Cigarette smoking—a crucial modifiable risk factor for organ system diseases and cancer—remains prevalent in the United States and globally. In this literature review, we aim to summarize the epidemiology of cigarette smoking and tobacco use in the United States, pharmacology of nicotine—the active constituent of tobacco, and health consequence of cigarette smoking. This article also reviews behavioral and pharmacologic interventions for cigarette smokers and provides cost estimates for approved pharmacologic interventions in the United States. A literature search was conducted on Google Scholar, EBSCOhost, ClinicalKey, and PubMed databases using the following headings in combination or separately: cigarette smoking, tobacco smoking, epidemiology in the United States, health consequences of cigarette smoking, pharmacologic therapy for cigarette smoking, and non-pharmacologic therapy for cigarette smoking. This review found that efficacious non-pharmacologic interventions and pharmacologic therapy are available for cessation of cigarette smoking. Given the availability of efficacious interventions for cigarette smoking cessation, concerted efforts should be made by healthcare providers and public health professionals to promote smoking cessation as a valuable approach for reducing non-smokers’ exposure to environmental tobacco smoke.

The role of magnesium in blood pressure has been studied among hypertensive patients; however, there is a dearth of studies exploring the role of magnesium in hypertensive crises. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between serum magnesium and blood pressure in patients with hypertensive crises. This was a single-center, retrospective, chart review, cross-sectional study of patients with hypertensive crises. Patients were included if they were eighteen years of age or older, with an international classification disease ninth revision (ICD-9) code of 401.9 (hypertensive crises: emergency or urgency) and a documented magnesium level on their electronic medical record. The primary outcome of the study was the correlation between serum magnesium and blood pressure (systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure) in patients with hypertensive crises. Two hundred and ninety-three patients were included in the study. The primary outcome result showed that serum magnesium was positively correlated with systolic blood pressure (r = 0.143, p = 0.014), but not diastolic blood pressure. Conclusion: This study found a significant positive association between magnesium and systolic blood pressure, but not diastolic blood pressure, among patients with hypertensive crises. This positive association of serum magnesium with systolic blood pressure was maintained after adjusting for covariates. This study’s findings suggest a potential role of magnesium in blood pressure among patients with hypertensive crises.

Objective: Electronic prescriptions are now the standard of practice for all discharge and outpatient prescriptions. The intention is to increase patient safety, provide a more complete medication record for patients, lessen the burden on prescribers, and shorten the time it takes for medication orders to reach the pharmacy. Design: This cross-sectional questionnaire survey study was conducted between January and August 2022 in three areas of a large urban safety net hospital. Setting: A large single academic medical center. Participants: Emergency department, inpatient clinicians, and procedural areas. The subjects of the study were trainees, attending physicians, and advance practice providers (APPs) Interventions: Data were collected from the participants using a self-reported questionnaire, including sociodemographic characteristics, ease of use, reliability, and preference. Additionally, the perception of the strengths and limitations associated with electronic prescribing (e-prescribing) were analyzed. Main outcome measure: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the barriers to e-prescribing of opioids. Results: A total of 121 prescribers completed the survey. The majority trusted that e-prescribing were transmitted successfully (62 percent), saved time (78 percent), and did not interrupt their workflow (78 percent). However, many prescribers indicated that additional improvements are needed, such as updating the patient’s preferred pharmacy in the electronic medical record during each visit (52 percent) and having a 24-hour pharmacy readily available (66 percent). Conclusion: Prescribers value the ease of use of e-prescribing and how time efficient the process can be. Nevertheless, there is a need to improve the system’s service, design, and usefulness.