Lawrence C An, Karen S Brown, Allison K C Furgal, Mohammed A Saqib, Farid J Shamo
{"title":"The initial and ongoing effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the reach and impact of a US state tobacco quitline.","authors":"Lawrence C An, Karen S Brown, Allison K C Furgal, Mohammed A Saqib, Farid J Shamo","doi":"10.18332/tpc/203869","DOIUrl":"10.18332/tpc/203869","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>This study examines the long-term effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the reach and impact of one US state tobacco quitline while taking into account quitline offers of free nicotine replacement therapy (NRT).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This is a pre-post analysis from January 2017 through June 2023 of the reach and impact of Michigan's tobacco quitline after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. We assess quitline reach (number of callers per month), effectiveness (self-reported 30-day abstinence at 6 months), and impact (number of new ex-tobacco users per month). We examine the main effects and interactions between pandemic status (i.e. pre vs post March 2020) and quitline offers of free NRT.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The COVID-19 pandemic had a persistent negative effect on quitline reach (p=0.002) and impact (p<0.001). Abstinence rates decreased transiently during the first year of the pandemic. Offering free NRT had a positive effect on quitline reach (p<0.001) and impact (p<0.001) before and after the start of the pandemic. For quitline reach, we found a significant interaction between pandemic and free NRT effects with a substantial decrease in the mean number of callers per month after the pandemic during months when free NRT is being offered (750; 95% CI: 545-1033, pre-pandemic vs 302; 95% CI: 233-392, post-pandemic) compared to months when free NRT is not being offered (247; 95% CI: 187-327, pre-pandemic vs 159; 95% CI: 114-221, post-pandemic).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>There is a critical need to assess and address the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on tobacco quitline reach and impact.</p>","PeriodicalId":44546,"journal":{"name":"Tobacco Prevention & Cessation","volume":"11 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12100942/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144143838","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Andrii Skipalskyi, Jarno Habicht, Angela Ciobanu, Yelena Tarasenko, Tetyana Skapa
{"title":"Tobacco control in complex emergencies: Policy case study of Ukraine.","authors":"Andrii Skipalskyi, Jarno Habicht, Angela Ciobanu, Yelena Tarasenko, Tetyana Skapa","doi":"10.18332/tpc/203838","DOIUrl":"10.18332/tpc/203838","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This policy case study evaluates Ukraine's implementation of tobacco control measures, using guidance from the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) and its COP8 decision during the ongoing Russian invasion. The study assesses Ukraine's efforts across three pillars: 1) surveillance, 2) legislation and public health gains, and 3) adherence to the WHO FCTC Article 5.3. Despite war-related disruptions and a humanitarian crisis, Ukraine has upheld and strengthened policies like tobacco taxation, new pictorial health warnings on cigarette packs, advertising bans, and smoking restrictions, largely due to strong policy leadership and international collaborations driven by the European Union integration. Successes and political leadership over the past decade have reinforced Ukraine's compliance with the WHO FCTC. However, continued threats from the tobacco industry, especially efforts to weaken legislation and obstruct enforcement of regulations on new and emerging nicotine and tobacco products, remain a serious concern. This analysis underscores the vital role of a resilient public health infrastructure and sustained international support in protecting tobacco control progress, particularly during times of crisis.</p>","PeriodicalId":44546,"journal":{"name":"Tobacco Prevention & Cessation","volume":"11 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12083187/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144095290","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tyler Merreighn, Jennifer C Veilleux, Eric D Schisler, Mufazzela Tabassum, Page D Dobbs
