. This will ultimately lead to increased amounts of toxic byproducts in the body. And it may prevent absorption of beneficial drugs in some people who both smoke and drink. And I can't imagine that the list of negatives will stop here. But is there really any more information necessary to support the danger of this combination of risky behaviors -- behaviors that on their own are dangerous enough to cause worry and concern.