Research Briefs.

- A third of inhalers are used incorrectly

One in three patients with asthma or COPD misuses their inhaler, US research suggests. Observation of 224 patients using dry powder inhalers showed that 32 per cent made at least one essential error, delegates were told earlier this week at the 73rd annual scientific assembly of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) in Chicago.

- Hypnotherapy best to help smokers quit

Smokers are most likely to quit smoking if they undergo hypnotherapy, said US researchers at the ACCP meeting. Of 67 smokers, after 26 weeks, half of the 14 patients treated with hypnotherapy had given up smoking, while just 15 per …