{"title":"The experiences of young adults attempting to quit e-cigarettes: A mixed-methods analysis.","authors":"Tyler Merreighn, Jennifer C Veilleux, Eric D Schisler, Mufazzela Tabassum, Page D Dobbs","doi":"10.18332/tpc/202831","DOIUrl":"10.18332/tpc/202831","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Young adult users of e-cigarettes have expressed intention to quit using these products. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of young adult e-cigarette users with trying to quit e-cigarettes.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Using an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design, a convenience sample of young adults living in the US in 2021 who had used e-cigarettes in the past 30 days completed a cross-sectional survey (n=592), and then a subsample of participants (n=25) completed a follow-up Zoom interview. Relationships between e-cigarette dependence and quitting were examined along with differences between motives for use, abstinence experiences, and stress intolerance of those who had and had not tried to quit e-cigarettes, and associations between quitting e-cigarettes and covariates. Interviewees discussed quit attempts and reasons to quit e-cigarettes. All interviews were transcribed verbatim, data were coded, and emergent themes were compared to quantitative results.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Most participants (73.5%) had attempted to quit using e-cigarettes. Variables associated with quit attempts included past cigarette smoking (AOR=1.72; 95% CI: 1.06-2.81), cognitive coping (AOR=0.056; 95% CI: 0.42-0.75), loss of control (AOR=1.45; 95% CI: 1.08-1.94), and cue exposure (AOR=1.40; 95% CI: 1.12-1.76). Increased e-cigarette dependence was associated with more e-cigarette quit attempts (p<0.001) and shorter periods of abstinence from using e-cigarettes (p<0.001). Emergent interview themes described social (e.g. environments), emotional (e.g. using when distressed), and physical (e.g. withdrawal symptoms, including headaches and shaking) barriers to quitting e-cigarettes.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Tobacco prevention messages, research, and cessation services should consider that young adults may experience co-occurring distress during e-cigarette quit attempts.</p>","PeriodicalId":44546,"journal":{"name":"Tobacco Prevention & Cessation","volume":"11 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12001834/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144276227","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Corina Marginean, Bianca L Grigorescu, Andreea C Safta, Corina Budin, Nimrod Laszlo, Cristina A Man, Septimiu T Voidazan
{"title":"Smoking attitudes among medical personnel: A cross-sectional study at Mureș County Hospital, Romania.","authors":"Corina Marginean, Bianca L Grigorescu, Andreea C Safta, Corina Budin, Nimrod Laszlo, Cristina A Man, Septimiu T Voidazan","doi":"10.18332/tpc/202966","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18332/tpc/202966","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":44546,"journal":{"name":"Tobacco Prevention & Cessation","volume":"11 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12001833/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144033266","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Hongying Daisy Dai, Ellen Kerns, Hana Niebur, Ashley Deschamp, Rachel Johnson, Kaeli Samson, James Buckley, Summer Woolsey
{"title":"Developing a media literacy-based e-cigarette education program via medical record systems.","authors":"Hongying Daisy Dai, Ellen Kerns, Hana Niebur, Ashley Deschamp, Rachel Johnson, Kaeli Samson, James Buckley, Summer Woolsey","doi":"10.18332/tpc/201477","DOIUrl":"10.18332/tpc/201477","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>This is a prospective, interventional pilot study that seeks to evaluate the impact of MediaSense, a media-literacy-based vaping prevention program, in adolescents including an oversample of those with asthma.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>During July and December 2022, participants in Nebraska were recruited via electronic health record (EHR)-based messaging, and MediaSense was self-administrated by interactive e-learning with REDCap surveys before and after the intervention. Regression analysis evaluated changes in vaping media literacy, vaping expectancy, and harm perception pre- and post-intervention. Factor analysis was conducted on 22 items on usability, to determine which latent factors were most related to interactive e-learning modules.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Adolescents aged 12-17 years participated in the MediaSense intervention (n=67; 59.7% with asthma). The pre- and post-intervention surveys showed a 148% increase in vaping media literacy (ranging 0-6; 2.9 vs 4.5, p<0.0001). Vaping expectancy (ranging1-5) decreased from 3.6 to 1.2 (p<0.0001), and the perception of vaping as harmful rose from 40.3% to 86.0% (p<0.0001). Participants rated the intervention highly on usability, technical assistance, design, content clarity, navigation, flow, multimedia, interactivity, and learning outcomes. Two distinct factors were identified in the factor analysis: motivating and engaging content (Factor 1) and user-friendly module design (Factor 2). Participants with higher usability ratings of the e-modules (Factor 1: B=0.6; 95% CI: 0.3-0.9, p=0.0004; Factor 2: B=0.7; 95% CI: 0.4-1.0, p=0.0001), and those with asthma (vs no asthma: B=0.5; 95% CI: 0.1-0.9, p=0.01) had significantly higher vaping refusal and media literacy.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The MediaSense program demonstrated acceptability and feasibility in recruiting and preventing adolescent vaping through EHR and digital interventions. Media literacy helps adolescents to critically evaluate vaping-related marketing messages, resist persuasive marketing, and make informed decisions.