Milk helps quit smoking

The April issue of the Nicotine and Tobacco research has opened up another facet to the benefits the body may derive from consumption of milk. The issue reads that the consumption of milk helps a person in quitting the butt. This study is sure to find loads of amused recipients at the other end of the consumer chain.

The basis of the study was the effect that various food products had on the taste of tobacco products especially cigarettes. The study is said to be the first to explore the taste-altering effects of food and beverages on cigarette palatability.

Lead study investigator, Joseph McClernon, Ph.D., an assistant research professor of medical psychiatry at the Duke Center for Nicotine and Smoking Cessation Research said, "With a few modifications to their diet -- consuming items that make cigarettes taste bad, such as a cold glass of milk, and avoiding items that make cigarettes taste good, like a pint of beer -- smokers can make quitting a bit easier."

The study examined 209 smokers and asked them to name items that worsen or enhance the taste of cigarettes.

Nineteen per cent of them reported that dairy products, such as milk or cheese, worsen the taste of cigarettes; 14% reported non-caffeinated beverages, such as water or juice; and 16% reported fruits and vegetables.

Forty-four per cent of them reported that alcoholic beverages enhance the taste of cigarettes; 45% reported caffeinated beverages, such as tea, cola and coffee; and 11% reported meat.

Co-investigator Jed E. Rose of the Duke University Medical Center study said identifying which components of foods and beverages ruin the taste of cigarettes could lead to new treatments to discourage smoking.

"Every deterrent treatment requires willpower," Rose said. "This approach alone will not work. It may make cigarettes less pleasurable, but ultimately, if a person is craving a cigarette, he will start smoking again."

The established studies of how to quit smoking before have established the ways and means to be like that of excessive fluid intake and staying away from alcohol, sugar and tea. Deep breathing exercises are also thought to be the best remedy for those wanting to quit smoking.

With this study being made public it will be for the first time that doctors shall be able to associate the effects of various food items directly with smoking thus helping those working towards cessation of tobacco consumption.

According to many other studies being undertaken at the same as this relating the effect of food tastes and palatability of smoking with the food we normally consume, the path breaking study is one relating the effects that smoking has on food preferences, which has so far revealed only heightened longing for alcohol and sugar along with caffeine.