Category: smoking

Dear John, There’s no point in waiting any longer. Let’s call it quits…

a Dear John letter being written with sequencing as the content

In 1999, Dr. Francis Collins, director of the Human Genome Project, provided a bold vision for what the practice of genomic medicine might soon look like. Collins described the case of a hypothetical man named “John,” a 23 year-old smoker living a decade into the future in 2010. “His substantial risk of contracting lung cancer Read More >

Posted on by Scott Bowen and Muin J, Khoury, Office of Public Health Genomics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia4 Comments

Does genetic risk information improve healthy behavior? Let’s not throw out the baby with the bath water!

a double helix in a green circle, a glass of alcohol in a red circle wth a slash through it, a No Smoking stop sign, excercise equipement, an apple and a Screening door tag

In a recent systematic review with meta-analysis, Hollands et al evaluated the impact of communicating genetic risk information on risk-reducing health behaviors and motivations for behavior change. The authors reviewed 18 studies with 7 behavioral outcomes, including smoking cessation, diet and physical activity. They found no significant effects of communicating DNA based risk estimates on Read More >

Posted on by Muin J Khoury, Director, Office of Public Health Genomics, Centers for Disease Control and PreventionLeave a commentTags ,

Smoke Screen…

A woman holding her throat Text: Terrie, 51 - I want to give your some tips

  Never Let Genetics Blind You to the Harsh Reality of Cigarettes The emerging field of genomics might one day provide some tools to help address the smoking epidemic.  However, smokers should never think that their genes can protect them from devastating harms or provide an easy way for them to quit later. In 2012, Read More >

Posted on by Scott Bowen, Office of Public Health Genomics, Centers For Disease Control and PreventionLeave a commentTags , , ,