</p>","PeriodicalId":44546,"journal":{"name":"Tobacco Prevention & Cessation","volume":"11 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11956842/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143755179","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Overview of tobacco cessation service in Oman: A narrative review.","authors":"Salma R Al-Kalbani","doi":"10.18332/tpc/201992","DOIUrl":"10.18332/tpc/201992","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Tobacco is a global public health issue that kills half of its users. Even though the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) mandates countries to implement tobacco cessation programs as a cost-effective approach to assist smokers in quitting and reduce the burden of tobacco use, only one-third of the world's population has access to effective cessation services. Many governments have failed to provide comprehensive, accessible tobacco cessation services due to financial constraints and the belief that people are to blame for tobacco addiction. The World Health Organization's Package of Essential Non-Communicable Diseases (WHO PEN) recommends incorporating tobacco cessation and lifestyle advice into primary healthcare as a cost-effective means of avoiding non-communicable diseases. Despite nearly two decades have passed since ratifying the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), Oman has made little progress in developing a national comprehensive tobacco cessation program. A comprehensive multisectoral effort is necessary to explore the challenges and opportunities for implementing an effective national tobacco cessation program in Oman, which should be part of effective tobacco control legislation aimed at reversing the tobacco trend and assisting smokers in quitting tobacco products. This narrative review aims to explore tobacco use in Oman, its health impacts, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and puts forward recommendations for implementing a tobacco cessation program.</p>","PeriodicalId":44546,"journal":{"name":"Tobacco Prevention & Cessation","volume":"11 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11948351/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143732363","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Implementation of school tobacco policies: The advocacy coalition approach. Protocol of the ADHAirE study, a cluster randomized controlled trial.","authors":"Pierre Laloux, Nora Mélard, Vincent Lorant","doi":"10.18332/tpc/202392","DOIUrl":"10.18332/tpc/202392","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Secondary schools still struggle to enforce their tobacco policy and to keep their learning environment smoke-free. Yet, enforcement is the key to improve the effectiveness of those policies. This article describes the ADHAirE study which aims to reduce smoking at school through an improved enforcement of the school's tobacco policy. The ADHAirE study will be carried out during 2 years in 20 Belgian secondary schools. Schools will be randomized either in the experimental or the control group. Schools in the experimental group will create an advocacy coalition involving students, staff and the principal. Those schools will also be linked to the others to share best practices about their school tobacco policy. Members of the advocacy coalition will share beliefs and values about the tobacco policy and about the school's role in tobacco prevention. This randomized controlled trial will assess the effectiveness of the advocacy coalition to enforce the school tobacco policy. The ADHAirE study is based on the latest research and recommendations on school tobacco prevention. Following the social norm theory, this study goes further than many others before which only focused on health education, targeting the individual and not the social environment in which smoking occurs. Through the advocacy coalition, ADHAirE will initiate a community-level intervention that will ensure that all stakeholders are involved in decision-sharing about the rules, ensuring their acceptability, adoption and sustainability. <b>CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION:</b> The study is registered on the official website of ClinicalTrials.gov <b>IDENTIFIER:</b> ID NCT06655038.</p>","PeriodicalId":44546,"journal":{"name":"Tobacco Prevention & Cessation","volume":"11 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11931910/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143701837","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Amogh Bandekar, Kim Bayha, Ashley Finke, Vanessa Mallory, Michael F Dulin, Michael E Thompson
{"title":"Assessing client and staff beliefs and attitudes to inform tobacco-free campus policy implementation at substance use disorder treatment centers.","authors":"Amogh Bandekar, Kim Bayha, Ashley Finke, Vanessa Mallory, Michael F Dulin, Michael E Thompson","doi":"10.18332/tpc/202468","DOIUrl":"10.18332/tpc/202468","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>US patients with behavioral health conditions have smoking rates two to three times higher than the general population. Tobacco-free environments at substance use disorder (SUD) facilities can positively impact patient's outcomes as well as the health of staff, but client perceptions to the contrary can slow adoption. This study assessed client and staff beliefs, attitudes, and knowledge regarding the implementation of a tobacco-free campus policy at McLeod Addictive Disease Center, a full-service SUD treatment facility based in Charlotte, North Carolina.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>During the height of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the research team conducted a mixed-methods study at the McLeod Center lasting from May to November 2020. Using convenience sampling, the team conducted two staff surveys that were administered online (n=134; n=28) and virtual interviews of clients (n=38) to assess beliefs, attitudes and knowledge of tobacco use and the tobacco-free campus planned for 2021.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Many staff identified as current or former smokers (n=57); some expressed the belief that the policy will positively impact clients' SUD recovery (n=12). Encouragingly, clients expressed positive feelings associated with the policy (n=16) and reported interest in receiving tobacco cessation treatment (n=25).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Staff are interested in helping clients quit tobacco use. Most of the interviewed clients, however, believed that utilizing tobacco products while receiving treatment for their dependence on another substance, would improve their success. The McLeod Center was one of the first community-based SUD treatment facilities in North Carolina to transition to a 100% tobacco-free campus in 2021. This research and results serve as a blueprint for other facilities making similar policy changes.</p>","PeriodicalId":44546,"journal":{"name":"Tobacco Prevention & Cessation","volume":"11 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11931911/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143701832","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Tobacco products: Law applies also to social media.","authors":"Christopher Heidt, Katrin Schaller","doi":"10.18332/tpc/202934","DOIUrl":"10.18332/tpc/202934","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":44546,"journal":{"name":"Tobacco Prevention & Cessation","volume":"11 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11931909/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143701838","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Use of low-dose varenicline in patients who do not tolerate standard-dose varenicline: A longitudinal case series.","authors":"Martha Swanson, Luisa C Masclans, James M Davis","doi":"10.18332/tpc/194629","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18332/tpc/194629","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Although varenicline tartrate is the most effective monotherapy for smoking cessation, the standard-dose (1 mg twice daily) is associated with adverse events: gastrointestinal, sleep-related, and mood-related. Lower doses have demonstrated similar efficacy with lower adverse event incidence. The purpose of this study was to determine whether patients who previously discontinued standard-dose varenicline due to adverse events could tolerate and benefit from low-dose varenicline.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted a prospective longitudinal pilot study of 22 adult daily smokers in Durham NC, USA, in 2022. All participants previously discontinued standard-dose varenicline due to adverse events. These patients were prescribed either 0.5 mg twice daily for varenicline-related nausea or 1 mg in the morning for sleep problems. The primary outcome was change in self-reported adverse event severity (scale: 0-7). Secondary outcomes were smoking abstinence at 6-week follow-up and tolerance of the lower dose.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Patients with intolerable nausea reported significant severity reduction (6.00 to 0.00; p<0.001) as did patients with intolerable vivid dreams (3.27 to 0.27; p=0.001). Smoking abstinence rates were 28.6% for 0.5 mg twice daily and 26.7% for 1 mg once daily. Low-dose varenicline tolerance was 81.8%.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Patients who experience significant nausea with standard-dose varenicline may successfully make transition to a 0.5 mg low dose twice daily and those who experience vivid dreams to 1 mg varenicline in the morning. Treatment efficacy rates remained relatively high. This suggests a need for a future randomized controlled trial to establish low-dose varenicline as an approach for patients who do not tolerate the standard-dose varenicline.</p>","PeriodicalId":44546,"journal":{"name":"Tobacco Prevention & Cessation","volume":"11 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11907654/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143651189","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}